Upgrading my LGA1366 i7 920 Rig

[DennyBoy]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the forums so bare with me. I have had this exact rig since mid 2009, and finally think it is time for a upgrade! I'm wondering, is LG1366 still viable? Or should i just start fresh on a new PC? If LG1366 is viable, my upgrade budget is around $1000 Canadian. The things I am sure I want to upgrade, is the Monitor (Want to go duel monitors), switch to a SSD (Small storage, I do not need anymore then 300GB), keyboard (Small form factor, without the numpad), speakers (Maybe get some decent Studio Monitors?), and a new computer case.

 

My current PC specs are as follows:
 

CPU: Core i7 920
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified
Memory: OCZ 6GB PC3 12800
Storage: WD VelociRaptor 300GB 1000RPM
Video Card: EVGA GTX 285 
Case: Antec 1200
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000
Monitor: Acer 21.5" H213H
Keyboard: Razer Lycosa 
Mouse: Razer Taipan
Speakers: Logitech Surround Sound 5.1 Z506

 

What do you guys think?! Upgrade my current PC, or start from scratch?! 

 

If you guys need any more info, feel free to drop a comment! Thank you for your time and expertise, it really means alot! 

 

Denny

[BigDay]

sell that on craigslist and build everything from scratch

 

what is your total budget?

[DennyBoy]

sell that on craigslist and build everything from scratch

 

what is your total budget?

Im guessing its not worth upgrading my x58 build? Total budget is around $1500, with all the peripherals as well.

[shypin]

starting from scratch might be your best bet

[LIGISTX]

The 920 is still "viable" if its overclocked well. My last rig was a 920 @ 3.82 ghz and honestly felt just as fast as my current build. If you wanted... you could just throw a new GPU in there, and it would be fine. Then save that cash and wait another 6-8 months and upgrade then. The 920 isn't going to blow games out of the water, but its not "slow". Upgrading is an option as well, but I didn't even consider upgrading until my old rig started to fade.... it was running at 3.82 since 09..... I was pretty happy with just under 5 years out of it.

 

So long story short, if you want to upgrade, sure, its not a bad choice, a new rig will outperform the 920 for sure. But, if you don't mind waiting a little longer, why not. If the 920 is still going strong, and if you can get some OC out of it (although I don't see any aftermarket cooling in your list which would be a big issue for OC'ing) it will be "ok". If you can't/don't want to OC, yea call it time for an upgrade. I would honestly look into buying a Hyper 212 Evo (I think they support 1366...?) and try to overclock it some. Hell, if you end up with a new computer in a month, keep the mounting hardware and use the 212 on your new haswell build!

[BigDay]

do you want to overclock your cpu and gpu?

[DennyBoy]

The 920 is still "viable" if its overclocked well. My last rig was a 920 @ 3.82 ghz and honestly felt just as fast as my current build. If you wanted... you could just throw a new GPU in there, and it would be fine. Then save that cash and wait another 6-8 months and upgrade then. The 920 isn't going to blow games out of the water, but its not "slow". Upgrading is an option as well, but I didn't even consider upgrading until my old rig started to fade.... it was running at 3.82 since 09..... I was pretty happy with just under 5 years out of it.

 

So long story short, if you want to upgrade, sure, its not a bad choice, a new rig will outperform the 920 for sure. But, if you don't mind waiting a little longer, why not. If the 920 is still going strong, and if you can get some OC out of it (although I don't see any aftermarket cooling in your list which would be a big issue for OC'ing) it will be "ok". If you can't/don't want to OC, yea call it time for an upgrade. I would honestly look into buying a Hyper 212 Evo (I think they support 1366...?) and try to overclock it some. Hell, if you end up with a new computer in a month, keep the mounting hardware and use the 212 on your new haswell build!

Oh, that's a good idea, I totally forgot about that. I have been out of the computer hardware loop since I built this PC back in 09. I could always overclock my CPU. What GPU would you recommend? Will any of the new 900 series card be bottle necked because of my CPU / Motherboard?

