Couple of quick questions about my new gaming rig.

[Deleted]

Ok so this is what I built yesterday and I have a few questions



The gtx 660 is for my wife I'm using my MSI gtx 670 power edition from my old pc

My old rig had a fx4100 processor and it was running a lot cooler than the i5 in my new build (old cpu around 45-50c while gaming. new cpu 55-65c depending on the game) is this a normal operating temperature for the haswell chip?

Do I need to overclock the cpu to play WoW, BF4, Borderlands 2, Sleeping Dogs and Diablo 3 in max settings? If I do can you recommend me an aftermarket cooler that isn't massively expensive (water cooling is possibly an option as the case will fit it in)

At stock speeds what fps should I expect for WoW in ultra settings (this is the main game I play) 10 and 25 man?

Thanks in advance =)

[noteworthynerd]

Yes, those are normal operating temps for the 4570K. The max safe operating temperature for the 4570K is around 90C. You can't compare AMD temps to Intel temps, they're measured and reported in a totally different way, it's basically apples to oranges.

As for overclocking: Do you need to? No, it will play those games fine at stock, but there's really no reason not to overclock considering that you bought the unlocked CPU. Add a halfway decent cooler like the CoolerMaster 212 Evo and you can easily take it to around 4GHz, or add a more expensive cooler like the Corsair H80i and push towards 4.5-4.6GHz.

You can expect 30-60 FPS in most places in WoW on Ultra (assuming 1920x1080 resolution). Obviously crowded cities and 25 man raids will be tougher than lower traffic areas.

And just a small note for future purchases: most stock and aftermarket CPU coolers come with thermal paste preapplied and it is usually sufficient for stock temps and mild overclocks. You don't really need to worry about aftermarket paste unless you plan on really pushing the overclock.

[Deleted]

Yes, those are normal operating temps for the 4570K. The max safe operating temperature for the 4570K is around 90C. You can't compare AMD temps to Intel temps, they're measured and reported in a totally different way, it's basically apples to oranges.

As for overclocking: Do you need to? No, it will play those games fine at stock, but there's really no reason not to overclock considering that you bought the unlocked CPU. Add a halfway decent cooler like the CoolerMaster 212 Evo and you can easily take it to around 4GHz, or add a more expensive cooler like the Corsair H80i and push towards 4.5-4.6GHz.

You can expect 30-60 FPS in most places in WoW on Ultra (assuming 1920x1080 resolution). Obviously crowded cities and 25 man raids will be tougher than lower traffic areas.

Sorry I forgot to mention resolution, yes its 1920x1080.

Thanks for the clarification on the temperatures just wanted to make sure

I bought the unlocked CPU because I figured that way when it starts falling behind a bit then I can overclock it at a later date but For the price of a CoolerMaster 212 I might as well do it now =p

[megabeat]

Sorry I forgot to mention resolution, yes its 1920x1080.

Thanks for the clarification on the temperatures just wanted to make sure

I bought the unlocked CPU because I figured that way when it starts falling behind a bit then I can overclock it at a later date but For the price of a CoolerMaster 212 I might as well do it now =p

Just overclock that thing now, it has no drawbacks (except power). Those things are designed to overclock. Just do it with care and you will get 4ghz at least.

[Deleted]

Seeing as you bought thermal compound. Did you apply that to the CPU and than removed the thermal compound from the stock heatsink?

[Deleted]

Seeing as you bought thermal compound. Did you apply that to the CPU and than removed the thermal compound from the stock heatsink?

I did clean the thermal compound off the stock heatsink and applied a thin even spread to both the cpu and the heatsink

[glo]

I did clean the thermal compound off the stock heatsink and applied a thin even spread to both the cpu and the heatsink

Well that could easily mess up your temperatures. That much paste is just creating more distance between your CPU and the heatsink, among other problems like spillover and micro bubbles. This is the correct amount and application of thermal paste:

[Deleted]

The PSU is pretty mediocre. I'd look into changing it pretty soon.

[Deleted]

The PSU is pretty mediocre. I'd look into changing it pretty soon.

Whats wrong with the PSU?

[Ghâzh]

It's a corsair CX600M. They tend to arrive DOA or die within a few months. Even while they're working you'll notice coil whine which is a bad sign. Not to mention that the modular features of it are mainly a gimmick. You'll end up with everything plugged into it anyway. Either get a Corsair AX series or HX series. They tend to work better.

