• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Beginner PC builder needing advice on motherboard

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
So I just heard back from Gigabyte and this is what they said:

"It should be able to boot up with the memory, but no guarantee if the CPU (memory controller) can reliably handle 3000MHz, since once passed 2133MHz, it will be considered overclocking.

Thank you."

I also asked about greater than 3000 memory but they only referenced 3000 in their response so idk. Anything to be worried about you think?
 
A little over halfway down this page http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5811#ov Gigabyte covers enabling the XMP profile for your memory up to 4000 MHz. On the specs page for the Designare they list memory support for DDR4 up to the same 4000 MHz. It's considered an overclock but I wouldn't worry about it. The specs for my board say the same thing, except up to 3866 MHz, and my RAM is happily humming along at it's 3000 MHz "overclock". The memory controller on a 6700k will have no problems with those speeds.
 
Man, right on! Thank you Alaric! One question, it seems like in order to run at +2133, I need to OC my CPU. I'm not entirely sure I want to do this yet even though I'll have the possibility. However, I thought I remember reading somewhere (I'm doing so much research everyday I can't remember where or when some times) that your CPU will be stressed to a certain amount to keep the 3000MHz (or 3200, or 2800, etc...) RAM capped at the stock 2133 because it will want to go to the 3000MHz speed. Have you heard anything about this? Will the CPU under go any extra stress or performance issue/limitation to run a +2666MHz RAM at 2133?
 
No need of overclocking the CPU, you change the "strap bclk":
Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake are designed to run with a baseclock of 100MHz, 125MHz, 166MHz and 200MHz. And other mobo components such as PCI-e are clocked accordingly. That allows to overclock the memory without having to overclock the CPU.

Example: a BCLK at 125MHz, with a 32 CPU multi will give you a 4GHz CPU, same as a 40x multi with 100MHz BCLK.

Don't know about the Z170 motherboards, but with mt Asrpck x99, I can set the memory up to 3200MHz with a stock BCLK of 100MHz.

Edit: no particular stress on the CPU or the IMC up to 3000/3200MHz. above that, you'll need to give a bit more VCCSA (+0.5 to 0.15v) which is the juice fed to the IMC (internal memory controller). Still within Intel specs.
 
Tír na nÓg said:
No need of overclocking the CPU, you change the "strap bclk":
Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake are designed to run with a baseclock of 100MHz, 125MHz, 166MHz and 200MHz. And other mobo components such as PCI-e are clocked accordingly. That allows to overclock the memory without having to overclock the CPU.

Example: a BCLK at 125MHz, with a 32 CPU multi will give you a 4GHz CPU, same as a 40x multi with 100MHz BCLK.

Don't know about the Z170 motherboards, but with mt Asrpck x99, I can set the memory up to 3200MHz with a stock BCLK of 100MHz.

Edit: no particular stress on the CPU or the IMC up to 3000/3200MHz. above that, you'll need to give a bit more VCCSA (+0.5 to 0.15v) which is the juice fed to the IMC (internal memory controller). Still within Intel specs.
Click to expand...

So you're saying I can clock my Ripjaws 4 3000 on an i7 6700K up to 3000 without overclocking the i7? It will stay at 4.0 the whole time?
 
Yes, you can!

Depending on the motherboard, you can even go to 3200MHz (maybe more, but not sure...) with a 100MHz BCLK. If not, you play with the BCLK strap in ordewr to keep CPU and CAche@ stock frequency while setting the memory at its rated speed/latency.
 
^Yup. Check the specs in my sig. The 4200 MHz is the stock Turbo speed. My RAM came out of the box and ran at 2133 MHz. Quick trip to the BIOS, turned on the XMP profile, and good to go. I haven't touched the CPU settings. (yet :) ) It really is that easy.
 
How would I be able to tell if the Gigabyte Z170 Designare has this ability? That is, what am I looking for exactly? But it looks like a pretty good/new board so I'd imagine it would have that capability.

But what it sounds like is you have two "dials". You keep rolling up the memory to 2666, 3000, 3200, etc... and watch to see if the base clock goes up. So long as the base clock doesn't go up you haven't overclocked your CPU. If the base clock does go up (to 125, or 166, etc) you lower it back down to it's stock clock speed which is... in your case 100MHz. Is that about right?

Is a Graphics Base Frequency the same as base clock? If it is, the 6700K on newegg.com has a base clock of 350MHz.

But back to my original question, if you cap your memory clock at 2133, even though it has the capacity to go to, say, 3000, does that stress your CPU at all? Are there any negative effects on your CPU or 3000MHz memory to caping the memory at the stock speed of 2133?

Thanks again, as always guys!
 
