[TerminatorXT]

Hey there OCN,

I'm a senior software engineering student who is looking to build a small but powerful system to take with me to wherever my next job/or masters degree takes me.

I'm building a new system and the intended purpose is everything.
I do some music production (FL Studio), video editing, 3d modeling, CAD, programming, computer vision/machine learning, Linux programming, and of course gaming.
I know, I listed off basically everything there is. Gaming takes the least priority of them all.
I will be keeping some old items from my old build, and those items will be noted. I will be passing on my i7-2600K to my family, so I would hope whatever I choose will feel like a substantial upgrade.

My father wants a gaming machine for himself and it makes more sense for me to build a new system that might be better suited to the things I might do later on and pass on some older parts.

Budget: 1900CAD ~= 1300USD (excluding taxes)
Purchasing in Canada. (NCIX, Newegg, Amazon)

EDIT: BUILD MODIFIED 2016-01-03

Type	Item	Price (CAD)
CPU	Intel Core i7-5820K (https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80648i75820k)	529.99
Motherboard	MSI X99A MPOWER ATX (http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-x99a-mpower-atx-lga2011-e7-107792-1257.htm)	419.98
SSD	Samsung 950 PRO 512GB (https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mzv5p512bw)	429.00
GPU	ASUS DC GTX 670 (https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/GTX670DC22GD5/)	N/A, HAVE
Memory	Vengeance LPX 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4 2400MHz(http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX54619)	219.99
Cooler	Corsair H90 (https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h90)	134.99
PSU	Corsair AX850 (http://www.corsair.com/en/professional-series-gold-ax850-80-plus-gold-certified-fully-modular-power-supply)	N/A, HAVE
Case	Corsair 550D (https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-550d)	189.99
---		---
Total		1923.94

Current concerns with the proposed build:

Motherboard:
Can I boot the MSI X99A MPower from an M.2 PCI-E x4 card? Can't seem to find anyone else who has.

Thanks!

 

[brazilianloser]

Just curious on why going for a single 16gb stick? I did build on the 350D for my wife but I personally think there are better cases out there for cheaper.

5.25 to 3.5 Adapter

 

[shilka]

You should think dropping the H110 and either get a Noctua NH-D15 or move up to a Swiftech H220x or H240x instead.
Mosr AIO coolers are overrated overhyped and overpriced, there are options that are better costs less and make less noise.

And yes why get a quad channel motherboard if you are not going to use it.
You need either a kit with 4 or 8 RAM not 1.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brazilianloser

Just curious on why going for a single 16gb stick? I did build on the 350D for my wife but I personally think there are better cases out there for cheaper.

5.25 to 3.5 Adapter

Thanks for the drive bay adapter link. Now that I know that category exists, I will be able to choose according to my needs.

Why 1x 16GB? I don't know really. Futureproofing I guess? I know needing 64GB of RAM seems impossible, but I can't kick the idea of only needing 32GB max either. I'd love to fire up Kali Linux on a VM using the other network adapters for some penetration testing on my home network. Perhaps even run multiple VMs at the same time (which I do fine with 16GB on my laptop).

Is there any reason why 1x 16GB vs 2x 8GB would be different? From what i understand, the extra bandwidth isn't perceivable.

Why the 350D?. It's the best looking case for mATX builds that I've seen so far. I would prefer to buy a case in person, so I'm sort of limited to NCIX and Memory Express for that.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilka

You should think dropping the H110 and either get a Noctua NH-D15 or move up to a Swiftech H220x or H240x instead.
Mosr AIO coolers are overrated overhyped and overpriced, there are options that are better costs less and make less noise.

And yes why get a quad channel motherboard if you are not going to use it.
You need either a kit with 4 or 8 RAM not 1.

The coolers you mentioned are quite bulky compared to the H110. I am also looking for a clean look inside while not being too bulky inside the case. The H220/240x that you mentioned have bulky radiators which definitely help with heat dissipation but might be a tight fit in the 350D. Not to mention, the 350D case thread has loads of users with 350Ds loaded up with H110s. The H220/240x is also $100 more for me, so that's another con for me as well.

