It may not seem it at first, but Intel's Haswell-E "Lite" is a sweet deal and a solid foundation for a build
Length of Time 2-4 hours | Level of Difficulty: Medium
The Mission
We've found there are really two kinds of PC builders today. Those who are content with Intel's "consumer" LGA1150 socket, and those who always go for the big-boy socket. Yes, these are the folks who opted for an LGA1366 instead of LGA1155, and when faced with LGA2011 or LGA1150, they went for the larger pin- and core-count again. For you, the LGA2011-V3 and Haswell-E means it's time get building with Intel's "bargain" Core i7-5820K part. This $390 chip gets you six cores without paying the $560 premium pricing Intel applied to its previous six-core processor.
With DDR4, a new chipset, and a new socket, it's time to run you through the steps and know-how you need to build a new Haswell-E rig. And what do you know, we just built and overclocked one for this month's cover story, so we decided to show you how we did it.
Not a Budget Box
This is a six-core, fire-breathing enthusiast machine meant to keep your computing needs satiated for the next 36 to 48 months. And just as you don't buy a Mercedes with manual-crank windows and AM radio, we didn't skimp here. We outfitted this rig with very nice components befitting its six-core royalty. Yes, there are ways to cut costs. If we really wanted to budget-out this baby, we could have used a cheaper case, cut the SSD size, and gone with RAM without a heat spreader. We could also notch down the GPU and ditch the optical drive, too. At that point, you might as well have built a Pentium K box.
So, we've established our intention to build a nicely configured machine, but here's the thinking behind a few of our choices. Of all the parts here, spending $60 on an optical drive may seem extravagant, but as it may be the last optical drive you own, it might as well do everything, including burning BDXL discs. The other part sure to get attention is the 500GB Samsung 840 EVO drive. With a 3TB HDD in the box, do we really need to spend that much on the SSD? Yes. With the prices today, we believe the 500GB mark is the new "normal" for primary storage.
1. LGA2011-V3 What?
Here's the PSA for folks who don't follow current events: LGA2011-V3 is not, repeat, NOT, compatible nor the same as the previous LGA2011 socket. You may snicker, but there will be people buying mobos and CPUs that are incompatible and not realize it until they've trashed the motherboard. Installing the LGA2011-V3 part isn't all that different from its predecessor. Unlatch both arms on the socket, remove the plastic cap, and line up the chip by referencing the small triangle in the corner of the CPU with the triangle on the socket or motherboard. The notches in the CPU should also line up. Now, lower the CPU into the socket without sliding it around or touching the pins in the socket, and latch it in place. Don't throw away the plastic cap. You'll need it if you have to return the board for service.
2. Because It's One Better
You don't have to put RAM in with the motherboard outside of the case, it's just a lot easier. DDR4 is the new hotness and offers eventual higher capacity and higher speeds, too. As Haswell-E features a quad-channel memory controller, you should consult your motherboard manual on which slots to put your four DIMMs in. On boards that feature latchless connectors on one side, you need to ensure the RAM is fully seated; we've botched installs by not fully seating the RAM. There is a slight curve in DDR4 modules to aid seating it, but you should still make sure RAM is fully seated—it's the typical rookie builders mistake. You should also now install the back plate that comes with the cooler, too.
3. Put In Your Foundation
You're now ready to install the board. First, install the I/O shield in the case firmly. Now, count how many mounts are in the case and make sure they are properly torqued down and cannot unscrew. The mounts should match the number of holes in your motherboard. Screw down the motherboard and begin connecting fans to available fan headers and the like. With this motherboard in particular, plug the wire from the I/O shield into the nearby header for it. This powers the nifty blue and red LEDs integrated into the I/O shield. If it bugs you, you can control this LED from within the Gigabyte utilities in the OS, which let you turn it off, turn it on, or even have it blink. You should also plug in the rest of the umbilicals you need, such as USB 3.0 and frontpanel controls. You should install your PSU now, too.
4. SATA Confusion
One of the most common mistakes is to use the wrong SATA ports. Unlike that gimpy X79 chipset that only had two native SATA 6Gb/s ports, X99 has all SATA 6Gb/s ports. Still, rooks will plug into a third-party SATA port that isn't as fast or isn't even on. We prefer to run off of the native chipset ports first because they generally perform the best and there's no need for drivers for most OSes. On this board, there's also a SATA Express port that shares the SATA ports. Don't worry about it. We haven't seen a SATA Express device yet, and storage vendors seem pretty blasé, so for now, don't sweat it. As with RAM, we recommend basic RTFM protocol before plugging in any drive. We also recommend installing the GPU after plugging in and running the SATA cables, as the card will block access to the ports.
