So is Coffee Lake just a few weeks away, or go ahead and buy your new 7700K system now?
 
I hear it's 50/50 with opinions on if Z270 will fully support the new Coffee Lake chips via BIOS update.
 
Some think intel will also make a new motherboard chip set, to go along with the new CPU's...
 
What do you think?
 
I am building my new gaming system now, but still am shy on pulling the trigger on Z270 if Z370 is 2 or 3 weeks out with Coffee Lake and possible real gains to be had.
This system will have to keep me happy for a few years. 

That is what I am starting to think too.... 
 
Too bad, I want to buy now. 
 
I have my Super Nova 850 G3, and a set of Cable Mods ordered for it....
And a GTX 1080 TI FTW3 Elite in red, also on order...

Are we sure that Coffee Lake will use the same memory modules as Z270 modules?
 
I want to keep buying parts except the Motherboard and CPU.
There might be a Memory shortage when Coffee Lake launches.

Talonman
So is Coffee Lake just a few weeks away, or go ahead and buy your new 7700K system now?
 
I hear it's 50/50 with opinions on if Z270 will fully support the new Coffee Lake chips via BIOS update.
 
Some think intel will also make a new motherboard chip set, to go along with the new CPU's...
 
What do you think?
 
I am building my new gaming system now, but still am shy on pulling the trigger on Z270 if Z370 is 2 or 3 weeks out with Coffee Lake and possible real gains to be had.
This system will have to keep me happy for a few years. 

Do you need Coffee Lake CPU? If it's primarily a gaming rig and standard browsing, email, music, watching video, word/excel office programs etc., then you're probably better off going with the i7-7700k Kaby Lake quad core which has a significantly higher spec clock speed (4.2GHz with 4.5GHz turbo), and prices for the Kaby Lake will likely drop significantly once the Coffee Lake is out - no doubt you'll also find some very cheap used ones if budget is a factor for you.
 
Coffee Lake is a 6 Core CPU as opposed to 4 Core, so if you use Photoshop a lot, do a lot of video editing, or folding, then the Coffee Lake might be better for you. Keep in mind the i7-8700k spec clock is 3.7GHz with 4.0GHz turbo, significantly lower than the i7-7700k, but more cores... Really depends on what you need as to which is the better CPU for you at this point.
 
I will add that I am running the i7-7700k and it's an awesome CPU, and I also use Photoshop regularly and it runs markedly faster than it did on my i7-4970k. It also overclocks to 5.0GHz easily with everything still on auto, which is amazing. Apparently about 80% of the i7-7700k chips will do 5.0GHz without issue.
 
Possible downside is you will likely need to change to Windows 10 either way (I see you are running W7 Ultimate at present). That takes some getting used to, and it still annoys the crap out of me at times, but it's not too bad once you tweak it.
 

Talonman
Wow... Thanks for the input!
 
So it will not be a sure thing that the 8700K will be able to be overclocked to the same speed that a 7700K runs at...
 
That is so crazy that the new mainstream enthusiast chip will run slower, even on the new architecture, that the old chip.
The other thing that I believe they are saying about Coffee Lake is that it will do 30% more work while running at the same clock speed as kaby lake.
If that is true, the 8700K could have a 30% slower clock speed, and still tie a 7700K chip in gaming performance.
 
If it is not true, than I guess the 7700K is the way to go.

 
Few games need or are optimized for a hex core CPU, that's why I mentioned Photoshop, Folding, video editing - they do benefit from additional cores, but gaming probably isn't going to make much if any difference in real life experience, even at the same clock speed. Yes the 8700k will do 30% more work at the same clock speed because of the extra 2 cores, but that's only if the software you're using utilizes that many cores, or you have a heap of programs running simultaneously.
 
..I'll add in that DirectX12 is able to use multi-core CPU's more efficiently, but that's about it (and you need Windows10 for that).
 
 
 

Talonman
So the 30% increase in performance that they are talking about is only due to the 2 extra cores.... Gasp!
I thought the single threaded performance was about to jump by 30% due to new architecture.
 