[BigDay]

@DennyBoy

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.05 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.49 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB SOC Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($88.88 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1500.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-23 01:23 EDT-0400

[BigDay]

the above build is great for 1080p

[DennyBoy]

@DennyBoy

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.05 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($144.99 @ NCIX US)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($41.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.49 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.99 @ Micro Center)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB SOC Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($88.88 @ NCIX US)

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($249.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1500.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-23 01:23 EDT-0400

Wow thanks for a quick build list! I will keep that build in mind. I am starting to want to lean towards upgrading my PC instead of getting a new one, because I feel it still has room to grow, with overclocking the CPU, and upgrading the GPU and getting a SSD. Would you still think this is viable?

[LIGISTX]

I mean, yea the 920 will be a bottleneck for any current gen GPU that costs more than ~250 bucks. But that being said, there is no reason something like a r9 290 couldn't be found for a great price, and it would be great! Not too powerful as to be q waste of money, but also a hell of an upgrade from a gtx285.

If you want good cooling, get something like a corsair h100 type, as the i7 920 pumps heat out. I was lucky and got a golden chip, I was at 3.82 ghz UNDER stock voltage, and it still hit high 50's on my original corsair h50 cooler with push/pull, fans in high, and rear mesh *finger guard* on my case cut out to improve air flow through the radiator lol.

[LIGISTX]

Or a nvidia card. I have a 290 now, but I do prefer the green team no lie. I just got such a good deal on it, it was over 140 bucks cheaper than a 970... Like.... That wasn't a hard choice. But, at the right price, something like a 970 May be a good option, although it would bottle neck your cpu for sure, but probably not insanely.

[DennyBoy]

I mean, yea the 920 will be a bottleneck for any current gen GPU that costs more than ~250 bucks. But that being said, there is no reason something like a r9 290 couldn't be found for a great price, and it would be great! Not too powerful as to be q waste of money, but also a hell of an upgrade from a gtx285.

If you want good cooling, get something like a corsair h100 type, as the i7 920 pumps heat out. I was lucky and got a golden chip, I was at 3.82 ghz UNDER stock voltage, and it still hit high 50's on my original corsair h50 cooler with push/pull, fans in high, and rear mesh *finger guard* on my case cut out to improve air flow through the radiator lol.

Alright, I think I am going to keep my x58 build for a bit longer, and just do some upgrading! I really want to run duel monitors, I currently only have 8GB of ram and my board is able to hold up to 24GB. Should i get my ram? I also plan on buying a single SSD, and running it in Raid 0 with my current VelociRaptor 300GB. any recommendations for a SSD?

[BigDay]

Wow thanks for a quick build list! I will keep that build in mind. I am starting to want to lean towards upgrading my PC instead of getting a new one, because I feel it still has room to grow, with overclocking the CPU, and upgrading the GPU and getting a SSD. Would you still think this is viable?

 

i'm not too sure. try overclocking the cpu and gpu and go from there. check out my guides in my forum signature

[LIGISTX]

Few interesting issues here. Why do you have 8 gigs of ram in a x58 board? It supports triple channel, so to get the most out of it (not that it really matters Tho) you use multiples of 3. So like 3x2gb sticks or something. It will run in dual channel mode which I guess is what you are doing, but why did you not buy a triple channel kit 5 years ago? If you want more ram now, I suppose just buy an identical kit to what you already have, you can't mix dual and triple channel together. It's all the same ram, but if one channel is running dual, the other has to be dual as well.

Second. You can't raid 0 dissimilar drives. Always use identical drives for RAID, especially raid 0. I would buy say a 256 or 512 gig ssd, and use the velociraptor as mass storage.

[DennyBoy]

At the time of building the rig, I didn't have much money to purchase some nice ram. I bought 3 2GB sticks. Also about the drives, I did not know it had to be similar. Sorry! I haven't kept up with the computing world for like 5 years. 

Few interesting issues here. Why do you have 8 gigs of ram in a x58 board? It supports triple channel, so to get the most out of it (not that it really matters Tho) you use multiples of 3. So like 3x2gb sticks or something. It will run in dual channel mode which I guess is what you are doing, but why did you not buy a triple channel kit 5 years ago? If you want more ram now, I suppose just buy an identical kit to what you already have, you can't mix dual and triple channel together. It's all the same ram, but if one channel is running dual, the other has to be dual as well.

Second. You can't raid 0 dissimilar drives. Always use identical drives for RAID, especially raid 0. I would buy say a 256 or 512 gig ssd, and use the velociraptor as mass storage.

