4770 Build - I messed up!

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xusteve

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I am helping my friend build his first gaming PC. He wants to eventually overclock and in general just make an awesome gaming system. Together we started out by purchasing a combo deal that newegg had - we got an Asus Sabertooth Z87 and paired it with an Intel I7 4770... he ran out of money and we decided to wait a month and then order the other parts... well now that it's time, I've done some research and found that we can't OC the 4770 at all?! Man did I mess up! It's past the 30 day return policy so we're stuck with what we purchased (I think). I understand the motherboard is overkill since the 4770 doesn't oc - at all (I still can't believe it...) - so I'm looking for help from the community.

They're still great parts but now that we aren't oc'ing, what kind of ram should we get? I'm guessing we don't need anything at 1600mhz+ or anything like that? Can we get away with something running at 1333? (forgive me if I'm outdated but I have an overclocked i7-920 and that's the only knowledge I'm working with)

As for a cooler - just a regular stock fan? I hear these new i7's run hot - will that be enough? again - not oc'ing here.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

Steve
 
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MEC-777
I know it's too late now, but research research research! Then buy. ;)

It sounds like your friend is on a bit of a budget if he ran out of cash after buying the 4770 and Z87 motherboard.

For future reference, keep in mind that there is no real benefit in using the i7 for gaming over an i5. There are some minor improvements in certain games, but certainly not worth $100 more. The i5-4670k would have been a much better choice. All the gaming performance you could want and overclockable.

The Z87 motherboard isn't necessarily overkill. For instance, if he wants to run dual GPU's in SLI in the future, this can only be done with Z87 chip set [Intel] motherboards. You also get a lot of other features you might have use for. Overclocking isn't...
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tator_80

tator_80

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Just because the processor cant be overclocked, doesn't mean you should get slower parts. The processor is plenty fast on its own without it. Regardless of overclocking, i would get at least 1600mhz or 1866mhz for RAM, especially if its for gaming. And an aftermarket cooler never hurt. I have a non overclocked I7-2600, but i use an aftermarket cooler, because the stock coolers don't do a whole lot to keep temperatures down under full load.

And for future reference, on intel model processors, a K after the model number represents an unlocked core so it can be overclocked. IE 4770 can't be overclocked, but a 4770K can be.
 
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The Tiger

The Tiger

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i7 4770 won't overclock. It has a locked multiplier. The 4770K is the overclockable version. Now, my opinion is, 4770 is already a overkill! You just don't need to overclock it. 3.90 Turbo Speeds is much more than enough for gaming. The processor won't sweat a bit! Overclocking is useless until 2-3 years, when games are gonna be more demanding. Now what you want to do is concentrate on a good GPU.

You should get the 1600 MHz. The 1333 and 1600 have a very little price difference. And the extra frequency is well worth the money, even if you aren't overclocking.

Stock fan is enough for your uses. I mean, more than enough. Save up here for a good GPU.

Overclocking a top end i7 is highly overrated for gaming purposes right now, if you aren't into video editing/Image processing like me.
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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You can overclock, just not very much. You can go up to 3.9ghz manually by just adjusting the multiplier to the max turbo multiplier. That is a 500mhz bump. I don't know if it is still the case as it was for Sandy Bridge chips, but if turbo is still enable with this higher multiplier setting, when turbo kicks in, it will go even higher.
 
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Pibee

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Why don't you try talking to Management at NE explain the situation and error and let'em know you need tons more stuff... make a deal if necessary for a small inconvenience fee to them in exchange for the 4770K... nothing to lose by trying :)
 
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xusteve

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Good call on talking to management to try and work something out. Maybe ill send them an email? I can't seem to find a phone number for them.
And no, czar357 - I didn't get the 4770k, I got the 4770. That's why I was saying I messed up. I feel pretty stupid about it too. I just assumed all i7's could be oc'ed - otherwise, why wouldn't you just get an i5...but what do I know...
 
