Upgrade from a i7 920?

[DonaldSayers]

Hey everyone. Really just doing a sanity check. Here are the specs of the machine I have now.

 

Cpu: i7 920

Ram: 12gb 1333mhz (6 sticks)

Hard drive: 256gb 840 Pro

Graphics Card: GTX 770

Power Supply: RM750

Case: really crappy 6 year old case.

 

3 other hard drives are also in the machine. It's time for my semiannual jitters to upgrade.

I would only like to spend about $5-600 with a realistic path to overclock later. (Case, Ram, Mobo, CPU, Cooler?)

 

I mostly use the machine for Desktop applications, with light gaming every now and then ( 1-2 hours a week )

 

I run VM's, a Plex Server, Photoshop and Light Room, Premier Pro, and Revit. I have at least 1 or 2 of these open at a time plus Chrome with 100 tabs. I currently have 4 monitors. 

 

I have a couple of Ideas of what to do but I wanted some fresh eyes on it. I've looked at this machine for too long and it's become increasingly hard to tell what the right choice is.

 

Thanks for your time.

[KayTees]

Hey everyone. Really just doing a sanity check. Here are the specs of the machine I have now.

 

Cpu: i7 920

Ram: 12gb 1333mhz (6 sticks)

Hard drive: 256gb 840 Pro

Graphics Card: GTX 770

Power Supply: RM750

Case: really crappy 6 year old case.

 

3 other hard drives are also in the machine. It's time for my semiannual jitters to upgrade.

I would only like to spend about $5-600 with a realistic path to overclock later. (Case, Ram, Mobo, CPU, Cooler?)

 

I mostly use the machine for Desktop applications, with light gaming every now and then ( 1-2 hours a week )

 

I run VM's, a Plex Server, Photoshop and Light Room, Premier Pro, and Revit. I have at least 1 or 2 of these open at a time plus Chrome with 100 tabs. I currently have 4 monitors. 

 

I have a couple of Ideas of what to do but I wanted some fresh eyes on it. I've looked at this machine for too long and it's become increasingly hard to tell what the right choice is.

 

Thanks for your time.

Light editing? i5-4690K at that budget.

[vlkn´]

I would keep the cpu :,o

becauze dem feelingz

 

If you´re editing much, upgrade to 16gb ram + i7 4770 or something like that.

If you plan to earn money with editing maybe a 6core?

But upgrading to this is like burning money if you don´t need it.

[RichardsD]

I wonder what performance VMs can get in above Quad Core CPUs.  

 

It would definitely need to be another i7.  Honestly, someone who has some real results could reply and see if 5820 has better performance for VM and things, than the i7 4790k.  

 

As for motherboard, if you are running a workstation, I'd honestly suggest a decent quality motherboard, especially if you are planning to overclock. Cooler, you're running a workstation, one of the Noctua air coolers I would suggest, you want reliability in this.  Case.. for a workstation I'd say maybe the CM Storm Trooper, full tower, without LED fans looks very professional and clean.  Silverstone makes plenty of workstation cases that look very professional.  

[WoodenMarker]

Where are you shopping/located? Budget?

is your current performance unsatisfactory?

[MountainDrew]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qvZ3jX

[DonaldSayers]

Where are you shopping/located? Budget?

is your current performance unsatisfactory?

I'm In the US, Budget is above ($600)

current performance is lacking a bit. The front usb headers on the board are out, and the north bridge gets really hot on the board. I have a feeling it's reaching the end.

 

One thought is to take the whole thing apart apply new thermal paste, clean the board and put on a new heat sink (212 evo.) but a part of me doesn't really want to put much more money into it. 

[vlkn´]

I'm In the US, Budget is above ($600)

current performance is lacking a bit. The front usb headers on the board are out, and the north bridge gets really hot on the board. I have a feeling it's reaching the end.

 

One thought is to take the whole thing apart apply new thermal paste, clean the board and put on a new heat sink (212 evo.) but a part of me doesn't really want to put much more money into it. 

nothing much you´ll waste with this, you could use the hyper 212 again if you still want to upgrade.

