Building a Kaby Lake system

[Euro_Bucks]

I'm looking forward to upgrade to this Kaby lake generation.
I currently own a system with a haswell 4570 in it.
I'm planning to get an i7 too.

I looking forward to get this motherboard since the board i am using right now is also from Biostar.
Are there any bang for the motherboards out there you can suggest?
Thanks!

 

[whm1974]

I doubt you will see that much improvement over what you have now to be worth the money and time to upgrade. Get a new GPU, add more memory, and/or buy an SSD or two if you don't already have one. An SSD is a very noticeable performance increase if you still on HDDs.

 

[Euro_Bucks]

I doubt you will see that much improvement over what you have now to be worth the money and time to upgrade. Get a new GPU, add more memory, and/or buy an SSD or two if you don't already have one. An SSD is a very noticeable performance increase if you still on HDDs.

I do have an SSD right now and my GPU is a GTX 950. I always upgrade whenever a new one comes out.
I always to this to avoid warranties of every component I have to expire.
Current build is about to reach 2 years now so I have to sell it with still a good value.

 

[whm1974]

You will be better holding off building a new system until you need to do a new build.

 

[Psychomanteum]

I like the ASUS B250 lineup.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I do have an SSD right now and my GPU is a GTX 950. I always upgrade whenever a new one comes out.
I always to this to avoid warranties of every component I have to expire.
Current build is about to reach 2 years now so I have to sell it with still a good value.

Euro -- my father left the army after WWII as a car mechanic. Then, he became an insurance salesman. He was smitten with the prospect of trading in his Chevrolet once every two years. But in the 1950's he wasn't getting rich. He only got to exchange the dirty overalls for a business suit.

I'm not sure I would manage my PC lifecycle by warranty expiration. If you reach warranty expiration, and the part still works, it still works!! If it dies, you only lost the risk lottery and a chance to sell it used for chump-change anyway.

I suppose anyone, including me, can afford a new PC every two years. And in fact, I spend more on computers than I should. I have more computers than I need, but I pass them on to my family, and we just consume them for the most part. If they're old enough, I donate them to charity and -- maybe -- get a Schedule A tax deduction.

But if you're going to use warranty-expiration as a rule-of-thumb, I'd also look at the difference between the two-year-old processor and the latest. The processor could be good for ten years. If the motherboard is of decent quality, five or more years. RAM has a lifetime warranty anyway.

But if you have a Haswell, even if not a "K" processor, I'd say it's "too soon." If it's about "used-car trade-in" to avoid some short but miserable inconvenience about a replaceable part going south, that's also a matter of preference and personal perspective.

Maybe you could sell it to an unsuspecting dufus or Newb, and get more than the usual expectation of cash out of it -- I couldn't say.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, given the slow advancements in PC tech, about the only parts that I would "trade in" (sell off, and then buy a new one), might be GPUs, and HDDs. Everything else, run it till it dies, or if you have the upgrade itch, then consider trading up, but don't do it just because you fear part failure.

Edit: If you buy quality PC parts, they last a long, long time. Until they are more than obsolete, even.

Edit: Oh yeah, PC parts have a "bathtub" curve, for longevity. Warranties are to prevent infant mortality.

PCs are NOT like cars.

 

[RLGL]

Well Larry you can make a statement about PC life span, I have never had one last over 3 years. I don't buy the cheap or most expensive parts. In the last year I have had a motherboard fail at the end of its warranty. I have had 2 video card failures. I usually average one ram fail per build. The last store bought PC I had was a complete fiasco.
Over clocking is not in my vocabulary. I have over the tears had both Intel and AMD builds,both have had their issues.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well Larry you can make a statement about PC life span, I have never had one last over 3 years. I don't buy the cheap or most expensive parts. In the last year I have had a motherboard fail at the end of its warranty. I have had 2 video card failures. I usually average one ram fail per build. The last store bought PC I had was a complete fiasco.
Over clocking is not in my vocabulary. I have over the tears had both Intel and AMD builds,both have had their issues.

What sort of power supplies do you use for those machines? Do you use UPS backup system?

The only three motherboards ever had fail included an Intel Tucson board for something prior to Pentium II. It had a cheap $35 power supply, and it did temporary duty as a file-server (of sorts). The motherboard most certainly died. I think I had squeezed about 7 or 8 years out of it, though.

