Hardware Planning to build a machine centered around i9-9900k...

[Classicgamer]

and I haven’t built a machine since 2012. I haven’t been following advances in pc hardware either and this machine is going to be top notch. I do have some questions for the more knowledgeable people here.

1) what is the difference between m.2 and nvme?

2) do psu rated gold and plantium offer better stability or just longevity? Which brands are most reliable?

3) is water cooling reliable? “Sealed for life” coolers good? Stick to air cooling on the i9-9900k? It would be a light overclock if anything. Thoughts?

4) is z370 currently the best mobo for an i9-9900k and which brands are most reliable?

5) in the past I’ve used only power strips that were generic that offer surge protection. I feel like it would have been a pretty poor amount of protection if it was ever needed. I’d like proper protection this time and would like to know what that entails?

6) do you have any questions or advice for me? Important to know planned specs are i9-9900k; 2080ti, minimum 64gb ram.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

*cracks knuckles* aight, here we go

1) NVMe is the bus type, whereas m.2 is the physical connector. NVMe is, to my knowledge, just a fancy way of saying "PCIe x4" in the end, so for the m.2 connector you can have an SSD that communicates with the system over either SATA or NVMe

2) So, neither, technically. They're efficiency standards: all fall under "80+", which means at least 80% of the power coming out of the wall is being used to drive the system (rather than being wasted as heat). The "rarer" the metal used to represent the standard, the higher the minimum efficiency, so Platinum would be slightly better than Gold, but not as good as Titanium (currently best). Most people are good with Gold, just make sure you have enough watts to power the system with comfortable overhead

3) Yeah, today's AIO water-cooling kits are pretty dang reliable. I don't know how to answer about air cooling, but logic would dictate that if you're messing around with an i9 you'd want a REALLY beefy tower-style cooler, so it may actually be better to put it on liquid anyway

4) Heh, neither do I nor anyone I'd build for have enough money to have looked into that before. I BELIEVE that's the case, though. Reputable brands, in my experience, include Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI. ASRock is a good budget option, but I wouldn't want to put anything power-hungry in them

5) Look into something called an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). They not only offer great surge protection, but also will power your computer off of a battery backup for a short time after an outage. There are two reputable brands here, one is APC and the other unfortunately escapes me right now...

6) *Raises hand* uh... What are you planning to do with 64GB of RAM?...

Also, form factor? You wanting to go big or medium with this?

 

[Kioku]

*cracks knuckles* aight, here we go

1) NVMe is the bus type, whereas m.2 is the physical connector. NVMe is, to my knowledge, just a fancy way of saying "PCIe x4" in the end, so for the m.2 connector you can have an SSD that communicates with the system over either SATA or NVMe

2) So, neither, technically. They're efficiency standards: all fall under "80+", which means at least 80+ of the power coming out of the wall is being used to drive the system (rather than being wasted as heat). The "rarer" the metal used to represent the standard, the higher the minimum efficiency, so Platinum would be slightly better than Gold, but not as good as Titanium (currently best). Most people are good with Gold, just make sure you have enough watts to power the system with comfortable overhead

3) Yeah, today's AIO water-cooling kits are pretty dang reliable. I don't know how to answer about air cooling, but logic would dictate that if you're messing around with an i9 you'd want a REALLY beefy tower-style cooler, so it may actually be better to put it on liquid anyway

4) Heh, neither do I nor anyone I'd build for have enough money to have looked into that before. I BELIEVE that's the case, though. Reputable brands, in my experience, include Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI. ASRock is a good budget option, but I wouldn't want to put anything power-hungry in them

5) Look into something called an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). They not only offer great surge protection, but also will power your computer off of a battery backup for a short time after an outage. There are two reputable brands here, one is APC and the other unfortunately escapes me right now...

6) *Raises hand* uh... What are you planning to do with 64GB of RAM?...

Also, form factor? You wanting to go big or medium with this?

Side note: Go BIG if it'll fit. Airflow and case options are important. If you're gonna get a mid-tower, you might as well just go big.