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Pibee

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Keep that you need more stuff at the forefront of the conversation and they'll know they are making back whatever the inconvenience cost are with other sales an loyalty points... it should work but you have to make sure you're talking to someone who can make the call :)

Good luck
 
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MEC-777

MEC-777

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I know it's too late now, but research research research! Then buy. ;)

It sounds like your friend is on a bit of a budget if he ran out of cash after buying the 4770 and Z87 motherboard.

For future reference, keep in mind that there is no real benefit in using the i7 for gaming over an i5. There are some minor improvements in certain games, but certainly not worth $100 more. The i5-4670k would have been a much better choice. All the gaming performance you could want and overclockable.

The Z87 motherboard isn't necessarily overkill. For instance, if he wants to run dual GPU's in SLI in the future, this can only be done with Z87 chip set [Intel] motherboards. You also get a lot of other features you might have use for. Overclocking isn't the only benefit to Z87 boards.

First and foremost, when creating a list of components for any PC build, consider your needs (what will the PC be used for most) and budget. Then find the best parts that fit your budget and suit your needs.

1600 ram is just fine. Yeah there are instances where faster ram will make a slight improvement, but only slight. The problem is, usually as the ram frequency increases, the latency also increases which goes against and defeats the purpose of the faster frequency. For example, 1600 ram with CL9 will be just as fast and effective as 1866 or 2133 with CL11-12+. Linus did a great video on this recently (Linus Techtips on youtube) where he explains and demonstrates this. The only time faster ram really makes a noticeable difference is when using integrated graphics, like the AMD APU's where it uses the system ram for the iGPU.
 
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Deleted member 217926

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You can't do that with Haswell. Sandy and Ivy Bridge only.
 
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Deleted member 217926

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1600 ram is just fine. Yeah there are instances where faster ram will make a slight improvement, but only slight. The problem is, usually as the ram frequency increases, the latency also increases which goes against and defeats the purpose of the faster frequency. For example, 1600 ram with CL9 will be just as fast and effective as 1866 or 2133 with CL11-12+. Linus did a great video on this recently (Linus Techtips on youtube) where he explains and demonstrates this. The only time faster ram really makes a noticeable difference is when using integrated graphics, like the AMD APU's where it uses the system ram for the iGPU.
Click to expand...

You should read the Anandtech memory scaling article I posted a link to above. The new Haswell IMC uses faster RAM much more efficiently than the Sandy and Ivy Bridge IMC did. So faster RAM is warranted by Haswell.
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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You cannot even adjust the multiplier to max turbo anymore? Hasfail ftl.
 
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MEC-777

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Thanks for sharing that link. :)

I checked it out and looked at gaming performance with a discreet GPU specifically. In nearly every game the maximum difference across the board was 2fps or less. most were 1fps+/-. There was the odd exception where there was an improvement of almost 4fps, but that was only one instance. In Tomb Raider, the 1600 CL8/9 ram performed the best.

In terms of gaming performance it really doesn't make any difference. Especially when your games are running at well over 50-60fps. I just can't justify spending more money on faster ram if it doesn't make a difference for gaming.

With other programs, I really could care less if it takes +/- 5 seconds on 2133 vs 1600. (Just trying to be honest...lol, no hard feelings). The 3000 ram was faster in a number of apps/processes, but was the improvement really worth the extra cost? Then again, I don't run such programs on a daily basis or rely on them for productivity, so it doesn't matter to me as much in this regard.

But yeah, for gaming, and for the time being, 1600 CL8/9 ram is still going to give you the best performance for your dollar.
 
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theonerm2

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Here is another video on the subject. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8HoewIO_s
 
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xusteve

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Man I love these forums. Thank you to everyone for responding. I've submitted a ticket to newegg but their policy is pretty specific and they don't take phone calls for sales, exchanges or returns... in fact, it's becoming so difficult to get a hold of them, I'm starting to think of shopping elsewhere - I think my local Fry's has newegg price matching?
 
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theonerm2

theonerm2

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By the time you actually need the extra power you probably need to upgrade anyway. It's still nice to know it's there though.
 
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MEC-777

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Might as well keep what you have and enjoy it. Just make sure you do thorough research on the other components before you buy. ;)

When your friend gathers up a budget for the rest of the build, make another post and we'll be glad to help you choose the ideal components. :)
 
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