Case, MB, and CPU questions.

[AdmiralStanley]

Hey guys, My current build.

 

Thank you in advance for any help or posts that might come in. I am looking to upgrade my case and motherboard before I pick up a GTX 1070 some time near Christmas.

 

I am looking predominantly for cable management, ease of access and installation, and aesthetics in my new case. I intend to air cool the system for a while, till I can afford a water cooling setup next year. I am looking at a full sized case or large mid tower as I find the cramped space inside my current Antec 900 to be unappealing. The case that has appealed most so far has been the Corsair 600C. I would love suggestions for cases with a similar simple aesthetic and functional setup.

 

My current Motherboard is also aesthetically unappealing and I would like to replace it, but since I have an I5-3570k (LGA 1155) would it be wise to upgrade to a newer socket type and get a new CPU at the same time? Can anyone make a recommendation about a board in particular or modern features I should look for to take advantage of? Or a LGA 1155 board they think would be a good unit? Is my current processor really holding me back?

My budget is around $400 for Case and MB (ill buy a new CPU (if necessary) and my GPU when I can afford them and leave my current system in operation).

 

Thanks for any info guys. 

[EunSoo]

Color theme?

 

[AdmiralStanley]

4 minutes ago, SCGazelle said:

Color theme?

 

Good question, right now Black and blue are my major thoughts, since most of my perifs are black with blue or white LED's. So that's my go to, I like red as well, but it would clash a little, but I wont rule it out since I may want to get RGB perifs sometime in the future. 

[EunSoo]

There aren't many z77 mobos that look nice and are still available. But check out the ASRock Z97 Extreme :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157500

 

Upgrading to a newer chipset would be nice, especially if you have the money. I would look for an i5-6500 or so. THen go to PCPartPicker, look for a motherboard that is blue/black (I couldn't find many nice looking ones, so you should also look at motherboards with nuetral colors, like black and white, instead of blue.) and matches your budget.

 

The case is purely personal preference, though. I would look at the Phanteks Eclipse P400, NZXT S340. Looks are personal preference, so get one that looks nice for you. Most higher-end cases have good cable management, a PSU basement etc. And then add some LEDS if you want (The Phanteks has a dedicated button for LED color switching).

[AdmiralStanley]

1 hour ago, SCGazelle said:

There aren't many z77 mobos that look nice and are still available. But check out the ASRock Z97 Extreme :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157500

 

Upgrading to a newer chipset would be nice, especially if you have the money. I would look for an i5-6500 or so. THen go to PCPartPicker, look for a motherboard that is blue/black (I couldn't find many nice looking ones, so you should also look at motherboards with nuetral colors, like black and white, instead of blue.) and matches your budget.

 

The case is purely personal preference, though. I would look at the Phanteks Eclipse P400, NZXT S340. Looks are personal preference, so get one that looks nice for you. Most higher-end cases have good cable management, a PSU basement etc. And then add some LEDS if you want (The Phanteks has a dedicated button for LED color switching).

Good picks all around, I'll take a closer look. The i5-6500 can handle modern games and some light streaming okay?

Thank you for your in depth answers!

[EunSoo]

1 minute ago, AdmiralStanley said:

Good picks all around, I'll take a closer look. The i5-6500 can handle modern games and some light streaming okay?

Thank you for your in depth answers!

 

Yeah, the I5-6500 should be able to handle most modern games. it can usually handle most at max settings 1080p. Not sure how it will handle playing games at those settings while streaming, but I guess but it should be fine (you might have to turn down some settings down). However, you won't get a massive performance boost from the i5-3570k, but you have the opportunity to upgrade to a skylake i7. 

[AdmiralStanley]

16 minutes ago, SCGazelle said:

Yeah, the I5-6500 should be able to handle most modern games. it can usually handle most at max settings 1080p. Not sure how it will handle playing games at those settings while streaming, but I guess but it should be fine (you might have to turn down some settings down). However, you won't get a massive performance boost from the i5-3570k, but you have the opportunity to upgrade to a skylake i7. 

At that point It might be better to spend the extra $100 and just get a i7-6700. I don't know the first thing about overclocking but I hear its pretty easy to handle these days, so I wonder if getting a 6700K might be worth it or not. 

EDIT: being only $35 more expensive on newegg, I think the K should be worth it. Now I need to pick out a MB... I am a little clueless about modern MB tech and would appreciate any advice you might have. I will look at the socket type and look for things that are pretty and seem to have features I would use. 

[EunSoo]

9 hours ago, AdmiralStanley said:

At that point It might be better to spend the extra $100 and just get a i7-6700. I don't know the first thing about overclocking but I hear its pretty easy to handle these days, so I wonder if getting a 6700K might be worth it or not. 

EDIT: being only $35 more expensive on newegg, I think the K should be worth it. Now I need to pick out a MB... I am a little clueless about modern MB tech and would appreciate any advice you might have. I will look at the socket type and look for things that are pretty and seem to have features I would use. 

 

Sorry for the late reply, but I would look at the Asus z170 lineup if you are going to get an i7-6700k. I would look at the Asus z170-A. But as I said earlier, you will probably find it easier to find a black/white colored mobo instead of a black/blue or white/blue.

[EunSoo]

9 hours ago, AdmiralStanley said:

At that point It might be better to spend the extra $100 and just get a i7-6700. I don't know the first thing about overclocking but I hear its pretty easy to handle these days, so I wonder if getting a 6700K might be worth it or not. 

EDIT: being only $35 more expensive on newegg, I think the K should be worth it. Now I need to pick out a MB... I am a little clueless about modern MB tech and would appreciate any advice you might have. I will look at the socket type and look for things that are pretty and seem to have features I would use. 

5

An i7 would significantly improve your performance. But it does cost significantly more than an i5. If you have the money, go for it. But if you don't, then I would get the i5, then get the 6700k later. And if you get a good z170 mobo now, then you won't have to bother upgrading anything else other than the i5.