Upgrading Mobo/CPU

[I Hendrycks I]

Hey so I built my first gaming rig in 2011 and have upgraded everything since except for the motherboard and CPU and PSU and been waiting to upgrade the mobo and cpu for a while and wanted some advice on what to get.

 

The entire rig is: 

 

CPU: Intel i7-2600K

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212+

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3

Memory: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB)

Storage: 250GB Samsung Pro SSD, 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black

Video Card: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970

Case: NZXT H440 

Power Supply: Seasonic 850W (rated with 80 Plus Silver) modular

 

I understand my motherboard and cpu still run things fine but the last BIOS update to finally give it UEFI was a beta version in 2012 which makes boot times incredibly fast but it's not very stable. Getting a new mobo would fix that and satisfy that upgrading itch. 

 

Is now a good time to upgrade my mobo? What's a few good options I could go with? I definitely want to go with an Intel system still.

 

I'm also wondering whether liquid cooling is all it's cracked up to be? I've never bothered doing it as I see air cooling as helping cool the entire rig as opposed to just one part. Considering my cooler was about $30 in 2011 and was rated the best air cooler at the time, I don't see how liquid cooling can beat that price to performance ratio?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[matthewmarchant]

1: What's your budget?

2: Yes, anytime is a fine time, except for some exceptions.

3: If you overclock yes.

[Uwillparish]

1: What's your budget?

2: Yes, anytime is a fine time, except for some exceptions.

3: If you overclock yes.

agreed

[LIGISTX]

The "obvious" upgrade is z97 and a 4790k, but it won't really feel much faster than your 2600, especially if you are overclocked.

 

The hyper 212+ is a great cooler, honestly only things that are better (or at least worth it) would be something like a h100 or better type cooler (basically any good dual 120 rad or better).

[I Hendrycks I]

I don't really have a budget, I guess if you need a number anything under $900. I just want to hear some suggestions and then research a lot of different options and pick on one that works for me. If It's a crazy $1200 I'll just save up until I can ditch out that much money for it but if it's $600 I'll just go get it now, I'd rather be patient and get what I really want than give a budget.

 

Is Z97 and a 4790K not old? I haven't been researching mobos or CPUs in years since I had no need to upgrade but is the 5th gen of Intel not out now?

[LIGISTX]

4790k is still the newest enthusiast grade chip out there. Socket 2011 has some newer? stuff, but that is a different ballpark. Now you talking DDR4 which costs more + mobo's that cost more for no gaming advantages. And the new chips coming soon will not be anything special, just the normal 10% IPC speed increase. All you would need is a mobo and CPU to upgrade, old RAM will work fine, although I would get more RAM, 16 gigs is a good number these days. Could easily do it for 600 bucks without adding RAM.

[FruitBasketSilex]

The "obvious" upgrade is z97 and a 4790k, but it won't really feel much faster than your 2600, especially if you are overclocked.

The hyper 212+ is a great cooler, honestly only things that are better (or at least worth it) would be something like a h100 or better type cooler (basically any good dual 120 rad or better).

The 212 is not the end all air cooler, its more like a replacement for a stock cooler. There are quite a few better air coolers, and plenty better water coolers.

[I Hendrycks I]

4790k is still the newest enthusiast grade chip out there. Socket 2011 has some newer? stuff, but that is a different ballpark. Now you talking DDR4 which costs more + mobo's that cost more for no gaming advantages. And the new chips coming soon will not be anything special, just the normal 10% IPC speed increase. All you would need is a mobo and CPU to upgrade, old RAM will work fine, although I would get more RAM, 16 gigs is a good number these days. Could easily do it for 600 bucks without adding RAM.

Ya mainly I want the new mobo/cpu to last another couple of years. Is there any word on new mobos getting any new features that's worth waiting for?

 

I'll start checking out some Z97 boards, will my Hyper 212+ fit on the board or do I need a new cooler?

[ImBleu]

 

 

Is Z97 and a 4790K not old? I haven't been researching mobos or CPUs in years since I had no need to upgrade but is the 5th gen of Intel not out now?

