Phased upgrade of My rig

[iWearKiltz]

Hi guys.

 

If you want to skip the boring bit, go down to where my future rig components list is

 

A little introduction to me:

I've been into computer for a good few years, and now being 18, I have a job (Actually 2!) and so I'm earning more then just pocket money and allowance! As of recent (Summer 2013), I've been buying various things towards my end accomplishment of having a whole set-up to be proud of.

 

Now, by no means am I loaded enough to buy all the parts outright. That would be awesome, but totally impossible as I don't have the funds, and my girlfriend isn't helping on that front! So like previously stated, I've been buying my part by part. In fact, the origins of my current computer come from my first ever build!

 

I'm currently at College studying Maths and Physics in my third year, I have a part-time job as a Shelf stacker, and another part-time job as an IT technician at a private school.

 

Original Build list (Summer 2012):

- AMD FX-6100 3.3Ghz

- Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 Pro

- Asus M5A97 AM3+

- Corsair Vengeance LP 2x4GB @ 1333Mhz 

- Sapphire 5450 1GB

- WD Blue 500GB

- 650W Unbranded PSU 

- Inwin Maelstrom Full Tower Case

- Windows 7 64 Bit

 

AMD FX6100 CPU

 

M5A97 Mobo

 

Sapphire HD5450 1GB

 

Corsair Vengeance LP 2x4GB

 

Inwin Maelstrom Case

 

So I started with this, and in my defence, this is when I wasn't earning alot of money. This was capable of playing the infamous RuneScape, and the more famous Minecraft. Since then I've wanted more and more power to play better games, like the BF series, Grid etc etc. Due to this, I bought better components after putting this rig together, even from as short of a time as 1 month after the rig was assembled.

 

Additions to the build a few months after it was assembled:

- Sapphire 7850 2GB (Overclocked to 925Mhz/1270Mhz)

- TherMax Spire II w/ 2 Stock fans 

- Powercool 800W dual rail PSU

 

HD7850

 

TherMax CPU cooler

 

The GPU and CPU cooler are both still currently in my rig. However the PSU only lasted a week or so. It had received bad reviews, but it was very cheap for the Wattage. I was still pretty naive at this age, and preferred price over branding. I'm quiet opposite now! I ended up returning the Powercool PSU and returning back to the Gold PSU. The CPU cooler did mean however, that I could use the inbuilt overclocking to push my CPU to 3.6Ghz

 

After a trip to my home country of Scotland, I was able to get a Corsair CX750M PSU discounted due to a friend working at an electronics store. This finally meant that after months of running on a risky unbranded Gold PSU, I could finally go with a trusted brand. This was quickly installed.

About a week later I received my Soundblaster 3D Recon PCI-e card and the 5.1 Logitech sound system. I also got my Roccat Kova[+] with this delivery too

 

It was around this time when I started earning decent enough money to start upgrading components in a quicker fashion then the year before, as all the components listed after this were bought in 2013.

 

First on my list was a monitor, this is because I had been running my computer off of a 19" 1080i TV, so I had been wanting to upgrade this alot! I upgraded to the Acer S240HLbid 24" monitor.

Around the same point in time I also ordered my 500Mbps TP-Link Powerline adapters due to really bad wifi reception in my bedroom. A good investment! 

 

The Summer of 2013 marked the upgrading of my rig. This is when I started upgrading old components of my rig in the vision of my "new" rig. So I ordered the Fractal Design R4 w/ Window, Samsung 840 120GB SSD and a few bits and bobs so that I could make the case work, such as a PCI-e USB 3 adapter, a 3rd fan and a sleeved molex extension cable. This order was spurred on by the fact I had to move to a significantly smaller room, so wanted to upgrade the computer in the bedroom which had more room.

 

Shortly after moving into the new, small and sauna like room (really small so heats up due to my PC really quickly!);

I decided to upgrade from my old turtlebeach x12s after receiving complaints from Skype friends about them being too open. So I decided, after much debate, to go for the Razer Kraken Pro Black. I love the functionality of this headset and so would recommend it to anyone

 

Under recommendation, and hardcore linus stalkers will be laughing now, I also bought a steelseries QCK-mass mouse mat. Good mouse mat.

 

Since I was about 12, I had used multiple computers, but only ever one chair. I've made a mark on the chair. No literally, a mark. It must've been from when I came in with blue jeans after a rainy day and just sat down, as a good amount of the chair was just blue! LOL! Due to this wooden chair, and learning about Health and Safety from College ICT classes, I decided to get an office chair. This was a risk though as there is about 2ft between my desk and my Bed due to size limitations! Regardless, I bought it and I'm now making it work!

 

The last upgrade I have to talk about is the Microsoft sidewinder x4 which I bought to temporarily replace my old, worn out Microsoft wireless 2000.

 

Now with all the story out of the way, my future rig specs.

 

*Insert epic name for a rig here*:

- i7 4770k @ 4.5Ghz (Hopefully!)

- H100i

- Maximus VI Hero

- EVGA 780 SC ACX / XXXX R9-290X

- Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8GB @ 1800Mhz~

- Samsung Pro 512GB SSD / 500GB SSD / 2TB HDD

- Windows 8 64 Bit

 

The end result of this rig is for future proofing (that's why I've chosen the i7 over the i5), and for some epic gaming!

