Upgrade Suggestions

[Heavyc]

This is basically a copy/paste of my thread on the NCIX forum. Please forgive me for that. It's a fair amount of typing I didn't want to repete.

 

I have a now 5+yr old computer that needs gutting. I'm considering options for a 'tax return upgrade' (next month preferably)

 

(beginning the copy from my NCIX forum thread)

Here's current specs.
Coolermaster Cosmos S case (going, or at least getting modded so I can access the cpu backplate)
Corsair TX750w PSU
Asus p7p55d-3
4x4gb Corsair Fury ddr3-1866
Core i7 860 lga1156 cpu
Zotac GTX 470 (I know, old right?)
2xSSD (intel 80GB & hyperx 240GB)
2xHDD (1.5TB Seagate & 2 2TB WD Black)
old Pioneer Sata DVDRW
Card Reader

I plan on doing my upgrade next month. I realize it's a bit early, but I wanted to get some feedback on my prospective paths.

When you see the list I'm using, it seems like I'm a ASUS and Coolermaster fanboy. I'm not entirely. That said, I've always had good experiences with their products (until my current system started to fail)

Here's the two options I was considering
mATX option
Coolermaster n200 case
Asus z97-m plus
Core i7 4790 or i5 4690
2x8gb Corsair Fury ddr3
NVIDIA GTX 960 Card (preferably with 2 DVI outputs)

ATX option
Coolermaster Silencio 652s
Asus z97-a
Core i7 4790 or i5 4690
2x8gb Corsair Fury ddr3
NVIDIA GTX 960 Card (preferably with 2 DVI outputs)

I'd like to have the option for the 2 dvi ports as I don't want to change all my cabling and monitor setup right now (22in monitor and 46in tv via dvid-hdmi cable). I'd also prefer to have the option for esata for my backup drive, but getting a USB 3 enclosure isn't the end of the world. I'd like a case with decent mounting options as I have a h55 cpu watercooler that I would like to install too.

Also here's my thinking about the ram. I put the new kit in assuming that the old kit has failed. I could just save that for a second purchase in the event of it failing, but one big purchase looks better to the wife than one big purchase followed by several smaller ones.

Any suggestions, comments, criticisms or the like? It's been a long time since I've done a build, so I'm ready to hear everyone out.

 

/end of copy

 

So there you have it. I welcome any and all comments.

[SuperPug]

Why would you buy new ram, when you already have 16GB of DDR3?

[KE2012]

I would go for the ATX option as it allows a SLI, I know when I started with my rig I only had one card, but I thank the stars daily as I got a board that allowed CF and I now have dual 7970's.

 

 

Also, I've never heard of ram just failing for no good reason, I would put the extra money towards a better GPU. 

 

EDIT: 

Just realised my second comment sounds abit off. If your ram is performing fine now I would do the GPU option. RAM does fail just not very often, I know people with 10+ year old ram sticks still rocking in their system. (Granted they dont game but still, impressive none the less) 

[Heavyc]

SuperPug, thanks for the input. As I put on the post (and the NCIX one) in the event that the current ram has been damaged by my current motherboard. I suppose I could test them dimm by dimm and RMA any of the dead dimms.

[Heavyc]

I would go for the ATX option as it allows a SLI, I know when I started with my rig I only had one card, but I thank the stars daily as I got a board that allowed CF and I now have dual 7970's.

 

 

Also, I've never heard of ram just failing for no good reason, I would put the extra money towards a better GPU. 

 

I thought that when I built my current setup, but it never materialized. While I'm only a casual gamer. I'd rather buy one better GPU than 2 lessers. As I also stated I'm trying to keep my PC purchases to a limited amount as I have to rebuild my 4 hdd NAS this year too. It was built with WD green hdd's, and one has already failed. (I didn't build it, I inherited it)

[Imakuni]

Okay, so what was it that you wanted to do with your machine?