And yes why get a quad channel motherboard if you are not going to use it.
As stated in another post, I intend to fill the channels in but starting out with 16GB. Can I even POST the system with single or dual channel memory?

 

[shilka]

At least get some better 140mm fans then as the Corsair fans are anything but quiet.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shilka

At least get some better 140mm fans then as the Corsair fans are anything but quiet.

I plan to run these instead of the stock fans:
http://www.ncix.com/detail/noctua-nf-a14-pwm-140mm-ultra-c2-82803.htm

I only haven't considered how I will control the fans though. I'm debating if I should get a fan controller in a 5.25" bay, or just let my motherboard handle it all.

Followup: So will single-channel/dual-channel memory POST just fine on X99?

 

[brazilianloser]

Makes sense. My lady's rig is using the H100i. And it works quite well. I have the Corsair SP 120 quiet edition and running through a controller lowering them down even further. Her system is dead silent.
But yeah its all about preference. If you into the AIO then get one don't let folks guide you in their direction.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brazilianloser

Makes sense. My lady's rig is using the H100i. And it works quite well. I have the Corsair SP 120 quiet edition and running through a controller lowering them down even further. Her system is dead silent.
But yeah its all about preference. If you into the AIO then get one don't let folks guide you in their direction.

AIO seems to be less hassle and no-maintenance which I like. While there are a lot of pros with going with the Swifttech kits, the price kills it for me.

What controller do you use?

 

[brazilianloser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminatorXT

AIO seems to be less hassle and no-maintenance which I like. While there are a lot of pros with going with the Swifttech kits, the price kills it for me.

What controller do you use?

Use to be in a previous build on my own pc but once I got rid of it and build the wife's pc I stuck in there to tune down the fans.

FC5. I am sure you can get much smaller options cheaper options.

 

[CrazyElf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminatorXT

Current concerns with the proposed build:

Motherboard: I believe the M.2 slot on the Asus X99-M WS is only x2, so I would not be able to take full advantage of the Samsung 950 Pro without a PCI-E x4 riser card. Any suggestions on a riser card? Would the riser card add any boot-time lag?

Motherboard: Can I run my system with 1x 16GB Memory module?

Case: Are there any adapters that will allow me to store hard drives in my 5.25 drive bays?

Thanks!

Yeah the weak CAD has been a nightmare for buying computer parts. Supposedly some projections see it falling further. Forex projections are always risky though, so it may even rebound. It depends on the strength of the Canadian economy - blame Harper for this one as he left Canada too reliant on oil as a commodity currency. However it's impossible to say.

Motherboard
I currently do not recommend any of the Asus X99 boards.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1561131/5960x-dead

Do you need to have a mATX build? With a full ATX and a full sized case, you can get a lot more options.

I'd recommend that you check the M.2 benchmarks of every candidate motherboard.

M.2 Slot
I do know that if the M.2 slot is important to you, Asrock seems to have invested the most amongst the motherboard manufacturers in making the M.2 slots fast.

Gigabyte has 2 M.2 slots but they don't operate at full speed.

Case
You can store up to 4 2.5" SSDs into a 5.25" bay.

Here's an example:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998243&cm_re=5.25_bay_for_drives-_-17-998-243-_-Product

Shop around on this one, as you might be able to find something cheaper.

I'd recommend G.Skill as a brand, along with Muskin. Maybe Team Group as well.

RAM
You should probably go with 4x4GB sticks - go with 2400 if you want to save money.

The reason why is the quad channel will get you 4x the bandwidth. That's one of the key draws of X99.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyElf

Motherboard
I currently do not recommend any of the Asus X99 boards.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1561131/5960x-dead
Do you need to have a mATX build? With a full ATX and a full sized case, you can get a lot more options.
I'd recommend that you check the M.2 benchmarks of every candidate motherboard.

