Help me configure 6700K system

Ok, the latest round of pre-launch info has finally convinced me to drop all pretenses at living long enough to see the 5775C sold in North America and hold on for another month or so for a 6700K system. The octocore is moving to the office so the old trusty 2600K is going to go to the wife's craft room. Therefore I need a workable Skylake for my room. I'm starting from a blank sheet of drafting paper on this system so I want something that suits my needs to a T as it's likely going to be a system that has to be effective, reasonably up-to-date, and fully utilizable for at least three years.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I don't game (anything but city-building). I do a lot of Photoshop work with huge multi-GB sized files. I don't watch high quality media, but do watch 2.5 hours a week of a "regular HD" series from Britain. Otherwise, it's all just garden variety MS Office and a ton of conventional web surfing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I really want to keep the whole thing below CDN$2K (USD$1500) all in (tax, shipping, etc.) including monitor and all other bits.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
British Columbia, Canada. (Until the forest fires drive me into the ocean.)
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
System: 6700K. I can't have any noise in my computer room so instead of building yet another "silent" system, I am going to punch a hole in the wall and keep the entire system in the laundry room on the other side where it can make as much freakin' noise as it wants to.
Memory/Drives: Need 32GB for the Photoshop, and I want a 120GB-class SSD for C drive and a 250GB-class SSD for D drive. Standard SandForce or similar controller is fine as I don't need supertransferspeeds... now anyway... I can upgrade later. No optical.
Cooling: I really want to go with a Noctua NH-D15 as ambient temps in that room can reach the low 80Fs. Talk me out of it if possible as I'd like to save around $50 by going with a smaller/cheaper model.
GPU: Completely split on whether to rely on the internal Skylake or go with a reasonable card such as a GTX 960 or maybe a 750?
Other bits:I need an AC powered 4 port USB hub; I want no less than a 80 Gold PSU but around the mid 400s in wattage will do; Case is irrelevant and I can go with a supercheapie as it's just going to live on a shelf in the laundry room; I listen to streamed music nonstop all day but at fairly low volumes and I don't like or need huge bass-y woofers that take up the space where my legs go; I already have keyboard/mouse. That's about it...
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
All new system.
6) Will you be overclocking?
A bit would be nice (4.2, 4.3 or so) but it's a workstation system so I'm not going to stress it too much.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
The jury's out on 4K and when it really comes down to it I can live without it for now so I can settle for a conventional, basic 27" IPS. I'm myopic so I'm going to keep the monitor about 30" from my eyes as I have a separate set of glasses that I'm currently using to keep my 32" BenQ literally 6" from my nose and I'm tired of switching glasses constantly.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The same day I can get my hands on the first retail 6700K in the country.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Superbasic mobo with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s is enough. I won't use RAID or Thunderbolt, etc. I like the ASUS UEFI but any graphical BIOS UI will do.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
The system will be running Win10 Home 64bit which I have to buy new.

You are asking for build advice way too early. We have no idea what the 6700K is capable of, how much it's going to cost, the price of DDR4 when it launches, the price of a descent motherboard, etc...

Few things about your "notes" though.

1. It might be smart to buy that RAM now. If you're for sure you're going to go with a Skylake build then get the DDR4 RAM before the price skyrockets due to demand. I can almost guarantee that's going to happen. SSD, you'll be better off getting a single, 512GB or larger SSD instead of two small SSDs like that. Not only will the larger capacity be faster than the smaller drives, but it might actually end up being cheaper and more storage overall.

2. That cooler is way, way over priced. You can get a better cooling AIO water cooler for that price or less.

3. GPU is only needed if you do things in photoshop that make use of the hardware acceleration otherwise you'll be better off with the iGPU and put that money towards something that will give you more benefit.

4.Those PSU ratings don't mean shit. What kind of efficiency do you want? Figure that out then go read real benchmarks showing PSUs that deliver that in real conditions.

Figuring out what monitor you want to go with is probably your first priority. You can spend as little as $200 for a refurbished korean 27" 1440p monitor or go as high as $2000 for some of those premium monitors. i.e. a dreamcolor will run you $1200. Once you have your monitor picked out, then we'll know how much we have for the rest of the build.

I see you do a lot of photoshop work. So a full adobe color space and high color accuracy are a must I presume? What are some of the monitors you've been thinking?

Two good monitors to look at for starters would be either the ASUS PB278Q ($400 new ~$350 used) or Dell U2713HM ($670 new or ~$400 used)

I think you can pretty much figure out what a skylake build will run you know by judging current prices. We know the 6700k will run about $350 and a nice board will run you $150-$200.

But you do have a couple weeks time. I would get on slickdeals and start buying pieces as they go on sale. I.e. they have been good deals on 500gb ssd drives every week. Same with good power supplies and cases.