 

At any rate, your CPU is just plain wrong. You don't get the i7-4790 when you have a discrete graphics card. EVER. If you want to get a hyper-threaded CPU, go with the Xeons and save a ton of money, as it is essentially the 4790 without the iGPU (which you wouldn't use anyway). Or, get the 4790K, and have fun with overclocking.

[Heavyc]

Okay, so what was it that you wanted to do with your machine?

 

At any rate, your CPU is just plain wrong. You don't get the i7-4790 when you have a discrete graphics card. EVER. If you want to get a hyper-threaded CPU, go with the Xeons and save a ton of money, as it is essentially the 4790 without the iGPU (which you wouldn't use anyway). Or, get the 4790K, and have fun with overclocking.

 

Quite literally I want it to replace my current one. I am a casual gamer, but also use my computer to work on vmware workstation. Beyond that it's part time multimedia station for my TV and the workhorse for all my internetting.

[Imakuni]

Quite literally I want it to replace my current one. I am a casual gamer, but also use my computer to work on vmware workstation. Beyond that it's part time multimedia station for my TV and the workhorse for all my internetting.

K. Here. I know you are a casual gamer, but a 970 will live for MUUUCH longer than a 960, if you are that low on requirements. It has the requested 2 DVIs. If you still won't buy the 970, DON'T go for the 960. Go for AMD instead, much more compelling option.

 

Split that 4x4gb kit into 2 2x4gb ones. You only need 8gbs of ram, unless you are doing video rendering (and in that case, you should have told us).

 

Also, if you'd like, you can invest more on the looks of the case, or into a modular PSU. Else, have fun:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Crucial V4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.95 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($32.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H)

Total: $880.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-10 13:53 EST-0500

[KE2012]

I thought that when I built my current setup, but it never materialized. While I'm only a casual gamer. I'd rather buy one better GPU than 2 lessers. As I also stated I'm trying to keep my PC purchases to a limited amount as I have to rebuild my 4 hdd NAS this year too. It was built with WD green hdd's, and one has already failed. (I didn't build it, I inherited it)

 

Yeah, alot of people do like the single card over two slightly less powerful cards. that MATX should be fine for your needs then. 

[Heavyc]

K. Here. I know you are a casual gamer, but a 970 will live for MUUUCH longer than a 960, if you are that low on requirements. It has the requested 2 DVIs. If you still won't buy the 970, DON'T go for the 960. Go for AMD instead, much more compelling option.

 

Split that 4x4gb kit into 2 2x4gb ones. You only need 8gbs of ram, unless you are doing video rendering (and in that case, you should have told us).

 

Also, if you'd like, you can invest more on the looks of the case, or into a modular PSU. Else, have fun:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Crucial V4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.95 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($32.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H)

Total: $880.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-10 13:53 EST-0500

 

Wow, thanks for that Imakuni. I won't require an OS, SSD so that'd free up some $$ for a new modular PSU. My only other quibble with your build out is I don't trust ASRock boards, due to very bad experiences with one of the s939 offerings from way back.

 

I'm leaning towards the 970 card now.

[Imakuni]

Wow, thanks for that Imakuni. I won't require an OS, SSD so that'd free up some $$ for a new modular PSU. My only other quibble with your build out is I don't trust ASRock boards, due to very bad experiences with one of the s939 offerings from way back.

 

I'm leaning towards the 970 card now.

Feel free. Nothing wrong with ASRock in particular, but that's why we have multiple brands.

[Heavyc]

Imakuni, thanks for showing me that part picker site. I've done a few tweaks to the build idea and input my own hardware. How does it look now? I know the case isn't on par with the rest of the tech, optional changes? Do I need the atx room for the H55 or will a mATX fit it just fine? If I'm going mATX I'd probably opt to change out my PSU for a modular, as the current one has massively long cables.

 

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/W6f24D

 

I couldn't see how to embed the part picker and have it look nice like you did.

 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/W6f24D
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/W6f24D/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($243.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($165.35 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Green 1.5TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($397.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Cooler Master N400 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($76.36 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For $0.00)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $883.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-10 17:27 EST-0500