Fractal Design R4, 4770k, GTX 780 SLI

[AdrianB]

Finished my first build, looking for suggestions and/or validation that I understood something about PC building from all the posts I've been reading.

Rig Specs:

Motherboard: GA-Z87X-D3H
CPU: i7-4770k OC at 4.5, 1.25v
GPU: EVGA GTX 780 SC W/ ACX cooling
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x4 GB, 1600 Mhz, CL9
Storage: Samsung SSD EVO 250 GB, 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM
PSU: Corsair TX 850
Cooling: H100i for the CPU
Fans H100i: NF-F12 in push-pull
Fans top: Silent Series R2
Fans bot and rear: NF-A14

I think the H100i is doing a fine job at cooling the CPU. At a room temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius, during stress testing in Prime95, the CPU temps were 73 degrees Celsius on the hottest core. I was able to overclock the CPU higher than this but it wasn't stable in Prime95; it crashed after a couple of minutes.

The temperatures for the GPUs are satisfying. During stress tests in FurMark, at a room temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, the hottest one was 73 while the other one was at 62 degrees Celsius.

I choose a non modular PSU just because I saw no point in paying that much for a modular one (the modular version had a 25% higher price).

I took out the drive cages, so there would be nothing obstructing the fresh airflow to the GPUs. The storage drives are in the optical drive cage.

I have a couple of questions:
1. My motherboard has 1 16x PCIE, 1 8x PCIE and 1 4x PCIE. Would it be a big difference for the GPUs if they were both in 16x PCIE slots?

2. Would a different motherboard allow the CPU to be stable at a higher OC?

3. What would a safe voltage for an OC be, for this CPU? Would a higher voltage than 1.3 shorten its lifespan or this doesn't matter as long as it's being kept at low temps?


If you guys have further suggestions on how I could improve this rig or want further details, please leave a comment.

PS: I know that TTL always suggests that the PSU should be with the fan up, but that is not an option for me.

 

[dalewakelin]

It has an industrial look it, i like it.

 

[Squidlorock]

Very nice, i do love the Fractal r4, and the window completes it...^_^

 

[Noz_God]

Answer to question 1 it wont make eny difference in games just in bench scores and not much. 2 your mobo should be more than good for overclocking that chip. 3 1.4 volts is a good max voltage for 24/7 overclocks

 

[NeverBackDown]

Out of curiosity, did you try fitting the H100i in the roof and it did not fit? I was thinking about getting one and putting it in the roof but i measured the amount of room and its only 48mm thick for me; yet, some people have fit it.

Answer's to your question:
1: Your motherboard's 2nd PCIE slot is wired for 8x. So by populating the 1st PCIE and the 2nd PCIE, the chipset will drop both cards to 8x. No performance differences will occur.
2:For z87 and Haswell CPUs the boards make next to no difference on how a CPU performs. CPUs will either hit their silicon limits or reach a thermal limit before any of the z87 boards hit a hardware limit.
3: Intel recommend NOT going above 1.3v for a 24/7 OC. 1.3V is also for the average CPU a point in which temps will skyrocket, which is why intel recommends not going above this point. Lower temps always helps extend the lifespan but what is really the cause of death is volts. Takes very little voltage increase to increase heat. Make sure to OC correctly as well. Don't just start at 5ghz... start at stock.

 

[sheroo]

Love that AIO in the front - that's where I'd put it.

 

[AdrianB]

It has an industrial look it, i like it.

I didn't start this build with any theme in mind, just functionality, but I did feel the same when I finished it. It does fell like an industrial look.

Very nice, i do love the Fractal r4, and the window completes it...^_^

Totally agree! The side-window is a must in the Fractal R4

Answer to question 1 it wont make eny difference in games just in bench scores and not much. 2 your mobo should be more than good for overclocking that chip. 3 1.4 volts is a good max voltage for 24/7 overclocks

Thanks for answering my questions!
I'm not really interested in bench scores as much as I am interested in real-life performance so I will stick with this motherboard. Some are saying that 1.4 volts might be too much for this chip, I managed to get a stable 4.7 OC but at 1.375 v. I think I'll remain at 4.5 with 1.25 since there isn't a huge performance improvement and I'm sure that I'm not shortening its lifespan too much.

Out of curiosity, did you try fitting the H100i in the roof and it did not fit? I was thinking about getting one and putting it in the roof but i measured the amount of room and its only 48mm thick for me; yet, some people have fit it.

Answer's to your question:
1: Your motherboard's 2nd PCIE slot is wired for 8x. So by populating the 1st PCIE and the 2nd PCIE, the chipset will drop both cards to 8x. No performance differences will occur.
2:For z87 and Haswell CPUs the boards make next to no difference on how a CPU performs. CPUs will either hit their silicon limits or reach a thermal limit before any of the z87 boards hit a hardware limit.
3: Intel recommend NOT going above 1.3v for a 24/7 OC. 1.3V is also for the average CPU a point in which temps will skyrocket, which is why intel recommends not going above this point. Lower temps always helps extend the lifespan but what is really the cause of death is volts. Takes very little voltage increase to increase heat. Make sure to OC correctly as well. Don't just start at 5ghz... start at stock.

It does fit at the top of this case as well, but only in push or pull. I wanted to have a push-pull configuration so I had to place it in front of the case. If you want to do the same be sure that the tubes of the H100i will have enough length to reach the front of your case (some had problems with this). If you need measurements let me know and I'll provide them.

Now regarding the questions:
1. I understood that both PCIE will work at 8x now, I was wondering if I were to change the mobo to one that has 2 16x PCIE, would I see a big real-world improvement?
3. When I OCd the CPU I did as you said, started from stock and gradually increased until I got the frequency and voltage that I'm using now.
Although I was able to find a stable 4.7 OC at 1.375v, I decided to stick with 4.5 and 1.25 just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for your feedback!

Love that AIO in the front - that's where I'd put it.

I had to improvise something so I made it from the HDD supports that were provided with the case. Some screws and a couple of supports and it fits like a charm, very happy with the result.

 

[NeverBackDown]

You will not see any performance increase from running two 16x lanes vs 8x. You gain those few extra .01 FPS numbers but no you won't notice them. Its been tested before and no differences were made.

4.5 at 1.25 isn't that bad. Good 24/7 clock.

And thanks for the h100i top mounted assurance!