Looks like the new ROG Maximus CODE will be my new motherboard.
 
What memory would you get for the Maximus CODE?
 
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15 Desktop Memory Kit - Red (CMK16GX4M2B3000C15R)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013GZ5PD2/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I12FNBVJB3DJU9&colid=2IGUJC77NYBR7
 
G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 3200MHz (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C14D-16GTZR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XFH6R73/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IZB6CCK90RMZW&colid=2IGUJC77NYBR7
 
G.Skill 16GB (Dual Channel Kit) 3200MHz DDR4 Trident Z Desktop Memory (F4-3200C16D-16GTZB)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015FY3BJ2/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1WWVR6DMTQIHP&colid=2IGUJC77NYBR7
 

Oh ok there may be some single thread improvement, but then you have to overclock it which will increase heat etc. - honestly I'd still say 7700k if it's a gaming rig, but you might want to wait for release and some widespread testing just to see what the 8700k can do.
 
I use the Maximus IX Hero, although I was looking at the Code - the armor looks sweet, Code has Wi-Fi and bluetooth but I didn't need those, they use the same BIOS and overclock pretty much the same, so up to you - Code is a good board certainly. There is some question about the armor on the Code retaining heat, but I don't think it's significant except for maybe the m.2 drive location.
 
The G.Skill 3200MHz (F4-3200C16D-16GTZB) ram there hasn't got the best timings CL16-18-18-38..  The other G.Skill RGB series (F4-3200C14D-16GTZR) has better timings at CAS14 although it's a bit more expensive. Corsair Vengeance are pretty good too, but of those three I'd say the G.Skill RGB, and it's also on the Code compatibility list [link]. :)
 
 

 
The 960 EVO NVMe m.2 is a great SSD, I use it for o/s as well. Everything else is on a bunch of 850 EVO SSDs.
 
Enjoy! :)
 

I am only going to be running with 1 GPU.
 
What do you guys think about this for keeping my M.2 drive cool? 
Aquacomputer KryoM.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter for M.2 NGFF PCIe SSD, M-Key with Passive Heatsink
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H0BC8FG/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2ZG7LAB6FH1F4&colid=2IGUJC77NYBR7
 
If I put my M.2 drive in a PCI slot, could I still boot off of that drive?

Thanks again Nereus... The thing about the case I was looking at, one of the review dudes in a video said that it's best to run a 140mm rad in this case.
The EVGA cooler is a 180mm. Not sure if it would fit.
 
I still am not locked into my case. I only like it because it's red, and has glass in it. Maybe I should change that.....  
 
I also think you made me a Hero man, if I end up going with Kaby Lake. If the Code has bad thermals on the m.2 drive due to the covers, it makes me wonder about all other electronic components that are also covered on the motherboard.
Are they also getting hotter than they should? Probably so...
 
I went back to Cable Mods and picked up a few more things.
Some SATA 3.0 data cables, a set of Cable Combs, and one 'Addressable LED Strip – RGB' that is compatible with ASUS Aura Sync.
 
The Addressable LED Strip looked like a good grab...
Here’s what you get inside the package:
1 x Addressable RGB LED Strip (30cm)
1 x ASUS Cable Adapter (5cm)
1 x 3-pin Extension Cable (5cm)
2 x 3-pin Connectors
 
On the subject of Cable Mods, I didn't know the difference between the ModMesh and ModFlex cables.
I may have messed up a tad bit. My cable replacement kit for my EVGA psu, my SATA 3.0, and Cable Combs set were all ordered with the ModMesh option.
I am thinking now that I should have selected ModFlex?
 
We will see what they are like when they arrive. I hope the will be easy on the eye.
 
Still trying to buy everything I can for my new system, without committing to Kaby Lake or Coffee Lake!  
Man, I hope Coffee Lake gets released soon. The waiting might just might make me crack, and get a motherboard and CPU.
 