[WoodenMarker]

I'm In the US, Budget is above ($600)

current performance is lacking a bit. The front usb headers on the board are out, and the north bridge gets really hot on the board. I have a feeling it's reaching the end.

One thought is to take the whole thing apart apply new thermal paste, clean the board and put on a new heat sink (212 evo.) but a part of me doesn't really want to put much more money into it. 

For one, you seem to have some crappy case so getting better cooling should solve that issue. This would probably be a worthy upgrade regardless of whether you would upgrade the platform.

[DonaldSayers]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qvZ3jX

 

looks good, I don't know if I would really be able to use only 8gb of ram though. 

 

nothing much you´ll waste with this, you could use the hyper 212 again if you still want to upgrade.

 

This is true. May at least give this a shot.

 

 

For one, you seem to have some crappy case so getting better cooling should solve that issue. This would probably be a worthy upgrade regardless of whether you would upgrade the platform.

 

Yeah.

 

Also a big part of me wonders about a 16gb ram - 8350 - 212 - case, setup would be a suit me. Probably spend about $500 on that setup. 

[WoodenMarker]

Yeah.

Also a big part of me wonders about a 16gb ram - 8350 - 212 - case, setup would be a suit me. Probably spend about $500 on that setup. 

For what you're doing, a 8320 seems like a nice choice considering AMD's lack of policy of locking features down. *cough* dammit Intel

[DonaldSayers]

For what you're doing, a 8320 seems like a nice choice considering AMD's lack of policy of locking features down. *cough* dammit Intel

 

The hard part is will I see any extra real performance out of it. I'm leaning to probably. not only cpu wise but with sata 3 with my ssd, and more ram. Plus overclocking.

[WoodenMarker]

The hard part is will I see any extra real performance out of it. I'm leaning to probably. not only cpu wise but with sata 3 with my ssd, and more ram. Plus overclocking.

When do you feel performance is lacking?

[vlkn´]

The hard part is will I see any extra real performance out of it. I'm leaning to probably. not only cpu wise but with sata 3 with my ssd, and more ram. Plus overclocking.

Yes, you´ll see extra peformance. 

But you´ll see also extra performance with overclocking the 920.

 

I would keep the 920 instead of upgrading to the 8350 if I don´t plan to get any newer haswell i7.

The i7 920 is really not that bad as you make it.

[DonaldSayers]

When do you feel performance is lacking?

 

Really its when I have several of those applications open, say photoshop and premier, then chrome with all my tabs and such. All 8 core sit at about 40% a lot of the time, then while I'm working on something big they really get going.

 

Yes, you´ll see extra peformance. 

But you´ll see also extra performance with overclocking the 920.

 

I would keep the 920 instead of upgrading to the 8350 if I don´t plan to get any newer haswell i7.

The i7 920 is really not that bad as you make it.

 

I'm probably going to give this a shot. Might be worth it. I just hate taking the time to work on my own computer. Unless its something new and shiny. 

 

See If I can stretch this thing a bit further.

[vlkn´]

I'm probably going to give this a shot. Might be worth it. I just hate taking the time to work on my own computer. Unless its something new and shiny. 

Ye me too :,D

[WoodenMarker]

Really its when I have several of those applications open, say photoshop and premier, then chrome with all my tabs and such. All 8 core sit at about 40% a lot of the time, then while I'm working on something big they really get going.

I'm probably going to give this a shot. Might be worth it. I just hate taking the time to work on my own computer. Unless its something new and shiny. 

See If I can stretch this thing a bit further.

I'd oc your 920 and see if that helps before upgrading the platform. The case upgrade I would suggest doing sometime soon though.

[DonaldSayers]

Thanks everyone. I'll leave this open until the morning in case anyone else wants to chime in.

[MountainDrew]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3rwfRB

 

Just a revised AMD setup due to input from the comments above 

 

Sorry that it's around the max of your budget ($600) but the motherboard and case can be changed if you want.