$150 - $200 is pricey for a decent motherboard. You can spend $100 - $130 on Haswell for a descent motherboard. Assuming that's what you're comparing prices, too.

Skillz said:

You are asking for build advice way too early. We have no idea what the 6700K is capable of, how much it's going to cost, the price of DDR4 when it launches, the price of a descent motherboard, etc...

Few things about your "notes" though.

1. It might be smart to buy that RAM now. If you're for sure you're going to go with a Skylake build then get the DDR4 RAM before the price skyrockets due to demand. I can almost guarantee that's going to happen. SSD, you'll be better off getting a single, 512GB or larger SSD instead of two small SSDs like that. Not only will the larger capacity be faster than the smaller drives, but it might actually end up being cheaper and more storage overall.

2. That cooler is way, way over priced. You can get a better cooling AIO water cooler for that price or less.

3. GPU is only needed if you do things in photoshop that make use of the hardware acceleration otherwise you'll be better off with the iGPU and put that money towards something that will give you more benefit.

4.Those PSU ratings don't mean shit. What kind of efficiency do you want? Figure that out then go read real benchmarks showing PSUs that deliver that in real conditions.

Click to expand...

I respect your opinion but mine is quite different on the DDR4 pricing. With the X99 platform out for a dog's age and the arrival of Skylake/LGA1151 being so well trumpeted for several quarters, I don't see DDR4 pricing going anywhere. Maybe a bit down or a bit up, but certainly not a huge rise. However, it wouldn't be the first time that a development in the tech field has surprised me so we might be paying $100 for a garden variety DDR4 4GB stick next week... who knows?

I agree with you on the Noctua 15's waaaaaaaaaaaay overpriced level. You can get a 14 for just over half of that and the one in my 2600K has been working so flawlessly and has kept that CPU so cool in the most demanding of situations that IMHO the 15 is a waste of money for anyone but the most frenzied OC'er. I just like it because I usually opt for the "top of the line," even when it doesn't make a lick of sense.

My Photoshop use is very atypical so the hardware accel is rarely a factor. As for the PSU the darn thing only has to power the CPU, motherboard and a couple of SSDs, so even 450W is overkill. The 80 Gold certification is only to assure me that I'm getting something decent rather than some cheap POS that will fry itself within a week (yes, I've had that happen).

doug_7506 said:

Figuring out what monitor you want to go with is probably your first priority. You can spend as little as $200 for a refurbished korean 27" 1440p monitor or go as high as $2000 for some of those premium monitors. i.e. a dreamcolor will run you $1200. Once you have your monitor picked out, then we'll know how much we have for the rest of the build.

I see you do a lot of photoshop work. So a full adobe color space and high color accuracy are a must I presume? What are some of the monitors you've been thinking?

Two good monitors to look at for starters would be either the ASUS PB278Q ($400 new ~$350 used) or Dell U2713HM ($670 new or ~$400 used)

I think you can pretty much figure out what a skylake build will run you know by judging current prices. We know the 6700k will run about $350 and a nice board will run you $150-$200.

But you do have a couple weeks time. I would get on slickdeals and start buying pieces as they go on sale. I.e. they have been good deals on 500gb ssd drives every week. Same with good power supplies and cases.

Click to expand...

As I stated above, my Photoshop use is atypical. I have calibrated my monitors maybe twice in the last quarter century. Yes, I had Photoshop 1.0 on my Mac in 1990 when some of the frequenters on this forum were nothing more than a glint in their daddy's eyes.

I've been looking at the LG 27MP37HQ-B only because it's dirt cheap for a 27" IPS. I missed out on getting one at my local Staples for CDN$199 as "they couldn't find it" (typical...). Fortunately newegg.ca has one for just $20 more. Slickdeals usually goes to US sites so I gotta stick to newegg.ca, ncix.ca, tigerdirect.ca, etc. Yes, I'd love nothing better than to use Slickdeals or waltz into a Microcenter and pick up one of their amazing sales... Sigh...

Skillz said:

$150 - $200 is pricey for a decent motherboard. You can spend $100 - $130 on Haswell for a descent motherboard. Assuming that's what you're comparing prices, too.

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Yeah, I agree that mobo prices for LGA1151 will be just a bit higher than their LGA1150 comparables. I don't see a huge spike in prices for them... but as I said before I live to be surprised!

As a PS user I would much rather have a 30" 1600p monitor like the Dell U3014 and a 4700K than a 27"/1440p monitor and a 6700K. I doubt you're going to get much real world performance boost from the 6700k, at least for a few years.

Supply and demand. I wouldn't be surprised if the prices go up on DDR4.

Those PSU ratings dont mean anything. Even shitty PSUs can be labled as Gold or even Platinum.