 

Talonman
 
I still am not locked into my case. I only like it because it's red, and has glass in it. Maybe I should change that.....  
 
I also think you made me a Hero man, if I end up going with Kaby Lake. If the Code has bad thermals on the m.2 drive due to the covers, it makes me wonder about all other electronic components that are also covered on the motherboard.
Are they also getting hotter than they should? Probably so...
 

It's a nice case and has good reviews on Amazon and Newegg, so if you like it, go for it. :)
 
I was really tempted to go for the Code because it looked really good - as did the TUF series - the question about temperature had me reconsidering though, but when I realized I wouldn't use the WiFi or the bluetooth features either, that basically made my mind up to go Hero instead. Also another EVGA member already had the Hero and really liked it. But still... the Code does look nice, lol.
 
 
 

 
LOL you're welcome :)
 
Great build you have going. The CLC 280 I don't use the EVGA software since the ASUS BIOS has really good fan control built in.
 
ASUS also has Aura Sync which ties in a number of different cases, fans, etc etc, and I notice Phanteks is named there so you might want to take a look through.
 
Best fans I've ever used are "Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3" but they are plain fans with no LED lights at all.
Previously I used Aerocool DS (Dead Silent) fans and they are pretty good [link] - they come in red, blue or white LED, and 120mm or 140mm size. The red ones might look good in your case. There's a lot of good fans out there though, so maybe some others will post suggestions.
I see there's a few case and radiator fans linked from that ASUS Aura Sync page too, but I don't know how good they are. If you plan to replace the radiator fans, just make sure you get fans with high static pressure for that.
 
For a keyboard I've been using a Razor Black Widow Ultimate Stealth (2014) keyboard for a couple of years now, it's freaking awesome.
 
For many years I used a Logitech MX518 mouse, loved it, but recently switched to a Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse. Pretty basic but I like it - I never really liked too many buttons on my mouse so for me this is great, but there are certainly better mice (mouses?) out there.
 
I don't use the controller often, but I have a Microsoft wireless X-box controller for Windows that does the job for me - from Amazon [link]. I got it a few years ago so there's probably better options available now. I think Steam sell one too.
 
Hope that helps!
 
 
 
 
 

Just picked up (3) 120MM RGB and (3) 140MM RGB fans, a mouse, and 3TB HD for System Backups...
 
 
 

Indeed... The dream is to have 6 cores running at 5GHz, with each clock cycle doing 30% more work than Kaby Lake could have done.
 
Question: Are all of these guys running with their radiator in the front of the case, setting their fans up to push air out, or pull air into the case?
My fear is if it is pulling air into the case, and sending it out through the top and rear, will only give me warm air to cool my case.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3K5RPCch4s#t=872.565128

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaVmbStgW8E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueWvyIYEza0
 

I think pulling air in the front is the way I have to go.
 
The top video I posted, at the 10 and 15 minute mark, he makes the statement that you cant run a rad in the top.
I believe that to be true...
 
So what I think I want to do is mount the EVGA cooler in the front, using the 2 140mm EVGA fans, attaching them on the outside of the case... (under the front cover)
Then attach the rad on the inside front of the case...
Then have 2 140mm RGB fans on the inside of the case, attached to the other side of the rad, also pulling air into the case.
 
Top will be 2 120mm RGB fans blowing air out.
 
The rear will be 1 120mm RGB blowing air out.
 
I wonder if I could get EVGA to send me a second set of screws to run my rad in a push pull config?
 
I found the keyboard I like, and it's not RGB.
It is beautiful black and red, with a black and red cable. Wonderful clickey keyboard sound that I love from the old days.
It is The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Cherry MX Blue (HX-KB1BL1-NA/A1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXg3pYikklU
 
My mouse is The Mionix Castor Multi-Color Ergonomic Optical Gaming Mouse, MNX-01-25001-G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc8k131nb3Q
 
People seem to like it and I don't want a bunch of extra buttons on my mouse, like some have.

I just picked up a 7700K but that was because it was offered to me for a good deal I couldn't pass up.