[Build help]I want to partially upgrade my rig at the end of this year

[Ningeal]

Hello everybody,

 

I have built my first rig about two years ago and I want to treat it and myself with a little upgrade by the end of this year and I need your feedback.

 

This update is supposed to be just a minor update as it is still going strong. Although this upgrade is aimed towards boosting performance, my main focus point personally is aesthetics.

Also this upgrade is more like a because-I-can or because-I-want-to type of deal.

 

Following the guideline for such a post as this one, I feel I should I inform you that I live in Germany, so obviously my prices are in €.

Oh yeah, I mostly game (on a single 1080p, 120Hz monitor) and occasionally stream Puzzle and Dragons (a Android game).

 

I want to apologize in advance if this post is not properly formatted and ends up being a clusterf*ck because I am on mobile right now, I'll try my best though.

I will edit everything as soon as I get home and make it look nice and sexy. DONE

 

Its current specs are as follows:

NZXT Phantom 410 case

AsRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 motherboard

Intel core i7 2600k Corsair

H80 MSI GTX 680 Lightning

Corsair 1066mHz 4GB RAM (my 16GB Vengeance kit died on me a couple of weeks ago)

Samsung 830 128GB

Seagate barracuda 1TB, 7200RPM

Corsair AX850

 

First off, I want more graphics horse power in the form of going SLI, as I mentioned earlier for aesthetic reasons (over pure performance).

I am indecisive about either going for a second 680 Lightning or going dual 970. I personally lean towards going dual 970s rather because I am sort of bored with the looks of my Lightning.

The looks of Asus' STRIX or EVGA's SC ACX cards have really grown on me.

On a side note, when I built my current rig about two years ago, I didn't care much for aesthetics, this has changed drastically.

A friend of mine wants to build a gaming rig as well, who I could sell my 680 to, just so you know. As far as I have seen they go for about 270€ to 300€ on Ebay here in Germany.

 

- What would you guys do if you were me? Or would you go a completely different route?

 

 

Then I would like to switch from the H80 to the H100i. Perhaps I could also sell my H80 to my friend.

 

- Here I would like to know whether it would fit? Haven't gotten to measure it myself, perhaps someone knows. I know for sure that push/pull won't fit. So either push or pull.

- Also, Noctua industrials or Corsair SPs (for once balancing performance AND aesthetics)?

 

 

Since we're on the topic of fans, I want to replace all my LED case fans (that are not from the same brands and have different tones of blue *sigh*) with either

Corsair AF series fans or Noctua industrials, depending on which you guys recommend me for my H100i.

 

- Are the Noctuas worth it? I figure they won't be cheap.

 

 

I obviously need RAM, preferably Corsair. Here I have no idea which model to chose though.

 

- Any recommendations are highly appreciated.

 

 

And lastly I need some input on Lighting. As I mentioned above I have differently toned blue led fans inside my case right now, which is ugly as f*ck, LOL.

 

- Do you guys prefer mono colored strips or would you rather chose something like a NZXT hue?

 

Things I am going to upgrade that are pretty much decided, but perhaps you have some input on that too:

Corsair braided PSU cables

Second Samsung 830 128GB in RAID0.

Logitech C920

 

 

So far this is all I can think of right now. Once everything is set, I will post update and progress pictures.

Thank you all for any help in advance. I am really grateful to be part of this awesome community.

[Deletive]

Totally go with dual 970's

[knight_40k]

Unless you can get a second 680 for super cheap, I would suggest going dual 970 because they will perform better.

 

Ram is Ram, get whatever is cheapest and looks best to you/fits your build.

[dizmo]

I wouldn't bother with RAID0, I'd just get a larger capacity drive.

Other than that your plans sound pretty solid? The CPU should be fine for another few years, maybe more depending on how well it OC's.

[Ningeal]

Totally go with dual 970's

 

Thanks, I'm definitely leaning towards dual 970s more than before now.

 

Unless you can get a second 680 for super cheap, I would suggest going dual 970 because they will perform better.

 

Ram is Ram, get whatever is cheapest and looks best to you/fits your build.

 

Sweet! Doubt I'll be able to get any cheap Lightnings.

 

I wouldn't bother with RAID0, I'd just get a larger capacity drive.

Other than that your plans sound pretty solid? The CPU should be fine for another few years, maybe more depending on how well it OC's.

 

So would you say a 830 256GB maybe? CPU is at 4.2gHz right now, can squeeze out more with the H100i, I presume.

 

 

Updated the first post and formatted everything. Sorry for it being a clusterf*ck, I wrote it via Tapatalk.

[dizmo]

Thanks, I'm definitely leaning towards dual 970s more than before now.

 

 

Sweet! Doubt I'll be able to get any cheap Lightnings.

 

 

So would you say a 830 256GB maybe? CPU is at 4.2gHz right now, can squeeze out more with the H100i, I presume.

 

 

Updated the first post and formatted everything. Sorry for it being a clusterf*ck, I wrote it via Tapatalk.

I wouldn't go 830...why get old tech? I'd go 840, or perhaps 730 Series from Intel.

[Ningeal]

I wouldn't go 830...why get old tech? I'd go 840, or perhaps 730 Series from Intel.

Mg pseudo OCD would dictate me to go for the exact same model (that is why I want RAID0 in the first place) or at least one from the same series.

[dizmo]

Mg pseudo OCD would dictate me to go for the exact same model (that is why I want RAID0 in the first place) or at least one from the same series.

That's unfortunate.

[Ningeal]

Or I might try to sell my 830 and get a pair of Intel 730s oder just one bigger one?