So so CPU in a new machine in order to wait for a big replacement in 2 years

[Pimplickchick]

Hello!

 

The backstory:

Well, I've had my good and old PC for a very loooong time and it had served me well for the past 8 years. I've played all the games I love with it, from the basic Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, to Mass Effect Trology and the Dragon Age games. (yes, I'm a BioWare fan... haha).

 

Anyway, when DA:Inquisition came, along with it came the terror. My old dualcore CPU wasn't going to cut it. Since I'm moving to another country in a couple of months, I'm not planing on spending money on anything right now. But I managed to get a really cheap used CPU which was fantastically well preserved.

 

My old machine: Core 2 Duo E5500 2.80Ghz, 4gb DDR2, Geforce 9800GTX on an Intel board.

 

Right now: Core 2 Quad Q9505 2.83Ghz, 4gb DDR2, Geforce 9800GTX on the same Intel board.

 

What I'm after:

For now (around february/2015) and the next +/-18 months, a good machine capable of gaming at 1080p @60fps. I have around €1000,00 now and I'll save around €600 in the meantime.

 

Something in the likes of (theoretically, if I could get everything in one go):

 

Motherboard: MSI Z97 GAMING 3  €119,90
CPU  : Core i7-4770K €299,00
Cooler  : COOLER MASTER V8 GTS - 140 mm €79,99
RAM   :  KIN GSTON HyperX FURY Black Series - 2 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 €152,00

Video  Card: MSI AMD Radeon R9 290X 8GB GDDR5 €420,00
PSU: CORSAIR RM1000 - 1000 W  €169,90
Housing: CORSAIR Carbide Series Air 540 - € 122,90
Memory (boot): KINGSTON Interne solid state drive SSDNow V300 (SV300S37A/120G) - 120 GB €57,00
Memory (storage): SEAGATE Barracuda 7200 3,5" - 3 TB €99,90

Total: €1560,00

 

(pricing from pixmania.nl and companic.nl)

 

The reason why I chose a top GPU and Almost top CPU is that waaaay back I had the top ones and they lasted ages (until my SECOND ASUS board caught FIRE on me 2 years ago and I lost my old CPU a Pentium D 940 3.4Ghz - I had to cheap out on the replacements)

 

Bottom line:

I don't care about AMD or nVidia. I will never get ASUS boards EVER again no matter what (2 already died bloddy on me). I like Intel so I won't change the CPU. Same with the housing. I really like the Air 540. I don't care for overclocking but I like to have the option to.

 

My goal is in 2 or 3 years have a Crossfire or SLI rig capable of 4k gaming built on a nice looking case.

 

Questions:

Could I re-use my "new" old CPU, get a new Motherboard that takes DDR3 and save for now around €500,00 and in a year replace them with the items above or similar? or even go further and re-use my DDR2 which is in top shape (and get a DDR2 board)  and save €650,00 total.

 

Is this a good idea?

 

Will my old CPU bottleneck the GPU?

[Xaring]

Questions:

1.Could I re-use my "new" old CPU, get a new Motherboard that takes DDR3 and save for now around €500,00 and in a year replace them with the items above or similar? or even go further and re-use my DDR2 which is in top shape (and get a DDR2 board)  and save €650,00 total.

 

2.Is this a good idea?

 

3.Will my old CPU bottleneck the GPU?

 

1.No and No. 

2.No.

3.Yes, definitely.

 

DDR4 is here already, and its prices will only go down. You can get a top of the line MoBo compatible with your CPU and get some new DDR3, but if you plan on upgrading the CPU, it will probably make very good use of the DDR4 RAM.

There are no more DDR2 MoBos for sale that I know of, due to this very same thing.

It is likely (im guessing here) that the new intel boards (mid-late next year) will only support DDR4 for this same reason. 

 

If you are looking to future proof your PC, i would simply go for top-end components, or even wait till fall next year, save un another 400€ and buy a kickass 2k€ machine that will run awesomely.

[WoodenMarker]

I'd suggest planning later. ~2-3 days at most before you buy. Parts and prices change frequently so any parts list you come up with now will likely be obsolete by the time you're ready to buy.

 

Quick notes on the parts list:

The V8 gts is very loud.

The psu is overkill. A decent 850w is already more than enough for a 290x cf.

The v300 is a bit of a low ball of a ssd considering how much you're spending on the rest of the system.