The second one was a Gigabyte P45 board with an E8400 C2D. it had a Seasonic PSU and had been left in sleep-states for long periods of time, putting a strain on the PSU. It died in late 2013 or early 2014, after running in various modes (and sleep!) since 2008.

The third board was me old Moms' Gigabyte mATX -- with a Wolfdale E6700 and DDR2. Built around 2008, we replaced the low-end E2180 (?) processor in 2010. It died about 40 days ago, or ultimately 8 years after being built and all that time running 24/7.

So -- six to eight years had been my experience.

 

[whm1974]

What sort of power supplies do you use for those machines? Do you use UPS backup system?

The only three motherboards ever had fail included an Intel Tucson board for something prior to Pentium II. It had a cheap $35 power supply, and it did temporary duty as a file-server (of sorts). The motherboard most certainly died. I think I had squeezed about 7 or 8 years out of it, though.

The second one was a Gigabyte P45 board with an E8400 C2D. it had a Seasonic PSU and had been left in sleep-states for long periods of time, putting a strain on the PSU. It died in late 2013 or early 2014, after running in various modes (and sleep!) since 2008.

The third board was me old Moms' Gigabyte mATX -- with a Wolfdale E6700 and DDR2. Built around 2008, we replaced the low-end E2180 (?) processor in 2010. It died about 40 days ago, or ultimately 8 years after being built and all that time running 24/7.

So -- six to eight years had been my experience.

As a rule of thumb, don't buy cheap PSUs!

 

[RLGL]

What sort of power supplies do you use for those machines? Do you use UPS backup system?
.

At the time of each build I used the highest rated PS available. Currently I have a Corsair ps made by Seasonic. They get replaced with each new build.
Back UPS since 2001
I have had AMD and Intel; processors fail. I cannot remember how many drives I have had to replace
As far as ram goes, IMO they all are no good, I have replaced all major brands due to errors
EDIT:
A wise old man told me : There are parts and there are bad parts, it is the luck of the draw".
You can put 100 like pieces in a bin, add to it 1 odd like part. I can reach into that bin and grab 10 pierces, out of the 10 I WILL get the odd part. Been that way all my life

 

[VirtualLarry]

As far as ram goes, IMO they all are no good, I have replaced all major brands due to errors

I think that the only RAM that I can remember that failed during use, rather than DOA / infant mortality, was a set of Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2, that died after a year. But they were apparently known for that.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think that the only RAM that I can remember that failed during use, rather than DOA / infant mortality, was a set of Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2, that died after a year. But they were apparently known for that.

THAT -- they WERE! I think I went through two or three of those damn kits. Never went over the rated voltage! I may have clocked them a tad higher, but I wouldn't call it abuse. Customer support wasn't all that good, either. The tech guy seemed irritable, and I think it was from feeling overwhelmed by RMAs!! Six months with one kit; a year with another.

And if that wasn't bad enough, I had that quirky ASUS Striker Extreme 680i board . . .

 

[Euro_Bucks]

Euro -- my father left the army after WWII as a car mechanic. Then, he became an insurance salesman. He was smitten with the prospect of trading in his Chevrolet once every two years. But in the 1950's he wasn't getting rich. He only got to exchange the dirty overalls for a business suit.

I'm not sure I would manage my PC lifecycle by warranty expiration. If you reach warranty expiration, and the part still works, it still works!! If it dies, you only lost the risk lottery and a chance to sell it used for chump-change anyway.

I suppose anyone, including me, can afford a new PC every two years. And in fact, I spend more on computers than I should. I have more computers than I need, but I pass them on to my family, and we just consume them for the most part. If they're old enough, I donate them to charity and -- maybe -- get a Schedule A tax deduction.

But if you're going to use warranty-expiration as a rule-of-thumb, I'd also look at the difference between the two-year-old processor and the latest. The processor could be good for ten years. If the motherboard is of decent quality, five or more years. RAM has a lifetime warranty anyway.

But if you have a Haswell, even if not a "K" processor, I'd say it's "too soon." If it's about "used-car trade-in" to avoid some short but miserable inconvenience about a replaceable part going south, that's also a matter of preference and personal perspective.

