Last advice before buying (kinda): which GPU? (Also

Nezgal · Oct 13, 2016

Hello,

So I finally decided which parts to buy for my new build, except the GPU. I mean I'll get a 1070 but which one? Here are some considerations.

First, the build:

CPU: Intel i5 6600K
CPU Cooler: NZKT Kraken X61
Motherboard: Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3200 2x8GB
Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 512GB/1TB M.2 SSD
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower
PSU: EVGA Supernova G2 750W

So what remains is the GPU. I read that EVGA/Asus/MSI/Gigabyte are the best brands. What I'm looking for is silence/low temp (and high performance ofc). It seems that the Asus ROG Strix or EVGA FTW are good choices in that regard. However where I live and from what I've seen so far, I can get the EVGA FTW Hybrid for like 10€ more that the Strix. Is hybrid water cooling worth the 10 bucks? From what I read the idle noise should be slightly higher due to the pump but full load noise and temps should be significantly lower (plus lower temps in the case so lower RPMs needed on other fans). Is that right? Also, having an Asus MoBo, is an Asus GPU a good thing or it doesn't matter at all?

Bonus question: I'll also get a HDD, should I get Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue/Black/other?

Thanks!

EDIT:
Bonus question 2: It seems that the Samsung 950-960 M.2 SSD tend to heat a bit, and I saw some people using RAM heatsinks to help keep them cooler. Any advice on what to get? It doesn't seem too expensive (and should I get some for the RAM as well?)

iyzik · Oct 13, 2016

Honestly you will love any of the 1070's you listed. I have the MSI and it is whisper quiet at any load, in fact now that it is getting colder in my room here in Colorado I can actually play BF4 at Ultra using only passive cooling (I have good case ventilation

). The cooling fans don't even turn on. As for hybrid water cooling, I'd vote for no it is not worth it. My card runs in the 60c range on most games and the ones that really load the card still only push 73c max.

Also thought I should say a 750W is not really necessary. You'd be fine with a 650W.

Shoomer · Oct 13, 2016

I have the ASUS Rog Strix OC 1070 and I couldn't be happier. It's basically silent (even when gaming) , the fans don't even spin most of the time. I've never seen it go over about 60c and it just destroys any game you throw at it (and I've not even had to look at an OC yet) If you have a windowed case it also looks great, the RBG lighting is tasteful, not over the top just enough to make an open system look smart.. The only downside is it is one of the most expensive and it's worth remembering you will get a good experience from just about any 1070 - although I'd stay away from the ̶R̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ Founders cards. But if you don't mind spending a little extra, then yeah I'd happily recommend the ASUS.

EDIT: I wouldn't bother with water cooling at all. The 10 series cards run so cool it's pretty much pointless.
̶

Markyrocks · Oct 13, 2016

I'd say go for the watercooling option. If you decide to sli in the future it's very worth it. Besides that if you attempt to really push the card by overclocking it should make a big difference.

weberdarren97 · Oct 13, 2016

Based on what I've seen in terms of PCB breakdowns, the Asus STRIX 1070 has the best MOSFETs of all of them. This means more steady power delivery, allowing for a higher overclock without voltage irregularities. This allows for a higher stable overclock without artifacting.

Also, when it comes to the 1000 series cards, they don't make that much heat anyways. So any good forced air cooler will get the job done. There's no need to get a hybrid cooled card. And even if you do get a hybrid card, can you guarantee that it has good MOSFETs. If it doesn't, it'd be like putting a big radiator on your fancy sports car, then putting unfiltered gas with sediments into the tank. It would run cool, but could run better if the gas was cleaner.

Another plus to getting the Asus STRIX card would be that its lighting effects can sync to those of the motherboard.

Also, why are you using 2 sticks of 3200MHz RAM? Use four sticks of 3000MHz. Four sticks means twice the bandwidth and faster access times to large pieces of data like terrains in games. There's also the fact that any RAM faster than 3000MHz doesn't make enough of a difference for the human eye to see. Anything faster is just a waste of money in my opinion.

