TechAngel85

Continuing to make BCFs at this point for STEP is not worth it as you can do as the others described above. Not to mention we're encouraging users to use MO rather than WB. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

2500K isn't an Ivy Bridge, now is it. Lol! Do some research on overclocking IBs. Sandy Bridge processors were the overclocker's dream core for Intel. They overclocked really high, really easily. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Okay...you all have convinced me to go with the dual channel kit. I'm currently sitting at $1,066.90 (US). That price tag is without a monitor because the market/prices change so quickly on those, I'm just going to wait to price them out and select one when I'm actually ready to buy. I think in the time I've put together my Wish List I've gone through at least 6 monitors in the setup.

I've seen videos and read reviews of people "delidding" their IBs. I think you can do the same with the Haswells; however, I don't think I would be so brave to do it with a brand new processor. I get that on the memory, tho. I guess I've been lucky enough to never have those issues. The first time I do I'll be swearing! lol. :happy: As for the overclocking, I'm mainly going by this article ( https://www.overclockers.com/crucial-ballistix-tactical-lp-16-gb-ddr3-1600-review ). I know their not the same modules and mileage will vary, but they're the same series which look very promising.

Thanks for the input. I covered this several posts back; however, I'll do it again briefly. Yes, Haswell doesn't overclock as high as previous generations; however, they overclock better and are still on par. First, at stock speeds Haswell wins out nearly every time (check my previous post for the Tom's Hardware review). Which brings me to my second point on this...even though they don't overclock as high, a Haswell running at 4.4GHz is the same as a previous generation running at 4.6GHz (previous post). Secondly, there is only a $10 difference between Ivy Bridge and Haswell right now and though some 1155 socket boards are indeed less expensive (I put together a build for the 1155 and Z77 socket and boards) it's not by enough to make up for the benefits of the 1150 and Z87 combo. Lastly, Haswell overclocks better. What do I mean, you ask? I mean that in previous generations you had to disable a bunch of feature that came with the CPUs to be able to maintain a high/stable overclock, in most cases. With Haswell, you simply change the numbers and you're good to go! No need to disable any of the chip's features to maintain stable overclocks. These things, in my book, are worth choosing Haswell. As for the bit of extra heat, as long as you have a good cooling solution like what I'm planning in the future when I do overclock ( https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181032 ) then it's a non-issue. I happen to agree with you on the ASUS board though. I've spent hours researching many many (too many) boards and I can't seem to pull away from the ASUS. I know I'm buying some of the newest stuff out on the market; however, I'm planning on this build to last for 4-6yrs with only upgrading a part here and there if need be (like more RAM). As long as you buy the same memory module down the line you won't have any issue with the RAM. A lot of people warn just like you did; however, I've been doing what I'm doing now for years without any issues what-so-ever. You just have to know what you're doing and get the same modules. The only time it becomes a real issue is when those modules are discontinued or become hard to find.

UPDATE: So I've had to make some changes to my rig, some upgrades some downgrades, to be able to stay within my budget. I'm thinking that I can get this system for around $1000 (US) buy the time I add in deals and shop around for the components at lower prices (which NCIX seems to have a few better prices than Newegg atm). I've updated the OP with this information; however, I've also provided the changes below for convenience sake. Any thoughts on the changes? Computer Case: NZXT Source 530 CA-SO530-M1 NZXT Source 210 S210-001 The original case that I wanted was the Corsair Obsidian Series 650D. However, with this build I have to cut some costs here and there to keep the overall build within my price range. The case was the first thing I cut; however, I still wanted certain features. The NZXT Source 530 was my second choice provided me with most of the features I wanted will still being a really good case: excellent air flow, bottom mounted PSU, modular drive bays, fan filters, USB 3.0 front ports and designed for cable management. Downgraded: All-in-all, I cut the cost of the case yet again to try to lower by budget while still keeping my amazing rig that is going to power me into the future. Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A ASUS Z87-PRO I had a difficult time deciding on my motherboard. I wanted something that would last through several upgrades and have all the features I desired. In the end it was between the Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H and the Asus Z87-A. The Asus board won out by a narrow margin. All-in-all the two boards are very similar; however, Asus's software features (and seeing them work) did it in for me. The look of the board was also as a factor for me since my case is windowed and I didn't want to go with the typical blue or red theme. Upgraded: I was able to cut cost enough to upgrade my board to a better version of the same series. The ASUS Z87-PRO has all the great features of the Z87-A and more. Extra USB, intergrated WiFi, upgraded audio chip, upgraded LAN chip, better cooling and some more technicial stuff. Graphics Card: EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 760 2GB EVGA GeForce GTX 760 4GB I went with nVidia because I'm just a fan and have had better experience with them over AMD/ATi. The choice of GTX 760 was a budget decision again. I would like the GTX 770 and if I can figure out a way to save $100 on the build then I might put that toward the 770 over the 760. Upgraded: Same card, more VRAM! I'll probably still be upgrading to the 770 with 4GB of VRAM. Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance Pro (DDR3/1600/8GB) Crucial Ballistix Tactical 4GB The memory I have chosen is for dual channel running the highest stock speed with the lowest CAS. For this I've chosen the Corsair Vengeance Pro serious dual channel kit with timings of 9-9-9-24. I know there are some RAM sticks out there that have 8-8-8-24 timings; however, I ultimately chose this kit due to it being $10 less and because it matches the black/gold theme of the motherboard. Downgraded: Not so much as downgraded as I've chosen a different brand/series and only 4GB to get me started. This was because the ones above are discontinued, and the downgrade to 4GB was one of the things I did to knock $40 (US) off the build. I'll be adding more of these Crucials latter to fill up my slots. These sticks are DDR3 1600 with 8-8-8-24 timings; however, reviews have shown they run best when overclocked to 2133 (nearly 50% gain) which I'm planning on doing. Power Supply: Thermaltake SMART Series 550W Cooler Master i600 Originally, I had chosen the OCZ ZT Series 650W; however, budget kicked in again. I don't need anything more than a 550W and the fully modular PSUs are priced higher. Therefore, I made a sacifice and chose this Thermaltake PSU instead, which is partially modular and provides enough power to handle this rig. Upgraded: I switched up brands here as well and have gone with Cooler Master and upgraded from 550W to 600W in the process. This is in part due to the plan to upgrade to the GTX 770 which needs a bit for power. As for the processor, the i5 is going to be plenty for gaming. I've done a lot of research and read a lot of reviews. When overclocked to 4.4GHz, which is the average overclock for this processor, the i5 dishes out the same performance as the i7-4770K at stock speeds in gaming for $100 less. The i7 obviously pulls ahead in applications that utilize the extra cores and HT which it offers; however, for my purposes I'm confident in my choice of the i5. I'll be purchasing a water cooler for this i5 in the future so that I can unleash the beast without throttling issues.

