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Prospective Build and Old PC Price - Thoughts?

Oldaccount1234123
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Hello everyone!

As you can see, I am quite new to this forum, and also quite new to the world of building computers, but I hope you guys are as kind as you sound and will help me out with this prospective build.

So, lets get started. Here are the main points you need to know before I give you the specs:

1. Budget & Location:

UK, looking to spend around £1000 - £1500. I can go over if needed.

2. Aim

It is going to be used for both general work (i.e. Word, excel, browsing the web) and also for gaming (Games such as ArmA 3, CS:GO, and DotA 2 mainly.)

3. Monitors

2 Monitors. 1920x1080

4. Peripherals

I will need Windows OS (Preferably 7, and I like it better than 8) and I might need a mouse + keyboard, but I will write about that lower down.

5. Why are you upgrading?

Well, this is going to be a short story, so here I go:

I purchased an Alienware Area 51 (Specs below) in 2013 from my local computer shop. It was my first proper computer, as before I had a very run down HP which was very slow. I believe the alienware was built in 2011, and was no longer in production at that time. It all worked well, and I loved it and enjoyed playing many games on it and having my friends be in awe. However, one day it simply broke down. Every 30 minutes or so, it would just lose power and restart as if there had been a power surge. After a couple of weeks of engineers trying to fix it (Turning it on and off, rebooting the BIOS, saying that it worked when they tested it), they finally came to the conclusion that it needed a new PSU. So they ordered one in, a dell engineer came and it was all sorted. Good I thought - however, I was wrong. About a year after, the computer wouldn't turn on, and no matter what I tried I couldn't get it to work again. So once more the engineers came and deduced that the liquid cooling had leaked and the Mother Board, CPU and pretty much everything had to be replaced. We were insured so it was all OK. Now, just recently(3 weeks ago), it was having the same problem which I had in the first place (Losing Power) and so we sent the computer back to the engineers once more to try and fix it. Despite us telling them it was probably the PSU again, they said it was the Graphics card and so they said they ordered in "The best graphics card on the market" which was a GTX 970... So anyway, they stuck that in and lo and behold it didn't work. This is the story up to 2 weeks ago. Since then they have said they are trying to get a PSU (Which should come this week) and something or other else which they say should do the trick. Currently, I am on my Laptop which has Okay specs, but I need my main PC back soon... As soon as I get the computer fixed, I'm going to sell it and buy a new one, so this is why I am posting here - what can I get for the old one and is my new one a good build?





So, moving on. I'd like to start with how much I could get for my old PC. Here are the specs:

CPU: i7 (Not sure which one, possibly the 3770 or 3770k)  UPDATE: ITS THE i7 975 Extreme

Mobo: Unknown, possibly Intel X58 Full ATX LGA 1366)

RAM: 12 GB (Don't know what speed)

Graphics card: GTX 970 (Originally 2 AMD Radeon 6900 HD's) THEY PUT IN THE 970 2 WEEKS AGO TO SEE IF IT WOULD FIX IT, BUT IT DIDN'T. COMPUTER HASN'T BEEN USED WITH 970 SO IT'S PRETTY MUCH A BRAND NEW CARD

PSU: Unknown

Hard Drives: 2x 1TB Seagate HDD's

Peripherals: TactX Mouse + keyboard worth £100 new (Might not sell)

Total price (New): £1600-1800.

I am hoping I can get around £600 - £800 for this but I'm assuming its more on the lower side, but let me know what you think anyway. Also, should I be selling it as a whole or in parts



Lets now move onto my new build. Here are the specs:

Firstly a list to all parts: http://www.ebuyer.com/lists/list/446181


CPU: AMD FX 9590 4.7GHz Socket AM3+ 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor Without Fan

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 990FX Socket AM3+ 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

HDD: WD 2TB Green Desktop Hard Drive

RAM: Kingston HyperX Beast Series 16GB (2 x 8GB Kit of 2) 2400MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL11 DIMM XMP

PSU: Fractal Design Intergra M 750w Semi Modular Power Supply

SSD: Samsung 850 PRO 256GB

CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H105 extreme Performance 240mm Liquid CPU cooler

Graphics card: EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Three DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card

Case: NZXT H440 Mid Tower Black/Orange


Total price (with current deals): £1314

(+Possible Keyboard and mouse if I sell my old ones)