I found that thread and eventually decided to go with an ATX board. I BELIEVE this board will allow me to boot from an M.2 slot at x4 speeds.
http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-x99a-mpower-atx-lga2011-e7-107792-1257.htm
Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyElf

M.2 Slot
I do know that if the M.2 slot is important to you, Asrock seems to have invested the most amongst the motherboard manufacturers in making the M.2 slots fast.

Gigabyte has 2 M.2 slots but they don't operate at full speed.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any Asrock X99 boards locally in Vancouver. So MSI X99A MPower is leading the list right now.
Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyElf

Case
You can store up to 4 2.5" SSDs into a 5.25" bay.

I'm probably staying with a Corsair 550D.
Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyElf

RAM
You should probably go with 4x4GB sticks - go with 2400 if you want to save money.

The reason why is the quad channel will get you 4x the bandwidth. That's one of the key draws of X99.

Yeah, I'll be doing 4x 8GB for sure.

 

[CrazyElf]

I don't have an MSI X99A MPower, but here is the X99S XPower benchmarks:
http://www.eteknix.com/msi-x99s-xpower-ac-lga-2011-3-motherboard-review/10/

The 550D can fit a full sized motherboard, so there's no reason to go with the mATX boards to be honest; something like the MPower or the X99A Krait will do just fine.

On the note of the RAM, depending on if you need it, 4x4 GB will take advantage of the quad channel, but if you need the extra RAM, 4x8GB is fine. 4x16 GB will cost more and will not be able to clock as well, although if you need the RAM, there's no way to avoid it.

Edit:
As others have noted the use of the H100i is questionable.

I don't recommend CLC coolers - I prefer the large tower type coolers myself.

 

[shilka]

Take a look at the Phanteks Enthoo Pro and Luxe instead.

 

[Dhoulmagus]

Honestly, I like the build. If the h110i suits your preferences then it is a really good cooler, albeit overpriced for its performance and there are better options. Are you not interested in a full loop? I would personally want a full ATX board for this, but if you have space issues then I understand.

M.2 is fast as hell even at 2 pcie lanes, I can understand wanting x4 and even higher bandwidth for future proofing but man, I'm telling you, X2 blows Sata III SSDs to betsy! I just built my father an X99 rig with the Asus X-99 Deluxe which actually came with a pcie m.2 x4 adapter and is specced to support x4 onboard (I forget what would be disabled in the process).
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132506&cm_re=asus_x99_deluxe-_-13-132-506-_-Product
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132517&cm_re=asus_x99_pro-_-13-132-517-_-Product Not sure if the much cheaper pro includes the adapter

As for the ram, yes, it will post using single channel 16GB. I would suggest seeing if you can get to 32GB since I see VMs in there, depending on their usage, and for video rendering your system will thank you for 4+ GB per core. 64 is a bit insane unless you are planning running multiple loaded VMs. It is also true that you wont be able to run 16GB sticks as fast as if you went for 4x8GB, just part of the package of having higher capacity. I think your computing is similar to mine, really 32GB is plenty enough for me, usually with 2 VMs left running 24/7 and more than enough to bring the CPU to full usage during video rendering.

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyElf

On the note of the RAM, depending on if you need it, 4x4 GB will take advantage of the quad channel, but if you need the extra RAM, 4x8GB is fine. 4x16 GB will cost more and will not be able to clock as well, although if you need the RAM, there's no way to avoid it.

At the speed RAM runs at these days, I really doubt overclocking or going past 2400MHZ has any benefits. I'll be fine with 4x 8GB. I'm against 8x 4GB since it would add more points of failure down the road and I don't want to debug dead RAM sticks.
Quote:

Originally Posted by shilka

Take a look at the Phanteks Enthoo Pro and Luxe instead.