The CPU isn't involved in the change. Your CPU won't be stressed at all at 2133 MHz, your computer will just be slower than it could be. I'll go in to my BIOS after I clean my house and get the location and steps to set the XMP profile. Your board has that capability since they list that speed and higher for it. If you want to have fun with overclocking you first get the CPU to it's highest stable speed (watching temps), then OC memory. That's because there are more gains from CPU speed than memory speed, but the XMP speed is fine for a baseline starting point. Set the RAM to whatever the XMP is, then OC your CPU. Once you're happy with that you can see how fast you can make your RAM operate.
 
Man, go for it...

Enjoy your new rig and stop making grey hair over a few hundred megahertz of meory speed!!!

IT WILL JUST WORK! That's how is ****ing technology now!

Edit: BTW, 850W is way overkill. Days to come are about to see the end of multi GPUs setup, sor you'll be golden with a G2 650W
 
Thank you guys so much! You're making a lot of sense! I think there's just one more thing! I'm trying to judge how many fans I need in my case. The case I've decided to go with (the NZXT Phantom 630. Almost chose the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe!) has an ability to house 1x 200mm F fan, 1x 140mm R fan, 2x 200mm T fan, 1x 140/120mm HDD fan, and 2x 140/120mm B fan. Coming from my previous computer - which was an HP - that had horrendous cooling, I'm sort of cautions. I'm thinking about basically filling in every fan slot I just listed. That would put me at a total of seven fans! What do you guys think of that? Is it overkill? For OC or not OC? Could I get away with 2x 120mm B fans instead of 2x 140mm B fans?

As always, all these suggestions have been invaluable and I greatly appreciate it! I'm looking to place the full order either tonight or tomorrow!
 
I guess you can reach a point where more air flow doesn't help, but after the last goat ropin' of a build I had I like airflow, lots of airflow. My previous wreck was so packed I couldn't see the rear fan through an empty 5.25" bay from the front. LOL. I think the only limiting factor would be noise, and for that I say Noctua. :) Or, if you don't mind the jet engine thing, Yate Loons will move some air. LOL
 
Alright! Order is placed! I ended up change a few things, but here is the summary:

1) NZXT Phantom 630
2) Gigabyte GA-Z170X Designare
3) G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz
4) CPU: i7 6700K LGA 1151
5) Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound
6) Cryorig H5 Ultimate CPU Cooler
7) Power Supply Unit (PSU): EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2 850W
8) Samsung 265GB SSD 850 Pro 2.5”
9) ASUS DVD Burner 24x DVD+R @ 150ms
10) Cooler Master MegaFlow 200mm Blue LED fan
11) 1x Cooler Master 140mm Blue LED fan
12) 2x Noctua NF-A14 PWM 140mm case fan
13) NZXT Hue+
14) Velcro cable ties (blue)
15) Blue USB dust covers (USB ports are on the top of the Phantom)
16) AmoVee Acrylic Headphone stand
17) High-purity isopropyl alcohol 90% (for cleaning CPU surface)

Almost bought Windows 10 Professional but after doing some research about their new terms of service which seems to be a pretty large violation of privacy, I decided to stay with good ol' Windows 7 Professional. Only crappy thing is that the NZXT Hue+ was totally out of stock everywhere I looked! It won't be delivered for at least a month. Such is life...

Hope it all works out! A thousand thank yous for all who helped!
 
What GPU? If you never plan on SLI, a quality 500-600W PSU would have been plenty. ;)




Tír na nÓg said:
No need of overclocking the CPU, you change the "strap bclk":
Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake are designed to run with a baseclock of 100MHz, 125MHz, 166MHz and 200MHz. And other mobo components such as PCI-e are clocked accordingly. That allows to overclock the memory without having to overclock the CPU.

Example: a BCLK at 125MHz, with a 32 CPU multi will give you a 4GHz CPU, same as a 40x multi with 100MHz BCLK.

Don't know about the Z170 motherboards, but with mt Asrpck x99, I can set the memory up to 3200MHz with a stock BCLK of 100MHz.

Edit: no particular stress on the CPU or the IMC up to 3000/3200MHz. above that, you'll need to give a bit more VCCSA (+0.5 to 0.15v) which is the juice fed to the IMC (internal memory controller). Still within Intel specs.
Click to expand...
Sort of...

Skylake has a free wheeling BCLK while Haswell and and Broadwell use the 'straps'. However you cannot get much between the straps BCLK wise, just a few Mhz either way. The memory also has its own separate multiplier. THAT allows it to overclock without changing the CPU speeds. The PCIe bus is locked on Skylake, but works with BCLK on Broadwell and Haswell.