Relighting Skyrim would be the only real candidate for STEP, imo. It's actually in line with the Core Mandate as far as i can tell.

Doesn't MO have BCF support in terms of plugin? No I think it uses FOMOD, right? BCF is WB only. MO has BAIN support but it's horribly implemented compared to FOMOD support. Think of FOMODs as WB's wizards for MO. EDIT: Unless the BCF is something new since I've been out of commission.

Make sure you're putting the first block to 768 when using the alpha build. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

A FOMOD would take care of the patch installation issue. Make it in the installer where they can only choose one or the other but not both. Super simple, 10 minute coding if I was able to. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

I know it's a hassle but any changes to the live Guide should reflect in the Patches as well if need be. This only needs to be upkept until the next release is final and released. At which point no changes should happen on the previous guide; thus, no changes should be needed for the previous patches either. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

You guys are aware that the new forum software we're switching to is the same that Nexus uses, right? Although, we have s4n on our side so we shouldn't have the same issues. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Was just reading over in the Support thread and I see the need to keep a couple versions of the STEP Patches on the Nexus for download. If we're not already we should keep the previous two or three patch versions from previous releases. That means right now we should have patches for 2.2.7 under old files and 2.2.8 in the main files. Doing this will enable users that haven't updated yet to still be able to get the previous version and not be confused as to why the patches aren't working if they've yet to update. This will also fix the "between releases" issues of having the new patch up and users downloading it before the release is final...like right now. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Well, I thought I knew exactly what your issue was until I looked at your load order. You do seem to be only running a STEP Pack without Core. All Packs are designed to work on top of STEP:Core. So go to the STEP Guide and make sure you install all the Core mods (ones marked green) and then head on over to the STEP nexus page to grab the STEP Patch for Core. PS: 2.2.8 will be released today Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Granted, I didn't. A lot to go through on a phone. Lol Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

I guess Microsoft has done optimization in Windows 8 which leads to a higher minimum FPS. This would certainly be beneficial for gamers if proven true in the majority of cases. EDIT: Granted, I ran Windows 8 for a long time, but reverted back to 7 when 8.1 broke some things which led to crashes. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Does anyone else find that this fixed the issue to be completely weird? Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

I would love to be able to have a dual boot config to test this out. Maybe I'll do that when I build my new system. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

First let's start out with this video: What I found interesting was that I've always heard that Windows 7 is the better gaming platform. However, Linus (I guess he didn't have a babysitter that day...Lol) kinda proves this wrong. Although the averages are about the same, the minimum FPS typically increase on Windows 8 giving a better and smoother gameplay experience. Thoughts? Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Memory speeds and timings are a funny things. Here's what Linus (love this guy) has to say... Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Doyouevenmodbro, You're confusing yourself because you're comparing what the STEP Guide does to what Neo's does. Stop comparing the two. They're two entirely separate and different guides. Either follow STEP or follow SR. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Edit the OP in full mode and select dropped from the drop-down menu to change it Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

Yeah, you really should give MO a try. We never thought we'd talk Z into it but I think he's feeling the love now. WB's development has been fairly non-existent for a long while now and you shouldn't be using NMM with STEP if that is the case. Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.

That's what it was called! Was trying to remember to mention it in my post above but couldn't. Lol Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk.