Advice for new rig

[tohdj]

I am building a new rig, but have been out of touch with IT scene for years. I play first person shooter games at times.

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get Gigabyte, Asus or MSI brand only. Identified these models so far: GIGABYTE GA-Z170-D3H, ASUS H170 PRO GAMING, ASUS H170 PRO. Please advise if there's other models which I should look for.

Memory
-- 16Gb is good. Which brand, CL, speed is value for money?

PSU
-- Is 550W Gold+ enough for NVidia 970? Which brand is value of money? Either semi-modular or modular is fine with me.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO 256Gb SATA3 or M.2? Which has a better sustained data transfer rate?

Budget is less than S$1k for all the above.

I will reuse my existing monitor, keyboard, mouse, casing. Will decide on graphics card after NVidia launches their 10XX series.

Thanks in advance

 

[yusoffb01]

I am building a new rig, but have been out of touch with IT scene for years. I play first person shooter games at times.

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get Gigabyte, Asus or MSI brand only. Identified these models so far: GIGABYTE GA-Z170-D3H, ASUS H170 PRO GAMING, ASUS H170 PRO. Please advise if there's other models which I should look for.

Memory
-- 16Gb is good. Which brand, CL, speed is value for money?

PSU
-- Is 550W Gold+ enough for NVidia 970? Which brand is value of money? Either semi-modular or modular is fine with me.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO 256Gb SATA3 or M.2? Which has a better sustained data transfer rate?

Budget is less than S$1k for all the above.

I will reuse my existing monitor, keyboard, mouse, casing. Will decide on graphics card after NVidia launches their 10XX series.

Thanks in advance

CPU enough

Those are good choices for your budget

Any cheap ram will do. U won't notice performance

550w is enough. But better to spend on 650w silver for less money

Obviously m2 better

 

[tohdj]

Updated specs:

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get Gigabyte, Asus or MSI brand only. Identified these models so far: ASUS H170 PRO GAMING.

Memory
-- Kingston Fury 2*8Gb 2400Mhz CL15.

PSU
-- Seasonic fully modular 550W Gold+.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO 256Gb M.2

 

[*adiBOY]

Updated specs:

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get Gigabyte, Asus or MSI brand only. Identified these models so far: ASUS H170 PRO GAMING.

Memory
-- Kingston Fury 2*8Gb 2400Mhz CL15.

PSU
-- Seasonic fully modular 550W Gold+.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO 256Gb M.2

Samsung EVO 850 no need to get M.2 (no diff with sata) unless you go with 950 Pro with NVMe protocol.

 

[serverxeon]

I read that the H170 chipset cannot support DDR4 beyond 2133MHz,
so it might be useless to get those premium RAMs

also, may i know your rationale for wanting to get usb type-c?
it's effectively a USB 3.1, just that connector you get type-c instead of type-a....
and you need a separate cable..

 

[tohdj]

Samsung EVO 850 no need to get M.2 (no diff with sata) unless you go with 950 Pro with NVMe protocol.

Is the sustained data transfer rate for M.2 similar to SATA3 version? The reviews that I found are confusing, so I am not sure about this.

I read that the H170 chipset cannot support DDR4 beyond 2133MHz,
so it might be useless to get those premium RAMs

also, may i know your rationale for wanting to get usb type-c?
it's effectively a USB 3.1, just that connector you get type-c instead of type-a....
and you need a separate cable..

I don't see many 2133Mhz DDR4 available in the pricelists. Seems like 2400Mhz is the most commonly available.

I read that future mobile devices may use USB Type C, so i hope to future proof for it. Anyway, the price difference of this mainboard is not too far off from Gigabyte Z170A.

 

[serverxeon]

Is the sustained data transfer rate for M.2 similar to SATA3 version? The reviews that I found are confusing, so I am not sure about this.



I don't see many 2133Mhz DDR4 available in the pricelists. Seems like 2400Mhz is the most commonly available.

I read that future mobile devices may use USB Type C, so i hope to future proof for it. Anyway, the price difference of this mainboard is not too far off from Gigabyte Z170A.

M2 supports 2 type of transfer rate. 32Gbps or 6Gbps. It all depends on the thing you connect to it. If it is a PCI-E based SSD (Like the samsung 950), then you get 32Gbps. If it's SATA3 based (like samsung 850), then you only get 6Gbps, which is effectively the same as using the SATA3 standard port.


There is 2133MHz RAM onsale. Only Kingston one available however. It's 8GB@$52 thereabout, 4GB@$29.

future mobile devices use USB Type C yes, but that means the PORT on the mobile phone is type C. your computer dont need type C to take advantage of it.