Typically, X99 boards will use the 125 BCLK strap at 3000 MHz/XMP. That's what the X99 OC Formula did and all other boards I have reviewed. Time has passed since then, and many BIOS' have been updated so perhaps that has changed. On the X99 Rampage V Edition 10, it stays at 100 BCLK... but that is also a new board.
 
EarthDog said:
What GPU? If you never plan on SLI, a quality 500-600W PSU would have been plenty. ;)




Sort of...

Skylake has a free wheeling BCLK while Haswell and and Broadwell use the 'straps'. However you cannot get much between the straps BCLK wise, just a few Mhz either way. The memory also has its own separate multiplier. THAT allows it to overclock without changing the CPU speeds. The PCIe bus is locked on Skylake, but works with BCLK on Broadwell and Haswell.

Typically, X99 boards will use the 125 BCLK strap at 3000 MHz/XMP. That's what the X99 OC Formula did and all other boards I have reviewed. Time has passed since then, and many BIOS' have been updated so perhaps that has changed. On the X99 Rampage V Edition 10, it stays at 100 BCLK... but that is also a new board.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I purchased that a few weeks earlier. That's how I got into this whole thing by finding out the new GPU I purchased wasn't compatible with my MoBo (or any GPU within the last three years). I bought a EVGA 970 SSC ACX 2.0+. I was actually planning on using EVGA's step up program to trade it in for a 1070 within a couple months when they come back in stock. But maybe I'll stick with the 970 and see how it goes. Seems like a pretty nice card. Similarly, I also bought my 2T Black WD HDD a few months back which is why you don't see that listed either.
 
Yeah, get EVGA 550 G2 and save $60. That will handle any single GPU and CPU overclocked with ease. ;)
 
IceKnight366 said:
Alright! Order is placed! I ended up change a few things, but here is the summary:

1) NZXT Phantom 630
2) Gigabyte GA-Z170X Designare
3) G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz
4) CPU: i7 6700K LGA 1151
5) Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound
6) Cryorig H5 Ultimate CPU Cooler
7) Power Supply Unit (PSU): EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2 850W
8) Samsung 265GB SSD 850 Pro 2.5”
9) ASUS DVD Burner 24x DVD+R @ 150ms
10) Cooler Master MegaFlow 200mm Blue LED fan
11) 1x Cooler Master 140mm Blue LED fan
12) 2x Noctua NF-A14 PWM 140mm case fan
13) NZXT Hue+
14) Velcro cable ties (blue)
15) Blue USB dust covers (USB ports are on the top of the Phantom)
16) AmoVee Acrylic Headphone stand
17) High-purity isopropyl alcohol 90% (for cleaning CPU surface)

Almost bought Windows 10 Professional but after doing some research about their new terms of service which seems to be a pretty large violation of privacy, I decided to stay with good ol' Windows 7 Professional. Only crappy thing is that the NZXT Hue+ was totally out of stock everywhere I looked! It won't be delivered for at least a month. Such is life...

Hope it all works out! A thousand thank yous for all who helped!
Click to expand...

I would purchase 3200Mhz GSkill CL 14 for that Gigabyte board, that memory works great on my board in my signature.
 
wingman99 said:
I would purchase 3200Mhz GSkill CL 14 for that Gigabyte board, that memory works great on my board in my signature.
Click to expand...

G.skills does not offer an 2x8GB 3200MHz Ripjaws 4, much less a blue one. So unfortunately that will not work.

Not to mention that I already ordered and received the parts last week hah. But thanks for your input.
 
Well, I'm all finished! Just thought I would write a little something to one, say thank you to everyone who helped with input and making sure this build went smoothly. Secondly, I thought I would post some pictures! After all, I'm guessing when most people help someone out on here they probably don't get to see the finished product. So here it is!

Old computer size vs new hah
IMG_1325.JPG

Halfway through the build
IMG_1324.JPG

Doing a test run before putting it all in the case
IMG_1322.JPG

Finished! Front view:
IMG_1329.JPG

Side view :D
IMG_1330.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Motherboard for 13600k optimization/OC/Undervolting
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
Flamethrower1972
Flamethrower1972
T
Need a mITX 1151(300) motherboard. Suggestions?
Replies
2
Views
463
tRidiot
T
spiritedandy
Asus Rog 790 ÷ Water
Replies
3
Views
211
spiritedandy
spiritedandy
L
Building a new PC.
Replies
5
Views
161
LordLiverpool
L
AnEEsO
ZOTAC GTX 1080 TI AMP EXTREME CORE EDITION 139mhz Clock bug after Bios flash
Replies
5
Views
284
Kenrou
Kenrou
Back