Building a gaming system

[baseline bum]

So the MB has an M.2 slot. Started the build, and am reading manuals, and trying to catch up. The MB config looks to be bewilderingly complex. Lots to learn and catch up on.

Thinking about adding this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147567

1TB powerhouse. $349.

Thoughts?

Didn't you already get a 500 MB 850 EVO SSD with your other order? I wouldn't bother with that SSD. With 500 GB you have tons of room for your operating system, programs, and games already. , 250 GB is plenty for OS, games, and programs. That's not a fast M.2 drive anyways, the Samsung 950 Pro is the lightning fast one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147467

But I wouldn't get that one either. You probably won't notice much difference between it and the $150 850 EVO 500 GB for day to day usage and gaming. Not all your load time in games is storage speed bound. ElNono can explain this better since he is a game programmer. If you were constantly ripping a lot of video the 950 Pro might really make some sense, but if you don't know whether you need it it's almost certain you don't.

Anyways, the 1TB M.2 drive you linked isn't any faster than the 500 GB one you bought.

[baseline bum]

Wife just got new job. Mo' money.

Might be buying a new monitor as well. I have a fairly decent/large one now (60hz), but might spend some on it.

A 27" 1440p GSync IPS panel is the way to go if you have $700-$800 or so to spend on it. Don't go 4k, a GTX 1070 can't handle 4k well. Not even a GTX 1080 can if you want to play new AAA games at a locked 60 frames per second. Where GSync makes sense is in:

1. Being able to play games at high framerates. You'll get 80-100 fps in a LOT of games even at 1440p with such a powerful GPU even at 1440p
2. You don't have to keep a locked 60 fps for a really smooth gaming experience, which will help your GPU age more gracefully.

To explain further on point 2, a standard 60 Hz screen displays a new frame every 1/60th of a second. If you play at a different framerate things can get ugly. If you enable VSync to lock to 60 fps you won't have to worry about your framerate going over the monitor's refresh rate, which eliminates tearing. Tearing is when you have parts of two different frames on the screen at once.



But if you have VSync on to 60 fps and your framerate dips to say 53 fps what happens is the same frame gets displayed twice (since your gpu couldn't render the frame in the 1/60th of a second your monitor wants). This frame being displayed twice gives you what feels like a stutter in the game.

Now you can turn VSync off but then you get tearing that gets really bad if the framerate ever goes above say 70 fps or below say 50 fps. What I do with a standard 60 Hz monitor is enable Nvidia's adaptive VSync when I have a game I can't get a locked 60 fps on but can get pretty close using my GTX 970 (for example, Witcher 3). What it does is use VSync when I'm 60 fps or above, and tear when I'm below 60 fps. So there is no stuttering when I drop below 60 fps, I just get mild tearing since I'm almost always at 55 fps at least. Nothing like the tearing in the screenshot I posted above.

But GSync gives you the best of both worlds. A GSync monitor synchronizes the refresh rate of your monitor to the render rate of your graphics card, as long as it is between 40 fps and 144 fps. So you can get the really high framerates without tearing and if you have dips to low framerates you don't get the tearing nor the stuttering. If you're able to render above 144 fps it acts like vsync is on to 144 fps at those times, so you don't get tearing then either. GSync is expensive as , but if you're looking for a high end experience it's the way to go.

[baseline bum]

So the MB has an M.2 slot. Started the build, and am reading manuals, and trying to catch up. The MB config looks to be bewilderingly complex. Lots to learn and catch up on.

Thinking about adding this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147567

1TB powerhouse. $349.

Thoughts?

Did you ever watch those videos I was telling you about from Carey Holzman's channel? This one he does a build very similar to yours:



And here is a video showing a system built in the Enthoo Pro (your board is a lot different though, it's more like the one in the video above)

[RandomGuy]

Hmm. Everything mounted, but hooking everying into the MB... that is something else. Oi vey. May be checking build videos to make sure I have all the connectors right. All the different connector standards are bewildering. Looks like everything is idiot proofed in that you can't hook something up backwards, but still, I am going to guess I do something wrong, and it won't boot.

