Picking a Motherboard and Power Supply, need help!

Kelmorth · Sep 27, 2014

Hello!

I'm just starting out in building my own computer and I've done some research here and there, but , thou I understand the basics of each, still need some help in picking a Motherboard and a Power Supply. Furthermore, is it necessary to adquire a cooler (I don't pretend on overclocking anything)?. To ease things out for those who are here, these are the components I've chosen so far:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mkjdMp

PS: I live near the sea, and corrosion might be an issue.. does anyone have any tips regarding this fact?

Thank you in advance!

mnineseven · Sep 27, 2014

If you are not overclocking, the stock cooler will be enough. But spending money on a 4790k is not advisable if you won't overclock. Get the non-k 2790 or a 4770.
A good motherboard will be an h87 or h97 motherboard.
I suggest Corsair GS650 for your rig as a power supply.

As for the humidity, there are a few motherboards available which protect against humidity like the MSI Gaming series and the ASRock Fatal1ty series.
So choose the h87 versions of those.

JackNaylorPE · Sep 27, 2014

It would help if you added what you will be doing with the PC.

1. You can address the humidity / salt issue by busing Motherboards the meet Mil Spec and provide extra heat, humidity and other "hardened" componentry. This feature was introduced by Asus w/ the Sabertooth but MSI has taken the concept further and it extends thru much of their entire line.

2. Even if you are not overclocking, I would suggest that you still get OC capable componentry, 2 years from now you may change your mind.... the increase in cost might be $20 on the CPU and $20 on the MoBo. Those Mil Spec components generally don't come on the less expensive H97 boards

The 4790 is $310, the overclockable 4790k is $340 but the price of the later is usually decreased $20-30 in newegg combo discounts.

3. For PSU's, avoid the trap of buying on brand name, most manufacturers who make great PSUs also make some good PSUs and also make some crappy PSUs.,,,,even within the same model line. For example, the Corsair HX 650 - 850 were great, the HX 1050 and 1000 were dogs .... the Corsair TX V2 series was very good, anything with a "C", "G" or "RM" in it, I wouldn't touch. Right now no matter what your power needs, as long as they fon't exceed 750 watts, is the EVGA B2 7560 which is $50 on newegg. There's nothing comparable under $90

4. The stock cooler is fine if you are not overclocking.

5. RAM - Much faster RAM for just $8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226420

6. You picked the best 970 out there.

7. Much faster (50% faster) HD for $10 less
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hdd-charts-2013/-17-PCMark-7-Gaming,2915.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178381

8. Again, even without a plan to overclock, I think it makes sense to go that route. The other thing that is important is do you want to preserve upgrade options by having a 2nd GFX card slot for a future added GFX card to extend system life another 1 -2 years ?

Option 1 - Overclocking possible in the future, SLI possible
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130771
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117372

Option 2 - No Overclocking, No SLI .... MSI Gaming 3 and Intel 4690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130787
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116989

9. I's recommend a windowed case so you can see inside and check for dust buildup which can attract humidity as was as salt film. The Phanteks Pro would be my recommendation.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Phanteks+pro&N=-1&isNodeId=1

Kelmorth · Sep 27, 2014

JackNaylorPE :

What an impressive response, I'm truly astonished! As to what you said "It would help if you added what you will be doing with the PC", I pretend on using it for gaming, mostly. I do have a few uses for it regarding simple simulations and modelling with programs such as SolidWorks, but that shouldn't be any issue.

If you'd allow me, I'd like to make a few questions on some topics:

2. I actually do pretend on overclocking, like you said, given some time. I haven't even done much research on it, so I simply chose a good overclockable CPU. Making use of the opportunity, is overclocking made through some kind of software, manually or is it automatic? Aditionally, you mentioned a price increase in the MoBo, does this mean Motherboards have specific characteristics which allow (or not) overclocking?

3. I've looked into the PSU you have mentioned ("EVGA B2 7560") and I've found a EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 in a store near where I live.. would it be the same thing? In fact, I need to put something out there: I'm not from the US, I live far, far away.. in Brazil. In any case, all store recommendations are very useful, since I base my purchases off of them. In fact, I plan on buying a few components (GPU, CPU, RAM and SSD) in the US through a friend of mine who will be travelling there soon enough. Having that said, if the EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 truly is the one you refered to, I'm sorry to say that it costs R$495,00 here ( $1,00 = R$ 2,42, so that'd make $204,50)... would there be any other options? It's probably a matter of quantity in this case, perhaps there are too few of them around here.

4. Since I do pretend on future overclocking, by then, do you have any recommendations? Should I be too picky with coolers?