[DennyBoy]

So far, I have decided to upgrade my PC, rather then buy a brand new one. Going to go for Duel Monitors, new SSD for booting Windows, and games while using my VelociRaptor as mass storage, new/more ram if I cant find identical ones, new keyboard, speakers, and maybe a new mouse.

 

Do you guys have any suggestions and what to get? Looking for

 

21.5"-24" Monitors, decent for gaming

256GB SSD

New triple channel DDR3 memory

Keyboard with no numpad, Cherry MX Red/Blue

Decent studio monitors with a decent DAC

Maybe get the MX Master? Unless it is absolutly terrible for gaming (I do not play FPS games, I play mostly MOBA's, RPG, MMORPG)

 

Any suggestions?!

 

Once again, thanks everyone for the help.

[LIGISTX]

At the time of building the rig, I didn't have much money to purchase some nice ram. I bought 3 2GB sticks. Also about the drives, I did not know it had to be similar. Sorry! I haven't kept up with the computing world for like 5 years. 

No problem, just giving you a quite update of how stuff works lol. I would grab an SSD, say a 850 evo or something from Samsung, and a new GPU. Unless you actually need more RAM, you dont need more RAM.

 

But wait, you initially have 8 gigs of RAM listed, so did you get 3x2 gb sticks like you just said? Because that is 6 gigs... lol. And 6 gigs may not be enough... I can EASILY use more than 6 gigs out of my 16...

[DennyBoy]

Oh opssie! It is acutally 6GB Ahh, I'm so dumb, Been so long, I was just trying to remember things off the top of my head. But yes, i have 3 sticks of 2GB. Thanks for recommending the 850 EVO from Samsung, i will try to take a look at those. Do you have any other recommendations? I made a post right above yours about what I am looking for.

No problem, just giving you a quite update of how stuff works lol. I would grab an SSD, say a 850 evo or something from Samsung, and a new GPU. Unless you actually need more RAM, you dont need more RAM.

 

But wait, you initially have 8 gigs of RAM listed, so did you get 3x2 gb sticks like you just said? Because that is 6 gigs... lol. And 6 gigs may not be enough... I can EASILY use more than 6 gigs out of my 16...

[LIGISTX]

It is hard to find tripple channel kits these days, I was able to snag a 3x2 kit off ebay like 1.5-2 years ago to up my RAM to 12 gigs. But now it will be even harder. I do still have that second kit, I am currently using 4 of my 6 sticks in my HTPC, but, as a fellow x58 user, maybe I can figure out a different solution and sell you my RAM. I have 3x2 GB Corsair XMS3 tripple channel @ 1600 MHz, pretty sure its like 9-9-9-24 or somethin like that. Its all correct except maybe the timing, it has been too long since I looked or even thought about what the timing on those sticks was.

 

For the right price I may part with that RAM, but if you can find some online, that is a good option as well as I probably won't sell it for super cheap being I am currently using it (I assume I would sell it for maybe 60-70 bucks, simply because its hard to come by, and like I said I am using it).

 

Monitor is hard, I have not been in the monitor game for a while as I am just sitting hear waiting for g-sync and 4k to be cheaper so I can get a 4k g sync monitor and switch back to the green team. But, I wouldn't get a 1080p panel at this point, 1440p minimum IMO. And with that higher resolution, you will need a better GPU to push it if you want to play new titles at decent settings. Mouse and keyboard are very personal. I have a G710+ and absolutely love it. But that just takes watching youtube reviews and reading posts about them to see what you think you will want. Also, I can't live without a Logitech G serious mouse. I am not even joking, I brought my OLD G5 to work just so I don't have to use a stupid mouse..... And I have a G500 on my gaming rig, and I got my brother a G502 and like that a bunch as well.

 

Speakers from a computer are hard. I could recommend stuff, but I am not an expert at PC sound systems, I am still rockin my old Z-5500 system on my rig. Home theater I know more about, but nor PC speakers as much. I would post in the audio forum and see what people tell ya, actually do that for monitors as well.

