Building a gaming system

[RandomGuy]

what monitor u have? no point investing in a high end gaming pc, and ur playing on some TN monitor 5ms 60mhz bull

Not sure. Plunked down some good money on a monitor a year or so ago. Don't mind throwing that into the mix if needed.

Was trying to figure out how long I have had the current clunker and I am thinking it is close to 8 years or so. It was fast and overpowered when I bought it, so I didn't worry much about things, but it is running most new things/pages really really slowly.

First thing I am going to do with the new revamp I am buying is test it with a few hundred TNT blocks in Minecraft... just to impress the out of my kids.

[RandomGuy]

You can actually use the stock cooler fine with the locked Skylake i5 and i3 when BLCK overclocking them. All the normal heat you generate stress testing the overclocks isn't there because of the AVX instructions being disabled when you do BCLK overclocking on Skylake.

BCLK?

AVX?

Crap. More reading.

(heads off to google, and starts reading)

Thanks again for the help. If you think of any terms concepts I should probably know, point me in the right direction.

[baseline bum]

BCLK?

AVX?

Crap. More reading.

(heads off to google, and starts reading)

Thanks again for the help. If you think of any terms concepts I should probably know, point me in the right direction.

Intel killed off BCLK overclocking in locked Skylake cpus through microcode updates in BIOS updates. I don't know if you can still get the old BIOS or not that allowed this type of overclocking for locked Skylake chips, but it has been killed off in latest BIOS versions from the board manufactures. I'm tempted to believe it was Intel being really slimy and allowing this for a while to drum up sales of their locked processors, because the unlocked i7-6700k was in really short supply until this month. The price of the 6700k has been through the roof for a couple of months and is now just starting to come down now that Intel is beginning to supply new ones again. You definitely want a K or X suffix processor to overclock now, and it's probably worth it when you're starting to see games strongly CPU bound like Fallout 4.

[RandomGuy]

Something like an i5-6500 with an AsRock Z170 Pro4S board, 2x8GB DDR4-2666, and a GTX 970 would make a really strong 1080p gaming rig. I think the 970 tends to be better in single player games with lots of AI and since Nvidia's DX11 drivers have a lot less overhead than AMD's. If you're into multiplayer games the AMD R9 390 is a lot better though due to being significantly stronger than the 970 on a hardware level. Basically 970 is better if you play games that really use the CPU (so single player open world games with lots of AI like Fallout 4, GTA V, Witcher 3), while the R9 390 kills for stuff like Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront.

Hmmm.

I tend to play single-player games mostly. MMPGs tend to have people who live the games and make casual players' lives miserable, so I generally avoid them.

Will probably run a LAN Minecraft/game server for the boys and me to fart around on.

[baseline bum]

First thing I am going to do with the new revamp I am buying is test it with a few hundred TNT blocks in Minecraft... just to impress the out of my kids.

LOL, I'm not sure there is a CPU on the market that can handle that. Minecraft is a pretty CPU bound Java game and I don't think the mul hreading is that great, so I think you'd bring any CPU on the market to its knees by exploding a bunch of TNT in Minecraft.

[baseline bum]

Gsync is for nvidia. Freesync is with AMD.

I'd strongly perfer that considering most systems can't handle 4k atm. If you have a frame rate dropping, it'll look a lot smoother on a freesync monitor.

Hey CH, did you get your free game yet?

https://www.amd4u.com/amdgamepromo/

[Cry Havoc]

Hey CH, did you get your free game yet?

https://www.amd4u.com/amdgamepromo/

Hmm? That looks like it's only valid if I've purchased an AMD product since Feb 15th of this year.

[baseline bum]

Hmm? That looks like it's only valid if I've purchased an AMD product since Feb 15th of this year.

D'oh. Oh well, you can still get your free game here

[Cry Havoc]

D'oh. Oh well, you can still get your free game here

[baseline bum]

Even works for Nvidia owners, great promotion

[baseline bum]

I'm surprised to see this: the i7-6700k is unquestionably the best gaming CPU. Even beating out the $1000 octacore i7-5960x when both are overclocked.



What's surprising is games now run better on OC i7 vs OC i5, as shown below, so you'd think they'd do even better with the extra physical cores on an i7-5820k or i7-5960x, not to mention the better memory bandwidth and extra cache. But the 6700k is the king of the hill for straight gaming performance (though the 6600k looks like the best price to performance).

[RandomGuy]

Though getting a cheap case might not be the best idea, since you'll want something with good airflow to keep from cooking your GPU. This is what I use in my system and it's a ing joy to build in and keeps things pretty cool:



It's a pretty large case but awesome if you want to run a full ATX board, and I think it's way underpriced at $100. There isn't a case less than $200 I'd personally choose over the Enthoo Pro for a gaming build. The build quality is great, this is a solid mother er. It looks awesome. It's really easy to build in thanks to all the cable routing options, the velcro straps, and the inch and a half of room behind the motherboard tray for cable management. I can't imagine replacing this case in the next ten years unless I badly want a really small micro-ITX system or the motherboard standard changes so that I can't use it anymore.

Ok, pulling the trigger on this case. Review looked good, getting that and the motherboard now, another part or two next paycheck, and will get everything else Mid-April.
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ B&H)

Heh, Wild Cobra might want to note that Kerbal Space Program will probably be the first game installed, but I am going to find some in' FPS to mess with not long after I get the thing up and running.

[baseline bum]

Ok, pulling the trigger on this case. Review looked good, getting that and the motherboard now, another part or two next paycheck, and will get everything else Mid-April.
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ B&H)

Heh, Wild Cobra might want to note that Kerbal Space Program will probably be the first game installed, but I am going to find some in' FPS to mess with not long after I get the thing up and running.

