Suggestions Regarding My Friend's i5-2500k Build

[naqqash]

Hello ladies, since I've already selected parts for my friend using my own experience but I'm kinda stuck/confused about motherboard.

Hope you guys will help me and my friend out.
Here are the parts so far:

Case:
CM 690 II Advanced

CPU:
i5-2500k

Cooler:
Noctua NH-D14

RAMs:
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 2 x 4GB (8GB) DDRIII 1600 (PC3 12800)
[F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL]

mBoard:
????

PSU:
Corsair TX650/TX850 (NOT v2)
[Bigger one in case of SLI]

SSD:
Adata S511 Series 120GB

GPU:
1x or 2x EVGA 570 (Stock one)

What say?

Now, I've a question here. I've following motherboards in my mind:
■ASRock Z68 Extreme3
■ASRock Z68 Extreme4
■Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3
■Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P
■Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4

Though, I've absolutely no experience with ASRock but it's been a while they've impressed me so far.

I love Gigabyte the most.

I know that mobos are personal choices but then again all I need is:
OVERCLOCKING! I think Extreme3/4 both have 12-phases while UD3 and UD3P have 7 and 12 phases respectively, I also understand that power phases play a major part in stability when OC'ing a CPU hence, UD4 is a winner when considering sixteen power phases.

$$$ are not problems as long as suggested motherboard is off 200$ or under, I don't mind getting a 60/64 GB SSD either so yeah no problem of shelling a couple more bucks.

Thank you!

 

[steadywaters]

Where are you buying from?

Here is a combo on Newegg for i5-2500K + ASUS P8Z68-V PRO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763151

One of the all-time favorites for overclocking.

 

[naqqash]

Where are you buying from?

Here is a combo on Newegg for i5-2500K + ASUS P8Z68-V PRO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763151

One of the all-time favorites for overclocking.

Not a big fan of Asus. How many phases does it have?
Also, can you comment on my rest of the parts.

 

[vx53c]

oh many phases
All of the mentioned mobos are fantastic. just follow your heart.
Budget speaking the Asrock z68 e3 gen3 is the best bang for buck. Solid and will do what you want it to. Now if you are looking for 5ghz+ OC then you might look at the asus p8z68-v pro/gen3.
You won't go wrong with any

 

[naqqash]

Yes, I at most want to OC till 5.2GHz and 4.5 at least. In that case which mobo should I get, again how many phases at least?

How about my rest build, does it look good to you vx53c?
Thanks.

Edit:
I'd like to replace 5.2GHz with as far as it can go on AIR as I've seen people going 5.3GHz+.

 

[vx53c]

Well if you are aiming so high the don't go for asrock.
Asus has 16 phases(12+4), asrock 8+2. For 4.5ghz the asrock will do but as we are nearing 5ghz it starts to become unstable and inadequate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790&Tpk=asus%20p8z68-v%20pro%2fgen3
rawr, the cream of overclocking mobos.
The rest of the build is fantastic with one little detail. The ripjaws will hit your heatsink, get some totally flat low profile ram.
Fantastic patriots with super rebate today? Me likey.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

 

[naqqash]

NO. I've to talk to my friend for that, I think he'll order this stuff from Amazon (again not sure). Btw, I like newegg.

Do you mean Extreme4 and Extreme3 both have 12-phase design (8+4) ?
And same for Extreme7 as well?

You're right about ASRock mid-range mobos, my 2 friends went around 5.2GHz but with terrible vCore 1.5-1.55 with their Extreme4 and Fatal1ty though, it was for a while.

I need some more help from you, what if I go with low size SSD like Crucial M4 64GB or any other 60GB and shell out some more funds and go for even better motherboard, is it worth it going for an ASUS z68 DELUX/G3 or GA-z68XP-UD5 (?)

Edit:
If RAM will cause trouble I can also go for Thermaltake FRIO will it be fine?
You can tell me any alternative that you like or want to change anything from my build feel free to ask me.

 

[vx53c]

Yes asrock has 8+4. Your cpu cares only for the first 8. All of their extreme boards have 8+4.
Don't go anywhere higher than 1.35vcore for 24/7. Ramp to 1.35 while keeping your memory at 1333mhz and xms profile. Up the multiplier and see where you hit the wall. Have your ram working at it's 1600mhz, tighten the timings. That's your 24/7 OC. Take a look here:
http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html

1.5vcore will degrade your cpu fast, don't do it.
The deluxe and pro version have no other differences than the bells and whistles in the bundle. OC-wise they are the same.
I find 60 gigas of ssd too little tbh. I recently built up a system for somebody else that was tight on budget but still wanted an ssd, we went for the 60 gigas and it barely holds extra large OS with everything + WoW. It's all up to you.
The ripjaws will hit any solid heatsink. There is no need to compromise the performance of your cooler by moving their fans upwards to accommodate the ripjaws. The patriot i suggested won't cause any problems.