So, my questions to you are:

Is this a good build?
What can I get for my old computer?
Do I need to buy anything else?
And any other suggestions will be useful


Thanks for reading,


Daanish

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You're kidding right? You're current CPU is better than the AMD! That build would be only an upgrade in terms of heat and powerconsumption... :/

Core i7 4820K  |  NH-D14 | Rampage IV Extreme | Asus R9 280X DC2T | 8GB G.Skill TridentX | 120GB Samsung 840 | NZXT H440  |  Be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W

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You're kidding right? You're current CPU is better than the AMD! That build would be only an upgrade in terms of heat and powerconsumption... :/

I think I might have the original CPU wrong.

 

This is why I chose AMD: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-9590+Eight-Core

 

Im also upgraded as my old computer is very unreliable (If you read No. 5 you learn more about this

 

@SuperPug)

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I think I might have the original CPU wrong.

This is why I chose AMD: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-9590+Eight-Core

Im also upgraded as my old computer is very unreliable (If you read No. 5 you learn more about this

@SuperPug)

Dont use that website ever... its for heathens. The 9590 should not exist it runs extremely hot. Please dont buy it. If you really want to upgrade go with a 4690K and a Z97 Mobo. Its gonna run you about as much as the AMD but its gonna be much better (faster and more efficient)

Core i7 4820K  |  NH-D14 | Rampage IV Extreme | Asus R9 280X DC2T | 8GB G.Skill TridentX | 120GB Samsung 840 | NZXT H440  |  Be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W

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Dont use that website ever... its for heathens. The 9590 should not exist it runs extremely hot. Please dont buy it. If you really want to upgrade go with a 4690K and a Z97 Mobo. Its gonna run you about as much as the AMD but its gonna be much better (faster and more efficient)

Ill try and not argue too much as I'm new to this, but I was speaking to a good friend of mine who has used AMD processor for all of his machines, and he says they work and run as well as the equivalent i7, and that my cooling should be sufficient enough. Also, could you link me the 4690 please so I can check out the price etc. Its good to get a second opinion, and I also need to speak to a family member who build PCs too.

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Ill try and not argue too much as I'm new to this, but I was speaking to a good friend of mine who has used AMD processor for all of his machines, and he says they work and run as well as the equivalent i7, and that my cooling should be sufficient enough. Also, could you link me the 4690 please so I can check out the price etc. Its good to get a second opinion, and I also need to speak to a family member who build PCs too.

Dude the FX might actually even bottleneck your 980 in some games its completely outdated. If you dont believe me fine... Just start a thread with the title ''FX9590 vs 4690K'' when the forum is a bit more active and i can guarantee you everyone will yell at you not to get the FX.

Core i7 4820K  |  NH-D14 | Rampage IV Extreme | Asus R9 280X DC2T | 8GB G.Skill TridentX | 120GB Samsung 840 | NZXT H440  |  Be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W

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I think that you've been terribly misinformed. That new build would be a total downgrade, believe me and believe @SuperPug, it's not a good move. If you're going off that CPU benchmark for your reason for buying it, despite what your friend has said, then that is kind of ridiculous. :(

Give me a sec and I'll show you some benchmarks between that AMD CPU and the Intel equivalent.

Here's a benchmark between the Intel Core i7 4790 (yes, I know it's not the OC version) and the AMD FX-9590: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1199?vs=1289

And just for comparisons sake, here is a benchmark between the Intel Core i7 4790K and the AMD FX-9590: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1260?vs=1289

I think that you can see who is the clear winner here and AnandTech is a very reliable site for benchmarks.

Edited by Geekazoid

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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~snip~

 

Hey Daanish,
 
As the guys pointed out, some of the parts are an actual downgrade from your old system. Generally for gaming you would need something like 2x4GB of RAM, i5 4690 CPU and as good a GPU as you can get. Everything above this would simply give you more room to do more things on your build. The i7 4790 CPU can handle pretty much anything that you throw at it. It runs significantly cooler than AMD CPUs and the k-version overclocks pretty good. 
Regarding the storage, you can actually keep your old drives and use the data on them with no problem (you would have to reinstall all programs and games, but the rest should be intact). Do have in mind that WD Green drives are designed for secondary storage and might be a bit slow for running games or other applications. I would suggest checking out WD Blue and WD Black for better performance and loading games and programs. 
 
