Build Advice

[Static EMP]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone could help me with this build that would be used for gaming as well as recording (Pro Tools, Ableton), and some light Photoshop.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($362.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: *ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($192.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($177.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: *EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1571.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-26 13:26 EDT-0400


The big two things I'm stuck with are the video card and whether or not I should go for 32GB of RAM. I heard some things about EVGA's 900 series having problems with the fan. Unfortuantely, I always used EVGA cards in the past because of they were always given high praise, so I'm not too sure if I should be looking towards another brand now.

The 32GB of RAM would raise the price significantly but may be good for my other uses for the machine such as Pro Tools and Photoshop. I'd love to just put the 16 in now and upgrade later, but upgrading isn't as easy when you're supposed to get the exact same RAM a year down the line. Plus, the only kits I can find in either 16 or 32GB are 4x. I can't find a kit that I could have 2x16 now and 2x16 later... If I did 16 now, I would end up with 8x32GB RAM down the line, which seems like a lot of stress on the memory controller.

 

[lehtv]

Are you planning to overclock this? If not, I'd rather go with a 4790K. In fact I'd consider that anyway because Z97 costs much less than X99, and DDR3 costs much less than DDR4.

I'm not too knowledgeable on whether 16GB is enough for Pro Tools and Ableton, but for Photoshop it's fine as long as your files are smaller than 16GB. If you can afford 32GB DDR4 - go for it - but if it's straining your budget then consider 4790K + 32GB DDR3.

Are you reusing the case from your sig or going with a different one?

The 750W unit you've picked is great quality but overkill for a single GTX 970, and 850W would be better for a properly overclocked i7-5820K + SLI, especially if you want the PSU to stay quiet under load. I would go with 600-650W or 850W.

EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 is a good card, however the SSC version is currently $314 AR AP on newegg.

 

[Static EMP]

I just don't understand why you can get 4X8 GB for a 32GB kit, but you can only get 4x4GB for a 16GB kit. If I could get 2X8GB, I would gladly get that now and then purchase the same kit down the line to upgrade to 32GB if necessary, and be safe because it would be the exact same RAM.

 

[mfenn]

I just don't understand why you can get 4X8 GB for a 32GB kit, but you can only get 4x4GB for a 16GB kit. If I could get 2X8GB, I would gladly get that now and then purchase the same kit down the line to upgrade to 32GB if necessary, and be safe because it would be the exact same RAM.

The LGA 2011(-3) platform uses quad-channel memory, so for maximum memory performance, you need to add DIMMs in multiples of 4. That's why you'll see 4x4 and 4x8 GB kits.

The system would work if you bought two individual 8GB DIMMs (of the same model obviously), but you would lose approximately half of your memory bandwidth. That doesn't matter for a lot of applications, but it does make one question why they would be spending more on the LGA 2011-3 platform in the first place.

 

[Static EMP]

Ah, that makes sense. Well obviously I wouldn't want to do that, so I guess I'll just go with 4x8GB, since if I upgrade down the line, 8X4GB would probably be a lot of stress on the memory controller, right?

 

[daveybrat]

Ah, that makes sense. Well obviously I wouldn't want to do that, so I guess I'll just go with 4x8GB, since if I upgrade down the line, 8X4GB would probably be a lot of stress on the memory controller, right?

The board is built to handle it so i can't see why filling all the slots would make any difference on the memory controller than using less sticks.

And just speaking from personal opinion, i researched extensively all of the available GTX 970 cards out there before i ended up choosing the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G edition.

I'd recommend that over the EVGA one that you picked.

 

[mfenn]

The board is built to handle it so i can't see why filling all the slots would make any difference on the memory controller than using less sticks.

More DIMMs per channel means more capacitive load on the memory controller, which generally translates to a looser command rate. The difference between 1N and 2N isn't huge, but it is a result of more stress on the memory controller.