Motherboard prices have been going somewhat down. A decent Sandybridge motherboard was closer to $120 to $150 when it launched. Now Haswell has lowered the price even more. Will Skylake see even cheaper priced motherboards? Will DDR4 cause them to be more expensive? We will soon find out.

soupcxan said:

As a PS user I would much rather have a 30" 1600p monitor like the Dell U3014 and a 4700K than a 27"/1440p monitor and a 6700K. I doubt you're going to get much real world performance boost from the 6700k, at least for a few years.

Click to expand...

1600p got pushed out with the introduction of 4k and it's much better prices.

yeah im already seeing DDr4 prices starting to go up. At corsairs website they went up across the board about $30.

Have you ever used a 1080p 27". Some people like it, but the majority of people here will tell you to go 1440p at 27". I agree. I find the dpi at 1440p and 27" to be just right.

Here is my stab at a build, a few notes:
1) Never built using Canadian prices so I uses pcpartpicker-Canada to compile the list.
2) Used a $400 CAD 4790k and a $160 CAD z97 mobo as place holders for skylake. Figured you could find something else in this range.
3) The BenQ monitor is a big chunck of it. Note sure if you want a new name brand monitor or if you are willing to go with one of the korean import deals. i.e this one would save you about 200 CAD
4) Going with a single 500gb ssd will save you money and will give you more space overall.
5) I went w8.1 simple b/c it will save you about 20 CAD. Can upgrade to w10 for free.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($403.68 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($158.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($255.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($218.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($152.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($106.98 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: BenQ GW2765HT 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($479.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Other: AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub with 5V/4A power adapter ($23.99)
Total: $1990.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-29 21:04 EDT-0400

soupcxan said:

As a PS user I would much rather have a 30" 1600p monitor like the Dell U3014 and a 4700K than a 27"/1440p monitor and a 6700K. I doubt you're going to get much real world performance boost from the 6700k, at least for a few years.

Click to expand...

I'm running the BenQ BL3200PT at 2560x1440 and I have to confess I'm not really impressed that much. Granted, I keep the thing just a few inches from my nose but I can literally see the individual pixels and it's disconcerting. Nothing is as sharp as I'd want it and I was never able to dial in the colors the way I like them. I'm going to keep the 27" IPS way further so that I don't have to swap out glasses all the time.

Skillz said:

Supply and demand. I wouldn't be surprised if the prices go up on DDR4.

Those PSU ratings dont mean anything. Even shitty PSUs can be labled as Gold or even Platinum.

Motherboard prices have been going somewhat down. A decent Sandybridge motherboard was closer to $120 to $150 when it launched. Now Haswell has lowered the price even more. Will Skylake see even cheaper priced motherboards? Will DDR4 cause them to be more expensive? We will soon find out.

Click to expand...

Yup, there is no way to divine which way prices will go but Skylake seems to be a much anticipated CPU family so there may be some initial price gouging.

doug_7506 said:

yeah im already seeing DDr4 prices starting to go up. At corsairs website they went up across the board about $30.

Have you ever used a 1080p 27". Some people like it, but the majority of people here will tell you to go 1440p at 27". I agree. I find the dpi at 1440p and 27" to be just right.

Here is my stab at a build, a few notes:
1) Never built using Canadian prices so I uses pcpartpicker-Canada to compile the list.
2) Used a $400 CAD 4790k and a $160 CAD z97 mobo as place holders for skylake. Figured you could find something else in this range.
3) The BenQ monitor is a big chunck of it. Note sure if you want a new name brand monitor or if you are willing to go with one of the korean import deals. i.e this one would save you about 200 CAD
4) Going with a single 500gb ssd will save you money and will give you more space overall.
5) I went w8.1 simple b/c it will save you about 20 CAD. Can upgrade to w10 for free.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($403.68 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($158.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($255.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($218.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($152.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($106.98 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: BenQ GW2765HT 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($479.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Other: AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub with 5V/4A power adapter ($23.99)
Total: $1990.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-29 21:04 EDT-0400

Click to expand...

I like the build a lot and the placeholders for the 6700K/Z170 are likely to be pretty close. I always run a separate boot and data SSD just as a personal preference. I like the ability to wipe the C drive without messing with my data, so I'm used to doing it that way. The GTX750Ti is a great card and good value. The Hyper 212 EVO is certainly close enough to the Noctua 14s in performance and it saves about fifty bucks, so that's a nice option. The case will just be the cheapest possible ($25 range) as it's going to live on a laundry room shelf so who cares. The RAM is a decent option too, and heck, it's only about $40 more than the DDR3 equivalent which is $10 a stick so I really don't see what all the complaining is about when it comes to the DDR3-DDR4 costs.

If you wanna have a good laugh, check out:

HyperX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 for $19.99

I really wonder what would happen if you actually placed an order for $19.99 and then raised hell when they refused to ship it to you?