[DMC]

Hmm. Everything mounted, but hooking everying into the MB... that is something else. Oi vey. May be checking build videos to make sure I have all the connectors right. All the different connector standards are bewildering. Looks like everything is idiot proofed in that you can't hook something up backwards, but still, I am going to guess I do something wrong, and it won't boot.

In my career I've seen lots of idiots force connectors into places they "can't go".

[baseline bum]

Hmm. Everything mounted, but hooking everying into the MB... that is something else. Oi vey. May be checking build videos to make sure I have all the connectors right. All the different connector standards are bewildering. Looks like everything is idiot proofed in that you can't hook something up backwards, but still, I am going to guess I do something wrong, and it won't boot.

Do you mean it's not POSTing?

[baseline bum]

Hmm. Everything mounted, but hooking everying into the MB... that is something else. Oi vey. May be checking build videos to make sure I have all the connectors right. All the different connector standards are bewildering. Looks like everything is idiot proofed in that you can't hook something up backwards, but still, I am going to guess I do something wrong, and it won't boot.

Can you take a photo of the inside (make sure to use the flash) and post it? I'll see if anything looks like it's missing.

[baseline bum]

Hmm. Everything mounted, but hooking everying into the MB... that is something else. Oi vey. May be checking build videos to make sure I have all the connectors right. All the different connector standards are bewildering. Looks like everything is idiot proofed in that you can't hook something up backwards, but still, I am going to guess I do something wrong, and it won't boot.

Did you flick the power button on the back of the power supply to on?

LOL I have forgotten to do this a couple of times.

[resistanze]

Yup...recheck all the wires...I've had the Power switch in the wrong pin because I was looking at it from a different perspective.

[baseline bum]

RandomGuy, when you power on are you getting a number in the debug LED on the bottom of the board? I have circled it in the image below:



If so, what number is it showing?

[ElNono]

hey bum, did you page me on this thread? I was out, sup?

[baseline bum]

Yup...recheck all the wires...I've had the Power switch in the wrong pin because I was looking at it from a different perspective.

Front panel connectors are a ing , but for testing you don't need anything plugged in. You can short the two pins for power (on the front panel connectors on the board) with a screwdriver to power the system on.

[baseline bum]

hey bum, did you page me on this thread? I was out, sup?

I was telling RG not to waste money on an expensive SSD (vs the nice one he already got) since game loading wasn't about just the speed of your storage. I remember you were explaining some of the details about loading into games before but I didn't want to give a badly translated version of what you said so I figured I'd let you explain it.

[ElNono]

I was telling RG not to waste money on an expensive SSD (vs the nice one he already got) since game loading wasn't about just the speed of your storage. I remember you were explaining some of the details about loading into games before but I didn't want to give a badly translated version of what you said so I figured I'd let you explain it.

Oh, ok. Yeah, I mean, most any modern SSD will accelerate OS loading, anyways, so it's not really a big deal. I definitely recommend it to run Windows off it, but other than that, any 7200RPM, 64/128 MB drive will do nicely for actually loading the games.

OSes use heavy disk caching anyways, and most games nowadays are optimized not to page out. Plus, modern games will spend more time locking up the PCI bus to upload GBs of assets to the GPU than disk transfers.

If you're using apps that use a lot of disk activity, then definitely go for it, but for games, you really don't have to worry about it, IMO. I can't think the last PC game that "took forever" to load.

[baseline bum]

Oh, ok. Yeah, I mean, most any modern SSD will accelerate OS loading, anyways, so it's not really a big deal. I definitely recommend it to run Windows off it, but other than that, any 7200RPM, 64/128 MB drive will do nicely for actually loading the games.

OSes use heavy disk caching anyways, and most games nowadays are optimized not to page out. Plus, modern games will spend more time locking up the PCI bus to upload GBs of assets to the GPU than disk transfers.

If you're using apps that use a lot of disk activity, then definitely go for it, but for games, you really don't have to worry about it, IMO. I can't think the last PC game that "took forever" to load.

