Upgrade Advice

[Casperdmnz]

I am looking at upgrading from my existing desktop and was hoping for some advice on how to proceed.

 

 

Use:

Heaviest usage will be for gaming where I would like to get 4k @60fps+ where gaming in conjunction with an anti-virus scan would be the highest demands I would put on the machine. I may also do a bit of database work with SQL or similar programs (information systems study at university so small data) and the odd program / app development as a hobby but nothing like 3D modelling or video editing which as I understand can be intensive. I connect to the internet via a ethernet cable and typically have 4 USB devices plugged in (m/kb, headset and gamepad) but would also like to support the oculus rift and potentially a hotas or similar setup for star citizen.

 

Other relevant information:

Purchasing from New Zealand, have browsed a few stores within my country to find as I expected to be charged significantly more than overseas. Have been looking through Newegg who ship to NZ who offer much cheaper prices, have looked to Amazon in the past but get frustrated only finding at checkout that certain parts won't be shipped to my region without this information visible on the page listing. Budget I want to say over 4k I am getting into rather uncomfortable territory but will consider a build all the same if it passes it. 4k is a large budget even in my currency, I am primarily concerned with buying relevant hardware to my usage and future proof so am prepared to hold-off if it prudent but prepared to take the plunge also.

 

Current Rig:

 

i5 2500k

8GB's RAM

ASUS GTX 680 2GB's

Asus P8Z68 Pro/Gen3 motherboard

WD Caviar Black 1.5TB HDD

Intel 520 series 240GB SSD

Intel 320 series 120GB SSD

Corsair AX850 Gold professional series PSU

 

Thinking I am gonna take the PSU and HDD/SSD and use them in the new desktop and keep the rest as it is a pretty solid rig and could be used for other tasks.

 

Planned Rig:

 

i7 5820k

16GB's DDR4 RAM (http://bitly.com/ZR5UHK)

Asus Rampage V Extreme

2x GTX 980 (http://bitly.com/ZO1v8b)

Case needed

Cooling?

 

Corsair AX850 professional series

WD Caviar Black 1.5TB HDD

Intel 520 series 240GB SSD

Intel 320 series 120GB SSD

 

I am considering m.2 SSD but not sure if it is well suited. Would it be worth sticking an OS and commonly used programs like anti-virus software on it or is it meant for other applications or not likely to provide much benefit for my use?

 

 

Concerns:

Also on my mind is whether or not I should wait to upgrade next year, mutli-core CPU's as I understand aren't utilized all that well for gaming and I am hoping for this to be a solid upgrade for several years so would I be better to hold off for the next release (Skylake?) as I am not in a particular rush. Looking at the RAM and motherboard I am not sure whether they are excessive for my intended use, could I make do with an alternative that may be cheaper and/or not offer fancy bells and whistles I won't use? Glancing at the PSU will it be enough to support two 980's in SLI with the above components?

[Phllips]

Eh 4k isnt all its cracked up to be. Personally id go for a 3440/1440p monitor

[ImBleu]

@Casperdmnz

 

If its basically just gaming I'd recommend sticking with the i7-4790k/ i5-4690k unless you need the extra PCI-E lanes. 

 

I'd recommend this:

 

Intel i7-4790k - $340

Asus Maximus VII Extreme - $355

3x EVGA GTX980 Superclock - $1740

Corsair RM850 - $160

2x Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (4+4) - $198

Corsair 750D - $140

Corsair H105 - $115

Corsair Force LS 240GB - $140

2x WD Blue 1TB - $136

 

Total Cost: NZD $3324

 

(Using prices from Newegg NZ)

[Guest]

The i5 2500K is still a very good cpu. As you are not streaming or doing any rendering/editing then an i7 is a bit pointless for now. You would get better value for money just by upgrading the gpu side of things.

 

Get a good cooler for the i5 2500K (If you don't already have one) and overclock it. Then just get a couple of GTX 970/980's and you will have a nice system. Just be aware that 4K gaming is very demanding, so you won't get 60FPS on everything unless you are prepared to drop the settings.

