X99 Extreme6/3.1 RAM and M.2 Sata3 Compatibility

Hi all, first time here and first time building a custom Windows machine. Brief background, I was last a regular windows user back in the late 90's with an IBM Aptiva something or other. 512mb HDD, and a 4MB RAM. That's the extent of my PC hardware knowledge. I've been a mac user since 2003 and understand it way better. So forgive my ignorance with anything below this point. :)

SATA storage drives in general are so not exotic that any type of compatibility issues simply don't exist. Particularly based upon capacity alone. That is the least of your concerns.

What can make a difference is the M.2 interface, which can support both SATA and PCIe M.2 SSDs. Your board's M.2 slot supports both types, although a few boards do not.

Any particular reason for using an M.2 SATA SSD? It will not perform any better than a standard 2.5" form factor SATA SSD. I see the equivalent 1TB 2.5" 850 EVO is cheaper than the 1TB M.2 version.

Speaking of compatibility, I see a potential issue in your choice of CPU. Your Broadwell-E 6950X processor requires a specific UEFI/BIOS version being installed in the board, or it simply will not function at all.

If the board you receive does not have at least the version 3.00 UEFI firmware, a Broadwell-E processor will immediately fail the CPU POST check.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X99%20Extreme63.1/?cat=Download&os=BIOS

That is due to the multi-CPU generation support of the X99 platform. It can use both the Haswell-E and Broadwell-E HEDT processors. Haswell-E is the original processor generation supported by X99. Broadwell-E requires a UEFI update in order to work, which is a limitation that Intel has not managed to overcome on their HEDT platforms.

If the board you receive was produced during or after April of this year, it will most likely have that UEFI version out of the box. If not, it likely will not have that UEFI version. Impossible to know ahead of time, since the retailer does not have that information.

The only fix for a board with an earlier UEFI version is replacing the UEFI chip on the board (easily done) with one that has the required UEFI version in it, which ASRock will provide for you. Or if you have a Haswell-E CPU in your back pocket, you can run the board with it and update the UEFI yourself. This is true for any mother board manufacture, it is a purely Intel problem, identical to their X79 platform.

Otherwise, new X99 ASRock boards like the Taichi and the Fatal1ty X99 Professional Gaming i7, released along with Broadwell-E processors, will not have this situation.

FYI, Broadwell-E processors like yours support DDR4 memory speeds of up to 2400 by Intel's specification. Any memory speed above 2400 is a memory over clock, and not guaranteed.

http://ark.intel.com/products/94456/Intel-Core-i7-6950X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-25M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

DDR4 3200 speed memory is not plug and play on any X99 system. Using eight DIMMs at 3200 will be a challenge at best, and in most cases impossible. It will also likely require the use of a non-standard BCLK setting of 125MHz, which also affects the CPU speed, which must be compensated for by adjusting the CPU core multipliers in the UEFI. Any DDR4 3200 memory will operate at lower speeds, the default speed will be either 2133 or 2400. The real world usefulness of DDR4 memory above 2666 is very small.

The Noctua NH-U9S CPU cooler is just adequate for your CPU, certainly not with any over clock.

Your choice of PC case baffles me. It has many 3.5" drive bays/cages, that frankly reduce airflow through the case to a great degree. Yet you are using an M.2 SSD, is that the OS drive? The drive cages can be removed, or partially. The 5.25" optical drive bays are only useful if you use an optical drive.

I can also assure you that the large 200mm fan in the front of the case won't provide good airflow to two 1080's in SLI. They are fine as exhaust fans, not fighting any obstacles, but as an intake fan through vents and filters, they don't work well.

Your main concern will be getting the heat from those cards out of the PC case, without their heated air being used to "cool" your CPU.

As a first build, you have chosen a non-beginners platform. You seem to have some experience, but I strongly suggest you study your board's manual.

So I finally have all of the parts, but one. I'll probably be doing the build later this week.