Zarius

After reading the replies and doing further research, I've come up with the following build. I've decided that the i7 isn't necessary for my needs, and I've decided to stay away from the K series due to it's removed Virtual Support. Any input or critisim would be appreciated. Case: Cosair Carbide Series 300R (http://www.corsair.com/us/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-300r-compact-pc-gaming-case.html) PSU: Corsair TX650M Enthusiast Series (http://www.corsair.com/us/power-supply-units/tx-series-power-supply-units/tx-series-modular-tx650m-80-plus-bronze-certified-650-watt-high-performance-modular-power-supply.html) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-DH3 ATX LGA 1150 (http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4518#ov) CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 Quad Core, 6MB L3, 3.4GHz, LGA1150 (http://ark.intel.com/products/75047/Intel-Core-i5-4670-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz) RAM: Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M@A1500C10 16GB Kit 2x8 (http://www.corsair.com/us/memory-by-product-family/vengeance/vengeance-16gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz16gx3m2a1600c10.html) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Super Clocked DirectX 11.1 (http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-2762-KR) Blu-ray: LG Internal 14X Blu-ray writer with BDXL support. Boot / App Disk: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD Storage Disk: Western Digital Blue 3.5" SATA 7200RPM 64MB Cache OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (only because I have a retail copy kicking around, otherwise I wouldn't go with Ultimate) Thanks, Zarius.

What's the reason for replacement? Is that just concern over it's stability, or is that due to a technical reason? Thanks for the advice regarding the 4770 vs 4770k with virtualization, I will definately look into this before I make a purchase. Regards, Zarius.

I didn't realize the retail CPU came with a cooler, I just assumed it didn't. (I bought OEM for previous builds). If the cooler is included then I won't bother picking one up and will just use the stock for now.

In Canada, why?

I haven't built a new desktop since 2008, so I haven't kept up to speed on processors, memory and motherboards etc. I'm now looking to upgrade the system I built in 08. I believe I know what I want, but with the plethora of socket, processor, and memory types and speeds I just wanted to make sure that the following list of components will all work together, and if there is any reason to stay away from any of these components. I don't game much these days, but I want to know that it will handle the latest and greatest games with relative ease. In addition I utilize vmware workstation, QEMU, and Virtual Box fairly heavily on this system. I'm only planning to upgrade the mainboard, CPU, memory and heat sink. Everything else will be fine for what I'm doing (unless there is some kind of new pin connector for the mobo that my PSU won't support). It's currently a Corsair HX520 ATX Triple 12V 40A 24PIN. I'm looking at the following combo. (will probably run it stock, but may OC...) Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP (GLA1150) Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8) CL9 (Part: CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9) CoolerMaster RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm FAN I'm also considering if the i5-4670K would be more than sufficient, but given it's only about $80.00 more i'm not sure it's worth skimping on the proc. Thanks in advance for any input/suggestions. Zarius.

I'm shopping at a mix of Tigerdirect and NCIX (in Canada). As far as the VT-d it's used for directed I/O. It supports remapping I/O and DMA transfers. It's not a necessity for me, but it was a nice to have. Thanks for the input. I've decided to stick with the i750 based on the input from this thread, so thanks again. Regards, Zarius.

Thanks Zertz, After some quick research I see that the 750 has 4 cores, vs the 2 cores of the 660. Thanks for pointing this out, as the 750 is $20.00 cheaper, although it doesn't support vt-d I can probably live without it anyhow. So I'll take your advice and go for the i5 750. Although the higher speed of the 660 is attractive for some legacy apps I run, I guess the quad core makes more sense moving forward. I'm still curious if the board selection is a decent choice and if memory timing/voltages will work. The board says the memory runs at 1.5v, but the Corsair site says the memory is 1.65v, so not sure if that's an issue, or just a BIOS setting for the board that would need to be changed.

Hmm. So is Intels spec page incorrect then? It clearly shows that 660i doesn't support VT-d.... http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=43550,43553, I'll be honest, I have no idea what the difference is between the 750 and 660. I simply went for the 660 because of the higher clock speed for applications that aren't multi-threaded and lack multi processor support. I'm here for advice, so I'll definately look into the 750... Can you give me your opinion of why this is the better choice? Regards, Zarius.

Just looking for a little advice. I'm considering the following and I'm just wondering if there is any compatibility or performance issues with the CPU, Motherboard, and Memory I've selected below. I'm planning to use this for work, gaming and everything in between. I don't have any plans to overclock or modify the system. When I say gaming I don't mean hardcore bleeding edge though, and I'm shying away from the i5-661 as it doesn't have VT support which the i5-660 does. CPU - i5-660 3.3GHz Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P Memory - Corsair CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 (8GB 1600) Video Card BFG GeForce GTX 275 Overclocked (yes I've heard ATI is better for the buck, but I like Nvidia and want to stick with them) Hard Drive - 160GB Intel SSD Second HD 500GB something, just pure storage. Is there any major issue with the above? Have I chosen the correct mix of equipment as far as voltages, memory speeds, and performance? Any advice would be appreciated. Regards, Zarius.

Ok thanks, I was simply going by the Thermalright website, and it said you need to remove the silentpipe if using the Ultra 120 eXtreme on a GA-EP35-DS4. Thanks for info. Regards, Zarius.

I'm currently looking at building a second gaming system, and have determined that I want to use the GA-EP35-DS4 motherboard with an Intel E8400 CPU. I already have one system using a Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme (on a GA-965p-DS3) and I'm extremely happy with this cooler. I've read though that the GA-EP35-DS4 comes with a pipe cooling system that includes the chipset, and to add the Ultra 120 you need to remove the entire assembly. Is there another Thermalright that would be better suited for this build so that I wouldn't need to remove the cooling unit provided by gigabyte, or if I should stick to the Ultra 120, is there a nice chipset cooler that I can use with it, that would allow both to fit well on the GA-E35-DS4? Any help would be appreciated. I've picked out all my components, but I really need to determine my cooling solution before I start order parts, and given the cost of these coolers I'd hate to order and find out it's not feasible for my build. Thanks in advance. Regards, Zarius.

Thanks again for your help Kingdingeling. Regards, Zarius.

And one more question I forgot to add... What is the difference between the GA-P35-DS4 and the GA-EP35-DS4, even the gigabyte comparison page doesn't show a difference... http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Mother...uctID=2744,2745 Regards, Zarius.

Ok thanks for the info, I've actually been looking into the GA-EP35-DS4 already, but I just wasn't sure if I was on the right track. My only other question then, if I choose this board, is should I use PC8500 memory with it, if I'm using the E8400 Processor? (I have a set of extra Corsiar PC6400C kicking around, but is it worth the money to go to the faster memory with this board? Will I be limitting performance if I use my PC6400? Thanks Zarius.

I've been reading the forums here, (and looking at Gigabytes website) and it seems like there are alot of different gigabyte boards available at the moment, and I'm wondering if someone can help me narrow down the list to a few models which I can compare. I've been very happy with my gigabyte boards in the past, so I want to stick to this brand, so please don't make suggestions of other brands. I'm looking to build a second gaming machine, and I'm not sure which Mobo(s) would best fit my budget and requirements. Requirements: -Must have Win XP drivers available -RAID 0 -Less than $200.00US (even lower is better) The hardware I'm planning to use with the board are as follows: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 2GB RAM PC6400 Corsair (Unless I should get a different speed...) 2 x SATA Hard Drives (RAID 0) GeForce 8800GTS 640MB (Not going with SLI) If I can get this list narrowed down to two or three models which I then do comparrison on it would be appreciated. Thanks, Zarius