5. I've looked into the RAM suggestion you gave, and it looks great! I have two questions thou: First, it seems like that the frequency on the RAM is much higher, is this what makes it faster? Second, would most MoBos , like the ones suggested, be able to handle this kind of frequency? (2133 MHz). I'll be pretty honest in saying that I didn't have knowledge of the brand, Mushkin.

6. Thanks, I really was in doubt!

7/8/9. I'll see if I can find it around here!

Like said previously, some pieces I may not be able to adquire through the US Market, being obliged to find them locally... Initially, I intended on making such pieces the PSU, MoBo, Hard Drive, and Computer Case. Should I attempt to get the MoBo through there as well? In most cases, things around here are 1.5x more expensive ( after currency conversion), but obviously, easier to adquire (since they're .... local). The more I have to get from the exterior, the more it might take, since probably not all will be able to be brought at once. Also, I forgot to mention.. I have leftover from previous builds a GTX 470 (EVGA, I believe) and a Thermaltake TR2 850W, are any of the two worth using in this new setup?

Once again...
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

JackNaylorPE · Sep 27, 2014

2. MSI MoBos come equipped with OC Genie which auto overclocks ya system....it provides a good starting point but of course best results are obtained manually.

3. Yes the EVGA B2 is at a silly price on newegg.

Best PSU - Seasonic Series

Near Perfect - Seasonic M12, Corsair HX (650-850), Corsair AXi, EVGA G2

Very Good - Seasonic S12, EVGA B2, XFX Core Edition, Antec HCG / HCP, Corsair TX V2

4. Assuming custom water cooling is not on the table.....

Best and Only AIO I can recommend is the Swiftech H220-X
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/cooling/liquid/40870-swiftech-h220-x-open-loop-240mm-cpu-cooler-review?showall=&start=3

Might Try these
http://www.swiftech.com/usresellersexport.aspx

Best Air Coolers are the Cryorig R1 Ultimate and Noctua DH-15 but the latter is still fugly

What I'd recommend for your build is the Phanteks PH-TC14, Thermalright Silver Arrow and Noctua DH-14

Best budget cooler is the Hyper 212

5. In the early days of PC's.... Mushkin was the only enthusiast brand .... whereas you always see computer ads mention the CPU or GFX card brand, you never see memory name ... theu the 1990s, you actually would see ads like

Intel CPU
Diamond Graphics
MUSHKIN Memory

Yes in caps because it was a big thing

Mushkin pretty much only paid attention to the high end enthusiast market and the name sold itself. Kind alike Porsche, how often to you see a Porsche ad ? Every Mushkin DDR3 stick I have rec'd has had Hynix Modules which are the "Gold Standard" in the industry .... upping them to 1.9 volts and more is common among serious overclockers. And yes, they will work fine, I have installed dozens of sets from 1600 - 2400.... at this point I just can't justify anything faster based upon too little ROI

6. See the http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/1 review, makes it quite clear

Kelmorth · Sep 27, 2014

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into it! Regarding the "Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory, it seems that it operates on 1.65V, and the Intel Haswell (CPU) maximum recommended voltage is 1.5V + 5% (1.575V). Will this affect performance? Should I change the memory chosen?

JackNaylorPE · Sep 27, 2014

No..... that silly rumor has persisted thru 3 generations.

The 1.5 volt recommendation is per the JEDEC standard and all JEDEC complaint RAM profiles must adhere to this limit. However XMP or Extreme Memory Profile is Intel's "overclocked profile".... when DDR3 first came out, even 1600 required 1.65 volts as that was the XMP..... as production lines improve yields, and memory chip factories produce more efficient designs, the voiltage has dropped and to see 1.5 volt 1866 routinely these days.....2133 at 1.5 is not uncommon.

At 2400 and up, 1.65v is the order of the day. Hynix modules as used in Mushkin are used by serious overclcokers as they have no problem whatsoever reaching 1.9v and more.

However, the best way to set yaself straight as to what Intel is "OK with" is to look at MoBo QVL's and Intel's own compatibility lists:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/extreme-memory-profile-xmp.html

If you download the spreadsheet on that page, you will see that:

309 modules are rated at 1.65 volts

66 modules are rated at 1.60 volts

1 is rated at 1.56 volts

334 are rated at 1.5 volts

2 are rated at 1.25 volts

So out of the 712

So how could anything above 1.5 volts be an issue with Intel when only 47% of the Memory Kits they have officially certified as being compatible don't meet that standard ?

My 2400 set been's running at 1.7 volts for a year.

Also look at all the Motherboards that say they can support up to 3000 or 3200 memory .... now try and find one set at 2666 on up that isn't 1.65 volts. How can they support memory at this speed and require memory at 1.5 if no such memory exists at 1.5 volts ?

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Picking a Motherboard and Power Supply, need help!

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