You sure you want to go X99? I know I recommended it before, but that video I posted in the post above your's shows Z170 as being better for gaming. Though X99 will kick the out of Z170 if you're doing a lot of video editing. But a good Z170 board will be $100 less. I was really surprised to see the i7-6700k beating the i7-5820k in that video. Also KSP you want the best single core performance you can get based on WC's report about the game, and the best single core performance would come from i7-6700k + Z170 board.

[baseline bum]

Ok, pulling the trigger on this case. Review looked good, getting that and the motherboard now, another part or two next paycheck, and will get everything else Mid-April.
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ B&H)

Heh, Wild Cobra might want to note that Kerbal Space Program will probably be the first game installed, but I am going to find some in' FPS to mess with not long after I get the thing up and running.

This would be a crazy powerful core for a system. Expensive, but a cheaper than X99 while having a little better gaming performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $714.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-23 19:35 EDT-0400

[baseline bum]

If you already ordered the X99A + 5820k though, don't worry too much, it's a ing monster of a cpu.

[TDMVPDPOY]

hey whats a good gaming mouse?
-wireless?
-non wireless?

mechanical keyboard?

[baseline bum]

hey whats a good gaming mouse?
-wireless?
-non wireless?

mechanical keyboard?

The Logitech G602 is an awesome wireless mouse. Great response, it's large and feels good in the hand, and even a crappy set of AA batteries lasts a couple of months in it even under heavy usage.

[Cry Havoc]

hey whats a good gaming mouse?
-wireless?
-non wireless?

mechanical keyboard?

You've got a few god tier options:

Razer Deathadder Chroma
Logitech G502 or 303
Mionix Naos 7200
Steelseries sensei
Corsair M45

[baseline bum]

You've got a few god tier options:

Razer Deathadder Chroma
Logitech G502 or 303
Mionix Naos 7200
Steelseries sensei
Corsair M45

I love the way the G502 feels, if I was going to get a wired gaming mouse that would be it.

[Cry Havoc]

I love the way the G502 feels, if I was going to get a wired gaming mouse that would be it.

I have decently large hands and the 502 is entirely too small for me, it smashes my ring/pinky finger into the mousemat and doesn't feel natural at all.

[baseline bum]

I have decently large hands and the 502 is entirely too small for me, it smashes my ring/pinky finger into the mousemat and doesn't feel natural at all.

Aren't you one of those claw grip weirdos tbh?

[RandomGuy]

If you already ordered the X99A + 5820k though, don't worry too much, it's a ing monster of a cpu.

Already got the motherboard, will get the CPU and most of the rest of it with the next paycheck. Not too worried about completely optimizing for one game or another, just want a killer system in general.

KSP and minecraft (space mod of course) will be the first things that I play, but that will just be until I get caught up on the games that have come out in the last few years that I have missed out on, because our old computer is... old.

[baseline bum]

Already got the motherboard, will get the CPU and most of the rest of it with the next paycheck. Not too worried about completely optimizing for one game or another, just want a killer system in general.

KSP and minecraft (space mod of course) will be the first things that I play, but that will just be until I get caught up on the games that have come out in the last few years that I have missed out on, because our old computer is... old.

On the plus side, X-series chips last forever. Games are just now starting to scale out to more cores these last couple of years. Definitely get a 4 stick RAM kit then to take advantage of quad channel memory.

[Wild Cobra]

Heh, Wild Cobra might want to note that Kerbal Space Program will probably be the first game installed, but I am going to find some in' FPS to mess with not long after I get the thing up and running.

All the 2011-3 processors lacks the single thread speeds that mine has. It will operate 200+ part craft is KSP slower than my system, with my puny i7-4790, because the physics engine only operates in one core at a time.

You can pay $3,600 for the Xeon E5-2698 v3, and it will still play KSP slower than my system. Single Thread Rating of 1957, vs. my 2291.

No idea how much you plan to spend on a CPU, but the i7-5820K is around $350 and about 30% faster than mine, but about 20% slower in single thread operation. That $3,600 Xeon is twice as fast as mine, but still slower in single thread.

I personally think the 1150 socket is the way to go with the i7-4790K, unless you plan to spend a of a lot of money on a CPU. The K version is only about 12% faster than mine, but can be overclocked and is currently the fastest CPU on the market for single thread.

[RandomGuy]

All the 2011-3 processors lacks the single thread speeds that mine has. It will operate 200+ part craft is KSP slower than my system, with my puny i7-4790, because the physics engine only operates in one core at a time.

You can pay $3,600 for the Xeon E5-2698 v3, and it will still play KSP slower than my system. Single Thread Rating of 1957, vs. my 2291.

No idea how much you plan to spend on a CPU, but the i7-5820K is around $350 and about 30% faster than mine, but about 20% slower in single thread operation. That $3,600 Xeon is twice as fast as mine, but still slower in single thread.

I personally think the 1150 socket is the way to go with the i7-4790K, unless you plan to spend a of a lot of money on a CPU. The K version is only about 12% faster than mine, but can be overclocked and is currently the fastest CPU on the market for single thread.

I will be getting the system that baseline bum recommended.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...29#post8192329

I recognize someone who knows their when I see it. Even if he might be wrong about one aspect or another, his odds of being more right than I could ever possibly be on my own without spending a huge amount of time reading is pretty close to approaching 1:1

The hexacore will be useful down the road as more programmers learn how to use it, from what I understand. I think baseline has a very good point about that.

Who knows... maybe I will throw some moeny at KSP and lobby for them to use more than one core... Then where will your single core processor be, huh?

(take that as very gentle ribbing. I am not at all serious about that, hard to get across stuff like that in dead text)