 

Not by a long shot, there are rumours of Broadwell-K being skipped and going straight to Skylake processors later this year - the but 4790k+Z97 combo is still an amazing choice.

[SecretAuthor]

I don't really have a budget, I guess if you need a number anything under $900. I just want to hear some suggestions and then research a lot of different options and pick on one that works for me. If It's a crazy $1200 I'll just save up until I can ditch out that much money for it but if it's $600 I'll just go get it now, I'd rather be patient and get what I really want than give a budget.

 

Is Z97 and a 4790K not old? I haven't been researching mobos or CPUs in years since I had no need to upgrade but is the 5th gen of Intel not out now?

Hello there. You can upgrade to a 4790k + a z87 board to save a little cash like I did. An Asus Maximus VI Gene was only $74.99 for me. And as far as the next generation of Intel processors -- Broadwell -- It's actually clocked a lot lower than devil's canyon. About 500mhz or so lower. Seeing as how it's only supposed to be a die shrink of Haswell, there's zero chance that it has architectural improvements to offset the clock speed deficiency. They'll definitely be slower than the processors that they're replacing, IMO.

 

And it's not here yet either, so just go with the 4790k. lol

[Faceman]

You really have no reason to upgrade at all.  The i7-2600k is still an incredibly strong processor, and will continue to be one for many years to come.  All it needs is a decent overclock and its performing on the same level as the i7-4790k. 

 

You mentioned instability, what kind of instability?

 

If you have an upgrade itch, but a higher end cooler and overclock it to 4.5Ghz+ which will be very easy.

 

To upgrade now would be a side grade, you won't really gain anything by going from i7-2600k to i7-4790k.  The best thing you can do is overclock your CPU.

[LIGISTX]

The 212 is not the end all air cooler, its more like a replacement for a stock cooler. There are quite a few better air coolers, and plenty better water coolers.

 

Don't get me wrong, the 212 isn't the best, but for the money its VERY good, MUCH MUCH better than stock. I have my i5 2500 folding 24/7 never gets over 60c, with the fan very low...

 

Reason I said h100 or better, there is no point in spending the money on a water cooler that is only a single 120 if you already have a hyper 212, won't be a big enough jump to warrant spending 60 bucks. A h100, 105, 110, the antec options, the swiftech and cooler-master options, all great as well. I am proof of that, I had a h50 for my old i7 920 and a Antec kuhler 620 for my GTX 470, and then got the CM 240l and ended up expanding it... lol. 

Ya mainly I want the new mobo/cpu to last another couple of years. Is there any word on new mobos getting any new features that's worth waiting for?

 

I'll start checking out some Z97 boards, will my Hyper 212+ fit on the board or do I need a new cooler?

The 212 will fit I am pretty sure. Honestly I have not been up on PC's like I used to, but I am pretty sure the mounting holes are the same, if not you can definitely buy a bracket that will make it work. I am sure a quick google search will help you out there. And a 212 will be ok for a 4790k, if you want to OC heavily it may not be enough, but that is up to you. For stock, it will be perfectly fine

[FruitBasketSilex]

Don't get me wrong, the 212 isn't the best, but for the money its VERY good, MUCH MUCH better than stock. I have my i5 2500 folding 24/7 never gets over 60c, with the fan very low...

Reason I said h100 or better, there is no point in spending the money on a water cooler that is only a single 120 if you already have a hyper 212, won't be a big enough jump to warrant spending 60 bucks. A h100, 105, 110, the antec options, the swiftech and cooler-master options, all great as well. I am proof of that, I had a h50 for my old i7 920 and a Antec kuhler 620 for my GTX 470, and then got the CM 240l and ended up expanding it... lol.

The 212 will fit I am pretty sure. Honestly I have not been up on PC's like I used to, but I am pretty sure the mounting holes are the same, if not you can definitely buy a bracket that will make it work. I am sure a quick google search will help you out there. And a 212 will be ok for a 4790k, if you want to OC heavily it may not be enough, but that is up to you. For stock, it will be perfectly fine

I'm not saying its terrible, and it is good for its price, it just kinda pisses me off a bit that everyone touts it about as the top gun of air coolers, when in fact it is no such thing.