I also wonder if this is the right price:

Patriot Viper 4 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 2666 for $151.99

But somehow I doubt that as well.

I've had a couple of run-ins with Newegg.ca's agents lately and the ones I've spoken with are dumber than a sack of hammers, so I'm not surprised to find that their website has horrific screwups in pricing.

Weeth said:

The case will just be the cheapest possible ($25 range) as it's going to live on a laundry room shelf so who cares.

Click to expand...

I still would not recommend getting a cheap case. They lack cooling, quality, features, and cable management capability. Not to mention that many of those cheap cases can't fit large HSFs like the Hyper 212 Evo. In other words, cases aren't irrelevant. If you truly believe the case is irrelevant, don't get a case at all then. Just build the PC on top of the motherboard box.

Weeth said:

The RAM is a decent option too, and heck, it's only about $40 more than the DDR3 equivalent which is $10 a stick so I really don't see what all the complaining is about when it comes to the DDR3-DDR4 costs.

Click to expand...

Because there's a real fear that DDR4 RAM pricing will go with the release of the mainstream and therefore more widespread Skylake platform. In this subforum alone, we've already advised hundreds of people not to upgrade their PCs until Skylake hits.

Dangman said:

I still would not recommend getting a cheap case. They lack cooling, quality, features, and cable management capability. Not to mention that many of those cheap cases can't fit large HSFs like the Hyper 212 Evo. In other words, cases aren't irrelevant. If you truly believe the case is irrelevant, don't get a case at all then. Just build the PC on top of the motherboard box.

Because there's a real fear that DDR4 RAM pricing will go with the release of the mainstream and therefore more widespread Skylake platform. In this subforum alone, we've already advised hundreds of people not to upgrade their PCs until Skylake hits.

Click to expand...

You make excellent points. I've done builds both ways, with cases as huge and well-designed as my current Antec Nineteen Hundred all the way to literally attaching the mobo to a piece of plywood with spacers. Since I'm not a monster OCer, I haven't noticed any difference in airflow/temps so I'm just as likely to build the Skylake on top of the box (and post a photo so you guys can all laugh.)

So I take it that your advice is to pull the RAM trigger now? It's certainly affordable at this point!

Weeth said:

So I take it that your advice is to pull the RAM trigger now? It's certainly affordable at this point!

Click to expand...

Considering that you're in Canada, it shouldn't hurt getting the RAM early. Unlike in the U.S, the price difference between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM is small so any increase might not have as much of an impact. For U.S residents, the price difference between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM ranges between $15 to $20.

With that said, there's also a very good chance that RAM manufacturers might flood the market with DDR4 RAM due to the release of Skylake. Which in turns lowers costs.

Dangman said:

Considering that you're in Canada, it shouldn't hurt getting the RAM early. Unlike in the U.S, the price difference between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM is small so any increase might not have as much of an impact. For U.S residents, the price difference between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM ranges between $15 to $20.

With that said, there's also a very good chance that RAM manufacturers might flood the market with DDR4 RAM due to the release of Skylake. Which in turns lowers costs.

Click to expand...

Yup, it's a RAM crapshoot alright. Should be an interesting week!

Sorry for the doublepost but I just got news I want to share. I just spoke to someone in Australia who actually has a 6700K (retail, not ES) in an ASUS board (unfortunately not at liberty to divulge other details... his NDA, etc.) However, what I can say is that:

1) His CPU benchmarks are a tad above what has been seen so far.
2) The 530 graphics are very good and are providing him with acceptable frame rates in a couple of games he's played. He is also running a 4K with no problems.

Now I haven't physically flown across the Pacific and seen it with my own eyes, but he did send me a photo of the CPU in the board. Therefore if it has to be taken with a grain of salt, it might be a very tiny one.

Based on that I'm doing a 180 again! I'm going back to silent build. Going to get that same ASUS board and I'm going to stick a Nofan 95 Black Pearl on it as well as a fanless Seasonic PSU. I've got a mid-tower case in the basement I've never taken out of the box so I'm going to mod it so that it sits on its side with the motherboard horizontal, and I'm going to craft a new (top when horizontal) panel. Should be fun!

Weeth said:

Sorry for the doublepost but I just got news I want to share. I just spoke to someone in Australia who actually has a 6700K (retail, not ES) in an ASUS board (unfortunately not at liberty to divulge other details... his NDA, etc.) However, what I can say is that:

1) His CPU benchmarks are a tad above what has been seen so far.
2) The 530 graphics are very good and are providing him with acceptable frame rates in a couple of games he's played. He is also running a 4K with no problems.

Now I haven't physically flown across the Pacific and seen it with my own eyes, but he did send me a photo of the CPU in the board. Therefore if it has to be taken with a grain of salt, it might be a very tiny one.