The features of those cases look attractive! However, the exterior is rather busy, and one of my priorities for a case is to look minimalistic and elegant, which the Phanteks don't do very well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serious_Don

Honestly, I like the build. If the h110i suits your preferences then it is a really good cooler, albeit overpriced for its performance and there are better options. Are you not interested in a full loop? I would personally want a full ATX board for this, but if you have space issues then I understand.

My original post is no longer relevant. Due to the recent controversy regarding ASUS motherboards, I will be going with the MSI X99A MPower ATX Motherboard in a Corsair 550D with a Corsair H90 cooler. Space is not an issue at this point, but silence and elegance mostly.

I am interested in doing full loops, but I feel like they'll be unnecessary and expensive as my OC goal for the i7 5820K is only 4GHZ. Not to mention they require maintenance which the AIO coolers do not require.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Serious_Don

M.2 is fast as hell even at 2 pcie lanes, I can understand wanting x4 and even higher bandwidth for future proofing but man, I'm telling you, X2 blows Sata III SSDs to betsy! I just built my father an X99 rig with the Asus X-99 Deluxe which actually came with a pcie m.2 x4 adapter and is specced to support x4 onboard (I forget what would be disabled in the process).

I'm planning to get a Samsung 950 Pro which completely saturates PCI-E M.2 x2, so x4 is the only option. Otherwise, why would I bother getting a 950 Pro at all

 

[Dhoulmagus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminatorXT

At the speed RAM runs at these days, I really doubt overclocking or going past 2400MHZ has any benefits. I'll be fine with 4x 8GB. I'm against 8x 4GB since it would add more points of failure down the road and I don't want to debug dead RAM sticks.
The features of those cases look attractive! However, the exterior is rather busy, and one of my priorities for a case is to look minimalistic and elegant, which the Phanteks don't do very well.

My original post is no longer relevant. Due to the recent controversy regarding ASUS motherboards, I will be going with the MSI X99A MPower ATX Motherboard in a Corsair 550D with a Corsair H90 cooler. Space is not an issue at this point, but silence and elegance mostly.

I am interested in doing full loops, but I feel like they'll be unnecessary and expensive as my OC goal for the i7 5820K is only 4GHZ. Not to mention they require maintenance which the AIO coolers do not require.

I'm planning to get a Samsung 950 Pro which completely saturates PCI-E M.2 x2, so x4 is the only option. Otherwise, why would I bother getting a 950 Pro at all

I am familiar with the problems surrounding the X99 Asus boards, actually found out about it right after we did the build. His PC is still rolling just fine, but who knows what will happen. Asus Deluxe/Pro boards have been notoriously hit or miss it seems. I really like that MSI board, black and yellow is a nice change of pace, actually want one for myself.

Understood about the m.2. Enjoy ridiculously mega epic fast SSD

.. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those

 

[TerminatorXT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serious_Don

I am familiar with the problems surrounding the X99 Asus boards, actually found out about it right after we did the build. His PC is still rolling just fine, but who knows what will happen. Asus Deluxe/Pro boards have been notoriously hit or miss it seems. I really like that MSI board, black and yellow is a nice change of pace, actually want one for myself.

Understood about the m.2. Enjoy ridiculously mega epic fast SSD

.. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those

Is his PC overclocked? From what I understand about the "issues", it happens during over-compensation for an overclock.

 

[Dhoulmagus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminatorXT

Is his PC overclocked? From what I understand about the "issues", it happens during over-compensation for an overclock.

It is modestly overclocked. I've been hearing tales of the overclocking failed in an infinite loop with default bios settings on systems that were fully stock, same thing if it's overclocked with no way out. It seems the board just mysteriously fails, sometimes taking the CPU with it and I really haven't found any information on WHY other than a heap of people having the issue. I haven't put too much time reading about it, I'm actually talking about it with him right now, he is considering ditching the Asus as we speak just to be safe.

The one problem he does have is post time, I know x-99 takes some time to post, but that board takes a LONG time to post, on the order of 20+ seconds from power on to anything happening.