Long life mobo/cpu/RAM?

[s4spencer]

I recently gave in to the 780ti price drop and bought myself a shiny new GPU. Unfortunately the rest of my hardware is starting to get a bit outdated, so I'm hoping to upgrade my rig a bit more and have it set to go for a few years.

 

My current rig

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($197.97 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.52 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($124.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($82.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card  ($225.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($144.99 @ Mwave) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($88.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor  ($124.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor  ($124.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: NZXT RF-FN142-RB 50.0 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($7.65 @ Amazon) 

Case Fan: NZXT RF-FN142-RB 50.0 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($7.65 @ Amazon) 

Keyboard: SteelSeries APEX Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($81.11 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei Wired Laser Mouse  ($73.78 @ NCIX US) 

Headphones: SteelSeries 7H Headset  ($109.98 @ NCIX US) 

Speakers: Genius SP-HF1800A 50W 2ch Speakers  ($72.31 @ Mwave) 

Total: $1803.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-27 03:49 EDT-0400

Most components besides the storage are about 1 year and 2 months old, while the PSU is about 8 months old.

 

Right now I intend on upgrading 4 parts, the mobo/CPU/GPU/RAM

 

• Mobo (looking at gigabyte ultra durable lineup, but I have little mobo experience)
• Ram (I'm aiming for 16gigs, but if anyone has input on DDR3 or DDR4 it would be appreciated, as I'm unsure on how its going to affect my mobo and cpu cost)
• CPU (I have an eye on the i5-4690k https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k . I will have a use for multi-core/threading, but it wont be a necessity. I hope on OC'ing and adding a water cooler for the CPU.

The GPU is a 780ti, it's already on order and I am not looking for another option

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn78toc3gd

 

I'm hoping to finish up this rig so it can last me another 2-3 years while im in school. Hoping to keep the price around $600CAD, but this is adjustable if i'm going to need a new PSU

or better parts to squeeze the required life out of it.

 

A few odd questions if anyone can help me out

 

If anyone also has recommendations for a fan controller that would also be appreciated.

OC'ing and mobos marketed for OC'ing, is this something I should worry about given the 780ti is factory overclocked, and my intention to OC the CPU?

Used the included thermal paste for my CPU previously. Is this recommended or should I go with something else?

Any suggestions for something I might be missing? Case cooling, etc.

[s4spencer]

bump*

updated with pcparts picker and polished up the post

[brob]

Totally unclear as to what you currently have and what you plan to add.

[s4spencer]

Totally unclear as to what you currently have and what you plan to add.

ty, will edit

[NotSoEpicMods]

Personally I would get a TUF series board from ASUS if you want "long life" as your title stated. The board you picked while still good only has a 3yr warranty and ASUS TUF series boards carry a 5yr warranty. That means IF something does happen, which can a year or two later, you know you're at least covered for 5 years. CPU well not much in terms of choice there but run it as cool as you can for longer life. Also a lot of RAM manufacturers offer lifetime warranties.

[s4spencer]

Thanks. Kinda tossing gigabyte out the window over that 5 year warranty. I'll take the rest of that question to the motherboard forum. DDR4 seems to limit my motherboard choice way to much, so i've decided on http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31866c9d16gxm

any comments?

[brob]

ty, will edit

 

If the parts in the OP are already owned then replacing the Z87 motherboard, i5, and Vengeance memory is an utter waste. The gpu upgrade should be all that is needed. If you really fell that you must do something, get an i7-4790K and call it a day. Anything else will not noticeably improve performance ... Well an i5-4690K could also be overclocked and would provide a little bit of a performance boost. (If you do change to a Haswell Refresh cpu, update the motherboard BIOS to the most recent before switching the cpu.)

