Not Your Typical "New Build" Thread (Gaming PC Build Recommendations)

[TechWizard]

I do run my PC pretty much 24/7. I'll see where the prices are when I order the essentials in a month. I likely won't be able to hold out much longer than that haha.

 

[EarthDog]

I meant full load 24/7.

 

[wingman99]

TechWizard I use to multitask like you were saying in your first post however I have the same problems you described in your post and it is not related to memory amount, it is windows and the browsers running in windows check your memory when you tab in and out when you have problems. when you do run out of memory windows will do file swap with the SSD it should be smooth however slower. I have 16GB and it takes gaming and 50 tabs to use almost all the memory except 2GB. When you have memory leaks you have to restart your PC to return to normal.

 

[TechWizard]

Yeah I thought that was the issue I was having. I am still skeptical as I've made the same observations you have. I'm just at a total loss, I do not think this is an issue I can solve 100% from software other than just closing programs, restricting services on boot, etc.

The reason I created a pagefile was to alleviate low memory errors I was getting while playing SC2, but even then sometimes I still get the error when it doesn't appear to be swapping enough (I've gone as far as giving my computer a 24GB pagefile). In the beginning I disabled the pagefile as to not take up space on the SDD, everything ran fine for the first few months, but eventually the low memory errors came along as SC2 received two expansion packs.

I don't think I have any memory leaks, I restart quite often as it has become my "go to" solution in the last year and it doesn't make a difference other than buying me a fresh table. As soon as I get everything back up and running I am exceeding 90-95% of my RAM when in full swing of a game.

It would probably be better with a clean install of W7, but I'm just going to hold out until I buy this new system. This is already the 4th or 5th reinstall of Windows I've done on this system. I tried to upgrade to 10 back in April and it bricked my system, so I had to reinstall a fresh copy just a few months ago and the problem persisted through.

Given the cost and the debate that has taken place in this thread I am going with 32GB just out of pure convenience. I know I could probably survive on 16GB, but I just don't want the frustration. There is a saying in business that if you can solve a problem with your checkbook then you don't have a problem . This problem I know I can solve for a mere 40-50 dollars and never have to deal with it again in the foreseeable future.

Thanks for sharing though, I will keep trying to see if I notice anything in the resource manager when tabbing. I typically have it open, but nothing seems to be pointing towards anything specific consistently.

Hell for all I know, maybe it's the motherboard. It has a bad/unstable USB port so it is possible there could be other issues. I've seen my fair share of quirky motherboards that take forever to die and instead just create odd issues overtime.

 

[wingman99]

It does not mater if you have windows 7 or 10 also 32G of memory multitasking with windows browsers is not stable, with windows XP running out of memory never caused any problems. I'm using 5.7GB with only 14 browser tabs open, there is bad memory leaks in windows 10/7. I was just using 8GB two weeks ago with the same problems before I upgraded to what is in my signature. Hope you have better luck than me, I have not come across a user like you and me in years.

 

[TechWizard]

Both Windows 7 and 10 64-bit can handle up to 192GB of memory. I don't see why it wouldn't be stable with 32GB of memory?

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms859415.aspx

I found this tool for finding memory leaks. Maybe it will help you, it doesn't really help me anymore than the resource monitor does.

 

[EarthDog]

Been stable here with 32gb...

 

[TechWizard]

I'm going to Micro Center today. They have that sweet deal still going on for the 6700 at $310. Combined with the motherboard I'll get an additional $30 off.

Looks like it'll be roughly ~$455 with tax. I hope they price match. I'd like to pick up some memory, but their prices are $20-50 above newegg right now and they might not even have what I want.

I figure I can grab the Mobo, CPU, and memory for the time being. I'll just run with my current SSDs and my current PSU until I figure out what graphics card I want.

I was looking at this GTX 970 for $255 after rebate. My current PSU should be able to handle this I would think. (It's either 500 or 600W)

I figure that will last me until the 1080s drop in price since it looks like it's going to take much longer than November to get them into a price range/availability I'd accept. I can always retire the 970 into a computer for my girlfriend who lacks any type of machine with graphics capabilities.

In terms of the graphics card - Good idea? Bad idea? I'm fairly lost in the sea of avaiable cards and price vs performance so I feel like I'm reaching in the dark here.

Edit: Also, should I be more concerned with memory speed or CL? I've been trying to find CL 14 memory and it is slim pickings when it comes to 3000MHz memory with a CL of 14.

 

[wingman99]

Both Windows 7 and 10 64-bit can handle up to 192GB of memory. I don't see why it wouldn't be stable with 32GB of memory?