 

If you have any suggestions or any ideas about what I can do with my rig, I'll add your suggestion to the list below if I like it, and it may be a possible addition to my rig in the future!

 

Member Suggestions:

-  "i5 CPU with smaller SSD and a cheaper mobo" suggested by JORDANonPC & Nicktrance

- 2TB HDD instead of SSD suggested by JORDANonPC

 

 

 

Thanks for reading !

[M-ursu]

Dat old GPU 

[iWearKiltz]

Dat old GPU 

Was really cheap and I didn't have much clue about what GPU to get, so seeing a GPU for £30 made me cream my teenage pants! I had to get it haha!

 

I can now say I know better

[JORDANonPC]

Is this pc just for gaming ? Sorry if you said somewhere I skipped a few lines of text

[iWearKiltz]

Is this pc just for gaming ? Sorry if you said somewhere I skipped a few lines of text

no you didn't miss me saying the purpose directly. i danced around it by saying the games that made me want to originally upgrade after buying my pc at first. i'll put that in

[JORDANonPC]

There is no such thing as future proofing and it is better to just buy parts for you want to do now you should get an i5 and 8gb of 1600mhz ram and also get the regular samsung 840 you wont notice the difference and I would say just get a 250gb for os and some games then get a seagate barracuda for other storage needs, I'd also say get a cheaper mobo 

[Nicktrance]

Yeah IMO just go with the i5-3570K, 8GB 1600MHz ram and 840 EVO 250GB since they offer pretty much the same performance. You might also want to get a mechanical keyboard depending on what you prefer.

 

Keep in mind that you don't need top of the line motherboards to get the most out of a CPU, a $150 board can do just as well albeit with a few less bells and whistles.

[iWearKiltz]

There is no such thing as future proofing and it is better to just buy parts for you want to do now you should get an i5 and 8gb of 1600mhz ram and also get the regular samsung 840 you wont notice the difference and I would say just get a 250gb for os and some games then get a seagate barracuda for other storage needs, I'd also say get a cheaper mobo 

I already have a 120gb 840 for my os, so the additional ssd would be for games, though i havent totally decided as it's alot for just installing some games.

 

with consoles now using multiple cores, i reckon games in the future will use more cores, thus why i wanted a hyperthreaded chip.

 

besides, I still see i7s from first and second gen about. they've been in service for years you can future proof!

 

Yeah IMO just go with the i5-3570K, 8GB 1600MHz ram and 840 EVO 250GB since they offer pretty much the same performance. You might also want to get a mechanical keyboard depending on what you prefer.

 

Keep in mind that you don't need top of the line motherboards to get the most out of a CPU, a $150 board can do just as well albeit with a few less bells and whistles.

mechanical keyboard is something that interests me, waiting for the k70 with brown switches to be released in the uk!

 

and thanks about the note on mobo, i'll take it into consideration!

[JORDANonPC]

I already have a 120gb 840 for my os, so the additional ssd would be for games, though i havent totally decided as it's alot for just installing some games.

 

with consoles now using multiple cores, i reckon games in the future will use more cores, thus why i wanted a hyperthreaded chip.

 

besides, I still see i7s from first and second gen about. they've been in service for years you can future proof!

Future proof is such a broad term it could mean a month it could mean 10 years and trying to future proof is a waste of money also an i5 is all you need which is why an i7 doesn't perform much better and it will be the same in future games if you want more cores get a 8320 or 8350 a 500gb ssd isn't very cost effective at all I'd say just add a 2tb hdd instead

[TheRuke]

Woah, such a large difference between before and after! Nice build, I wish I had monies

[iWearKiltz]

Woah, such a large difference between before and after! Nice build, I wish I had monies

we all wish we had money lol!

 

but as soon as you have too much money, you wont know what to spend it on... or so they say!

 

i'd just buy a dual 290x system! haha

 

thanks for compliment, but i still have plans for the future

[TheRuke]

we all wish we had money lol!

 

but as soon as you have too much money, you wont know what to spend it on... or so they say!

 

i'd just buy a dual 290x system! haha

 

thanks for compliment, but i still have plans for the future

Pretty much my whole build is crappy. REPLACE ALL THE PARTS

[iWearKiltz]

Pretty much my whole build is crappy. REPLACE ALL THE PARTS

you have a better graphics card then me, and i heard that processor is pretty good

 

its only crappy when you compare it to other pcs, but if your 'crappy' pc does what you need it to do, then its a perfect pc

[TheRuke]

you have a better graphics card then me, and i heard that processor is pretty good

 

its only crappy when you compare it to other pcs, but if your 'crappy' pc does what you need it to do, then its a perfect pc

It NEEDS to run Crysis 3 at 120 FPS I am running into BF4 CPU bottlenecks though. It was suggested that I upgrade to a 3570K which I might do this Cyber Monday. (a R9-280X would also be nice )

[iWearKiltz]

It NEEDS to run Crysis 3 at 120 FPS I am running into BF4 CPU bottlenecks though. It was suggested that I upgrade to a 3570K which I might do this Cyber Monday. (a R9-280X would also be nice )

i'd love both of those upgrades, but ill be patient and wait until i have money for a 4770k and 290x