For a pure Intel/nVidia build, you would be good with a 750W PSU if you are doing overclocking and planning on adding a second GPU. If not, you could go with a 500W-550W one. 
 
Pretty much you have a good build for gaming, but some of the parts are a bit of a downgrade compared to your old build. Consider optimizing it a bit and you will have a great system :) Make sure you post photos once the rig is done.
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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-snip-

Great post mate, couldn't've said it better myself. ;):)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Hey Daanish,
 
As the guys pointed out, some of the parts are an actual downgrade from your old system. Generally for gaming you would need something like 2x4GB of RAM, i5 4690 CPU and as good a GPU as you can get. Everything above this would simply give you more room to do more things on your build. The i7 4790 CPU can handle pretty much anything that you throw at it. It runs significantly cooler than AMD CPUs and the k-version overclocks pretty good. 
Regarding the storage, you can actually keep your old drives and use the data on them with no problem (you would have to reinstall all programs and games, but the rest should be intact). Do have in mind that WD Green drives are designed for secondary storage and might be a bit slow for running games or other applications. I would suggest checking out WD Blue and WD Black for better performance and loading games and programs. 
 
For a pure Intel/nVidia build, you would be good with a 750W PSU if you are doing overclocking and planning on adding a second GPU. If not, you could go with a 500W-550W one. 
 
Pretty much you have a good build for gaming, but some of the parts are a bit of a downgrade compared to your old build. Consider optimizing it a bit and you will have a great system :) Make sure you post photos once the rig is done.
 
Captain_WD.

 

Regarding the PSU, I just chose a random one for now, was looking to get some info on it. I don't plan on OC or getting a second GPU as some games I play aren't properly optimized for SLI.

 

Same as above for the HDD

 

Regarding RAM, despite what you say, I don't want to get the minimum needed. You are saying that 8GB is all I need, but what about in the future when more taxing games come out? Also, Star Citizen has a 8GB minimum, and I plan to make that my main game once it comes out. What speed (is that the right word?) RAM are you suggesting? the 16GB I suggested is  2400 mhz.

 

As I said before, I am upgrading as my old PC is unreliable.

 

I think that you've been terribly misinformed. That new build would be a total downgrade, believe me and believe @SuperPug, it's not a good move. If you're going off that CPU benchmark for your reason for buying it, despite what your friend has said, then that is kind of ridiculous. :(

Give me a sec and I'll show you some benchmarks between that AMD CPU and the Intel equivalent.

Here's a benchmark between the Intel Core i7 4790 (yes, I know it's not the OC version) and the AMD FX-9590: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1199?vs=1289

And just for comparisons sake, here is a benchmark between the Intel Core i7 4790K and the AMD FX-9590: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1260?vs=1289

I think that you can see who is the clear winner here and AnandTech is a very reliable site for benchmarks.

 

 

Look at the price difference though. I understand what you are saying, but I feel like the 9590 is better for value (Unless my google search is throwing up the most expensive results). My friend has the fx 8300 I think? He says that it runs as well as the equivilent i7. Sorry if  I sound stubborn, but I'm learning as I go, and am hearing different things from different sources.

 

 

 

@Geekazoid @Captain_WD

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Regarding the PSU, I just chose a random one for now, was looking to get some info on it. I don't plan on OC or getting a second GPU as some games I play aren't properly optimized for SLI.

 

Same as above for the HDD

 

Regarding RAM, despite what you say, I don't want to get the minimum needed. You are saying that 8GB is all I need, but what about in the future when more taxing games come out? Also, Star Citizen has a 8GB minimum, and I plan to make that my main game once it comes out. What speed (is that the right word?) RAM are you suggesting? the 16GB I suggested is  2400 mhz.

 

As I said before, I am upgrading as my old PC is unreliable.

 

 

Well it never hurts to have a more powerful system than you currently need :) 2x8GB of RAM should make you pretty future proof in terms of memory for gaming. Regarding the frequency/speed, the one that you have chosen should be plenty. Do have in mind that the higher the frequency the more heat the memory stick will emit. 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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@Daanish 

 

An intel I5 or I7 is optimized for ArmA 3 and Dayz because of the single core performance.

