Hello, fellow simmers,

at the moment I'm running an i5-4690k at a stable 4.6 GHz, cooled by a bequiet DarkRock 3 Pro. Now I plan on upgrading after four years with this system due to performance reasons in P3D v4 (ORBX, AS, REX SkyForce, EFB v2, some Airports, UT live, mostly PMDG 737NGX, QW 787, TFDi 717).
Money isn't really an issue, but certainly I would want to get the most for my money.

CPU wise I've narrowed it down to the 9700k or the 8700k - almost same price here. On the other hand I could save quite some money buying a 2nd hand 8700k and save around €150,-
What would be your choice?

Regarding the Mainboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z390-F vs. ASUS Prime Z390-P. Is the ROG really superior to the Prime when it comes to OC and if yes, what's the real difference?

Lastly cooling: I chose to go liquid this time...would you recommend a custom loop (e.g. EK WaterBlocks) or will a AiO do the job just as well? In each case with a 360 radiator, because my case has enough space and the price difference between 360 and 240 is neglectable.

I'll keep my 1080, and my 500W be quiet Power supply and put in some 16GB of 3200 MHz CL16 Corsair Vengeance RAM.

So what are your thoughts?

Best regards from LOWG,
Peter

 

Fantastic post, Peter, because I too have the same CPU currently, but have already got the i7-8086k CPU so will watch this thread with avid interest.

2 hours ago, PapaCharlieKilo said:

I'll keep my 1080, and my 500W be quiet Power supply and put in some 16GB of 3200 MHz CL16 Corsair Vengeance RAM.

The 1080 will work fine... but the 500W PSU will not be enough once you start overclocking.  Look more toward a quality 750W-850W PSU.  And since money isn't a huge obstacle, a memory running in the 4000/CAS 17 range will work well with your proposed system.

I've been building computers for more than 2 decades using ASUS motherboards... you should consider looking at AsRock motherboards.  ASUS quality no longer merits the price.

Good luck with your build,

Greg

34 minutes ago, lownslo said:

I've been building computers for more than 2 decades using ASUS motherboards... you should consider looking at AsRock motherboards.  ASUS quality no longer merits the price.

Me too ,and sound advice re: the latter Asus motherboards. They have lost that crown that once they held.

4 hours ago, lownslo said:

ASUS quality no longer merits the price.

Why? I've yet to have a problem with an ASUS MB.

My ASUS MB has not given me any trouble after being used day after day for the last four years, and plan to buy another one for my next PC upgrade later this year.

Cheers, Ed

I've only ever owned a board from one other manufacture other than Asus. That was a Gigabyte many years ago.

Over the years I have only ever had two issues with Asus boards, out of many. For me they continue to be reliable and great features. I know there was some fuss lately re VRM's, but pretty much overblown.

 

Quote

Lastly cooling: I chose to go liquid this time...would you recommend a custom loop (e.g. EK WaterBlocks) or will a AiO do the job just as well? In each case with a 360 radiator, because my case has enough space and the price difference between 360 and 240 is neglectable.

 

Ultimate cooling means a full custom loop, but I see no reason why a top of the range AIO shouldn't be sufficient for your needs. 

Thank you guys for all your replies! Really helpful!

After that I've done a lot of reading. Where I live the prices for the different mainboards only differ by a few bucks. So I'm still not sure, wether to take the ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E or the Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro WiFi. As I -at least- have decided, that if going with the new Z390 chipset, I want the onboard WiFi, those two remain in the race, with the Gigabyte having 12 vs 11 CPU lanes. Not sure, if this makes any difference. The Gigabyte being 40€ cheaper, I tend to go with that, left aside the BIOS, that's probably handier with the ASUS.

A top notch AIO is hardly cheaper than the EK Waterblocks S360 kit. Furthermore I just want to build a custom loop, so what the heck 😉

One more question: will I really notice the difference between 3000MHz and 3200MHz RAM?

Thanks and have a nice evening,
P

18 hours ago, PapaCharlieKilo said:

A top notch AIO is hardly cheaper than the EK Waterblocks S360 kit.

You must be looking in the wrong place. UK prices at Scan.co.uk:

360mm:

EKWB Compact EK-KIT S360 - £235

Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO - £140

Thermaltake Water 3.0 Riing RGB 360 - £138

NZXT 360mm Kraken X72 - £180

280mm:

Corsair H115i PRO - £130

 

Plus, with the EK-KIT S360 you've got the added inconvenience of having to set it all up and also the periodic maintenance - both of which you don't need with an AIO.

Edited February 19, 20197 yr by vortex681

Yes, vortex is correct. I would be stunned if an AIO was the same price as a decent custom loop. 

I recently up'ed from a [email protected] to [email protected].  My FPS in PMDG VC @ KSEA with UTL went from avg. 30 to avg. 50+.  In both cases, freshly installed P3D 4.4 everything.  Either a fresh Win10 install gives me the extra 20FPS or the new CPU + faster ram.  I think it's mostly the latter.

On 2/18/2019 at 12:16 PM, PapaCharlieKilo said:

Thank you guys for all your replies! Really helpful!

After that I've done a lot of reading. Where I live the prices for the different mainboards only differ by a few bucks. So I'm still not sure, wether to take the ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E or the Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro WiFi. As I -at least- have decided, that if going with the new Z390 chipset, I want the onboard WiFi, those two remain in the race, with the Gigabyte having 12 vs 11 CPU lanes. Not sure, if this makes any difference. The Gigabyte being 40€ cheaper, I tend to go with that, left aside the BIOS, that's probably handier with the ASUS.

A top notch AIO is hardly cheaper than the EK Waterblocks S360 kit. Furthermore I just want to build a custom loop, so what the heck 😉

One more question: will I really notice the difference between 3000MHz and 3200MHz RAM?

Thanks and have a nice evening,
P

The Gigabyte Z390 boards are excellent.  I have used mainly Asus boards in the past but have been very impressed with my first Gigabyte.  I would also choose the 9700K over the 8700K any day of the week.  Why limit your self to six cores when P3D will take full advantage of an eight core cpu?  

On 2/19/2019 at 2:05 PM, vortex681 said:

You must be looking in the wrong place.

Well right ... here the difference between the EKWB and the Kraken X72 is around €60, which I consider acceptable within a €1200 to €1300 build. So I'm willing to spend the money anytime IF the custom loop offers superior performance compared to the AIO - be it cooling or noise production. 

On 2/19/2019 at 2:05 PM, vortex681 said:

Plus, with the EK-KIT S360 you've got the added inconvenience of having to set it all up

To be honest, I really love to set up and fine tune things. So this really would be a bonus for me instead of an inconvenience. Maintenance is another chapter, but I would be willing to take this pill.

Thanks, 
Peter