Maybe you could sell it to an unsuspecting dufus or Newb, and get more than the usual expectation of cash out of it -- I couldn't say.

I use warranty-expiration as a rule-of-thumb when buying/selling stuffs. I had a bad experience before with a top brand ITX z77 motherboard. 3 months after its 2 year warranty expiration, it died. I can't find a replacement, even a bigger platform. I'm lucky to find one but it had a ridiculous price tag. Seller's reason, it's rare. From then on I started selling my stuff before warranty expires. Learning from experience.

 

[twelfth]

I use warranty-expiration as a rule-of-thumb when buying/selling stuffs. I had a bad experience before with a top brand ITX z77 motherboard. 3 months after its 2 year warranty expiration, it died. I can't find a replacement, even a bigger platform. I'm lucky to find one but it had a ridiculous price tag. Seller's reason, it's rare. From then on I started selling my stuff before warranty expires. Learning from experience.

Still cheaper than to replace the item that died out of warranty than to build an entirely new system for less than 5% performance increase over Haswell. You're literally wasting your money here.

 

[dbrons]

boy, I was hoping to gain some insight on a Kaby Lake system build. Instead, all I read is people telling this guy not to do it. Really unhelpful posts there people. OP began this way "I'm looking forward to upgrade to this Kaby lake generation" He's going to enjoy this build. He doesn't say - I really need to get a big boost in performance. He doesn't ask if you approve of his desire to build.

I too would like to build a Kaby Lake system, and I'm hoping we will hear in particular about some of the new motherboards.
Dave

 

[whm1974]

boy, I was hoping to gain some insight on a Kaby Lake system build. Instead, all I read is people telling this guy not to do it. Really unhelpful posts there people. OP began this way "I'm looking forward to upgrade to this Kaby lake generation" He's going to enjoy this build. He doesn't say - I really need to get a big boost in performance. He doesn't ask if you approve of his desire to build.

I too would like to build a Kaby Lake system, and I'm hoping we will hear in particular about some of the new motherboards.
Dave

I don't see how the posts telling the OP don't do it are unhelpful. If anything it is good advice to save him money. I have almost the same CPU, and there is no way I will be building a new system anytime soon. In two or three years? Maybe or maybe not even then.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

boy, I was hoping to gain some insight on a Kaby Lake system build. Instead, all I read is people telling this guy not to do it. Really unhelpful posts there people. OP began this way "I'm looking forward to upgrade to this Kaby lake generation" He's going to enjoy this build. He doesn't say - I really need to get a big boost in performance. He doesn't ask if you approve of his desire to build.

I too would like to build a Kaby Lake system, and I'm hoping we will hear in particular about some of the new motherboards.
Dave

Nobody here is dissing the Kaby Lake. I have the Skylake -- binned, relidded, overclocked and cool. I can see how I'll be tempted to replace it with a Kaby Lake, but I know it won't mean much in a practical sense. I may be able to squeeze out another 300 Mhz over the Skylake using the same cooling approach and processor binning.

But there are many things to consider when you change chipsets, and the generations are as close together as Haswell and Skylake. There's also the convenience, software installations, taking care of your data and other hurdles and costs.

If the new Z270 or BIOS-updated Z170 with a Kaby Lake an enthusiast obsession, an unquenchable curiosity -- and if money and practicality are over-ridden by those desires, go for it.

But if it's part of a personal IT-asset-management plan, there should be no hurry. Components with clean electrical current and few BSODs or unannounced Event ID 41 shutdowns will last a long time. Right now, I'm keeping my eye on my Moms' new rig, which is my old Sandy Bridge from 2011. The power-supply shows no signs of aging; the motherboard was the BIOS-upgradeable precursor to its Gen3 reissue, so it was as good or current as the Gen3 with the BIOS flash. The board, like the PSU, is more than 5 years old. I noticed the other night it wasn't backing up to the server. Know what it was? the server "connector" software needed reinstallation. Why was that? Because we upgraded the KIS protection license and version at last year's license expiration.

I'm hoping to get a few more years at least out of those skt-1155 Sandy systems.

 

[rchunter]

I too would like to build a Kaby Lake system, and I'm hoping we will hear in particular about some of the new motherboards.
Dave

I've got a Asus Rog Maximus IX Hero incoming. Hopefully will be building my new 7700k system on monday....