[AlexTheGamer]

Everything looking good BUT:

I would NOT recommend the V8 GTS because its a little too loud FOR ME... I don't know about you, but if you want to go for a little bit more silent machine, you definitely don't want this cooler in your config....

I can HIGHLY recommend the NH-D15 if you want a high end cpu cooler or if you want a mid end cpu cooler i would go for the Thermalright HR02 Macho...

And I would swap the R9 290X for a GTX 970 or maybe even a GTX 980, because of the lower power consumption and the lower temperatures.... allthough that is not necessary because all of those graphics card will perform GREAT...

BUT one last thing: If you are planning on getting the system somewhere near february I would recommend keeping an eye on the 380x and 390x wich will launch soon...

[Rebelattack]

I am dutch and you overpay way to much for those GPU's a 970 is around 300-350 in holland. Pls take a look at paradigit.com, 4launch.nl and alternate.nl also check tweakers.net for the best prices.

Get the 4790k it is the same CPU but they fixed something with the internal components they should cost about the same.

Other thing get a GTX970 and if you do so then get a EVGA G2 750W(if you stay AMD get the EVGA G2 850W) both are much better value then the corsair one. I could make a build tomorrow if you want with dutch prices, because I am on my phone now and travelling so.

[Pimplickchick]

I'd suggest planning later. ~2-3 days at most before you buy. Parts and prices change frequently so any parts list you come up with now will likely be obsolete by the time you're ready to buy.

 

Quick notes on the parts list:

The V8 gts is very loud.

The psu is overkill. A decent 850w is already more than enough for a 290x cf.

The v300 is a bit of a low ball of a ssd considering how much you're spending on the rest of the system.

 

WoodenMarker:

Yeah... one day they are full price, others discount... This is just an estimative. I know about the V8... It's just that it is soooo preeeeetty. I'll get something nice looking but quieter. The only good thing about this one is that similar ones are in the same price range so the budget won't oscillate much.

Thanks for the input on the PSU. I've been researching how many watts I would need and the online calculators always gave me 950w. If I can pull 2 x 290x on a 850w psu, I'll be a happy panda.

The SSD is still being considered. I always had 3 HDDs running in the same machine. One for booting, other for work and media, another for games (I like keeping most of my library installed at all times).

But in the end, it all boils down to budget. I still need to research SSDs more and if this choice will give me a headache, I'll get another HDD. Or even keep my old but still perfect 250Gb 7200 HDD

Do you agree with Xaring's answers to my questions?

 

Everything looking good BUT:

I would NOT recommend the V8 GTS because its a little too loud FOR ME... I don't know about you, but if you want to go for a little bit more silent machine, you definitely don't want this cooler in your config....

I can HIGHLY recommend the NH-D15 if you want a high end cpu cooler or if you want a mid end cpu cooler i would go for the Thermalright HR02 Macho...

And I would swap the R9 290X for a GTX 970 or maybe even a GTX 980, because of the lower power consumption and the lower temperatures.... allthough that is not necessary because all of those graphics card will perform GREAT...

BUT one last thing: If you are planning on getting the system somewhere near february I would recommend keeping an eye on the 380x and 390x wich will launch soon...

AlexTheGamer:

There aren't many options in the Nl market for computer parts. The cooler section at some webshops are pitiful. Maybe I can get some more options in german webshops.

My choice for AMD is purely price. Right now, they are delivering the best performance for their cost and with my budget this tight, a €100 variation on this will keep me from getting what I want. I didn't even added the blu-ray burner at €80-something. I'll keep an eye out for the 380s if they don't mess with the initial budget too much... hehe

Do you agree with Xaring's answers to my questions?

[AlexTheGamer]

The questions:

1. No I would not recommend that...

2. Do you mean the rig that you made there or using your new old cpu?

3. YES there will definitely be very hard bottlenecks!

[Pimplickchick]

Yeah, I will have to save a little longer and get all at once. I'll check the websites Rebelattack mentioned.

 

I guess I'll leave all but my HDDs behind. I'm already selling my beloved Ammo 533 case bc the thing is HUGE and so heavy it would be insane to take it with me. Or maybe not... Blagh... back to making budgets.... hehehe

[Rebelattack]

Yeah, I will have to save a little longer and get all at once. I'll check the websites Rebelattack mentioned.

