Time for an upgrade

Associate
Joined
21 Jun 2012
Posts
21
Morning Everyone,

So its come to that time where I want to upgrade my machine again, luckily as i'm in no real rush budget inst a massive issue (of course under £500/£600) would be good.

Current spec below;

Processor: Intel i5-3570K @ 3.40 GHZ
RAM: 8GB
GFX Card: AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series, Total Memory 4GB, Dedicated Memory 2 GB
Storage: 931GB Seagate ST31000524AS ATA Device (SATA)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z77-DS3H

If you need anymore information let me know, look forward to your thoughts!

J
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2013
Posts
8,393
Good morning,

What do you use the computer for, other than basic tasks?

If you game, what res/refresh rate is the monitor?

Do you have an aftermarket cooler or Intel stock?

Which case is it all in?

Which PSU?
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Jun 2012
Posts
21
Good morning,

What do you use the computer for, other than basic tasks?

If you game, what res/refresh rate is the monitor?

Do you have an aftermarket cooler or Intel stock?

Which case is it all in?

Which PSU?

Gaming mostly, I have a work laptop so most tasks are done on that.
Intel stock, no aftermarket cooler.

It is in a novetech gaming case and a ******** 500w PSU.

1080P 1920x1080 60hz screen
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2013
Posts
8,393
The word in front of "500W" got starred out. I'm guessing it's the same brand as the case? If so you should replace the PSU.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £594.92
(includes shipping: £0.00)





I don't know if your case will fit the cooler and/or GPU. Aftermarket cooler will allow a nice OC on the 3570K to squeeze more out of it. That 1070 is really good and on a very special deal (till units run out I believe).


Some case ideas (if needed/wanted):

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £290.38
(includes shipping: £33.54)





16GB RAM would be nice, but given as your next upgrade (after this one) will likely involve DDR4 (or newer), best to keep going with 8GB if it handles everything you throw at it.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Jun 2012
Posts
21
Danny,

Few questions for you, it does look like I have a cooler on the CPU, would it be to take the old one off and swap them over?
Regarding the GFX, would you run 2 simultaneously and if so is there a way to dedicate 1 to gaming only or will it split the load over the 2 GFX's card?

3rd and final question, if I install a SSD also, can I transfer windows over to just run off the SSD and then allow the 1TB hard drive I have as storage space?

Will defiantly think about getting another case too!
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2013
Posts
8,393
Danny,

Few questions for you, it does look like I have a cooler on the CPU, would it be to take the old one off and swap them over?

Yes, you'd preferably want something like this to clean the CPU, along with a lint-free cloth. This stuff is really good:

My basket at Overclockers UK:



The new cooler will already bring pre-applied paste (or a tube containing it - half-pea size blob in the centre is what I use).



Regarding the GFX, would you run 2 simultaneously and if so is there a way to dedicate 1 to gaming only or will it split the load over the 2 GFX's card?

It depends on the cards you are considering, although I think the answer to your question is going to be no. If you had a multi-monitor setup you'd be able to use the CPU's integrated graphics for one monitor and the GPU for the other monitor. For SLI (Nvidia) you'd need both cards to be the same model (e.g. 1070 8GB), for CrossFire (AMD) they could sometimes be different models but I'm not up-to-date on which for newer cards. If you share your concern/idea more fully, then I might see where exactly you're coming from on this.


3rd and final question, if I install a SSD also, can I transfer windows over to just run off the SSD and then allow the 1TB hard drive I have as storage space?

Yes, you can either use the Samsung Migration tool that comes with the SSD, or Macrium Reflect, Clonezilla etc, or carry out a fresh install of Windows and your programs. Up to you. I go with the latter always. If you do a fresh install, make sure your HDD is not connected (just unplug the Sata data cable*, or set the Disk offline). If you do a migration, read and follow the instructions for the migration program carefully.

* Always after powering down and switching the PSU button OFF, and if you are superstitious like me - hold down the power/start button on your case after that for 15 seconds to drain it of power completely.
 
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