I find a lot of value in putting games on SSD. Witcher 3 for example seems to load way faster off my 850 EVO than it did when I played it last year off my Seagate 7200 RPM drive. But I was thinking you'd be dealing with Amdahl's Law based on real world benchmarks I have seen from 950 Pro vs 850 EVO. That maybe the 850 EVO was fast enough for the disk transfer part of game loading and that the gains you'd get from a 950 Pro would be hidden by the time it's taking to load to the gpu. Does that sound reasonable? Because there are usually pretty significant differences in load times in games on a cheap SSD vs a fast HDD, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference there on an expensive SSD vs a cheap one.

[ElNono]

I find a lot of value in putting games on SSD. Witcher 3 for example seems to load way faster off my 850 EVO than it did when I played it last year off my Seagate 7200 RPM drive. But I was thinking you'd be dealing with Amdahl's Law based on real world benchmarks I have seen from 950 Pro vs 850 EVO. That maybe the 850 EVO was fast enough for the disk transfer part of game loading and that the gains you'd get from a 950 Pro would be hidden by the time it's taking to load to the gpu. Does that sound reasonable? Because there are usually pretty significant differences in load times in games on a cheap SSD vs a fast HDD, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference there on an expensive SSD vs a cheap one.

It really depends on the mobo you have too. M.2 SSDs have become more common, but some mobos only have a pcie 2x plug on them, which is stupid, but I guess there's a market for that.

The next leap on performance will be increasing PCIE lanes, tbh. SATA3 gets maxed out by SSDs at this point.

[Wild Cobra]

So the MB has an M.2 slot. Started the build, and am reading manuals, and trying to catch up. The MB config looks to be bewilderingly complex. Lots to learn and catch up on.

Thinking about adding this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147567

1TB powerhouse. $349.

Thoughts?

Figure out which M.2 configuration it is first. Being on the motherboard, it is probably a 4 lane PCIe M.2. The 850 EVO you linked is SATA, rather than PCIe. Check out this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147467

If you look at the pics, note the keying is different. The 950 pro is rated to 32 GB/s, rather than the SATA III 6 GB/s

I already started with the wrong M.2 when I got a SSD. I hope you don't make the same mistake.

[RandomGuy]

In my career I've seen lots of idiots force connectors into places they "can't go".

Heh, that is the one bit of experience from my days in the mid-nineties of building PCs that still applies. If I can't ease it in with a fairly gentle force... it ain't going there.

(We were a smallish Dell compe or that got buried by their lower costs of production)

I must say though, given the dark case/Mb/cables/connectors, I am glad I just bought a new rechargable flashlight.

[RandomGuy]

Figure out which M.2 configuration it is first. Being on the motherboard, it is probably a 4 lane PCIe M.2. The 850 EVO you linked is SATA, rather than PCIe. Check out this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147467

If you look at the pics, note the keying is different. The 950 pro is rated to 32 GB/s, rather than the SATA III 6 GB/s

I already started with the wrong M.2 when I got a SSD. I hope you don't make the same mistake.

Well, I think the consensus here is that an SSD is the way to go. Baseline recommended that, so that is what I got.

The M.2 was just something I noticed going through the MB manual.

Turns out though, the case I got, which came with oodles of power connectors, and the SSD which came with nothing, but no SATA cable for the data.

The arrangement of the pins for the case interface was also a bit trippy for me. They are arranged in a bank of two rows. I was trying to figure out how to get them in with the connectors going like this:
_ __
|X |XXXXXXXXXXX
|X |XXXXXXXXXXX
----
But the instructions said they are supposed to go like this:
____
|XX|XXXXXXXXXXXX
------
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Took me a bit to figure that out, because the MB manual was not overly clear on that point. kudos to ASUS for just about everything else though. Aesthetics, bells and whistles, and the gamut. It is just the manual sucked on this one point.

Scares me though because I am afraid of frying things when I plug it in. Oi.

[Cry Havoc]

Well, I think the consensus here is that an SSD is the way to go. Baseline recommended that, so that is what I got.

The M.2 was just something I noticed going through the MB manual.

Turns out though, the case I got, which came with oodles of power connectors, and the SSD which came with nothing, but no SATA cable for the data.

