Is Skylake stable?

[Chalenge]

I have a squad mate looking to build a new system. I'm recommending a nice ASUS board, i5 CPU@3.5GHz, and the GTX 970.

Motherboard (same price at Newegg) $110.00:

http://smile.amazon.com/DisplayPort-H170-Motherboards-PRO-GAMING/dp/B014F7BQUG?ie=UTF8&keywords=ASUS%20Skylake%20motherboard&qid=1461364684&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

16GB Memory from Quality Vendors List ($65):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231781

CPU ($243.99):

http://smile.amazon.com/Intel-Boxed-I5-6600K-Processor-BX80662I56600K/dp/B012M8M7TY?ie=UTF8&keywords=Skylake%20CPU&qid=1461365116&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

PSU ($140):

http://smile.amazon.com/Seasonic-X-850-SS-850KM3-Active-ATX12V/dp/B004ETEFTK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461365270&sr=8-1&keywords=Seasonic+X850

CPU cooler ($70)

http://smile.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U14S-Sockets-Heatpipe-Cooling/dp/B00C9FLSLY/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461367171&sr=1-1&keywords=noctua+Cpu+cooler+lga+1151

SSD ($130):

http://smile.amazon.com/Mushkin-512GB-Enhanced-Internal-MKNSSDEC512GB/dp/B016USPVP4?ie=UTF8&keywords=512gb%20ssd&qid=1461367046&ref_=sr_1_11&s=pc&sr=1-11

HDD 2TB ($69):

http://smile.amazon.com/HGST-Deskstar-HDS724020ALE640-Internal-Warranty/dp/B00TQ7YJ4G/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461367258&sr=1-2&keywords=hgst+2tb+hdd

Case ($125):

http://smile.amazon.com/Corsair-Obsidian-Mid-Tower-Computer-CC-9011049-WW/dp/B00I6BJ8MQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=corsair%20450d&qid=1461367522&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

EVGA GTX 970 ($315):

http://smile.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Quieter-Graphics-04G-P4-2974-KR/dp/B00NVODXR4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461367671&sr=1-1&keywords=GTX+970

[Gman]

I don't have personal experience with the i5/6600/k, but the 6700k has been great, good o/c if you're into that, or I guess if your friend is, and everything I've heard first hand at my shop is the new 1151 i5 is a great CPU, very stable with even pretty lofty o/c done.

[Chalenge]

Well, it might be that a different motherboard could use better memory. It seemed like a good idea to me to recommend 16GB, but the QVL only had the one matched set with that capacity. He bought his last system in 2009, so this has got to last him for a few years at least. He's not like me dropping cash on new systems every year or so (often less).

[BoilerDown]

I'd tell him to get an i7.  Especially if he wants it to last 7 years, again.

[BaldEagl]

Yes, it's stable.  Here's my new build.  Further into the thread are my overclocking notes on air:

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,376121.0.html

[Chalenge]

I found a deal on a better MB and 16 GB of DDR4 3000MHz RAM. So I pointed him in that direction and suggested the external XFi DAC.

I don't think you need an i7 for games, and he doesn't do videos. I suggested he salvage his DVD, but even BluRay is only $30 these days.

I think if he overclocks at all it will be a simple bclk.

[Gman]

TridentX or Ripjaws Gskill ram has been good for me, Ripjaws V 16gb 8x2 dual channel 3200 is only 115$ Canadian right now, very cheap for pretty good ram.  Trident is a little more, and of course Corsair and other brands are fine as well, I've not heard any major problems with various decent DDR4 ram and MB combos with either the 6600 or 6700 causing stability issues, and a pile of gamers and other users are often at the shop I use.  Many employees there too are into higher end systems.

I have a few systems so I'm constantly in an upgrade cycle, usually every year as well, this has easily been the longest I've gone/waited, for Pascal and Broadwell E now, I have a system that's 3 years old CPU/MB wise and running 980s, and it's the oldest by a couple/few years.  With all the new Intel, nVidia, and AMD stuff this year, should be some good times upgrading and fooling about.

[BaldEagl]

I think if he overclocks at all it will be a simple bclk.

Better off to OC with the multi.  Raising bclk gave me higher temps at the same output.  Besides that the I5 core clock rate is 100Mhz.  Easily synched with any RAM speed.  Start raising the bclk and you might want to change out or OC the RAM to sync the core clocks depending on where you end up.  You'll also have more difficulty synching the ring bus.

[Chalenge]

I went back and looked at how I had done the overclock before. From what I see just loading the SPD brought the CPU up.

[Chalenge]

Thanks for the input guys.