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My ASRock Build - X99E-ITX Campaign - NEW PICS

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Illegalseagull View Drop Down
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    Posted: 24 May 2015 at 6:02am
Hey Guys!

I just wanted to share a few pics of my recent desktop build, and what I learned about overclocking the i5-4690K on an ASRock mobo.

This is my second computer build, and my first with an ASRock motherboard.

My first build was an Intel E8500 on an atx-size Gigabyte board which I overclocked for daily use. Getting to 4.21ghz was easy, but getting an extra few mhz beyond that meant faster ram($$), more voltage, and a lot of tuning.  I lapped the processor to a mirror shine, tweaked and adjusted a lot of settings...Overall, it  was a good computer, but after 5 years of hard use, it was showing its age...it was time to build again

My old computer was a large ATX build, and I really wanted the new build to be smaller, and more powerful.  The rig below is built around an ASRock Z97M OC Formula micro atx motherboard.

I wanted to be sure that I got the highest overclock I could, so cutting corners on a cheap board was not an option...at the same time, I also don't see much point in shelling out over $200 for some "high end" board where you're basically just paying an extra $100 for the name.  After a LOT of research and comparison shopping, I decided on ASRock's OC Formula.

With the 1150 socket processors, I've heard people suggest that OC'ing actually easier and more enjoyable than it's been in the past, because the basic OC adjustment settings are very simple, and getting a nice overclock can be very straightforward.  This is true.  My friends and I were amazed how the OC Formula made a ridiculously-high clock speed so easy...in the UEFI Bios that you access from Windows, there is are a bunch of overclocking settings, including one labelled "Overclock to 4.5ghz".  We just lauged and said, "Sure, why not try it?"  To our surprise, it worked--and ran great!!  Even the temps were reasonable.  Booting and using Windows was flawless.  No crashes, nothing.  I played War Thunder online for hours, etc.  I meant to "dial it in" and play with it more, but I didn't get around to it until a week and half later...it was more fun just using it.  I have since gone back, of course, and manually set some voltages and other settings, but I'm still amazed how easy it was to blow past my old computer's hard-earned overclock.  My i5 runs at 4.5ghz all day long...Well done, ASRock!!


In further tuning, I am able to play games at 4.7ghz, and I can scoot around Windows at 4.8ghz, but it really seems like the stability sweet spot for my chip is going to be 4.5ghz.  Core voltage is a very reasonable 1.23v, and with my 2x120mm Corsair all-in-one water cooling, I average about high 50's/low 60's peak temps from AIDA64 stress testing.  This thing rocks.


My wife and I play multiplayers online, and needless to say, she wants a desktop gaming rig now, too!  

Can you build a smaller, more powerful rig than this?  If so, 

I want that...



Any questions, just let me know!  

**post edited to add new screenshot at 5ghz.  woohoo!!**










Edited by Illegalseagull - 25 May 2015 at 12:40pm
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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Jon View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote Jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2015 at 6:16am
Nice, I like the KILLER and the gold heatsinks.  How many RAMs do you have in there?  Looks like a full load.
ASRock X99E-ITX/ac | Intel i7-5820K | ASUS GTX 970 mini | Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | Crucial Ballistix (2x8GB) | Corsair CX600M | CoolerMaster Seidon 120V | CoolerMaster Elite 110 | Windows 10 64-bit
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Illegalseagull View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Illegalseagull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2015 at 6:27am
Thanks!  
At the moment, I'm running 4x2gb of OCZ ram that I looted from a friend's old i7-920 build, but I've had my eye on a larger 8gbx2 kit by Corsair.

You can't really see it from the pictures, but the case (Corsair Air 240) has a dividing wall behind the motherboard, where the power supply and hard drives are hidden, which helps to keep it looking clean.  I'm running a 500GB ssd for games and program files, 128gb SSD for OS and random system utilities, and a 1TB Caviar Black for general storage.
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote pussyp0pper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2015 at 10:27am
You should get that 16GB ram kit -- you're going to "want that" RAM.  In all seriousness though the only time I have used more than 8GB of RAM was doing a stupid Windows Update DeadOuchConfused

WELL DONE M$FT Clap
I7 990X MOTHERLOVERS!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Illegalseagull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2015 at 10:31am
funny...seems like it was just yesterday that 2gb was enough for a standard computer, and 4gb was considered good for gaming, LOL
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote muffint0p96 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2015 at 11:17pm
Super jealous.  Looks like a great machine! Any tips for a newbie?
long time Laptop user
Want to build a gaming beast
Smart computer terms
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote daliana Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2015 at 5:07am
Killer setup! Clap
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Illegalseagull View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Illegalseagull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2015 at 7:33am
Thanks, Daliana!

I'm really happy with how well it turned out.  I have to give a big nod to the motherboard and the case for making this build go so smoothly.  My last computer had a more basic case, with no real cable management, and that made putting it all together cleanly more like a puzzle that you had to do, and do over until you got it right.  This was almost too easy.

You can't really tell from the pictures, but the Corsair waterpump has lettering that lights up in LED's.  I have mine adjusted lite up a gold-yellow color, to match the ASRock heat sinks.  
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Illegalseagull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2015 at 7:51am
Originally posted by muffint0p96 muffint0p96 wrote:

Super jealous.  Looks like a great machine! Any tips for a newbie?

Muffin

Thanks!  

I'm not sure what you like to do with your computer, but if you're like a lot of folks, you do a mix of basic internet and medium-duty gaming.

If that description fits you, consider some of the following items in your build:


1)  www.pcpartspicker.com does a good job of showing you compatible computer parts and competitive pricing.  They have a good website that you can use as a guide through the build process.

Parts compatibility is key.  Most of this is going to become more obvious after some research, but at first it can seem confusing.  Don't be afraid to post your build to message boards (like here, Tom's Hardware, pcpartspicker, etc.) to try to get other peoples' opinions.  They will ALWAYS suggest you spend more money and get fancier stuff than you had in mind, but the main thing you're looking for is someone to catch a mistake or notice something wonky before you spend your money.

2)  Even though the processor is the sexy, popular part of computer for most people, if you are a gamer, the graphics card is at least as important.

So consider a balance.  If you don't know what overclocking is--and don't care to--grab a mid-level Intel i5, or an AMD FX-8350--a popular motherboard that has a lot of reviews on newegg.com, memory, power supply, and a graphics card in the $150-$250 range.  This should suit you well on 1080p resolution displays for most games.

3)  Overclocking is more for fun than necessity.  If you are just getting into building, and you must wring every ounce of performance out of your rig, overclocking is a fun side-hobby you can do to get more oomph for your dollar....that said, you usually end up spending more on the components if it ends up being your focus...so mostly, I think, it is for fun.  IF you want to overlock, grab a better cpu cooler (The Coolermaster Seidon is a good value in all-in-one watercooling), a motherboard that will support your tuning with durability and a wide feature set (so no old OEM or low-spec <$50 aftermarket mobos), and an Intel processor that ends in a "K", like the 4690K, 4790K...another option is AMD's "Black Edition" chips, like the FX8350, etc.  These chips will have "unlocked multipliers" that will let you go a LOT further with your efforts.

4)  Get help!    Go on message boards, talk to people, look up "overclocking guides" if you're into overclocking.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  Many experts ( I'm no expert) are happy to help you succeed.  Have fun!Big smile


Edited by Illegalseagull - 25 May 2015 at 7:53am
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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Illegalseagull View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Illegalseagull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2015 at 7:52am
Also, I liked your signature...funnyLOL
ASROCK Z97M OC Formula
Intel i5 - 4690K @ 4.5ghz
Stable Overclock
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