The arrangement of the pins for the case interface was also a bit trippy for me. They are arranged in a bank of two rows. I was trying to figure out how to get them in with the connectors going like this:
_ __
|X |XXXXXXXXXXX
|X |XXXXXXXXXXX
----
But the instructions said they are supposed to go like this:
____
|XX|XXXXXXXXXXXX
------
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Took me a bit to figure that out, because the MB manual was not overly clear on that point. kudos to ASUS for just about everything else though. Aesthetics, bells and whistles, and the gamut. It is just the manual sucked on this one point.

Scares me though because I am afraid of frying things when I plug it in. Oi.

Yep, getting mobo connectors in their correct place is the hardest part of any rig build unless you're doing something weird and have to jury-rig it.

Have faith, sir. You only really have to worry about three other things: proper seating, data cables, and power cables. As long as you have them all connected, you're good to go.

Also, don't forget to connect your monitors to your GPU instead of your motherboard. Common mistake that people make and wonder why their games are running like ass.

[baseline bum]

Yep, getting mobo connectors in their correct place is the hardest part of any rig build unless you're doing something weird and have to jury-rig it.

Have faith, sir. You only really have to worry about three other things: proper seating, data cables, and power cables. As long as you have them all connected, you're good to go.

Also, don't forget to connect your monitors to your GPU instead of your motherboard. Common mistake that people make and wonder why their games are running like ass.

Random won't have to worry about that since the i7-5820k doesn't have an igpu; he'll jut get no picture if he plugs his monitor into the board.

[RandomGuy]

Did you flick the power button on the back of the power supply to on?

LOL I have forgotten to do this a couple of times.

Heh, that is the technicians first go to.
1) Is it plugged in?
2) Is it turned on?

Haven't gotten everything put together yet. Need the SATA cable for the harddrive, need to get a CD drive, and need to hook up the case stuff to the MB.

I am not turning this bad boy on until I have read the bios stuff either. Probably have to wait until next weekend.

[baseline bum]

Heh, that is the technicians first go to.
1) Is it plugged in?
2) Is it turned on?

Haven't gotten everything put together yet. Need the SATA cable for the harddrive, need to get a CD drive, and need to hook up the case stuff to the MB.

I am not turning this bad boy on until I have read the bios stuff either. Probably have to wait until next weekend.

Your board should come with four SATA cables. You have the Kraken X61 hooked up I hope, don't even think about turning the system on without a cpu cooler installed. Don't worry too much about the BIOS right now, the only worry is making sure you set the boot drive priority correctly. Later you can use the BIOS for overclocking and setting optimal memory speeds and such after you get Windows installed. You don't need a cd-rom in your system. You can take the Windows CD you bought and put it in your laptop / other desktop and use the Windows utility I posted in this thread in the last couple of pages to make a bootable USB flash drive with your Windows image so you can install using that.

[RandomGuy]

Your board should come with four SATA cables. You have the Kraken X61 hooked up I hope, don't even think about turning the system on without a cpu cooler installed. Don't worry too much about the BIOS right now, the only worry is making sure you set the boot drive priority correctly. Later you can use the BIOS for overclocking and setting optimal memory speeds and such after you get Windows installed. You don't need a cd-rom in your system. You can take the Windows CD you bought and put it in your laptop / other desktop and use the Windows utility I posted in this thread in the last couple of pages to make a bootable USB flash drive with your Windows image so you can install using that.

Hmm. Board might have come with cables it just that it sat there for a month or so, and I couldn't find them. (might have unboxed them and put them somewhere)

The CD drive is for all the drivers and everything else that will eventually go on it.

The Windows OS came with a flash drive, so I assume that I can set the BIOS to boot from that and let it take care of itself.

(edit)
My own disorganized self is to blame for not having the cables. Got excited to show the kids the new stuff, took everything out, then put it all into the game room. weeks and kids later... I had to scramble to find the cables and so forth. Derp.

[RandomGuy]

You can take the Windows CD you bought and put it in your laptop / other desktop

Heh, that is my other project. Our old, old desktop has had the CD drive fail. Seems to have power, but the OS can't see it. Still running windows XP, so that needs to get updated, and possibly a new CD drive too. It still has a bunch of older games that I like (Axis and Allies, etc), so I hate to give it up. It still does the word processing and spreadsheets my wife needs it to.

Oi. If it isn't one thing it's another.