Yeah, I heard that AMD is a bit poor on ArmA.

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If say AMD didn't exist, which intel processor should I get? And if someone could link me it that would be great. Try to remember my budget! xD

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EDIT: Made one myself. Please tell me what you think: 

 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Daanish/saved/#view=WD8CmG

 

Bear in mind I might wait for the new AMD GPU and Gtx 980 Ti to see if they are worth it

It looks good to me, maybe just a different PSU if you are doing more than just a minor overclock, preferably shoot for 80 PLUS Silver or better. If you are fine with waiting for the 3xx series to come out then I would say wait, the 390 (390x?) seems like it should be a beast if the leaks/rumors are true. 

 

The case and card seem a bit overpriced, though I have little to no experience with purchasing in Europe and having to deal with VAT and such so I may just be biased from buying in U.S :P

CPU: AMD FX 8320 @4.4 GHz 1.212 vcore Motherboard - Asus M5A99X R2.0 RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws X 16 GB 1866 GPU - Asus Gtx 970 Case - Corsair Vengeance C70 Military Green Storage - 120 GB Samsung 840 Series, 1TB WD Black,  240 GB Corsair Force LX PSU - EVGA 750W G2 Cooling - Noctua NH-D14 Keyboard Corsair K70  Mouse - Logitech G502

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It looks good to me, maybe just a different PSU if you are doing more than just a minor overclock, preferably shoot for 80 PLUS Silver or better. If you are fine with waiting for the 3xx series to come out then I would say wait, the 390 (390x?) seems like it should be a beast if the leaks/rumors are true. 

 

The case and card seem a bit overpriced, though I have little to no experience with purchasing in Europe and having to deal with VAT and such so I may just be biased from buying in U.S :P

Yea I don't mind waiting. Have to use my laptop in the mean while which often crashes.... But hopefully my PC will be fixed so I can go back to using that until the new cards come out. When are they scheduled for? Summer I heard. 

 

Wasn't planning on overclocking, is that what the "k" means? Sorry, new to this all. 

 

 

I just picked a case which looks cool. Either that or Fractal Design r5. 

 

 

 

 

 

To everyone else: Made a second thread with updated parts list etc. Feel free to check it out. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/337799-build-idea-2/

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CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£174.00 @ Amazon UK) 


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£89.99 @ Novatech) 

Memory: Kingston Beast 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£94.00 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£86.87 @ Amazon UK) 


Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 

Case: NZXT H440 (Orange/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  (£81.54 @ Aria PC) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£56.99 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £1504.70

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-30 09:08 BST+0100

Fujitsu Celsius 380W: i5 650 @ 3.2 Ghz | FUJITSU D2917-A1 | 4GB RAM 1333Mhz | ASUS GTX 750 TI Strix OC Edition | Fujitsu Case | 380W Fujitsu PSU | 250GB HDD | Windows 7 64 bit | Dell P2214H


Rekty Shrekty 

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Oooooooooh that is nice..... I want that.....

 

Don't know if I can afford 2 980's though xD. That build is right of the top of my budget!

 

I updated my parts list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Daanish/saved/#view=WD8CmG

 

People suggested a 80+ Gold PSU so I added that in too, and a cheaper SSD

Made it more affordable: 

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£174.00 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£89.99 @ Novatech) 
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£47.24 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: NZXT H440 (Orange/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  (£81.54 @ Aria PC) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£50.34 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £1347.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-30 09:28 BST+0100

Fujitsu Celsius 380W: i5 650 @ 3.2 Ghz | FUJITSU D2917-A1 | 4GB RAM 1333Mhz | ASUS GTX 750 TI Strix OC Edition | Fujitsu Case | 380W Fujitsu PSU | 250GB HDD | Windows 7 64 bit | Dell P2214H


Rekty Shrekty 

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Made it more affordable: 

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£174.00 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£89.99 @ Novatech) 
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£47.24 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  (£419.99 @ Novatech) 
Case: NZXT H440 (Orange/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  (£81.54 @ Aria PC) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£50.34 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £1347.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-30 09:28 BST+0100

 

Looks good :). Thanks for taking the time to make it. Only thing is, I was hoping to get a 2TB hard drive OR an SSD. Perhaps that can be squeezed in aswell? xD. 

 

Do you reckon that cooler will be enough?

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