 

[Classicgamer]

*cracks knuckles* aight, here we go

1) NVMe is the bus type, whereas m.2 is the physical connector. NVMe is, to my knowledge, just a fancy way of saying "PCIe x4" in the end, so for the m.2 connector you can have an SSD that communicates with the system over either SATA or NVMe

2) So, neither, technically. They're efficiency standards: all fall under "80+", which means at least 80+ of the power coming out of the wall is being used to drive the system (rather than being wasted as heat). The "rarer" the metal used to represent the standard, the higher the minimum efficiency, so Platinum would be slightly better than Gold, but not as good as Titanium (currently best). Most people are good with Gold, just make sure you have enough watts to power the system with comfortable overhead

3) Yeah, today's AIO water-cooling kits are pretty dang reliable. I don't know how to answer about air cooling, but logic would dictate that if you're messing around with an i9 you'd want a REALLY beefy tower-style cooler, so it may actually be better to put it on liquid anyway

4) Heh, neither do I nor anyone I'd build for have enough money to have looked into that before. I BELIEVE that's the case, though. Reputable brands, in my experience, include Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI. ASRock is a good budget option, but I wouldn't want to put anything power-hungry in them

5) Look into something called an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). They not only offer great surge protection, but also will power your computer off of a battery backup for a short time after an outage. There are two reputable brands here, one is APC and the other unfortunately escapes me right now...

6) *Raises hand* uh... What are you planning to do with 64GB of RAM?...

Also, form factor? You wanting to go big or medium with this?

Thanks for the replies! Things are becoming clearer now. The UPS is something Ive considered in the past but didn’t have money for then.

I’m planning on future proofing this machine for the next 10years.

The immediate use for ram (which is overkill currently) is high res emulation and pc game mod texture packs.

16 would be enough for practical use but I’m thinking that since I have some disposable $$ id go 64 to future proof it. I might do 32...idk.

Form factor would be a medium ideally. I’m not into showy glass windows and led fans anymore so it would be tucked away under a desk and I’d like it fit.

I had great luck with MSI products in the past but we’re talking my last build was 2012 and before then builds between 2004-2012. Idk what has changes brand wise since then.

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Side note: Go BIG if it'll fit. Airflow and case options are important. If you're gonna mid-tower, you might as well just go big.

I came into some money and the plan is $3000ish on a beast pc and the rest to the kids savings and schooling etc.

My i7-3770k w/ GTX 670ftw is starting to black screen and then the gpu fan starts running max speed. This has tickled my new pc build funny bone... and as much as I like win7 I also feel it’s time for win10. I’m familiar with both and am starting to like 10 a bit more. I’ve been holding off for the 9900k for about 7 months now...LoL

So far I’ve reseated the gpu and cleaned up
I think the case. That helped but then it just black screened without maxing the gpu fan once. So I updated the gpu bios which so fR is helping. The update notes mentioned “stability” so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My gut feeling is it is psu related to be honest. I feel like it had a psu error before but I can’t recall.

 

[Kioku]

Thanks for the replies! Things are becoming clearer now. The UPS is something Ive considered in the past but didn’t have money for then.

I’m planning on future proofing this machine for the next 10years.

The immediate use for ram (which is overkill currently) is high res emulation and pc game mod texture packs.

16 would be enough for practical use but I’m thinking that since I have some disposable $$ id go 64 to future proof it. I might do 32...idk.

Form factor would be a medium ideally. I’m not into showy glass windows and led fans anymore so it would be tucked away under a desk and I’d like it fit.

I had great luck with MSI products in the past but we’re talking my last build was 2012 and before then builds between 2004-2012. Idk what has changes brand wise since then.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



I came into some money and the plan is $3000ish on a beast pc and the rest to the kids savings and schooling etc.

My i7-3770k w/ GTX 670ftw is starting to black screen and then the gpu fan starts running max speed. This has tickled my new pc build funny bone... and as much as I like win7 I also feel it’s time for win10. I’m familiar with both and am starting to like 10 a bit more. I’ve been holding off for the 9900k for about 7 months now...LoL

So far I’ve reseated the gpu and cleaned up
I think the case. That helped but then it just black screened without maxing the gpu fan once. So I updated the gpu bios which so fR is helping. The update notes mentioned “stability” so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My gut feeling is it is psu related to be honest. I feel like it had a psu error before but I can’t recall.

I'd blame the PSU, too. Did you go cheap? Actually had to replace TWO failing PSUs due to that issue and another unrelated one. It's no fun. Just make sure you research what you're buying beforehand.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

The immediate use for ram (which is overkill currently) is high res emulation and pc game mod texture packs.

16 would be enough for practical use but I’m thinking that since I have some disposable $$ id go 64 to future proof it. I might do 32...idk.

Form factor would be a medium ideally. I’m not into showy glass windows and led fans anymore so it would be tucked away under a desk and I’d like it fit.

