Next upgrade??

[CMDAdmin]

I am thinking of upgrading my system, but I don't know where to go from what I have currently. Ideally, I would like it to be the next jump from what I have to the latest DDR4 RAM, kaby lake and all that good stuff!

 

Motherboard: MSI Gaming 5 Z97

CPU: i5-4690K

Cooling: Fans, fans and a Noctua NH-15

RAM: 2 x Samsung 8GB DDR3 (Some standard memory, nothing special)

GPU: 2 x Asus GTX 970

SSD: 256GB Samsung 850 Pro

 

I've got a rough idea of what I want (See below) Does anyone agree? Any other options I could consider? (GPU is next after this upgrade)

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/jQJYKZ

 

I'm looking to invest £1200 at most. ($1500)

[themctipers]

kaby lake is shit and ddr4 doesn't make a 2+ fps difference in gaming.

 

get a better gpu and maybe a ssd if you dont have one, then save up the money and say wow intel, you didnt do shit! 

[CMDAdmin]

Sorry updated,

 

1080ti it is then. Kinda torn between an NVME drive or a larger SSD.

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, CMDAdmin said:

Sorry updated,

 

1080ti it is then. Kinda torn between an NVME drive or a larger SSD.

NVMe does nothing unless you're working with 20+GB files and such. And that's an expensive mobo!

[107x]

your mobo should definetly be cheaper than your processor

[kirashi]

4 minutes ago, CMDAdmin said:

Sorry updated,

 

1080ti it is then. Kinda torn between an NVME drive or a larger SSD.

While a 1080 Ti is certainly an upgrade over your GTX 970, IMO it's not worth the money unless you're running 4K displays or interested in the current beta state of VR. If you are, then yeah, grab a 1080 Ti and enjoy all those sweet, juicy frames. Otherwise I'd use the money you save by upgrading to a 1070 for future upgrades down the road. Top tier GPU's don't hold their value when their replacements are released ayway.

 

Personally, I'd either grab a larger SSD, or 2x smaller SSD's, then software RAID them using something like StableBit Drive Pool. You'll get the benefit of RAID1 duplication in case of failure, but have RAID0 read speeds with read striping enabled. This is how I obtain 1.1Gbps read speeds from my dual 500GB Crucial SSD's while maintaining duplication in case of failure.

[iRileyx]

What power supply do you have running this?

[dcb-z]

38 minutes ago, CMDAdmin said:

Sorry updated,

 

1080ti it is then. Kinda torn between an NVME drive or a larger SSD.

Larger SSD. Having only 256GB of storage would give me mad anxiety... I'm nervous about only having 512GB on my new laptop.

[CMDAdmin]

11 minutes ago, kirashi said:

While a 1080 Ti is certainly an upgrade over your GTX 970, IMO it's not worth the money unless you're running 4K displays or interested in the current beta state of VR. If you are, then yeah, grab a 1080 Ti and enjoy all those sweet, juicy frames. Otherwise I'd use the money you save by upgrading to a 1070 for future upgrades down the road. Top tier GPU's don't hold their value when their replacements are released ayway.

 

Personally, I'd either grab a larger SSD, or 2x smaller SSD's, then software RAID them using something like StableBit Drive Pool. You'll get the benefit of RAID1 duplication in case of failure, but have RAID0 read speeds with read striping enabled. This is how I obtain 1.1Gbps read speeds from my dual 500GB Crucial SSD's while maintaining duplication in case of failure.

I just needed thoughts, this is the next big upgrade for me, so go easy on me lol. The build I have at the min, is only my second one. If I was going to RAID I would always go with hardware RAID, much easier to deal with. I've currently got a home server in RAID 5 (8TB) which I'll be upgrading later on in the year. Better RAID card, more storage, rack mount, but that's another project

[kirashi]

2 hours ago, CMDAdmin said:

I just needed thoughts, this is the next big upgrade for me, so go easy on me lol. The build I have at the min, is only my second one. If I was going to RAID I would always go with hardware RAID, much easier to deal with. I've currently got a home server in RAID 5 (8TB) which I'll be upgrading later on in the year. Better RAID card, more storage, rack mount, but that's another project

Apologies - I did not mean to come across as harsh with my suggestions. Regardless, since this is all just planning stages, it's good to brainstorm every possibility to look at it from every angle. Then you have all the info you need to make an informed decision.  

 

As for hardware RAID, yeah it is indeed easier to initially configure for sure. Just remember that RAID is not a backup, so be sure to keep a backup of the data on your RAID array stored on regular non-RAID disk somewhere else too.

• If a hard drive fails with hardware or software RAID, it's simple to just replace the hard drive and do a rebuild on the array.
• If the RAID hardware fails (card or motherboard) your array might be hooped if you can't source the exact same hardware part.
• If your software RAID host OS becomes corrupt, no problem - simply reinstall the same OS and rebuild on another computer.
  • Even better: StableBit DrivePool writes data to hidden folders on the hard drives in the pool.
  • This means you can pop the drive into any computer that can read NTFS drives and access your data - no rebuild needed.

Please note: I'm not saying how one chooses software or hardware RAID is wrong - both have their purposes. What I am saying is that it's a lot easier to recover a software RAID array if your host OS breaks than it is to recover a hardware RAID array if your actual RAID hardware goes kaput. But at the end of the day, use whatever you're most comfortable with.