Upgrading gaming PC build. - Help would be appreciated a lot. :)

Qwenty20

Qwenty20

Qwenty20

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Joined
24 Jul 2011
Posts
112
Hey there,

I’m new here so hopefully this will be in the correct section. I’ve had my PC build for roughly 2 years now and have finally decided it’s time to do my first upgrade. :p Now I’m not very savvy when it comes to PC specs and would therefore really appreciate it if someone could see if I’m going in the correct direction.

PC Build - As of today: -

Case – Zalman z9
Motherboard – Asrock Z68 Pro 3
PSU – True Power 650W (I think it’s Antec but not 100% sure)
CPU – 2500K @ 4.2GHz
GPU – GTX560Ti
HDD – 500GB
RAM – 4GB

Aftermarket CPU Cooler – Pretty Poor to say the least.
Have an optical drive (DVD-ROM).
Will be giving away RAM and HDD to family desktop.


My upgrade budget I would say is roughly £800.

Upgrades – PC parts lists: -

GPU – GTX780 – EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Superclocked with ACX Cooler Nvidia PCI Express Graphics Card

From the EVGA website I found these requirements:-
Minimum power supply 600W.
Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.
6pin – 8pin pci.

Am I going to need a bigger/better power supply? I’m not 100% sure myself. I’ve already got the pins for GPU because my 560Ti takes a 6pin and 8 pin I think.

I’ll be willing to spend slightly more than £800 if it means I need to get another PSU which is decent. If my PSU has enough Wattage I can’t see the whole model of the PSU just by taking the wall of my PC off atm so I don’t really know how respected it is.

CPU FAN – Noctua - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-011-NC&tool=3&rows=0

HDD – 3TB – Seagate 3TB 3.5 inch 7200RPM 64MB Cache SATA3 Hard Drive

I’ve only ever bought one HDD before this and its read/write speeds were poor and it made a lot of noise. I am looking to get some help in this area please. 

RAM – 8GB – Corsair CML8GX3M2A1866C9R Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866 Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Red

I’ve checked the Noctus website and I think this RAM will fit under the CPU fan.

I have roughly £164 left of my budget and I need help on choosing a PC case (good cooling etc).

Will I need CPU thermal paste or is the one they provide adequate? I don’t mind getting a decent one if it will make a slight difference.

I’m also going to need some compressed air and a screw driver. – I’m in uni. :/

I know this post is slightly lengthy but I really appreciate all the help I can get!

Thank you for your time! I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Qwenty. :rolleyes:
 
Your current PSU should be good i reckon, something similar to what ive linked might suit you, im sure Doomed etc will be along shortly with better tweaked versions

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HDTS212EZSTA 9.5mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £65.99
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) £8.99
Total : £773.40 (includes shipping : £17.10).

 
i would pay the little extra and get this water cooler, and you will be able to fit any ram you want then aswel!
you dont really need thermal paste as the heatsinks will come with some already on so i would buy 1 or 2 of the pk 1 which has enough in it for 1 use if you need it

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler £71.99
1 x Prolimatech PK-1 Nano Thermal Compound (1g) £1.99
Total : £82.68 (includes shipping : £7.25).



and the antek 650w will be enough for what you want
 
Qwenty20 said:
HDD – 3TB – Seagate 3TB 3.5 inch 7200RPM 64MB Cache SATA3 Hard Drive

I’ve only ever bought one HDD before this and its read/write speeds were poor and it made a lot of noise. I am looking to get some help in this area please. 
Click to expand...

Then what you want to be sure to get is an SSD, on which to have your OS and favourite programs, as they are super-fast and totally silent.

The Toshiba that SiDeards stuck in his spec is available for a good price, but the Samsung Evo's are generally recognized as being one of the most solid SSD's on the market right now.
 
Danny75 said:
Then what you want to be sure to get is an SSD, on which to have your OS and favourite programs, as they are super-fast and totally silent.

The Toshiba that SiDeards stuck in his spec is available for a good price, but the Samsung Evo's are generally recognized as being one of the most solid SSD's on the market right now.
Click to expand...

Hey! Thank you for replying! :)

I was thinking maybe bring the GPU down to a GTX770 from a GTX780 to get a 250GB Samsung Evo 840 SSD. I don't know if it's worth it because I'm using my build for gaming and I want my new GPU to hopefully last me a good 3-4 years at 1080p - 144Hz gaming.

I'm not really sure what to do. :(
 
If your going to change the gpu to a lower model then go for a 4gb 280x. Much better card than the 770 really.

250gb would give you plenty of room for a few games, i put a 120gb in because they are cheaper and you can lob a couple of games on it and put the rest on your 2tb.
 