I'm not usually one to call ideas stupid, but I will say that in this case, more does not necessarily equal better; for the lifespan of this PC, I don't foresee anything you'd be using ever using more than 32, MAYBE 48GB of RAM, even in the next 10 years, just based on past experience. The exception to that would be if you want to try messing with using a RAMdisk, which is a fun novelty but in reality only adds one more point of potential instability in my eyes

And in terms of size, what @Memoir said; bigger is better for a chip that will run as hot as the i9. The SMALLEST I would go is mATX with absolutely optimal airflow, but I will say that I think an ATX midtower will be fine to shave off a few inches of height

Would you like me to set up a part list based on what you're thinking of? I can do it sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, and then run through it with you for changes or improvements if you have questions or don't like what you're seeing

 

[Classicgamer]

I'm not usually one to call ideas stupid, but I will say that in this case, more does not necessarily equal better; for the lifespan of this PC, I don't foresee anything you'd be using ever using more than 32, MAYBE 48GB of RAM, even in the next 10 years, just based on past experience. The exception to that would be if you want to try messing with using a RAMdisk, which is a fun novelty but in reality only adds one more point of potential instability in my eyes

And in terms of size, what @Memoir said; bigger is better for a chip that will run as hot as the i9. The SMALLEST I would go is mATX with absolutely optimal airflow, but I will say that I think an ATX midtower will be fine to shave off a few inches of height

Would you like me to set up a part list based on what you're thinking of? I can do it sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, and then run through it with you for changes or improvements if you have questions or don't like what you're seeing

I would definitely like that! Not only does it help get ideas flowing it also sparks up questions about brand and price difference. I’m not one to throw money waway but I am looking to spend on quality parts. No rush since the 9900k drops likely next month.

I didn’t know the 9900k is going to be running hot. The rumors are soldered ihs which is supposed to be fun for thermal efficiency. I thought it would be around 30c idle and maybe 60s loaded.

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I'd blame the PSU, too. Did you go cheap? Actually had to replace TWO failing PSUs due to that issue and another unrelated one. It's no fun. Just make sure you research what you're buying beforehand.

Well I recall getting a semi-quality part but it was 6-7 years ago and just started acting up now. Let me pop the case real quick.

 

[Kioku]

I would definitely like that! Not only does it help get ideas flowing it also sparks up questions about brand and price difference. I’m not one to throw money waway but I am looking to spend on quality parts. No rush since the 9900k drops likely next month.

I didn’t know the 9900k is going to be running hot. The rumors are soldered ihs which is supposed to be fun for thermal efficiency. I thought it would be around 30c idle and maybe 60s loaded.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Well I recall getting a semi-quality part but it was 6-7 years ago and just started acting up now. Let me pop the case real quick.

The 9900k is notorious for being hot, so as long as you have decent airflow and a more than suitable cooler you'll be fine.

 

[Classicgamer]

Shiny!

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The 9900k is notorious for being hot, so as long as you have decent airflow and a more than suitable cooler you'll be fine.

Oh I didn’t know people already had the 9900k to test yet! Nice!

 

[Kioku]

Shiny!

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Oh I didn’t know people already had the 9900k to test yet! Nice!

Oh dear lord, I'm not all here. I was thinking of a different chipset entirely. Send help! I haven't seen much about the new chipset, the soldered IHS is something fans have been clamoring for for quite a few gens now. So, I'm ecstatic to see the how it handles thermal. I'm sorry, I was thinking of something from a year or so ago. Oh my..

 

[Classicgamer]

I'd blame the PSU, too. Did you go cheap? Actually had to replace TWO failing PSUs due to that issue and another unrelated one. It's no fun. Just make sure you research what you're buying beforehand.

It was a Corsair TX 750M

 

[Kioku]

It was a Corsair 750tx

Actually not bad, and it lasted 6ish years? Noice.

 

[Classicgamer]

Actually not bad, and it lasted 6ish years? Noice.

Well....past it’s expected life I presume? Haha

I just now started overclocking this 3770k and reached 4.8ghz but it crashed shortly after. Temps we’re just fine too. I went to 4.5ghz and it is stable.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Oh dear lord, I'm not all here. I was thinking of a different chipset entirely. Send help! I haven't seen much about the new chipset, the soldered IHS is something fans have been clamoring for for quite a few gens now. So, I'm ecstatic to see the how it handles thermal. I'm sorry, I was thinking of something from a year or so ago. Oh my..