Good day.

[LIGISTX]

I'm not saying its terrible, and it is good for its price, it just kinda pisses me off a bit that everyone touts it about as the top gun of air coolers, when in fact it is no such thing.

Good day.

No, there are plenty of air coolers that are much better, hell there are air coolers on par with the h100. Noctua can cool things down! But, for the price, it is amazing. And that is why everyone always recommends it highly. It makes a stock cooler look like trash, and only costs 35 bucks. You could passively cool an i3 with it, that is impressive! 

[FruitBasketSilex]

No, there are plenty of air coolers that are much better, hell there are air coolers on par with the h100. Noctua can cool things down! But, for the price, it is amazing. And that is why everyone always recommends it highly. It makes a stock cooler look like trash, and only costs 35 bucks. You could passively cool an i3 with it, that is impressive!

This is my point. Alongside it not being the end-all of air coolers.

[I Hendrycks I]

This is my point. Alongside it not being the end-all of air coolers.

Most people don't need the best cooler ever. For $35 you get the best air cooler bar none for the price to cooling performance ratio. 

 

The instability I'm getting is just various problems here and there, it's just not running up to par with how it was running before I flashed the beta UEFI update. The problem is the UEFI update does make certain aspects run better so I'd rather not flash it back. 

 

I already have my 2600K at 4.6GHz with the 212+. Years ago I even OC'ed it to 4.9GHz and it finally buckled at 5 so I crept it back to 4.6 just to be safe. The cooler is insanely good for how much it cost, I can't ask for anymore for something that was only $30 when I bought it.

[Faceman]

Most people don't need the best cooler ever. For $35 you get the best air cooler bar none for the price to cooling performance ratio. 

 

The instability I'm getting is just various problems here and there, it's just not running up to par with how it was running before I flashed the beta UEFI update. The problem is the UEFI update does make certain aspects run better so I'd rather not flash it back. 

 

I already have my 2600K at 4.6GHz with the 212+. Years ago I even OC'ed it to 4.9GHz and it finally buckled at 5 so I crept it back to 4.6 just to be safe. The cooler is insanely good for how much it cost, I can't ask for anymore for something that was only $30 when I bought it.

I agree man.

 

On Intel, the Hyper 212 EVO is enough for any overclock up to around 1.275-1.3v when gaming.  Obviously during stress tests the cooler doesn't keep it below 85C, but in gaming, even at 1.275v I was maxing out at 70C(averages much lower) during BF4 which is one of the heaviest CPU games out there.  You really can't do better for $25-$30 when it comes to overclocking on Intel than the 212 EVO.

 

As far as your situation, it sounds like the instability is BIOS related and might just be something you learn to live with, or revert back to older revision, because you are getting next to no improvement by going from a 2600k @ 4.6Ghz to an i7-4790k.  Its a side grade.  Save your money, find something else to upgrade.  Buy a mechanical keyboard, buy some really nice headphones, a 2nd monitor, a better primary monitor, a 2nd GPU etc..

[I Hendrycks I]

I agree man.

 

On Intel, the Hyper 212 EVO is enough for any overclock up to around 1.275-1.3v when gaming.  Obviously during stress tests the cooler doesn't keep it below 85C, but in gaming, even at 1.275v I was maxing out at 70C(averages much lower) during BF4 which is one of the heaviest CPU games out there.  You really can't do better for $25-$30 when it comes to overclocking on Intel than the 212 EVO.

 

As far as your situation, it sounds like the instability is BIOS related and might just be something you learn to live with, or revert back to older revision, because you are getting next to no improvement by going from a 2600k @ 4.6Ghz to an i7-4790k.  Its a side grade.  Save your money, find something else to upgrade.  Buy a mechanical keyboard, buy some really nice headphones, a 2nd monitor, a better primary monitor, a 2nd GPU etc..

Sounds like a good call to me. I'd love a new monitor but it seems like they're in a transitional period atm with G-Sync and Free Sync etc. I already have an 120hz one I got in like 2013 and I absolutely love it so a 2nd monitor would have to be equal or better for it to be worth the money.