Based on that I'm doing a 180 again! I'm going back to silent build. Going to get that same ASUS board and I'm going to stick a Nofan 95 Black Pearl on it as well as a fanless Seasonic PSU. I've got a mid-tower case in the basement I've never taken out of the box so I'm going to mod it so that it sits on its side with the motherboard horizontal, and I'm going to craft a new (top when horizontal) panel. Should be fun!

Click to expand...

I really hate it when people break NDA when it comes to CPUs. It pisses off the rest of us under the same NDA. Anyway, based on what you've said, I'm not seeing exactly why all of sudden you want to go with silent build. You could have easily done that with a regular 4790K. Even with 4K.

What case are you planning on using? In addition, I'd wait for reviews to come first before settling on a motherboard.

hmmm. I'll wait till Wednesday for official 6700k benchmarks

Dangman said:

I really hate it when people break NDA when it comes to CPUs. It pisses off the rest of us under the same NDA. Anyway, based on what you've said, I'm not seeing exactly why all of sudden you want to go with silent build. You could have easily done that with a regular 4790K. Even with 4K.

What case are you planning on using? In addition, I'd wait for reviews to come first before settling on a motherboard.

Click to expand...

Yup, I agree on the breaking NDA but I have to confess that since this instance was very self-serving I'll make an exception to my usual indignity.

The factor that tipped it back to "no moving parts silent" was the "alleged" excellent performance of the 530 graphics. It "also allegedly" smokes the 4790K's 4600 iGPU. So given that it's the latest and the greatest, and shallow people like me are impressed by that sort of thing, I'm back on the silent bandwagon!

The case is a generic POS midtower that I'm literally ripping apart and modding the living daylights out of it. I'll start a worklog when I get all my bits together. Should be fun.

That ASUS mobo he was using is sweet and seems to work beautifully with the Skylake, so I'm leaning on that. I'm not a rabid OCer so a very basic, garden variety mobo usually does everything I need. I prefer ASUS UEFIs anyway and I've had quite a few with only very minor problems encountered in most cases. However, since it's likely that Skylakes and mobos won't all be available on the same day here in Canada I am also going to be voraciously reading everything online written about 6700K/Z170s.

rive22 said:

hmmm. I'll wait till Wednesday for official 6700k benchmarks

Click to expand...

Fair dinkum. (See I did an Aussie thing...)

Update on the above. I just dug the POS case out of the basement and something had fallen on it so there's a fair sized dent in it. I will try to straighten it out otherwise I'm tossing it and buying a decent case which I likely won't mod (much).

However, I was also amazed to find a Windows 7 Home Premium unopened disk. I've checked around and I can't seem to find an answer that my old addled brain can understand so I will ask you gurus: If I install that Win7 next week on the Skylake build will I still get the Win10 upgrade free? From what I've read it seems that you had to get an invite pre-launch in order to do so therefore any fresh installs after launch don't get you the free one... but I'm probably wrong...

More questions for the hallowed wise people:

1. Are there any other decent, affordable cube cases for full size ATX mobos where the board is horizontal other than HAF XB EVO and Core X9?
2. Anyone have experience with a T-amp and bookshelf speakers? I have a set of Denons which I'd really like to use. Also, is it only L/R output as I have a center channel speaker unit as well I'd love to wire in.
3. Has anyone ever seen a review of the LG 27MP47HQ-P monitor? It's dirt cheap right now (and with the Loonie dropping to one CDN dollar per one US dime I gotta squeeze all the value I can get) for a 27 IPS but I'll be darned if anyone online has ever reviewed it.

and one more one...

The Photos app in Win10 has this weird bug and I can't seem to find a solution to it anywhere. Go create a png with a transparent background and nothing but black type or symbols. Open it in Photos. You see nothing but black! That's because the inherent black background is going through the png transparency so you can't see a thing. How do you change the background color to something where I can actually see these types of images?

Spent all morning trying to find anyone in North America who will actually ship a 6700K and there is no one. They're saying Aug. 14 at the earliest. That leaves me in a world of trouble as my octocore is going to the office this weekend and I can't stay computerless in my room. I may have to junk this entire concept and do something else but I really don't wanna go back to X99, etc. Now what?

Why not just delay the octocore move to the office until the 6700K is released? Does your actual RAM usage exceed 32GB of RAM?

As for your earlier questions:
1) Well there is the Caselabs Mecury S5 and S8 cases but those are really pricey. Though IMO, those cube cases are just fugly.
2) N/A
3) Not a single proper review.

Dangman said:

Why not just delay the octocore move to the office until the 6700K is released? Does your actual RAM usage exceed 32GB of RAM?

