Gotta update my processor?

[Josquius]

Is there any way to 'unlock' the regular 4690s to 4690ks?
The only difference seems to be overclocking and price.  I thought overclocking was something you had to go into bios to do anyway.

I'm going to try and buy this weekend.
I think i7 is going a bit into luxury, the sweet spot lies with the better i5s.
The decision is i5-4690K  vs  i5-6600K.
RAM doesn't seem so expensive  and prices aren't too different but still, an awful lot of places saying 4690 is better.

Might be the toss of the coin here.

[Barrister]

Is there any way to 'unlock' the regular 4690s to 4690ks?
The only difference seems to be overclocking and price.  I thought overclocking was something you had to go into bios to do anyway.

I'm going to try and buy this weekend.
I think i7 is going a bit into luxury, the sweet spot lies with the better i5s.
The decision is i5-4690K  vs  i5-6600K.
RAM doesn't seem so expensive  and prices aren't too different but still, an awful lot of places saying 4690 is better.

Might be the toss of the coin here.

Just in straight performance they're within 5-10% of each other.

The distinction is they have different sockets, and therefore different motherboards.  The 6600k will use a Z170 motherboard, which will have faster DDR4 memory, bigger IO lanes, USB 3.1.

If you're counting pennies the 6600K does not come with a fan, but if you were overclocking you should buy an aftermarket fan anyways.

I went with the 6600k last year, but the 4690 isn't a bad choice either.

[viper37]

Is there any way to 'unlock' the regular 4690s to 4690ks?
The only difference seems to be overclocking and price.  I thought overclocking was something you had to go into bios to do anyway.

The non k version can be overclocked.  Sometimes.  Not on all motherboards.  It's hard to tell if it will work, how it will work.  You might need to manually adjust the CPU voltage if your BIOS let's you do it.
If you want to overclock, go for the 'K.  Less hassle.

I'm going to try and buy this weekend.
I think i7 is going a bit into luxury, the sweet spot lies with the better i5s.
The decision is i5-4690K  vs  i5-6600K.
RAM doesn't seem so expensive  and prices aren't too different but still, an awful lot of places saying 4690 is better.

Might be the toss of the coin here.

DDR4 offers worst performances than DDR3 for now, but eventually, in a couple of years, it will be better, with higher speeds supported.

You said you needed this computer only for a few months, so maybe no invest in the 4690k, take a regular 4690 and forget overclocking?  It will be fast enough for a few months.

[Josquius]

Think I'll go with the 6600. More future proof, especially if I overclock.

The only difference that I can make out with motherboards from pc parts picker is sata express vs normal sata.

Think this will be the one I'm looking into

https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/product/msi-z170-a-pro-motherboards-5647094

The gaming one is 20 more....don't notice much difference in the numbers.
The maximus one you mentioned a bit more too.

Good and bad companies on ram?


Seems I have all weekend to order, won't get until next week anyway

[viper37]

RAM:
Check the models, rather than strictly the company.  G.Skill Ripjaws V are reputed good for a DDR4 kit.  Maybe look at
DDR4-3333.  Generally speaking, you should look at the picture and see if they have decent looking heatsinks.
This is good:


This is bad:


Motherboard
That one is fine too.  It only has 2 PCI-E 16x slots though, and does not include the new Sata Express for future hardware (SSDs, mostly).  If the price diff is significant, go with the one you picked.

[Josquius]

Here says it has pci express
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qkX2FT/msi-motherboard-z170apro

[viper37]

You are right, I did not see it the first time on MSI's page, but looking for SATA Express, I can see it now.

All good.

[Josquius]

It is done.
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo (13.60cm) (268607)
Intel Core i5 6600K
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING
2x corsair 8gb ram.

Setting up a new computer is a stressful time. I flipped the switch and after a while....action!
Wow. The fan is loud....there's bios.... huh what? CPU fan error?
Oh fuck.
After how long it took to put everything together I wasn't looking forward to a dodgy component. But I'd rather it be the fan than the processor I guess...
I went into the bios and tried adjusting some things and restarted.... Fuck. Same error.
I examined the bios closely- apparently there is no cpu fan....

I had a look inside.... Ah. I've made an error. This is a good motherboard, designed for much better cases than I currently have.
I'd plugged my CPU fan power into another fan power slot.
Switched that and all was fine.

One annoying point- the mysterious audio wire of my case..... is too short to stretch to the slot on the motherboard; this motherboard keeps it on the far back corner just like my old one did. Bah.

How long does it usually take for heat paste to set and the fan and processor to properly get into the groove? A little noisy at the moment but not dangerously so.

[viper37]

How long does it usually take for heat paste to set and the fan and processor to properly get into the groove? A little noisy at the moment but not dangerously so.

a couple hours of gaming should do it.

There are fan settings in the BIOS, you could check them to see if you haven't accidentally turned something to maximum speed all the time.  There might be options for automatically throttling the fans when your computer is on idle, this should help.

[Josquius]

I note it is consistently running at 40 degrees + even when not doing much heavy.
Is this normal?
Then there's the Stellaris BSODs (though no other game).....
Quite paranoid something might be slightly defective. Windows memory scan reveals nothing.

[Tamas]

Thanks for eliminating the thought of assembling my own PC which just started crawling back in my head! 

[viper37]

I note it is consistently running at 40 degrees + even when not doing much heavy.
Is this normal?
Then there's the Stellaris BSODs (though no other game).....
Quite paranoid something might be slightly defective. Windows memory scan reveals nothing.

I have liquid cooling and I run around that temp.  It is to be expected, I guess.

[DontSayBanana]

I note it is consistently running at 40 degrees + even when not doing much heavy.
Is this normal?
Then there's the Stellaris BSODs (though no other game).....
Quite paranoid something might be slightly defective. Windows memory scan reveals nothing.

Ironically, you'll probably run a bit hotter with a newer CPU.  My 8350 runs about 50 degrees idle, and my tower can sound like a jet engine when I get into a graphics-heavy game.

[Josquius]

Ouch.
I guess when I make my next move I should invest in a nicer case. My motherboard doesn't properly fit in this one.

I really suspect something up with the ram though memory scan finds nothing. I've downloaded another memory scanner that I'll try to use when I next boot

[Grey Fox]

Get a CoolerMaster HAF medium case.