A little crash course on the usb3.1 thingy. USB3.1 is commonly marketed in type-A and type-C ports. The only difference? Type-A is the common big plug, and the type-c is the new, flat, up-down-similar plug. Data speed wise it's the same. So it all depends on what wire you buy...

 

[tohdj]

Thanks for the Info. I will probably get these items.

Updated specs:

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get this since it has good review and too expensive: ASUS H170 PRO GAMING.

Memory
-- Kingston 2133Mhz DDR4. I may get 32Gb since it is about S$50+ per 8Gb.

PSU
-- Seasonic fully modular 550W Gold+.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO SATA3 256Gb since M.2 is more expensive and not much speed improvement.

I am re-using an old Asus Vento casing with front USB2.0 ports. Can these ports be replaced with USB3.0/3.1?

 

[Wataru]

Thanks for the Info. I will probably get these items.

Updated specs:

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get this since it has good review and too expensive: ASUS H170 PRO GAMING.

Memory
-- Kingston 2133Mhz DDR4. I may get 32Gb since it is about S$50+ per 8Gb.

PSU
-- Seasonic fully modular 550W Gold+.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO SATA3 256Gb since M.2 is more expensive and not much speed improvement.

I am re-using an old Asus Vento casing with front USB2.0 ports. Can these ports be replaced with USB3.0/3.1?

Actually for the 850 Evo SSD, the SATA and the M.2 is the same price usually, might as well get the M.2 and leave the SATA ports to ur secondary drives

As for the USB ports, no, you cannot replace them. The connectors to the mobo for USB 2.0 and 3.0 external ports are completely different. Your best bet is to get one of those USB 3.0 front-facing things that fit into the 5 or 3 inch bay

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Make sure you get USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gbps) and not Gen1 (5 Gbps), which is still USB 3.0.

https://gaming.msi.com/article/usb-3-1-gen1-gen2-explained

Then again, i rather get a Type-C converter than purchasing one that comes with it.

 

[algerr]

Thanks for the Info. I will probably get these items.

Updated specs:

CPU
-- Intel i5-6600. Not planning to overclock, so will get the non-K version.

Mainboard
-- I wish to use DDR4 memory, have USB3.1 and USB type-C, and hope to get this since it has good review and too expensive: ASUS H170 PRO GAMING.

Memory
-- Kingston 2133Mhz DDR4. I may get 32Gb since it is about S$50+ per 8Gb.

PSU
-- Seasonic fully modular 550W Gold+.

SSD
-- Samsung EVO SATA3 256Gb since M.2 is more expensive and not much speed improvement.

I am re-using an old Asus Vento casing with front USB2.0 ports. Can these ports be replaced with USB3.0/3.1?

Hmm... Is 32GB a little over-kill??? Maybe you want to get 2 X 8GB Kingston 2133Mhz DDR4 ram first...

In the future, if ram becoming even cheaper..u can top it up to remaining ram slots...


As for your PSU, you might want to get more than 550W... in case in the future, you are getting more powerful GPU that may require more than 500W ?

As for casing, y not consider changing to new casing that has USB3.0 at the front panel?

Just my 2 cents...

 

[tohdj]

Actually for the 850 Evo SSD, the SATA and the M.2 is the same price usually, might as well get the M.2 and leave the SATA ports to ur secondary drives

As for the USB ports, no, you cannot replace them. The connectors to the mobo for USB 2.0 and 3.0 external ports are completely different. Your best bet is to get one of those USB 3.0 front-facing things that fit into the 5 or 3 inch bay

I am considering getting this...
https://world.taobao.com/item/43234619400.htm#detail

if it does not fit my casing's front panel, then I will get this...
https://world.taobao.com/item/16730274389.htm#detail

Make sure you get USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gbps) and not Gen1 (5 Gbps), which is still USB 3.0.

https://gaming.msi.com/article/usb-3-1-gen1-gen2-explained

Then again, i rather get a Type-C converter than purchasing one that comes with it.

The Asus H170 Pro Gaming comes with the USB3.1 with 10Gbps, so I probably won't need a PCIE card for that.

Hmm... Is 32GB a little over-kill??? Maybe you want to get 2 X 8GB Kingston 2133Mhz DDR4 ram first...

In the future, if ram becoming even cheaper..u can top it up to remaining ram slots...


As for your PSU, you might want to get more than 550W... in case in the future, you are getting more powerful GPU that may require more than 500W ?

As for casing, y not consider changing to new casing that has USB3.0 at the front panel?

Just my 2 cents...

Seems like 2133Mhz DDR4 modules are disappearing from the market. Not sure if I can still buy them 1 or 2 years down the road.

For PSU, NVidia 1070 seems likely to have a lower TDP than the current 970. 550W Gold+ is probably good enough.