As for your earlier questions:
1) Well there is the Caselabs Mecury S5 and S8 cases but those are really pricey. Though IMO, those cube cases are just fugly.
2) N/A
3) Not a single proper review.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the answers. The cube is necessitated by the horizontal orientation of the motherboard with the Nofan 95. I found in a previous build that it can cut about 3 degrees C off the already impressive cooling of the unit.

Unfortunately we are turning the octo into a server (of sorts) at the office and the IT guy is already committed to setting it up this weekend so I'm outta luck. I allocate every possible byte of RAM to Photoshop and I find that it makes the work quite a bit faster. I can certainly live with 32GB though. I'm gonna pull the trigger on another system likely later this pm. I can't wait any longer and it seems that even on the 14th, 6700Ks will likely all go to preorders and precious few will be on the shelf anyway so... to heck with it. Kinda cheesed off by this but what choice do I have?

Post a final build list BEFORE you buy so that we can catch any potential mistakes.

Dangman said:

Post a final build list BEFORE you buy so that we can catch any potential mistakes.

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Thanks, I'll definitely do that.

I'm pulling the trigger today on an i3 4170 system. I'm gonna use it for a couple of months and then I'll pass it on to my kid as a birthday present. I was gonna buy one then anyway so I'll buy it now and use it until then. It really sucks to go from octo to dual core but it's only temporary and by then Intel should have pulled its thumb out of its butt and worked out a way to actually ship 14nm CPUs in North America. First the 5775C build goes out the window and now the 6700K. It's absolutely unbelievable how cheesed off I am at them!

Kinda late but

Weeth said:

1. Are there any other decent, affordable cube cases for full size ATX mobos where the board is horizontal other than HAF XB EVO and Core X9?
2. Anyone have experience with a T-amp and bookshelf speakers? I have a set of Denons which I'd really like to use. Also, is it only L/R output as I have a center channel speaker unit as well I'd love to wire in.

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1. Is there something wrong with either one? I've used both. The HAF XB Evo can get cramped, but it works. The Core X9 is what I'm using and it's huge and roomy and very customizable. I think it's an excellent case, and I do love the horizontal orientation.
2. Yes, I have two T-Amps. Both a Lepai (2020a) and a Topping (TP20mk2). You should be asking this on the Audio forums since not many of those folks frequent other sections. Anyway, the Topping is overall a better amp. The sound is more controlled and neutral, and it comes with a better power adapter by far. The Lepai sounded like a "fun" amp, and its frequency response was all over the place. I hooked up both to a pair of thrift store speakers in my room, and the Lepai was fun and loud, but unnatural. But it's cheap. And yes, there is only left and right. There is no output for your center channel. Also make sure that your speakers are high sensitivity and 4-8Ohms. You probably want somewhere around 86-90+ dB sensitivity speakers. The higher the better. Otherwise you might blow the tweeters if you drive them too loud, iirc. Been a while.

You could either get a second amp and simply drive the center channel off of one of the outputs or buy a used receiver off of Ebay. I suggest the latter, honestly, if you want less hassle. I've read the Denon 3805's are pretty good for the money. No HDMI in's and such though. If you want more detailed info, take that discussion to AVSForums or the Computer Audio section.

Weeth said:

Thanks, I'll definitely do that.

I'm pulling the trigger today on an i3 4170 system. I'm gonna use it for a couple of months and then I'll pass it on to my kid as a birthday present. I was gonna buy one then anyway so I'll buy it now and use it until then. It really sucks to go from octo to dual core but it's only temporary and by then Intel should have pulled its thumb out of its butt and worked out a way to actually ship 14nm CPUs in North America. First the 5775C build goes out the window and now the 6700K. It's absolutely unbelievable how cheesed off I am at them!

Click to expand...

You can't really blame Intel for your misconceptions (let's be real: The 5775C was never going to be available in large numbers with Skylake so close) as well as your decision to move the octo-core system over to work before actually having a system on hand.

Technically Intel has already worked out a way to ship 14nm CPUs in North America. It's just not for regular consumers just yet. System builders and OEMs got them weeks ago. Oh and since the NDA has been lifted I believe: I've been playing around with the 6700K at work the past few weeks and just did some testing as to which motherboards actually support the 5775C out of the box.

Dangman said:

Post a final build list BEFORE you buy so that we can catch any potential mistakes.

Click to expand...

Here we go with the system that's gonna hafta do me for two months before the kid gets it:

CPU

INTEL® CORE™ I3-4170 Haswell 3.7- GHz Processor LGA1150 3M Cache Retail (Part#: BX80646I34170)

Mobo

MSI CSM-H87M-G43 mATX LGA1150 H87 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 SATA3 HDMI 4K CrossFireX USB3.0 Motherboard (Part#: CSM-H87M-G43)

RAM

Kingston HyperX Fury Memory Black 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1866 CL10 Dual Channel Memory Kit (Part#: HX318C10FBK2/16)
- I know I don't need it this fast but it was on a really cheap sale.

