Upgrades/changes

[lachyman]

Hey there,

the school year is slowly ending and I've only got a couple of exams left, and it looks like I will end this year with straight A's. My parents consider education as no. 1 priority, and so the end of the school year for me is like Christmas for others, if my grades are perfect I get some stuff I want as a reward/motivation. I have some major changes in my build in the roadmap for this year, and I want to kick it off in the summer. 

Things I want to get first (prices aren't legit):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU Cooler:  Swiftech H320 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 

Motherboard:  Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $369.98

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-15 09:57 EDT-0400)

 

Thing I'm a bit unsure about, does the H320 fit in the 450D with the new Sabertooth?

Measurements:

 

 

 

 

My current MB has a broken PCI-e lane, so I will send it for an RMA and then sell it with the case, what would be fair prices for these separately? They are 1 year old.

[i_build_nanosuits]

i don't get it, if you're relying on your parents to upgrade your PC, why would you upgrade your motherboard to the highest end one possible and get water cooler instead of just a GOOD GPU

for gaming, it's just to brag about it? cause let's face it...you're rocking a GTX 660 ATM and this is by far the WEAKEST LINK in your system...

 

Also selling your current motherboard and case you will lost a ton of money...these are all not so bright decision from my point of view at least..

 

You should just ask for a GTX780 or r9 290 GPU and call it a day.

[lachyman]

i don't get it, if you're relying on your parents to upgrade your PC, why you upgrade your motherboard and want water cooler instead of just a GOOD GPU for gaming, it's just to brag about it?

cause let's face it you're rocking a GTX 660 ATM and this is by far the WEAKEST LINK in your system...

 

Also selling your current motherboard and case you will lost a ton of money...these are all not so bright decision from my point of view at least..

I'm fine with my GPU right now, it pushes 60FPS on high settings 1080p, when I'm going to upgrade, I'm going 4K and let's face it, a 780 won't push 4K and there probably won't be any 800 series cards in the summer.

[i_build_nanosuits]

well...to my opinion those very high-end motherboard always been a waste of money and same goes for those fancy CPU water cooler...they won't have any impact on overall performance

of a system and are money wasted in most situation...you don't want the cheapest board, and you do want an after market CPU cooler, but something reasonable like the board you ALREADY own

and a good air cooler (CM hyper 212 ,29$) is way good enough...

 

You should get an r9 290 (4GB and perform much better at 4k) right now it will improve your gaming a TON and later when you go 4K get another one and crossfire them...at least that's what i would do..

[lachyman]

well...to my opinion those very high-end motherboard always been a waste of money and same goes for those fancy CPU water cooler...they won't have any impact on overall performance

of a system and are money wasted in most situation...you don't want the cheapest board, and you do want an after market CPU cooler, but something reasonable like the board you ALREADY own

and a good air cooler (CM hyper 212 ,29$) is way good enough...

 

You should get an r9 290 (4GB and perform much better at 4k) right now it will improve your gaming a TON and later when you go 4K get another one and crossfire them...at least that's what i would do..

I've been offered a 780 for €345 used for 2 months (€100 cheaper than a new one), that seems like a good deal to me as I can sell my 660 for like €100 and in like a year when 4K capabl cards should be reality I should be able to sell the 780 for like €250, making the investment return completely. What next to buy?

[i_build_nanosuits]

I've been offered a 780 for €345 used for 2 months (€100 cheaper than a new one), that seems like a good deal to me as I can sell my 660 for like €100 and in like a year when 4K capabl cards should be reality I should be able to sell the 780 for like €250, making the investment return completely. What next to buy?

 

Yes that would be a much better option than spending all your ''gift reward'' on an high-end z97 board and watercooling unit for your CPU, a core i5 as i mentionned already will be cooled by a 29$ hyper 212

and will allow for very high overclock, and you already own an high-end gaming motherboard...so yes going with a GPU that is about 3 times as powerful as the one you own if you can afford it absolutely

go for it you won't regret it !

[lachyman]

Yes that would be a much better option than spending all your ''gift reward'' on an high-end z97 board and watercooling unit for your CPU, a core i5 as i mentionned already will be cooled by a 29$ hyper 212

and will allow for very high overclock, and you already own an high-end gaming motherboard...so yes going with a GPU that is about 3 times as powerful as the one you own if you can afford it absolutely

go for it you won't regret it !

I will probably do that, but I was told I can go up to like €500 with this, which leaves €150 to spend on another upgrade, I wanted the 450D because the HAF XM is a pretty bad case...no fan filters, retarded fan mounts, not very good cable management and it's pretty ugly...

[i_build_nanosuits]

I will probably do that, but I was told I can go up to like €500 with this, which leaves €150 to spend on another upgrade, I wanted the 450D because the HAF XM is a pretty bad case...no fan filters, retarded fan mounts, not very good cable management and it's pretty ugly...

if you don't like your case, and having feelings for the 450D, then this can be a justified upgrade, yes.

[lachyman]

if you don't like your case, and having feelings for the 450D, then this can be a justified upgrade, yes.

Well then those are the 2 things I'll ask for. Thanks.

[i_build_nanosuits]

sounds good, much better idea

are you using the stock CPU cooler on your i5?

[lachyman]

sounds good, much better idea

are you using the stock CPU cooler on your i5?

Yup, but I don't want to waste money on the Hyper 212 EVO since mine can OC really well (>4.5GHz) but also gets a bit hotter than an average i5, that's why wanted an AIO, to use it to it's full potential. But they start around €100, and as it contains liquid I wanted something that won't fail an more importantly has a quiet pump. That's when I saw the Swifttech H220 for €125, but H320 for €145 is a much better deal. I will probably get that later on.

[i_build_nanosuits]

the major selling point for an after market CPU heatsink, besides cooling, is for more QUIET operation, something like the noctua NH-U14S for example will not only allow you to overclock your CPU as much as you want

but will also be much more QUIET than ANY water cooling CPU kit you can find...it is also much more reliable and won't rely on a pump to function properly...and cost a whole lot less.

 

http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/henry-butt/noctua-nh-u14s-cpu-cooler-review/

[lachyman]

the major selling point for an after market CPU heatsink, besides cooling, is for more QUIET operation, something like the noctua NH-U14S for example will not only allow you to overclock your CPU as much as you want

but will also be much more QUIET than ANY water cooling CPU kit you can find...it is also much more reliable and won't rely on a pump to function properly...

 

http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/henry-butt/noctua-nh-u14s-cpu-cooler-review/

Well I planned to buy some of the new black NF-F12 with the kit, that should actually lead to the same noise levels. Besides, the Swiftech Helix fans are pretty quiet at 33dBa at max speed which it pobably never really reaches.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Well I planned to buy some of the new black NF-F12 with the kit, that should actually lead to the same noise levels. Besides, the Swiftech Helix fans are pretty quiet at 33dBa at max speed which it pobably never really reaches.

yup, but you still have the pump...reliabilty? noise level of the pump? power consumption?...anyway, i will not make you change your mind it's your project and i respect that, at least you realised that you need a powerful GPU

much more than you need an high-end motherboard (wich you already have btw!) so have fun and i wish you the best!

[lachyman]

yup, but you still have the pump...reliabilty? noise level of the pump? power consumption?...anyway, i will not make you change your mind it's your project and i respect that, at least you realised that you need a powerful GPU

much more than you need an high-end motherboard (wich you already have btw!) so have fun and i wish you the best!

Thanks fo your help too.

[i_build_nanosuits]

no problem ! see ya!