Advice on Updating my PC

richiec

richiec

richiec

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25 Jul 2014
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A about a week a go I posted on the Laptop sub forum that I was looking to get rid of my current rig:

i5 2500k
8GB DD3
Hybrid Drive 256GB
ATI HD 6870 1GB
Fractal Design Mini

Now the reason I was wanting to get rid of it was because I wanted to get a laptop so I could be mobile but mainly so I could use my machine downstairs. After much research I've scrapped this after because with the budget I have ill end up spending a load of cash on a laptop that is only as good if not worse then my current machine.

So with that in mind I plan to get a small desk and have my PC downstairs but this will mean getting smaller case and this is where I need some advice.

As the desk is rather small as I don't have much space Ill need a smaller case. I currently have the Fractal Design Mini which is great but its just too big.

I was looking at getting the Aerocool Dead Silence as its smaller but can still support an mATX board and from what I'm reading is meant to be a silent case. The case will have to sit on my desk as I have 2 dogs and the amount of fur that will end up in it if I put it on the floor will be unreal (we have a husky). Do you know of any other good cases that will be quiet but will allow me to fit everything in without getting too hot. I don't plan to do SLI or Crossfire.

My other question what is the best 256GB SSD to buy? I currently have a hybrid drive which is crap and I cant tell the difference from a standard drive so I want to go with an SSD as my system drive. All Ill install on it is the OS, 3DSMax, Photoshop and a few other applications.

My next question is what a good graphics card to get that is an improvement on my HD6870? I have a budget of £200 for the graphics card.


So hopefully when I get these new parts my machine will be:

Smaller mATX Case (maybe the Aerocool Dead Silence)
i5 2500k
16GB RAM (I'm going to throw another 8GB in to make it 16GB)
New GFX card
256GB SSD System Drive
3TB Backup Drive (Currently using a 1.5GB Samsung Story Station which is crap)


Any tips on a good case, SSD and GFX card would be welcome :)
 
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I've decided I'm going for the Aercool Dead Silence Case.

I was wondering if you could tell me which SSD out of these 2 is the best to buy?

Crucial MX100 256GB
Kingston 240GB SSDNow V300 Drive

As for GFX card whats the best AMD/Nvidia card I can get for £200 max (any less would be good that would be a decent performance increase over my HD 6870?

Thanks
 
The Crucial MX100 is a good option. An Evo is fine too.

For a craphics card in the sub-£200 bracket the 280 or 280X are both good choices. I'd not go with the previous posters option though as the Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card is only £7 more and would be my pick.

You should see a decent increase in performance, the 7970GHz being basically the 280X: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/540?vs=618

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card £194.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £74.99
Total : £269.98 (includes shipping : ).

 
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Thanks for the options guys.

I think I will go for the Crucial MX100 as it looks to have good read/write speeds and I'm Ill see a good performance boost from my current standard HDD.

As for the graphics card I would probably spend a bit more and go for the R9 280X.

Can I ask if there is an nVidia card that is in the same league as the 280X for a similar price or not?

Also I take it these cards can fit in the case I plan to get. I think from what I've read the case can take cards that are 320mm long. Ill double check that.
 
Another option would be the R9 285 which has just come out with a couple of extra features over the 280x (true audio, dx12 compatibility, etc), though with a bit less vram. Though AMD say that its not a problem due to better compression or something.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-356-SP for £179.99

Having used both the 280x and the GTX 770, the 280x is much better for the price
 
The 280X I linked is 262mm long, so should fit fine. Think most things will fit if you've got 320mm of clearance.

You can get a 770 within £200 but you'd be spending more, if you fancy nVidia that's your option. It'll depend what games you're playing which will be faster, in general I'd give the 280X the edge but it's close enough for personal preference to be more important than the performance difference I feel.
 
OK. I only asked about Nvidia cards are I use 3D Studio and I know that Nvidia cards have CUDA cores which can help with smoother view port viewing in 3DSMax and also speeds up renders when using iray and this is something AMD cards dont support.
 
My advice.

If you want Nvidia then wait around for a while and see what happens with prices/deals.

In the mean time buy the larger MX100 (link) because it is the fastest of all the MX100's when it comes to IOPS.
 
Does that mean there are new Nvidia cards that might be released so the other cards will drop in price?

While the performance is better on the 512GB version I don't need that sized SSD as 256GB will be more than enough.
 
OK. Everything is set and I'm about to buy my parts but I've just realised after double checking and feeling like a bit of a prat now that my MB is an ATX board, GA-Z68XP-UD3.

Now I'm happy to get a mATX board but I have an i5 2500k so I'm guessing ill need a board for socket 1155? Problem I'm finding is no one seems to stock them and then to make things more difficult I need access to a PCI express slot for my wi-fi card which for most of the boards will be covered by my GFX card which takes up 2 slots :S

Am I screwed so is there a board out there?

Or will I need to get a new MB and CPU now?
 
If I have to get a new board and CPU what should I get?

I have a 2500k at the moment so I'd want a CPU that can match that Intel or AMD is fine.

And for the main board again an mATX board than can match my current board with a PCI express slot for my wi-fi card for the 3rd or 4th slot.
 
maybe try mini-itx? although that would mean a new cpu too. with the new Nvidia GPU's out now you'll get a gtx 770 for even cheaper now
 
Thanks for the options guys. I bought a new system SSD and 3TB back up drive and an extra 8GB RAM. I'm holding off on the matx case as I will need a new motherboard and CPU for that which Ill probably do in the new year. Ill jsut have to cope with a big case on my desk for a few months.
 
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