I guess I'll leave all but my HDDs behind. I'm already selling my beloved Ammo 533 case bc the thing is HUGE and so heavy it would be insane to take it with me. Or maybe not... Blagh... back to making budgets.... hehehe

We have a big range of products just like americans have, the problem is we dont have shops like NCIX, Newegg or MicroCenter. Check tweakers if you wanna see if you can buy the part in Holland and where it is the cheapest. The one with the biggest assortiment is Alternate, followed by 4launch, paradigit and azerty. If you need help with anything like parts in holland and so on just ask and I help you out, no problem .

[Pimplickchick]

We have a big range of products just like americans have, the problem is we dont have shops like NCIX, Newegg or MicroCenter. Check tweakers if you wanna see if you can buy the part in Holland and where it is the cheapest. The one with the biggest assortiment is Alternate, followed by 4launch, paradigit and azerty. If you need help with anything like parts in holland and so on just ask and I help you out, no problem .

 

Ooooohhhh do not offer bc I will take you on this!!  hahaha

 

Hopefully I'll be home in february - march, by then I'll have a solid list of what I'll get.

 

One question tho. I remember seeing a vid from Linus about Old and New CPUs

 

The Pentium held up so nicely in it. That was what inspired me in taking my build slowly and giving myself time to get it all. Bc the main problem is. When I get home I'll need a pc. I'm a translator and I need a home pc to work. So I don't want to rush anything and get something cheap and end up waisting money. Understand?

[WoodenMarker]

WoodenMarker:

Yeah... one day they are full price, others discount... This is just an estimative. I know about the V8... It's just that it is soooo preeeeetty. I'll get something nice looking but quieter. The only good thing about this one is that similar ones are in the same price range so the budget won't oscillate much.

Thanks for the input on the PSU. I've been researching how many watts I would need and the online calculators always gave me 950w. If I can pull 2 x 290x on a 850w psu, I'll be a happy panda.

The SSD is still being considered. I always had 3 HDDs running in the same machine. One for booting, other for work and media, another for games (I like keeping most of my library installed at all times).

But in the end, it all boils down to budget. I still need to research SSDs more and if this choice will give me a headache, I'll get another HDD. Or even keep my old but still perfect 250Gb 7200 HDD

Do you agree with Xaring's answers to my questions?

If you haven't checked out BeQuiet!'s coolers, I'd suggest doing so because they look amazing.

Psu calculators are generally unreliable. Stick to system power draw benchmarks instead. The current list would easily run off of a good 550w. A 290x cf would run off of a decent 850w.

A ssd makes a world of difference to user experience and system usability and I highly recommend getting one.

 

Your old cpu is outdated. You should probably get a new one but probably not an i7 unless you need the extra threads. The i5 is a better value and the difference for gaming is within margin of error for the most part.

Considering you're upgrading now, I mention this:

It's generally best to get what you need now and save any extra money for more frequent future upgrades instead of spending all of what you have in hopes that your system would just last longer.

[Rebelattack]

Ooooohhhh do not offer bc I will take you on this!! hahaha

Hopefully I'll be home in february - march, by then I'll have a solid list of what I'll get.

One question tho. I remember seeing a vid from Linus about Old and New CPUs http://youtu.be/nJACZ5iStWw

The Pentium held up so nicely in it. That was what inspired me in taking my build slowly and giving myself time to get it all. Bc the main problem is. When I get home I'll need a pc. I'm a translator and I need a home pc to work. So I don't want to rush anything and get something cheap and end up waisting money. Understand?

Haha take me on it, I dont mind especially during the time you have finished your list I have a period of time where I will have less stuff to do for school anyway . So yeah if the PC is for gaming and translating then the 2011(-3) platform is really unnecessary. The dad from a friend of mine is also a translator, he translates manuals from big manufacturers. But yeah I am assuming that the programs you run for the translating aren't consuming much of the CPU, RAM or GPU? If so then you can just looking at building a gaming PC which can be used to translate documents. Even though you could rock a G3258 or a I3-4100 serie with a 970/290 and get good perfomance I would only recommend it too people on a smaller budget. I think on your budget you can easily rock the I5-4690k with a 970, which will last you a long time(~4 years on high settings) gaming wise and for translating it will last you till a part dies. Also even though most games still only use one strong core I expect gaming to start utillizing more cores. Farcry 4 wouldnt run on a duo core without hyperthreading anymore, for example. Well enough time to figure this out before you are gonna buy the PC .

Btw by the time you are gonna build it the new AMD 300 serie might be out which might be interesting.