Shoomer · Oct 13, 2016

weberdarren97 :

Not with the board he's he's picked. It only supports dual channel memory, you can use 4 but it will make no difference and maybe even make the memory controller work harder. Plus with 2 sticks of 8GB you can always upgrade to 4x8GB later. With 4x4GB you're stuck.

weberdarren97 · Oct 13, 2016

Yes, but if you add memory then you're mixing kits, if not brands. Either way, there's no guarantee that it will be compatible.

It has two sets of dual channel slots. If you use both sets, you'll get more bandwidth. Although you're correct in that it's not the amount you would get out of quad channel.

Nezgal · Oct 13, 2016

Thanks for your advice, I think I'll go for the Strix. I might SLI in the future, but not before a few years, and anyway at some point I'll upgrade to full custom water loop (because it looks so cool) so I'll rethink the whole cooling system by then. As for overclocking, I'm very new in this area, so I won't push very hard. Might also downgrade to 650W PSU.
About the RAM, as someone said, the Z170 Pro Gaming is only dual channel, that's why I chose 2x8 over 4x4. Plus I might add another 2x8 at some point.
Anything about the HDD or SSD heatsink?

Shoomer · Oct 13, 2016

weberdarren97 :

Not if you buy the same same kit and the same brand. They are made in their millions and are on sale for years. (you can still buy DDR 2) Just buy like for like and it's not a problem.

weberdarren97 · Oct 13, 2016

There are things about RAM that we as the buyer can't control. And it's important to understand that just because two sticks are matching specs, doesn't necessarily mean that the internal functions are the same. If internal functions are different, they may not play well together.

Plenty of manufacturers will revise something about their RAM and make changes to the way it's produced, but keep the same part number and model number. If the way it's produced was changed, then internal functions may be different, causing compatibility issues with older sticks that are the same model and part number. This is the main cause of all this confusion. This is also why I recommend getting a kit of memory that has the capacity you want, because it's guaranteed that all memory in a kit was produced exactly the same as each other.

Shoomer · Oct 13, 2016

There are things about RAM that we as the buyer can't control. And it's important to understand that just because two sticks are matching specs, doesn't necessarily mean that the internal functions are the same. If internal functions are different, they may not play well together.

Plenty of manufacturers will revise something about their RAM and make changes to the way it's produced, but keep the same part number and model number. If the way it's produced was changed, then internal functions may be different, causing compatibility issues with older sticks that are the same model and part number. This is the main cause of all this confusion. This is also why I recommend getting a kit of memory that has the capacity you want, because it's guaranteed that all memory in a kit was produced exactly the same as each other.[/quote]

Yeah if you say so. Hard to tell without a link for your quote. My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 and I've never had a problem. Could it be that some people just want you to spend more money on RAM needlessly? No, of course that would never happen.

weberdarren97 · Oct 17, 2016

Shoomer :

There are things about RAM that we as the buyer can't control. And it's important to understand that just because two sticks are matching specs, doesn't necessarily mean that the internal functions are the same. If internal functions are different, they may not play well together.

Plenty of manufacturers will revise something about their RAM and make changes to the way it's produced, but keep the same part number and model number. If the way it's produced was changed, then internal functions may be different, causing compatibility issues with older sticks that are the same model and part number. This is the main cause of all this confusion. This is also why I recommend getting a kit of memory that has the capacity you want, because it's guaranteed that all memory in a kit was produced exactly the same as each other.[/quote]

Yeah if you say so. Hard to tell without a link for your quote. My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 and I've never had a problem. Could it be that some people just want you to spend more money on RAM needlessly? No, of course that would never happen.

That quote was written by me. It was in response to a user having trouble with memory on an Asus board. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3156876/asus-pro-gamer-b85-memory-ram-question.html#18452307

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