Actually so was I lmao so I'm with you there. Intel needs to get it's shit together and name their products things that make sense which they're finally starting to do but now I'm confused by it lmao

Still though, I expect a super-poweful chip meant to compete with enthusiast-grade Threadripper chips to run pretty toasty, there's just not any way to pack that many cores and performance into a single package on 14nm process and have it NOT. That said, if the reviews come out and show that it's ripping a hole in the universe by breaking the laws of thermodynamics as I know them, then we can look at maybe moving you to a small form factor build, which'd be exciting

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Ok, I think I've got something worth presenting:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($171.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB XC GAMING Video Card ($1149.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($96.78 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: *EVGA - 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ B&H)
Other: Core i9 9900k ($520.00)
Total: $2508.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-10 21:12 EDT-0400

So first off, the obvious disclaimer that neither the 9900k nor the 2080ti are released yet, so prices are either based off preorders or speculation. So the final total may be higher or lower than what's shown here

With that out of the way, I'd like to say that this is a build where everything is just. Stupidly overkill. To keep price down, I compromised a bit on the PSU and the cooler. I would like to make it clear, though, that what I have picked is still from reputable brands that make durable and premium products, it's just that what I've picked is slightly more wallet-friendly than their highest-tier

RAM is something that I've given you the option to upgrade; it has 2x16GB DIMMs, which means if, 5 or 10 years down the line, you somehow end up needing 64GB of RAM (holy shit), you can just pop an extra two DIMMS in and fly on your way

Storage could be both compromised and improved simultaneously. You have a 500GB NVMe drive right now, but that could easily be swapped for a lower class SSD with a bigger capacity, or even a smaller SSD, along with a gigantic hard drive + an Optaine drive for acceleration

Lemme know your thoughts? I'd obviously like to save you as much money as possible, so if there's stuff you're willing to shave down let me know

 

[DKB]

The i9 is a waste of money, for barely any performance gain over the i7.

I know I can't stop you from buying it, but people seem to regret when getting it.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

The i9 is a waste of money, for barely any performance gain over the i7.

I know I can't stop you from buying it, but people seem to regret when getting it.

I'm inclined to agree, we'll need to see what happens when reviews come in though. I do think that most reviewers will end up saying "buy an i7" though

 

[comput3rus3r]

and I haven’t built a machine since 2012. I haven’t been following advances in pc hardware either and this machine is going to be top notch. I do have some questions for the more knowledgeable people here.

1) what is the difference between m.2 and nvme?

2) do psu rated gold and plantium offer better stability or just longevity? Which brands are most reliable?

3) is water cooling reliable? “Sealed for life” coolers good? Stick to air cooling on the i9-9900k? It would be a light overclock if anything. Thoughts?

4) is z370 currently the best mobo for an i9-9900k and which brands are most reliable?

5) in the past I’ve used only power strips that were generic that offer surge protection. I feel like it would have been a pretty poor amount of protection if it was ever needed. I’d like proper protection this time and would like to know what that entails?

6) do you have any questions or advice for me? Important to know planned specs are i9-9900k; 2080ti, minimum 64gb ram.

here's my one piece of advice.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

 

[Kioku]

Ok, I think I've got something worth presenting:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($171.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB XC GAMING Video Card ($1149.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($96.78 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: *EVGA - 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ B&H)
Other: Core i9 9900k ($520.00)
Total: $2508.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-10 21:12 EDT-0400

So first off, the obvious disclaimer that neither the 9900k nor the 2080ti are released yet, so prices are either based off preorders or speculation. So the final total may be higher or lower than what's shown here

With that out of the way, I'd like to say that this is a build where everything is just. Stupidly overkill. To keep price down, I compromised a bit on the PSU and the cooler. I would like to make it clear, though, that what I have picked is still from reputable brands that make durable and premium products, it's just that what I've picked is slightly more wallet-friendly than their highest-tier

RAM is something that I've given you the option to upgrade; it has 2x16GB DIMMs, which means if, 5 or 10 years down the line, you somehow end up needing 64GB of RAM (holy shit), you can just pop an extra two DIMMS in and fly on your way

Storage could be both compromised and improved simultaneously. You have a 500GB NVMe drive right now, but that could easily be swapped for a lower class SSD with a bigger capacity, or even a smaller SSD, along with a gigantic hard drive + an Optaine drive for acceleration

Lemme know your thoughts? I'd obviously like to save you as much money as possible, so if there's stuff you're willing to shave down let me know

Wouldn't say overkill if the plan is to keep the PC for more than a few years. Also, 2133mhz ram? Booooo ;x

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Wouldn't say overkill if the plan is to keep the PC for more than a few years. Also, 2133mhz ram? Booooo ;x

Oh hush, RAM speed matters a lot less on Intel than it does AMD

Besides, I chose the cheapest kit that wasn't red; realistically I just should have used a parametric filter for the RAM. I can add higher frequencies to the filter though for the next "revision" if he seems that an issue