SSD

SanDisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5in SATA3 6GB/S Marvell Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD (Part#: SDSSDHP-256G-G25)

PSU

SILVERSTONE SFX ST30SF 300W Small Form Factor 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Semi-Fanless Power Supply

Cooler

NoFan CR-95C Black Pearl Fanless CPU Cooler

Monitor

LG 27MP47HQ-P 27in Widescreen IPS LED Monitor 1920x1080 5ms 5000000:1 D-SUB/HDMI Black

Video

Going to go with the internal 4400 graphics as my kid doesn't play any games that would stress that out. She's only 4.

Case

Super bizarre total custom job as befits a no moving parts system. I'll worklog it so you can see it. In two months I'll pass all these parts (except the NoFan) into a conventional midtower with fans, etc. and I'll build the 6700K in it.

StoleMyOwnCar said:

Kinda late but


1. Is there something wrong with either one? I've used both. The HAF XB Evo can get cramped, but it works. The Core X9 is what I'm using and it's huge and roomy and very customizable. I think it's an excellent case, and I do love the horizontal orientation.
2. Yes, I have two T-Amps. Both a Lepai (2020a) and a Topping (TP20mk2). You should be asking this on the Audio forums since not many of those folks frequent other sections. Anyway, the Topping is overall a better amp. The sound is more controlled and neutral, and it comes with a better power adapter by far. The Lepai sounded like a "fun" amp, and its frequency response was all over the place. I hooked up both to a pair of thrift store speakers in my room, and the Lepai was fun and loud, but unnatural. But it's cheap. And yes, there is only left and right. There is no output for your center channel. Also make sure that your speakers are high sensitivity and 4-8Ohms. You probably want somewhere around 86-90+ dB sensitivity speakers. The higher the better. Otherwise you might blow the tweeters if you drive them too loud, iirc. Been a while.

You could either get a second amp and simply drive the center channel off of one of the outputs or buy a used receiver off of Ebay. I suggest the latter, honestly, if you want less hassle. I've read the Denon 3805's are pretty good for the money. No HDMI in's and such though. If you want more detailed info, take that discussion to AVSForums or the Computer Audio section.

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with either case, I was just trying to save myself the $200 of the Core X9, which I agree is a really nice case. However, I've decided that I'm doing a total whackjob custom case (I guess you could call it a case even though it really isn't one... you'll see in the worklog next week...) so I now won't need either one.

Thanks for the info on the Topping. It's a hundred bucks here in Canada but it seems like it's money well spent. Also ncix.ca has a sale tomorrow only on Audioengine A5+ Bamboo powered bookshelf speakers so I might just leave the Denons to keep gathering dust and just buy them.

Dangman said:

You can't really blame Intel for your misconceptions (let's be real: The 5775C was never going to be available in large numbers with Skylake so close) as well as your decision to move the octo-core system over to work before actually having a system on hand.

Technically Intel has already worked out a way to ship 14nm CPUs in North America. It's just not for regular consumers just yet. System builders and OEMs got them weeks ago. Oh and since the NDA has been lifted I believe: I've been playing around with the 6700K at work the past few weeks and just did some testing as to which motherboards actually support the 5775C out of the box.

Click to expand...

I certainly can't blame Big Blue for me having to move my system to the office but I think it's logical to blame them for screwing up this Tick Tock beyond human imagining. Although there is massive obfuscation coming from Intel and being parroted in the press, it seems really obvious that they are having horrible 14nm yield problems and they simply can't handle the North American demand so they're putting us on the back burner. Sure, they are shipping out a handful to OEMs, but that's only a portion of the overall demand which they are not addressing. To launch in darn near every other major market while leaving the USA and Canada far behind not just on the Broadwell but on the Skylake as well can't be a marketing decision as if it is, it may be the most boneheaded in silicon history. Something is not right in Intel land and until I see hard evidence otherwise, I'm sticking to my guns on that opinion.

That's great info on the motherboard support, when will you be posting that article?

Weeth said:

Mobo

MSI CSM-H87M-G43 mATX LGA1150 H87 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 SATA3 HDMI 4K CrossFireX USB3.0 Motherboard (Part#: CSM-H87M-G43)

Click to expand...

Not a good choice as there's a very good chance that it's shipping with an older UEFI that doesn't support the Core i3 4170 CPU. The 4170 was released earlier this year whereas the H87 chipset was superseded/replaced by the H97 chipset in Q2 2014. Unless MSI is shipping an older outdated motherboard with an updated UEFI, that MSI mobo more than likely won't support your 4170 out of the box. You would need to get an older supported CPU in order to do the UEFI update to support your 4170. I think we can agree that would be a hassle.