 

[ComputerDude67]

I currently run a 2500K at 4.2GHz since 2011. Never had a problem and even had a 10 years old power supply blow and replaced with a nice new one. Most stable system I have ever had and can't remember if this box has ever BSOD(possibly never). System started with spinner HDD and has had several video cards. Play Battlefield, TitanFalls and Diablo for the most part. I have been wanting to upgrade for a while because I enjoy new tech but like to get most out of current system. The other day I went to power it on and the lights came on and nothing on the screen, tried a couple of times. Came back later powered it up and everything seemed fine and have not had a problem for a week. Thing was when I got it back running I backed up everything and went on to NewEgg and ordered a new CPU, CPU cooler, motherboard and Ram. I feel a little guilty that my box is running fine but............new stuff: Intel i7700k, 32 GB Blue Led Ram, MSI Z270 SLI and Thermaltake cooler. ~$750

Current System:
Intel 2500k 4.2GHz
Gigabyte Z68 SLI
16 GB Ram
970GTX
SoundBlaster Z
Samsung 256GB EVO SSD Sata3
Sandisk Ultra 2 960GB SSD Sata3
Thermaltake 750watt Gold
Thermaltake case and cpu cooler
Acer 27inch TFT 2560x1440 75Hz
Windows 7 64bit

 

[Dug]

You will be better holding off building a new system until you need to do a new build.

People don't "need" a computer. This is an enthusiast site.
Just like I don't "need" to add 50 HP to my car, but I did.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

People don't "need" a computer. This is an enthusiast site.
Just like I don't "need" to add 50 HP to my car, but I did.

That's absolutely correct, and "enthusiasts" like me can become OCD over their building projects. I just spent over $600 for an NVMe M.2 1TB, when I might have continued a year or more with a 480GB ADATA SATA SP550. I could argue that I can feel the result no less than I can benchtest it. If I were to put a price-tag on the difference, the difference is too expensive.

But it's the "special project" I give myself every two to three years. If I wait five years, I try and do something in between that keeps me keen to the new technology.

All of that being said, and perhaps as I try and demonstrate above, it follows the old Clint Eastwood script-line: "A man's gotta know his limitations." So I would say to all -- with your wallets in one hand and a screwdriver in another -- just get familiar with what you want, and get familiar with what you need.

Then, spend your money with no regrets. I don't have any regrets about my 960 Pro. I DO think I could've saved my money and waited. But I knew that before I spent the money.

 

[whm1974]

That's absolutely correct, and "enthusiasts" like me can become OCD over their building projects. I just spent over $600 for an NVMe M.2 1TB, when I might have continued a year or more with a 480GB ADATA SATA SP550. I could argue that I can feel the result no less than I can benchtest it. If I were to put a price-tag on the difference, the difference is too expensive.

But it's the "special project" I give myself every two to three years. If I wait five years, I try and do something in between that keeps me keen to the new technology.

All of that being said, and perhaps as I try and demonstrate above, it follows the old Clint Eastwood script-line: "A man's gotta know his limitations." So I would say to all -- with your wallets in one hand and a screwdriver in another -- just get familiar with what you want, and get familiar with what you need.

Then, spend your money with no regrets. I don't have any regrets about my 960 Pro. I DO think I could've saved my money and waited. But I knew that before I spent the money.

Yeah but you at least increased your SSD space with the NVMe M.2 1TB. Going from a Haswell to a Kaby Lake however isn't enough of an increase in performance to bother with. The OP has at least a few more years out of his system, He will be better off doing some upgrades instead of doing another build.

 

[ComputerDude67]

Just upgraded. Received the parts on Wednesday and had it running the same day. Noticeably faster. Very happy.

Current System:
Intel 2500k 4.2GHz > New: Intel i7700k New: Thermaltake 120mm Fan\Heatsink
Gigabyte Z68 SLI > New: MSI Z270 SLI
16 GB Ram > New: Avexir 32GB 4*8GB DDR4
MSI 970GTX
SoundBlaster Z
Samsung 256GB EVO SSD Sata3
Sandisk Ultra 2 960GB SSD Sata3
Thermaltake 750watt Gold
Thermaltake case, keyboard and mouse
Acer 27inch TFT 2560x1440 75Hz
Windows 7 64bit