SiDeards73 said:
If your going to change the gpu to a lower model then go for a 4gb 280x. Much better card than the 770 really.

250gb would give you plenty of room for a few games, i put a 120gb in because they are cheaper and you can lob a couple of games on it and put the rest on your 2tb.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. :)

I know that obviously I'll be sacrificing some performance in the GPU side by going down to the 280x but if it will last me say 3 years at 1080p - decent graphics - decent fps then I'm all for it. Plus it's pretty frustrating in GW2 for example having to wait 10 secs to load the map. :(

Worth the upgrade to the 280x performance wise? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-122-GI This maybe? Not sure what to look for between after market versions. Also I can only see 3GB versions of this card.

If so, I think I'll treat myself to the Samsung Evo 840 250GB which hopefully should be a nice improvement to my system overall (seeing as this will be my first SSD - infact never really been on a system with one). :p
 
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Ok guys I think I've come to a final parts list. I would gratefully appreciate it if you could check if everything is compatible (fits etc.).

Parts already owned:-

Motherboard – Asrock Z68 Pro 3
PSU – True Power 650W
CPU – 2500K


Parts to buy:-

GPU - £275.99 - Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Toxic OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-324-SP&tool=3

Corsair CML8GX3M2A1866C9R Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866 Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Red

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD

Samsung 840 EVO 250GB Basic SSD

- This leaves me with approximately £230 left out of my £800 budget.

- I would be ever so grateful if someone double checked compatability etc because I'm pretty scared of that being an issue.

- PSU still ok? :)

- If the GPU is ok, I'm willing to snap up that deal before the end of this week. :P

- It does say I need 2 8 pins for the GPU I think. I've lost some of the cables for my PSU so I'd happily buy the cables needed. Could someone direct me to the correct ones please.

- I think I'm going to need a new cable for my SSD? (Cables from my currect PSU lost). Again if someone could direct me to the correct place to buy the amount I need I would be grateful. :)

- Would I be correct in saying that I will not need to get an extra cable for my new HDD seeing as I can just use the one in my 500GB HDD at the moment?

- As for the PC case I was thinking maybe this - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-157-CS

Personally I think that case looks nice. :P The reviews look good as well. - Will everything fit into this case? Noctua, GPU, PSU etc.

This is my last request, I promise and I would really really appreciate it. Thank you very much for all the help!

Qwenty. <3
 
Last edited:
OvEr_KiLL said:
your mobo supports ddr3 2133mhz so i would change the ram and get this and then change the xmp profile setting in the bios to 2133mhz speed

YOUR BASKET
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
Total : £64.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

Click to expand...

Hey! Thank you for responding! :)

Could I just ask wouldn't this be sort of a waste seeing as though my mobo doesn't accept the maximum speed and probably I won't be able to get it to 2133Mhz with decent timings anyway?

Also if you are able to answer any of the questions in the post above, it would be very helpful. I'm thinking of getting everything ordered by maybe today or tomorrow. :p
 
Qwenty20 said:
Hey! Thank you for responding! :)

Could I just ask wouldn't this be sort of a waste seeing as though my mobo doesn't accept the maximum speed and probably I won't be able to get it to 2133Mhz with decent timings anyway?

Also if you are able to answer any of the questions in the post above, it would be very helpful. I'm thinking of getting everything ordered by maybe today or tomorrow. :p
Click to expand...

yes you will be able to get 2133mhz and not any higher as i said change the xmp profile in the bios!
gpu is fine
psu is fine

YOUR BASKET
2 x Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Toxic OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card £275.99 (£551.98)
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
Total : £836.84 (includes shipping : £10.75).




as for cables i would recomend using these for the ssd and hds,
and i have no idea what cables you have missing, is the psu modular and you are missing some of the modular cables?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
Total : £5.57 (includes shipping : £1.90).

 
OvEr_KiLL said:
yes you will be able to get 2133mhz and not any higher as i said change the xmp profile in the bios!
gpu is fine
psu is fine

YOUR BASKET
2 x Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Toxic OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card £275.99 (£551.98)
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
Total : £836.84 (includes shipping : £10.75).




as for cables i would recomend using these for the ssd and hds,
and i have no idea what cables you have missing, is the psu modular and you are missing some of the modular cables?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
Total : £5.57 (includes shipping : £1.90).

Click to expand...

OK, thanks. Yep, I think my current PSU is modular and over time I've managed to loose a few cables here and there.

I'm using one 280x. :p
 
I'm thinking of just going for the gtx 780 and the Samsung evo SSD by stretching my budget by a 100 pounds or so. Could anyone spec some sort of case that would fit everything. I'm also thinking of replacing the Noctua for the Phantek CPU cooler. :p
 
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