Upgrading PC Gaming Build

kupori · July 1, 2015

Been using a dell xps "gamer edition" 8500 for bout 2.5 years, had to call down technicians over 6 times due to different hardware failing. Since my extended warranty is expiring soon. I'd recon its time I upgrade to a custom gaming pc with proper quality parts which doesn't fail me every 3-4 months.

Use: Gaming - csgo, dota 2, gta 5, fc4. Wanna run future games at high (not maximum) settings with stable 60fps @ 1080p or possibly 1440p in the future. Web Browsing, Watching Videos, Torrent.

Parts I'm planning to re-use from current Dell

CPU: i7-3770

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB

HDD: Toshiba 2TB

CD Drive: Some Blu-Ray Drive

Not planning to take the rest since they have all failed at least once or other reasons.
Vanilla 7870 runs like a jet, RAM has failed me over 5 times, PSU 480w too small and a bit wonky, Motherboard has dell firmware on it, Case is so badly designed I cry every time I open it up.

Parts I'm planning to get

GPU: Zotac GTX 970

Cheapest out of the 970s available in my country, 5 year warranty

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Black w/o window

minimalistic, flexible configuration, noise dampening and LINUS APPROVED.

PSU: Corsair CS 650M Gold Modular

MOBO: Need Recommendations, needs to be compatible with my i7 3770, preferably something decent but basic since I'm not planning to touch any configurations or overclocking or fancy stuff. No need wifi capability since I use LAN cable, internet speed is 1Gbps.

RAM: Kingston DDR3 PC3 12800/1600Mhz 16GB (8GB sticks x2)

Will I get a noticeable difference (more than 10fps) if I were to get the HyperX series? Since its $50 more than the non HyperX.

Thanks in advance.

Silyy097 · July 1, 2015

Hi 64bits, nice to see a fellow Singaporean here.

First of all, Yay prices!

Regarding your 3770k, you probably have to get a last gen board, which will be the z77 if im not wrong. Unfortuately I cannot recommend you a board that is last gen (z77, and the more "budget" Ivy bridge chipset boards) as I am not familiar with them.

For the 970, I got the MSi version, though I believe that Zotac is quite good, any any 970 will do you well.

Regarding your RAM, just get the cheapest thing. Believe me, the RAM which is green in color:

What im talking about:

,does not make much difference in performance impact over some Fancy RAM with heatspreader. Since you are not going with a windowed case, this should be enough (Unless you are like me and looks at my computer at least once a day)

You should try going to SLS and trying to look for Ivy Bridge boards. Be careful about them scammers though, and check with a couple of shops before buying the most reliable for the money board.