Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

[BryanB]

Hi all,

I am currently gathering together the components for a new build pc as specified below. Can any of you experienced builders see any problems or difficulties that might arise?

Component List

Case Zalman MS800 because of the 10 front 5.25 inch bays
Motherboard ASRock X99 Extreme6 because of the number of SATA ports and USB 2 USB 3 M/B headers
CPU i7 5820K mainly for photo editing
CPU Cooler Corsair H100i Extreme just seemed a sensible choice. I know that it needs a bit of modding to make it fit this case because of the fan fixing spacing
Memory 32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 Quad Channel I like Crucial Memory
Power Supply XFX ProSeries Black Edition 850 Watt 80 Plus Gold Certified Fully Modular I think this is a branded Seasonic Unit so should be good
Graphics Card ASUS GeForce GTX960 Strix OC 2GB GDDR5 chosen for the quiet cooling system and reasonable performance for my needs
Optical Drive LiteOn IHAS124-14 24x DVD'CD Drive (or similar)
Card Reader Akasa Interconnect Pro 5,25 inch Card Reader (USB 2.0) with 4 x USB2 + 2x USB3 + eSATA port
Drive Caddies Oricco 1105ss Hot Swap 5.35 inch HDD x 4 simply to make back-ups and disc swapping easier
HDD's Either 1 x Crucial MX200 1TB as system and apps drive + 2 x 2TB Toshiba 64MB Cache 7200rpm for Data or NO SSD and use 3 x 2TB spinners.
Cooling Additional case fans as needed.
Monitors Either 2 x Dell U2415 1920x1200 IPS 16:10 or 2 x Eizo EV2436W 1920x1200 IPS 16:10 or 2 x NEC Multisync EA244WMi 1920x1200 IPS 16:10.

Please feel free to comment for or against any aspects of the build. PC will be used mainly for photo editing with some video work. I do not play games. Most of my editing software will use multiple cores and threads of a multicore cpu.

All advice appreciated.

Thanks,

BryanB

[SandsOfTime]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

Definitely a ssd as system drive! The difference in speed compared to a hdd is priceless.

An alternative for the graphics card is the MSI GTX960 Gaming 2G. Absolutely quiet at windows desktop, because their fans only starts spinning under heavy 3D load.

[BryanB]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

Thanks for your input.

I will probably go with the Crucial MX200 1TB SSD, just don't want to part with that much cash for a 1TB. I was hoping that SSD costs would drop but it seems like HDD spinners are going up, good old marketing practices !!!!

As to the MSI GTX960, I have already purchased the ASUS GTX 960 card. The cooling system is also temperature controlled and is one of the main choices for my decision.

I am currently in the process of obtaining the parts to build two units of this specification.

Thanks again for your input.

[parsec]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

SSD prices are dropping all the time! It's the best time ever for buying a high capacity SSD. The new 1TB Crucial BX100 is under $400 in the USA. HDD performance has not changed at all, and so called SATA III HDDs cannot even reach SATA II speeds in large file sequential read and write. In small file random performance and any high queue depth situation, HDDs are hopelessly behind SSDs. I can't imagine using a PC without a SSD. Storage drive IO is still the slowest part of any computer, anything to speed that up makes a big difference.

IF SSDs of the same capacity could be priced close or equal to HDDs, that would be the end of HDDs.

One tip about HDDs that I've learned from experience. If you can buy them locally from a retailer that you go to yourself, so no shipping, get them that way. Shipping HDDs via any carrier without careful packaging (which is rare) will result in plenty of DOA units. Shipping to retailers is done by their own trucks and they seem much more careful in handling. I'll never forget the monitor I had shipped that had a large boot print on the semi-crushed box. The monitor was destroyed, I only had to lift one flap of the box to see that.

Your memory should be compatible, it's on that board's memory compatibility list. It seems strange that some DDR4 memory would not be compatible with the only memory controller that can use DDR4 memory at this time, but I've seen reports of that, apparently.

That PSU is made by Seasonic, based on their KM3 series. Not their latest and greatest, but in its time it certainly was.

I'm not a big fan of some of the Corsair AIO liquid coolers, due to their fan speed control arrangement. Its been improved in the H100i, but I would still prefer four pin PWM fans connected to the mother board's PWM fan headers which usually give smoother and a larger range of fan speed control.

[Joe-912]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

I ordered a 750GB WD green from Amazon a few years back on there free delivery, and it was put in a carboard envelope and posted through my letter box, I sent it back...

[BryanB]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

SSD prices are dropping all the time! It's the best time ever for buying a high capacity SSD. The new 1TB Crucial BX100 is under $400 in the USA. HDD performance has not changed at all, and so called SATA III HDDs cannot even reach SATA II speeds in large file sequential read and write. In small file random performance and any high queue depth situation, HDDs are hopelessly behind SSDs. I can't imagine using a PC without a SSD. Storage drive IO is still the slowest part of any computer, anything to speed that up makes a big difference.

IF SSDs of the same capacity could be priced close or equal to HDDs, that would be the end of HDDs.

One tip about HDDs that I've learned from experience. If you can buy them locally from a retailer that you go to yourself, so no shipping, get them that way. Shipping HDDs via any carrier without careful packaging (which is rare) will result in plenty of DOA units. Shipping to retailers is done by their own trucks and they seem much more careful in handling. I'll never forget the monitor I had shipped that had a large boot print on the semi-crushed box. The monitor was destroyed, I only had to lift one flap of the box to see that.

Your memory should be compatible, it's on that board's memory compatibility list. It seems strange that some DDR4 memory would not be compatible with the only memory controller that can use DDR4 memory at this time, but I've seen reports of that, apparently.

That PSU is made by Seasonic, based on their KM3 series. Not their latest and greatest, but in its time it certainly was.

I'm not a big fan of some of the Corsair AIO liquid coolers, due to their fan speed control arrangement. Its been improved in the H100i, but I would still prefer four pin PWM fans connected to the mother board's PWM fan headers which usually give smoother and a larger range of fan speed control.

[parsec]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

It sounds like that shop you use is fighting for your business, and winning too! I would definitely buy from them too.

I looked up the 32GB Crucial Ballistics Sport kit, 4 x 8GB @ 2400, and check Crucial's compatibility page, with this result:

32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR4-2400 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.2V 1024Meg x 64 upgrades for X99 Extreme6 Scheda Madre, CT6964724 from Crucial.com

I assume this is your memory kit, just working from the information you gave in your first post.

I don't think you understand how the Corsair H100i fans and pump speed connector are meant to be connected. Corsair has a guide for the H100i's installation: How to install the Hydro Series H100i CPU Cooler

If you don't want to use the Corsair Link software to control the fans and monitor pump speed, you'll need a two fan PWM fan splitter cable. The pump speed connector can be used on any fan header, as it only is used for monitoring pump speed.

[BryanB]

Re: Any Problems Likely With This Build Spec?

Hi parsec,

Thank you again for your help.

The store that I am using is a National chain in the UK. They have over 200 stores throughout the UK as well as a fairly large on line presence. I am giving them the chance to supply as many of the build components as they can. They are just being really aggressive on their pricing, even on non-stock items that they have to source and order in. In all a fantastic service from the staff.

I have had another look at the fan connections and think that I am beginning to see the light, thanks for the links.

I have also sorted the memory numbering out now. Unfortunately it looks like the Crucial memory might be the one item that the store is going to have difficulty in supplying. They do however supply Corsair memory so that might be an alternative.

Thanks again.

Bryan