Seeing your system as a whole i would say high overclocks is a waste of money funneling. You want solid gaming performance, 2x6950 1gb will do the trick. SLI 570 is an overkill atm but who knows for the future. Unless you are running 3 monitors for eyefinity there shouldn't be any problems with either choice. One 570 now and good psu to host another along the road in like 2 years seems solid futureproofing. (Just as long as we are talking 24" monitor resolutions)
For braggart rights all this setup is fine and i am not one to pass judgment. A stable OC at 5ghz is a joy on it's own even if you do nothing with it .
Day-to-day gaming, asrock e3 gen3, i5 2500k OC at 1.35vcore to whatever ghz you attained, a decent and sturdy Corsair A70 and you won't even feel any difference.
Systems like these you buy once in 4 years or so, it is up to you to decide what is worth more to you

 

[naqqash]

Yes, you're right about SSD, I also felt uncomfortable with 60GB SSD.

So yeah, 120GB SSD + nice 4.5GHz OC on an ASRock Z68 Extreme3 some value-like RAMs like you suggested because I came to know that 1.5volt RAMs don't even need those big heat spreaders and of course single GTX570.

If he (my friend) want to go 5GHz I'll suggest him an ASUS Z68-v PRO/GEN3.
And no compromises on cooler, just curious why many people suggest those ripjaws. :s

Several more questions here, should I go for TX650 or CX600 v2? And do you recommend me to consider 850Watts for future-ready configs? If so, which 850W newer version (v2) or old good version of TX850.

Also, in this marathon there's a 750GB HDD but why is it 3GB/sec one if in the same price we can get 6GB/sec one, is there any bug in these new SATA III HDDs?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-ssd,3027.html

Edit:
He want super-extreme OC because we burn each other's ASSES haha.

 

[vx53c]

It is not impossible to reach 5ghz on the asrock but i can neither guarantee it. Each processor chip is unique in how far it can go. Some are good and some are not as good. All i am trying to say is that there is a lot of money and performance loss just by picking out the elite of components that nobody can guarantee you the numbers. People with asrock and cm 212 reach 4.4 easily, some with A70 reach 4.8ghz, some stumble at 4.2... there is no singular and fail-safe pattern here. LLC1 for power btw.
To answer your curiosity on the ripjaws as well as the cm 212, from time to time computer parts become a trend. Ripjaws is a fine piece of memory and no doubt about it. They had an unbeatable price for months straight. Combining their good performance and 1.5v it is a killer product and bang for buck. That doesn't mean it is perfect for everything. It's design on the heatspreader is uncomfortable for the big heatsinks. It became a norm along with cm 212 because you can raise the fan positioning a notch and accommodate the ripjaws. Speaking cold mathematical facts, real life performance between the ripjaws and any other credible manufacturer's memory at the same speeds is unfelt. The same cannot be said for the hyper 212 though. The company has made a goldmine of that cheap heatsink, and yes it is adequate for overclockings of 4.0ghz-4.4ghz but not much further. The components it is bundled with are lacking (no second fan, no extra bracket, no decelerators, mediocre to bad thermal paste). But it is cheap! And for that exact price no other cooler can beat it. It doesn't make it a splendid heatsink but just ok. If you start moving fans up though it compromises it's already medium performance. Once well established as a good cheap heatsink it is VERY hard to dethrone it no matter how much other companies try. My personal favorite budget heatsink is the Corsair A70 which for a few bucks more comes with all it needs to fire up your 2500k beyond the 4.5@1.35v (again the same chip rules apply).
This again doesn't make A70 the perfect heatsink, just a better solution a little more money.

PSU questions:
CX, GS, TX, HX, AX that is the branding for corsair's different tiers of PSUs. CX is the average, not so great, entry level psus. They are solid, no question about it, but the offer just the basics, often interpreting in no modularity, no more power draw than the named one and not that great efficiency (the rate of socket-to-computer watt %). The higher the tier the better the quality and the benefits. Don't just look at corsair though. I might build a computer with an OCZ or a Corsair for low needs, or thermaltake toughpower if i want more watts just for headroom. Enermax, Antec, Corsair, Lepa, Cougar, Seasonic, Superflower are all solid psu's. Practically no-brainers. For all the other companies i suggest you read a review on them first.
If the price for the extra mile from a 650watt psu to a 850watt one of equal quality is small and you know you always want to be on top of the game and got the money to spare (let's say about 20$ more) then go for it. If you know you won't be upgrading after this purchase, well then save the 20$ and put it somewhere else.

HDDs. In short, no mechanical hdd will saturate the sata2 controller. In other words the protocols are the same and there isn't even a switch between sata2 and sata3 like it used to be between sata1 and sata2. The fact that sata3 is double the size of transfer rate of sata2 means nothing if your component runs bellow 3gb/s. Only ssds can take advantage of the 6gb/s controllers atm.

I like super-extreme OC too just as long as i don't have to pay the money difference between i5 and i7 to achieve it, and the i5 won't get toast in the end

 

[naqqash]

Well said my friend much appreciated. I knew that chip-rule though. Thank you so much for the help.

 

[naqqash]

Best answer selected by naqqash.