[DennyBoy]

It is hard to find tripple channel kits these days, I was able to snag a 3x2 kit off ebay like 1.5-2 years ago to up my RAM to 12 gigs. But now it will be even harder. I do still have that second kit, I am currently using 4 of my 6 sticks in my HTPC, but, as a fellow x58 user, maybe I can figure out a different solution and sell you my RAM. I have 3x2 GB Corsair XMS3 tripple channel @ 1600 MHz, pretty sure its like 9-9-9-24 or somethin like that. Its all correct except maybe the timing, it has been too long since I looked or even thought about what the timing on those sticks was.

 

For the right price I may part with that RAM, but if you can find some online, that is a good option as well as I probably won't sell it for super cheap being I am currently using it (I assume I would sell it for maybe 60-70 bucks, simply because its hard to come by, and like I said I am using it).

 

Monitor is hard, I have not been in the monitor game for a while as I am just sitting hear waiting for g-sync and 4k to be cheaper so I can get a 4k g sync monitor and switch back to the green team. But, I wouldn't get a 1080p panel at this point, 1440p minimum IMO. And with that higher resolution, you will need a better GPU to push it if you want to play new titles at decent settings. Mouse and keyboard are very personal. I have a G710+ and absolutely love it. But that just takes watching youtube reviews and reading posts about them to see what you think you will want. Also, I can't live without a Logitech G serious mouse. I am not even joking, I brought my OLD G5 to work just so I don't have to use a stupid mouse..... And I have a G500 on my gaming rig, and I got my brother a G502 and like that a bunch as well.

 

Speakers from a computer are hard. I could recommend stuff, but I am not an expert at PC sound systems, I am still rockin my old Z-5500 system on my rig. Home theater I know more about, but nor PC speakers as much. I would post in the audio forum and see what people tell ya, actually do that for monitors as well.

Ahh, I see, I will start looking for some triple channel ram for my system then. I will also be taking a look at the Samsung SSD. I was wondering if you think me buying a 2nd Acer H213H monitor is a good idea? I already have a Acer H213H monitor, and it works perfectly fine. I find one on Craglist and was hoping running 2 would be okay, would also save me around 300-400$ instead of buying 2 brand new monitors.

[LIGISTX]

Um, its not a great monitor, but it also doesn't suck. Honestly to me, a monitor is a monitor. Only a really good monitor is good, everything else is meh. My dad has dual ultrasharp 24 inch monitors and those are really nice, anything else, unless its a gaming oriented G sync/144 hz dealio, to me, is just a monitor. I love IPS, but unless its a good IPS it will not be great for gaming which is unfortunate. So long story short, that is probably a fine idea.

 

If you want a good gaming monitor, go g sync, end of story, and preferably a IPS panel at over 60 Hz.

[DennyBoy]

Um, its not a great monitor, but it also doesn't suck. Honestly to me, a monitor is a monitor. Only a really good monitor is good, everything else is meh. My dad has dual ultrasharp 24 inch monitors and those are really nice, anything else, unless its a gaming oriented G sync/144 hz dealio, to me, is just a monitor. I love IPS, but unless its a good IPS it will not be great for gaming which is unfortunate. So long story short, that is probably a fine idea.

 

If you want a good gaming monitor, go g sync, end of story, and preferably a IPS panel at over 60 Hz.

Alright! Sounds good, sorry if Im asking you so many questions >< But if i wanted to run duel monitors on the GTX 285, can i use the DVI port + the HDMI port for duel monitors? Or does it both have to be VGI? I am wondering because if i get the used Acer H213H monitor, I wont have a extra VGI, so I was wondering if I could run duel with one VGI connected to one monitor, and the HDMI connected to the other.

[juretrn]

 

Pretty much my experience with my 920 (still my only desktop), OC makes it really quite decent.

 

It could work, but I would not spend 1000 $ to upgrade any kind of X58 PC. For that kind of money you'd be much better off building an entirely new rig.

[LIGISTX]

Alright! Sounds good, sorry if Im asking you so many questions >< But if i wanted to run duel monitors on the GTX 285, can i use the DVI port + the HDMI port for duel monitors? Or does it both have to be VGI? I am wondering because if i get the used Acer H213H monitor, I wont have a extra VGI, so I was wondering if I could run duel with one VGI connected to one monitor, and the HDMI connected to the other.

No problem, and yea you can do that no problem!