So unless you can find a Core i3 4130 CPU for cheap in Canada (I couldn't find anything with the quick search I did) which is compatible with that MSI H87 motherboard, you'll have to spend more on the motherboard. If sticking with mATX, I'd recommend the AsRock H97M Pro4. If you don't care either way in regards to ATX or mATX, go with the MSI Z97 PC Mate.

Weeth said:

SanDisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5in SATA3 6GB/S Marvell Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD (Part#: SDSSDHP-256G-G25)

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Not that great of a SSD and it's an older one as well. I recommend going with the Crucial BX100 250GB SSD instead. Newer, faster, and better quality.

Weeth said:

Super bizarre total custom job as befits a no moving parts system. I'll worklog it so you can see it. In two months I'll pass all these parts (except the NoFan) into a conventional midtower with fans, etc. and I'll build the 6700K in it.

Click to expand...

Technically it still has moving parts in the form of the PSU which does have a fan. But yes, I'm curious how your setup will be.

Weeth said:

I certainly can't blame Big Blue for me having to move my system to the office but I think it's logical to blame them for screwing up this Tick Tock beyond human imagining. Although there is massive obfuscation coming from Intel and being parroted in the press, it seems really obvious that they are having horrible 14nm yield problems and they simply can't handle the North American demand so they're putting us on the back burner. Sure, they are shipping out a handful to OEMs, but that's only a portion of the overall demand which they are not addressing. To launch in darn near every other major market while leaving the USA and Canada far behind not just on the Broadwell but on the Skylake as well can't be a marketing decision as if it is, it may be the most boneheaded in silicon history. Something is not right in Intel land and until I see hard evidence otherwise, I'm sticking to my guns on that opinion.

Click to expand...

I think you're overly exaggerating the issues with Intel CPUs. Delayed releases tend to happen with Intel CPUs. To me, it seems like a case of impatience on your part.

Weeth said:

That's great info on the motherboard support, when will you be posting that article?

Click to expand...

Article? Not planning on doing one. This is mostly for internal use. And with the release of Skylake, will probably stay internal.

Dangman said:

Not a good choice as there's a very good chance that it's shipping with an older UEFI that doesn't support the Core i3 4170 CPU. The 4170 was released earlier this year whereas the H87 chipset was superseded/replaced by the H97 chipset in Q2 2014. Unless MSI is shipping an older outdated motherboard with an updated UEFI, that MSI mobo more than likely won't support your 4170 out of the box. You would need to get an older supported CPU in order to do the UEFI update to support your 4170. I think we can agree that would be a hassle.

So unless you can find a Core i3 4130 CPU for cheap in Canada (I couldn't find anything with the quick search I did) which is compatible with that MSI H87 motherboard, you'll have to spend more on the motherboard. If sticking with mATX, I'd recommend the AsRock H97M Pro4. If you don't care either way in regards to ATX or mATX, go with the MSI Z97 PC Mate.


Not that great of a SSD and it's an older one as well. I recommend going with the Crucial BX100 250GB SSD instead. Newer, faster, and better quality.


Technically it still has moving parts in the form of the PSU which does have a fan. But yes, I'm curious how your setup will be.



I think you're overly exaggerating the issues with Intel CPUs. Delayed releases tend to happen with Intel CPUs. To me, it seems like a case of impatience on your part.

Article? Not planning on doing one. This is mostly for internal use. And with the release of Skylake, will probably stay internal.

Click to expand...

Excellent info on the MSI mobo, thank you very much. I really appreciate you sharing your wisdom and experience. The Crucial BX100 250GB SSD is only $20 more than the SanDisk, so I'll switch to it. Yes, you are correct about the PSU having a fan but it doesn't kick in until 40% CPU load so it should still provide the silence I need in that room "most of the time."

Yes, I'm definitely impatient but I think that an uninitiated observer from another industry would be just as puzzled by the company's inability or unwillingness to fulfill demand in the North American market. Yes, we're not the global powerhouse we were a couple of decades ago but it's still the world's richest market which is, at last count, 4 trillion dollars a year above the entire Asia Pacific region and even more ahead of Europe. IMHO: Another questionable action is the apparent availability of the 6600 series outside of North America but the 6700 series are still mostly MIA. That's why I continue to claim that something is afoot in Intel land that they're not really willing to share with the public or their shareholders. Again, just IMHO.

Actually, I've just been looking around and it seems that there are several cases of people online claiming that mobo works well with Haswell Refresh. I guess it's an updated BIOS situation.

Weeth said:

Actually, I've just been looking around and it seems that there are several cases of people online claiming that mobo works well with Haswell Refresh. I guess it's an updated BIOS situation.

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It's your money, not mine.

I do appreciate your information and advice. Thanks!