[Casperdmnz]

Thanks for the suggestions

 

@ThatCoolBlueKidd I had a look at your recommended items, couldn't track down the motherboard closest I could find was a formula variant but I will keep the devils canyon CPU's in mind, wasn't sure whether or not the new Haswell-e CPU's were the way to go. General idea I am getting is the new processors are significantly more expensive especially when you factor in the need for DDR4 RAM where I could use my existing DDR3 RAM instead and get a cheaper CPU that offers similar performance.

 

I am thinking I might go with a more incremental upgrade and try my hand at overclocking my i5 2500k as suggested by @lee32uk and picking up the recommended Corsair H105 cooler along with 2 GTX 980 GPU's which will give me flexibility to transition to a better CPU later. Was a little worried about CPU performance primarily from getting stutters at times with Star Citizen and MSI Afterburner telling me my CPU's 4 cores were at 90% capacity and at times going higher.

 

Should I be looking at thermal paste or anything like that to go with the h105? Also probably worth mentioning I am targeting 4k for future support in monitors and for current usage with that fancy dynamic super resolution stuff coming from Nvidia.

[ImBleu]

Thanks for the suggestions

 

@ThatCoolBlueKidd I had a look at your recommended items, couldn't track down the motherboard closest I could find was a formula variant but I will keep the devils canyon CPU's in mind, wasn't sure whether or not the new Haswell-e CPU's were the way to go. General idea I am getting is the new processors are significantly more expensive especially when you factor in the need for DDR4 RAM where I could use my existing DDR3 RAM instead and get a cheaper CPU that offers similar performance.

 

I am thinking I might go with a more incremental upgrade and try my hand at overclocking my i5 2500k as suggested by @lee32uk and picking up the recommended Corsair H105 cooler along with 2 GTX 980 GPU's which will give me flexibility to transition to a better CPU later. Was a little worried about CPU performance primarily from getting stutters at times with Star Citizen and MSI Afterburner telling me my CPU's 4 cores were at 90% capacity and at times going higher.

 

Should I be looking at thermal paste or anything like that to go with the h105? Also probably worth mentioning I am targeting 4k for future support in monitors and for current usage with that fancy dynamic super resolution stuff coming from Nvidia.

 

With the build I listed, you have 3 GTX980s in SLI along with 16GB of Ram and the fastest Z97 CPU on the market. That should take you as close to 4k 60fps Ultra as you can get nowadays, you won't really benefit from the i7-5xxx X99 / DDR4 for gaming just yet.

[carcrazy11]

Personally if your are only gaming, take the plunge and get something like this, i upgraded from sandybridge to haswell and i have never looked back!

 

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ggZpVn) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ggZpVn/by_merchant/)

 

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k) | $329.99 @ Amazon 

**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h100i) | $94.99 @ NCIX US 

**Motherboard** | [Asus Z97-WS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97ws) | $283.98 @ SuperBiiz 

**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz16gx3m2a1866c9) | $174.99 @ Amazon 

**Video Card** | [Zotac GeForce GTX 980 4GB AMP! Extreme Edition Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt9020310p) (2-Way SLI) | $609.99 @ Amazon 

**Video Card** | [Zotac GeForce GTX 980 4GB AMP! Extreme Edition Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt9020310p) (2-Way SLI) | $609.99 @ Amazon 

**Case** | [Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4tiw) | $99.18 @ Amazon 

 | | **Total**

 | Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $2203.11

 | Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-25 23:01 EDT-0400 |

[Guest]

@Casperdmnz

 

If its basically just gaming I'd recommend sticking with the i7-4790k/ i5-4690k unless you need the extra PCI-E lanes. 

 

I'd recommend this:

 

Intel i7-4790k - $340

Asus Maximus VII Extreme - $355

3x EVGA GTX980 Superclock - $1740

Corsair RM850 - $160

2x Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (4+4) - $198

Corsair 750D - $140

Corsair H105 - $115

Corsair Force LS 240GB - $140

2x WD Blue 1TB - $136

 

Total Cost: NZD $3324

 

(Using prices from Newegg NZ)

Sorry but you are way out with your prices. That is USA $ not NZ $.