5. Yolanda, What's Fonzie Like?
To cool this rig, we recommend mounting the radiator first so as not to put undue pressure on the hoses and motherboard. To do that, though, you'll need to put the cooler in the top of the case and hold it in place with one hand while screwing down one of the corners. Keep the rest of the screws handy, too. Once you have one corner of the rad in place, put a screw in the opposite corner from the first point you mounted it. Only after you have done this can you remove your hand from the radiator. Now, just mount the pump and cold plate to the CPU and plug it into power. As this cooler is "smart," you'll need to plug it into an available USB header and download software from NZXT's website for it, too.
6. Bezel Removal
This normally wouldn't be a step we would bother mentioning, but just this once, we wanted to let those of you who are running optical drives in your Obsidian 750Ds know how to remove the bezel. If you're like us and can't read the manual, you might be tempted to pry off the front of the case, but hold back a sec as it's actually easier than that. The bezels are held in place rather tightly but can be removed by reaching inside the case and squeezing the two arms that secure it while pushing it out. It may seem like overkill but it's better than bezels that pop out every time you look at them too hard. With it out, just slide in your ODD. Also add your SSD and HDD and plug them into power and data.
7. Overclock It
With this CPU and a nice liquid cooler, there's simply no reason not to overclock it. To start our overclock, we first consulted the Internets to get an idea of what others were getting from their retail CPUs and what methods they were using. Haswell-E has an additional "gear" or "strap" that allows you to run the b-clock at higher than a standard Haswell chip's 100MHz, such as 125MHz. We, unfortunately, didn't get very far with that method and so, with the clock ticking on our build, we fell back on a basic Turbo Boost overclock. To do that, we went into the Advanced CPU Core settings in the UEFI and manually set the turbo ratios based on the core loads. To hit our overclocks, we also increased the core voltage to 1.296 volts.
8. Validate!
Validation of an overclock's stability is always an open debate. Is running your favorite game enough? We initially reached for our old standby: Prime95. We know board makers don't recommend it as it's "too stressful," but, for a quick test that gets you into the ballpark, we rely on it. However, it was too stressful on Haswell-E within a few minutes. Still needing to vet our settings, we used AIDA64 Extreme set to FPU mode and completed multiple runs. We'll note a recommended AIDA64 by some is 12 hours. When you're looking at 100MHz increments that means days of testing. We instead erred on the side of caution. We think Haswell-E can go further, but we wanted to be realistic about it, too.
Intel's "Lite" Is a Heavyweight Contender
First, let's point out something. The predecessor of the six-core Core i7-5820K is the four-core Core i7-4820K, which cost $325. When you factor in that you're getting the same core count of the $580 Core i7-4930K, this Haswell-E "Lite" is looking pretty damned good. To find out just how good, we took our zero-point system with its Sandy Bridge Core i7-3930K CPU overclocked full-time to 3.8GHz (on air) and its GeForce GTX 690 and put it against this month's build.
The result was pretty impressive. Remember, this is not a six-core chip wailing on a fourcore part—the Core i7-3930K is a six-core chip that set you back $580 in its heyday and is no slouch in multi-threaded tasks. In the singlethreaded tasks we saw the Build It with a 17 percent and 22 percent advantage. In multithread tasks the margin opens up further with a 27 percent advantage in Premiere Pro CS6 and a 29 percent advantage in the x264 HD 5.0 encoding test.
Part of that is from the clock-speed advantage. We are pushing the Build It PC to 4.2 to 4.6GHz depending on loads, which is around a 14 percent clock-speed advantage. The rest of the difference comes from the greater efficiency of the Haswell cores versus the older Sandy Bridge cores.
In gaming, the single GeForce GTX 690 is a dual-GPU card that's basically the equivalent of two GeForce GTX 680 cards in action. You can view this two ways: Man, that GeForce GTX 980 is fast if it can basically nip at the heels of a dual-GPU card that's still recognized as one of the fastest cards in town. Or, of course, you can also say: Man, that GeForce GTX 690 still packs some heat if it's faster than the GeForce GTX 980 card.
The real question is: Is it worth an upgrade? That depends on your needs. If cutting your multi-hour encodes down by a third is money saved and you want a modern chipset in X99, then yes. For many people who put down nearly $600 for a six-core Sandy Bridge part, though, that is still a viable part.
New APUs, new prices
Let the games begin
Blast from the past
Android M is just around the corner
For multi-device networks
