13 replies to this topic

[Big Tin Man]

Feeling a bit rich since the tax return arrived. Here's what I have:

i7 930
EVGA x58 mobo
EVGA GTX 980
12 GB DDR3 (2gb x 6 dimm) 1600mhz Corsair something something
256 GB SSD
1 TB 7200 RPM HD
EVGA 650 watt PSU (new)
Thermaltake Case, 2 120mm fans
Thermaltake NiC C5 CPU cooler

Was feeling like I could reasonably upgrade to skylake-k for under $400 if I went with a mobo that could take the DDR3 ram. Are there any major drawbacks to sticking with my old DDR3? Are there decent DDR3 LGA 1151 mobo's out there, or are they poor in comparison?

Or should I just keep running the 930 until the bitter end. I don't have any specific complaint with it, other than MWO wants all the MHz it can get.

Edited by Big Tin Man, 06 May 2016 - 09:53 AM.

[darqsyde]

You could pickup an i5k, Z170 mobo, and 8gb DDR4 for under 400. (I'm assuming you are in USA)

Microcenter lists CPU and Mobo bundles for 300-400, and 8GB(2x4) DDR4 kits starting at 37.

[Big Tin Man]

Yeah, I guess $150 could get a pretty solid mobo pretty easy. If I wanted an 6700k and stretched to $450 all in, would I be sacrificing too much in the mobo, or is there any real gaming reason to go to the i7?

[Goose]

Big Tin Man, on 06 May 2016 - 09:53 AM, said:

… 2gb x 6 dimm …

Wat

Look: I have a low opinion of DDR3-1600 in the first place, so trying to carry that forward is just silly.

I didn't feel up to trying to OC my ol' i7-920, but there are plenty of guides out there, so you could put your $400 into a new PSU, some DDR3-1866 quad-channel kit (wasting a DIMM,) one of them Arctic Cooling AIO loops, and an Antec SpotCool for the VRM, and maybe some case fans.

IIRC, that's a pretty good mobo, it it will directly have overclocking guides …

[Big Tin Man]

Goose, on 06 May 2016 - 06:12 PM, said:

Wat

Look: I have a low opinion of DDR3-1600 in the first place, so trying to carry that forward is just silly.

I didn't feel up to trying to OC my ol' i7-920, but there are plenty of guides out there, so you could put your $400 into a new PSU, some DDR3-1866 quad-channel kit (wasting a DIMM,) one of them Arctic Cooling AIO loops, and an Antec SpotCool for the VRM, and maybe some case fans.

IIRC, that's a pretty good mobo, it it will directly have overclocking guides …

You misunderstood, the PSU is 2 months old, gold rated, etc etc, and I did have an 3.4 ghz OC on this chip for a couple years. I lost it with a BIOS update and don't really want to go through stress testing again with my kids messing around the house and screwing with it. Maybe I can squeak a lazy 3.0 or 3.2 from it

As far as the 6x 2GB... it's a long story. And I'm not sure if the x58 LE can even support 1866

[dwwolf]

Cheapest would be to reuse the ddr3 ofcourse. I wouldnt reinvest in OCing the i930. Too much money investing in very old tech that could soon fry.

At the lowend of ddr4 there is some overlap with highend ddr3. But ddr3 1600 isnt quite highend now is it?

[Flapdrol]

Maybe you could pick up one of the cheap used Xeon X5675 sixcore cpu's. Many companies have replaced the systems they were in so they're being dumped.

They're on a smaller nm node, so they're more efficient, also clock higher.

Don't pay over $100 for one though, if the board dies it's hard to replace it.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

- update your bios
- slap in a used intel xeon x5675 or better,they cost about 110-125 dollars,i7-980x is good too,but more expensive,since it used to be a top of the line desktop model,but it has an unlocked multiplier,helps with overclocking a lot.
- overclock it if necessary,4 ghz is really easy to achieve since there were hardly any bad motherboards in X-58 lineup

4 ghz sixcore is still pretty good in gaming,and MWO likes a good cpu

[Big Tin Man]

Slight necro, but the same topic.

Newegg has a deal on the following today:

http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.2979329

intel i7 6700k
MSI Z170A SLI LGA 1151
GeiL EVO Potenza 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400

$459.99 shipped
-$40.00 MIR
$419.99 shipped

Seems like a good deal, but I'm not certain about that mobo. Any thoughts?

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Big Tin Man, on 14 June 2016 - 01:52 PM, said:

Slight necro, but the same topic.

Newegg has a deal on the following today:

http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.2979329

intel i7 6700k
MSI Z170A SLI LGA 1151
GeiL EVO Potenza 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400

$459.99 shipped
-$40.00 MIR
$419.99 shipped

Seems like a good deal, but I'm not certain about that mobo. Any thoughts?

It should be fine,since 6700K does not tax the motherboard VRM/power delivery too much,unlike AMD-processors do,there is a thermal image in Toms Hardware on MSI:s AMD-budget board,and the vrm components are at 110 C degrees under load,thats a housefire waiting to happen.
And its always good to have good case airflow so the motherboard mosfets and components stay cool.

[Thorqemada]

If you want a fantastic price value you need to buy a Radeon 480 - the new Price/Performance God!

Better than a GTX 980 for ~200$

[Big Tin Man]

Thorqemada, on 14 June 2016 - 03:45 PM, said:

If you want a fantastic price value you need to buy a Radeon 480 - the new Price/Performance God!

Better than a GTX 980 for ~200$

I already own the 980...

[xWiredx]

Big Tin Man, on 14 June 2016 - 01:52 PM, said:

Slight necro, but the same topic.

Newegg has a deal on the following today:

http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.2979329

intel i7 6700k
MSI Z170A SLI LGA 1151
GeiL EVO Potenza 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400

$459.99 shipped
-$40.00 MIR
$419.99 shipped

Seems like a good deal, but I'm not certain about that mobo. Any thoughts?

The motherboard is fine. I'd think hard on that RAM, though. GEIL makes decent stuff, its the speed that's sketchy. In quad-channel, DDR4-2666 benchmarks in games as well as DDR3-1866, and as such a general recommendation with DDR4 is to not go below that 2666 line with a good CAS latency value. I'd look at getting some G.Skill DDR4-3200 or faster. I know, it's a bundle and that's how you get the good price. I'm just saying down the road that should definitely be a consideration (especially considering how far down DDR4 prices have come already).

[Big Tin Man]

Came to that conclusion myself and ordered this:

i7 6700k
MSI Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon
G. Skill Ripjaws 3200 V 2x8 GB

$503.98 total
$-20 MIR

$483.98 final cost

Seemed like a very solid MB and RAM upgrade for $60. The scant few USB ports on the MSI SLI board was concerning to me as well. Still nice to see the 6700k at $314, right in line with all the other K-series i7's.