[NotSoEpicMods]

Ok just noticed that you stated you want to just keep this build for another 2-3 years(maybe i should stop posting at 4:30 in the morning). In that case I would just stick with your current mobo since you should be able to overclock with it and upgrade the CPU to the i5-4690k or i7-4790K and upgrade your cooling to something like the H105 or NH-D14 if you don't trust those AOIs the NH-D14 is big but should fit in your case. Then overclock the CPU and you should be good for the next 2-3 years. As for memory unless you really care for looks I would just pop in another 2x4GB set that can run at your current settings for your existing ram also afaik DDR4 is Haswell-E only aka 2011LGA socket which will put you way out of budget. Also not changing the mobo usually saves you the hassle of having to activate windows again anyways.   

 

For fan controllers the KISS method is usually the best route but your best bet is to read up on reviews for the ones you like aesthetically and make sure there's no severe issues. For example I had an NZXT Sentry 2 and it would make all my fans have an audible ticking noise as if the blades were nicking something it was very annoying I didn't bother returning it and just threw it in the garbage out of frustration after I noticed the ticking. I'm not sure if they changed this in the sentry 3 so read those reviews. 

 

If you have extra thermal paste left you can go with that or something like Arctic Cooling MX4 if you need more honestly you won't see a huge difference in temps between many of the aftermarket thermal compounds.

[s4spencer]

The memory I know I need to upgrade, both for star citizen and the fact my browsing habits usually have it around 90% usage. For the CPU I'll take the advice and move on up to the 4790k.

The mobo still has me a little paranoid that i'll wake up to a leaking capacitor in another 2 years, seeing as it will be pushing  5 years by the end of its use.

 

 

I'll go with the 4x4 memory suggestion

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbxl

and add this in. My experience with memory in the past has been that it is usually the first to fail, but its an easy matter to replace the old sticks later I suppose.

 

Also throwing in the i7-4790k

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k

as well as a water cooling option before I get to overclocking

 

Thanks for the help!

@NotSoEpicMods

it's also me trying to create a readable post at 4:30 in the morning

 

edit

I'm aware the i7 is overkill, however as I believe its been somewhat suggested the 4690k would be such a waste for so little increase.

[NotSoEpicMods]

The memory I know I need to upgrade, both for star citizen and the fact my browsing habits usually have it around 90% usage. For the CPU I'll take the advice and move on up to the 4790k.

The mobo still has me a little paranoid that i'll wake up to a leaking capacitor in another 2 years, seeing as it will be pushing  5 years by the end of its use.

 

 

I'll go with the 4x4 memory suggestion

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbxl

and add this in. My experience with memory in the past has been that it is usually the first to fail, but its an easy matter to replace the old sticks later I suppose.

 

Also throwing in the i7-4790k

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k

as well as a water cooling option before I get to overclocking

 

Thanks for the help!

@NotSoEpicMods

it's also me trying to create a readable post at 4:30 in the morning

 

edit

I'm aware the i7 is overkill, however as I believe its been somewhat suggested the 4690k would be such a waste for so little increase.

 

Which browser are you using? If you're using chrome it's actually prone to memory leaks at least I have found. If you are using chrome press Shift + Esc in any chrome window and it will bring up the chrome task manager you can sort the tabs by memory amount there and stop their process which will "crash" the tab which you can reload later(this is experience from a tabaholic 2 windows with tons of tabs and my tablet too lol). 4790k is a good choice with its HT(yes games can't use it...yet) but if you're running tabs and video capture and all this other stuff along with your games it'll be nice to have. As for your current mobo it has a high chance of lasting 5 years for sure unless you're really pushing overclocks the big key is keeping everything as cool as possible meaning(dusting it frequently and having ample airflow) . Also your current motherboard has what they call solid caps meaning they are less likely to leak like normal caps and Gigabyte quality is pretty decent.

 

The G.Skill memory is a good choice I got the same kit in a small nas build I want to do which came from my main computer when I upgraded and it should match with your corsair kit.

 

No problem for the help, I'm glad to share any knowledge I have.