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms859415.aspx

I found this tool for finding memory leaks. Maybe it will help you, it doesn't really help me anymore than the resource monitor does.

There is just something wrong with Windows and excessive multitasking, I just did a Fresh install of windows 10 and there is a problem with multitasking for 6-14 hours.
I just quit all that testing I have been doing for two weeks I'm tired of it, so no multitasking and windows works fine.

For the video card what monitor resolution are you going to run? The EVGA GTX 970 is a good card I have one and there is good support for it, the only game where it does not meet minimum 60 FPS some times is crysis3 at 1080p.

 

[TechWizard]

I'll just be running at 1080p in the mean time. I haven't gotten to purchasing a 4k monitor. I am waiting for Asus to release the 144hz version they are working on currently.

 

[trents]

I'm going to Micro Center today. They have that sweet deal still going on for the 6700 at $310. Combined with the motherboard I'll get an additional $30 off.

Looks like it'll be roughly ~$455 with tax. I hope they price match. I'd like to pick up some memory, but their prices are $20-50 above newegg right now and they might not even have what I want.

I figure I can grab the Mobo, CPU, and memory for the time being. I'll just run with my current SSDs and my current PSU until I figure out what graphics card I want.

I was looking at this GTX 970 for $255 after rebate. My current PSU should be able to handle this I would think. (It's either 500 or 600W)

I figure that will last me until the 1080s drop in price since it looks like it's going to take much longer than November to get them into a price range/availability I'd accept. I can always retire the 970 into a computer for my girlfriend who lacks any type of machine with graphics capabilities.

In terms of the graphics card - Good idea? Bad idea? I'm fairly lost in the sea of avaiable cards and price vs performance so I feel like I'm reaching in the dark here.

Edit: Also, should I be more concerned with memory speed or CL? I've been trying to find CL 14 memory and it is slim pickings when it comes to 3000MHz memory with a CL of 14.

You're going to get a 6700 and not a 6700k? Don't you want to overclock it?

 

[TechWizard]

I should have specified, my bad. Yes I got the 6700k. I walked into Micro Center and got the Motherboard and CPU.... but then I couldn't walk out.

I had to get some REAL LOOT!



I caved when I saw the GTX 970 for $305 with a $30 MIB at MC... AND I got them to price match Newegg down to $275 . The memory wasn't bad at $77 per 16GB which made it cheaper than newegg.

The items in this picture will have cost me ~$900 after I get my rebates in. So I'll still be under $1000 once I buy a PSU, but I will probably wait until I buy the dual 1080s to do that.

Now to clean out this dusty case and get it built!

Edit: I should mention it was fate - It was the last 970 and last Asus Z170E they had in stock!

 

[wingman99]

That is a good selection, time for some overclocking also, the Asus Z170E is the second best selling Z170 ATX board at Newegg, I just looked it up.

 

[EarthDog]

How do you look that up?

 

[wingman99]

No problem, go to intel motherboards left column select 1151, z170, ATX, New, in the middle of the top of the page look for (sort by) Best selling. My board takes about 10th place.

 

[TechWizard]

It lives, but I must sleep. Got the RAM up to 3200 from the 2133 default.

I'll get to the OC tomorrow. I didn't have a 3.0 USB drive so installing Windows took longer than I expected.

Driver installation was the simplest I've ever experienced.

 

[wingman99]

Congrads on having it built and working quickly, I would like to see some pictures of the setup in your case.

 

[TechWizard]

Here are a few pictures I took before plugging in all the power. The PSU is quite old, but it seems to be working great!

I'm too embarrassed to upload the final pictures. I did a nasty quick wiring job and since it is an older PSU the cables aren't nearly as long. So needless to say some of the major cables are covering the motherboard right now and it looks bad. I will have to order the PSU sooner rather than later. I'll take some better pictures when I get home from work if I can make the cables look neat enough.




The heatsink is a little crooked in these :X - It's been fixed since.

I'll be happy once I get the PSU and everything is all black. I'll probably invest in some different LED's, but I am not sure how much of a pain it will be to replace the default blue ones that come with the Antec 1200. I'd like to go red/multi colored after several years of blue.

 

[wingman99]

Looks great, did the memory fit under the CPU heatsink fan, I would like to see that also.

 

[TechWizard]

Yes, they did! I was surprised they fit. I was actually worried about that after I got the heatsink on!

This is the best angle I got of that last night. I was getting pretty loopy from how tired I was so the pictures I took were garbage.