Yeah I see people constantly recommending the CX series even on this forum. I wouldn't go as far as saying that you should change it right away but just keep in mind that's probably your weakest component at the moment. And it's not like all of them arrive DOA or fail within months most of them are good units but the failure rate is higher then those of better quality. It's a budget PSU with cheaper components, just see how it works but make sure to save the warranty receipt.

About the overclocking; The benefit you can potentially achieve in WoW is usually about 1% higher minimum FPS per 1% overclock. So let's say you're running 3.9GHz stock speed at the moment and 25mans make you dip to 25 FPS by overclocking it to 4.9GHz (25.6%) you might raise that minimum to ~31.41 FPS. Those are raw estimates but usually pretty accurate when it comes to WoW.

[Deleted]

About the overclocking; The benefit you can potentially achieve in WoW is usually about 1% higher minimum FPS per 1% overclock. So let's say you're running 3.9GHz stock speed at the moment and 25mans make you dip to 25 FPS by overclocking it to 4.9GHz (25.6%) you might raise that minimum to ~31.41 FPS. Those are raw estimates but usually pretty accurate when it comes to WoW.

on my i5 2500k from stock to 4.3 i gained over 10fps, something within say 12-15 (25hc). I can only imagine haswell will have even more impact...

[Ghâzh]

on my i5 2500k from stock to 4.3 i gained over 10fps, something within say 12-15 (25hc). I can only imagine haswell will have even more impact...

Well it depends on what's your starting FPS. That 25.6% I used on my example is only 6.41 FPS increase from 25 FPS starting point but if you got 50 FPS to begin with it's 12.8 FPS increase. Then again, like I said, raw estimates.. The numbers are going to change depending on the game load and different situations as well as your "gained over 10 fps" sounds like a guess too. And I don't see how Haswell would have drastically different performance ratio from overclocking compared to Sandy either.

[megabeat]

A general rule of thumb i use is that every 1% overclock will get you about .5% performance increase.

[Deleted]

This is getting off-topic but one says 1%occ will give a roughly 0.5%, other says minimum 1% gain. There is no rule of thumb... At stock i was deeping just below 20, around say 17-18at times and now i never drop below 30. The gains can fluctuate from other things as well in each person's rig, at least we can all agree that you should be gaining enough to justify the occ

[Deleted]

Ok so we have established that it's stupid for me not to overclock asap =p Does anyone know if the h100i will fit in my case? If I'm going to overclock I might as well do it properly, rather than buying an air cooler to replace it at a later date with a water cooler

[glo]

I'd avoid Corsair for Z87 unless you go for the regular H100 or H110. The "i" series have problems with Z87 mounting making proper contact. You typically need a set of rubber washers to install along with it due to Z87 boards being a tad bit thinner than previous generations for whichever reason.

That said, there's nothing about closed loop coolers that make them better than air. On the contrary, air coolers from reputable companies such as Noctua typically perform better in most situations and make a lot less noise: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/a...h100i_review/2

That said, closed AIO units have their place if you have a need for them. I personally chose less performance in favor of a good air cooler because of how hot my ambient temperatures can get during the summer, and a closed loop cooler in an exhaust configuration lessens the hot air my GPU uses to cool itself.

[TankedTalk]

Go to PCpartpicker.com and select your case then select coolers and if the h100 isn't listed it's not compatible.

[Ghâzh]

Taking a quick look at the case (if it's this one) it would look like a definite no unless you do some heavy modding. I mean the h100 takes up 2 fan slots and your case doesn't have 2 slots next to each other apart from the front ones which can't fit it. You should look at the h80 or some high end air coolers like noctua NH-D14 or thermalright silver arrow (not sure if either of those fits either, check the height between motherboard tray and the case door).

[Deleted]

Taking a quick look at the case (if it's this one) it would look like a definite no unless you do some heavy modding. I mean the h100 takes up 2 fan slots and your case doesn't have 2 slots next to each other apart from the front ones which can't fit it. You should look at the h80 or some high end air coolers like noctua NH-D14 or thermalright silver arrow (not sure if either of those fits either, check the height between motherboard tray and the case door).

That is the case yes and looks like I'm gonna stick with air cooling from the recommendations on here. http://www.thermalright.com/html/pro...0.html?panel=0 a friend of mine got one of these free with his motherboard and doesn't need it so has offered it to me, thoughts on how far I can push the cpu with this? From reading a few reviews it doesn't look like I could push past 4 ghz with it.

[Undies]

Well that could easily mess up your temperatures. That much paste is just creating more distance between your CPU and the heatsink, among other problems like spillover and micro bubbles. This is the correct amount and application of thermal paste:

That much really? doesnt seem like very much? Maybe thats why my rig sometimes has heat issues when streaming.....