Advice required for a big upgrade for my system

ChrisPye999

ChrisPye999

ChrisPye999

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6 Mar 2013
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Hi folks, I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard, processor, memory and storage for my system and I could use a sounding board to tell me if I am looking at the right parts or not. I'm not very knowledgeable with this kind of stuff although I do know enough to get me by.

My current system is as follows so the only thing I am really keeping is the power supply and the GPU

GIGABYTE G1 Sniper 2 Motherboard
I7 2600k CPU @3.4 ghz
ATI Radeon R9 290X Sapphire Vapour-X Edition 8GB GPU
16GB G.Skill Ripjaw X RAM
Windows 7 64bit Operating System
CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Case

Motherboard

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-515-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2875

One thing I really want when looking at a motherboard is that it must be ATX (as my case does not support EATX), it must not use Realtek audio codecs and preferable but not a dealbreaker is I like having a killer network card in it. This motherboard seems to me to do everything I need it to do.

Processor

I was tempted to go back to AMD seeing as their processors seem to have more cores and are faster out of the box but none of them seem to be able to handle DDR4 RAM so it'll have to be Intel.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-546-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1672

I was a little disappointed that the speed was so low on this thing but everything I have read says that this processor is better for gaming than the two models above it plus I am somewhat limited in the budget for this build.

Memory

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-095-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=2557

For some reason I like G.Skill and they seem to be the cheapest around for the speed you get from them.

Storage

Boot Storage
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-130-OC&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=2198

Mass Storage
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-413-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1955

Cooling

I couldn't find what I was looking for here on Overclockers so I had to go elsewhere for this.

No competitor links.

I could also go with a heatsink as my system currently has a very good one and I have no issues with it at all but my preference would be to go with a watercooled solution, I'm just not into setting up a full custom loop right now.

So am I looking at the right stuff here? My budget for the upgrade is around £1000 to £1500.
 
Hi, I have had to remove your competitor link.

What do you use the PC for?

I see you say gaming so do you have a large resolution monitor?

What PSU do you have?
 
What programs will you use etc?

I can't imagine much will use all of that 6-core power? Unless you are rendering or using CAD with multi-core support
 
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If this is just a gaming pc then stick to Z97. The X99 platform is a bit expensive just for gaming. If you are doing cpu intensive work then it makes more sense.
 
stulid said:
Hi, I have had to remove your competitor link.

What do you use the PC for?

I see you say gaming so do you have a large resolution monitor?

What PSU do you have?
Click to expand...

OK Sorry about the link but it's a Cooler Master Neptune 280XL that I was looking at.

I use the PC mainly for gaming, I currently only have a 1080p monitor but I am probably upgrade to either 4k or 5k within the next year, I just wanted to have the system up and running before I bought the monitor.

My PSU is a very old Arctic Pro 950, it came with a computer I bought about 6 years ago and have moved it along to my current system when I upgraded it.

I realise I am probably going way overboard on this upgrade but I will be playing Star Citizen and want the system to be able to handle playing that game at 4k on ultra settings.
 
ChrisPye999 said:
OK Sorry about the link but it's a Cooler Master Neptune 280XL that I was looking at.

I use the PC mainly for gaming, I currently only have a 1080p monitor but I am probably upgrade to either 4k or 5k within the next year, I just wanted to have the system up and running before I bought the monitor.

My PSU is a very old Arctic Pro 950, it came with a computer I bought about 6 years ago and have moved it along to my current system when I upgraded it.

I realise I am probably going way overboard on this upgrade but I will be playing Star Citizen and want the system to be able to handle playing that game at 4k on ultra settings.
Click to expand...

Go for Z97 in that case - it will be faster than X99 in most/all cases due to pure clock speed which games like, but your current CPU is fine anyway!

UD3H + i7 bundle sounds right up your street, and a high end GPU with SLI in the future for the 4K you are talking about? You already have a perfect GPU for 4k, the 8GB 290X so drop another in and job should be good for 4K :)

I see your board supports SLI, why not drop another GPU into that? Going to 4790k will give marginal boosts and I think SLI GPU's would be a better shout, with a new PSU ofc
 
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lee32uk said:
If this is just a gaming pc then stick to Z97. The X99 platform is a bit expensive just for gaming. If you are doing cpu intensive work then it makes more sense.
Click to expand...

Z97 seems to be all DD3 systems, I do want to upgrade to DDR4 so I have to go with the 2011 socket motherboards so either x79 or x99 (bigger numbers seem to be better so that's why I'm going for the x99).
 
The upgrade is not worth the money tho.

You already have a 8 thread CPU that is overclocked.

Also Star Citizen is at least a 1year+ away from being "playable".

X79 = DDR3 and now superseded by X99.
 
stulid said:
Good water cooler!

I think you should just add a 2nd Vapor-X card then for 4K gaming.

Moving to Z97 is pointless and so is X99.



But get a new PSU! as that is a low budget one.

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £109.99
Total : £119.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).



That one is made by superflower and has a 10yr warranty.
Click to expand...

OK this is where my lack of experience really shines so bare with me. According the the specs of my current motherboard it has 1 x16 lane PCIE slot and 1 x8 lane PCIE slot but If I add a second GPU it drops both lanes down to x8. According the the specs of the GPU it requires an x16 lane PCIE to work so unless I am mistaken (and I probably am) wouldn't that mean that my board can't support two of those GPU's?

Would that PSU be able to run 2 GPU's? 850 doesn't seem enough.

Another reason why I am upgrading my system is the lack of storage space (1x SATA 2 128GB SSD and 1x 1TB Mechanical) and I prefer to go big when I upgrade as I find it lasts longer so that's why I went with the PCIE SSD (fastest thing on the market for the price I am willing to spend).
 
8X and 16X for a GFX card makes such a small difference.

Check this out for PCI scaling on a GTX980 - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/

Your board does do 8X/8X for two cards, but that is fine. Crossfire works at a minimum 16X/4X so two cards get different bandwidth, but 8X/8X (the minimum for SLI support) is better so both get equal bandwidth.


That PSU is fully able to run two R9 290/GTX980, it is insanely strong and I bet it has more Amps on the 12v rail than your current PSU.

Reviews,
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/SuperNOVA_G2_850/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=377
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8051/evga-supernova-850-g2-power-supply-review
Click to expand...


You want more storage?

Simple,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £157.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £79.99
Total : £247.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
stulid said:
8X and 16X for a GFX card makes such a small difference.

Check this out for PCI scaling on a GTX980 - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/

Your board does do 8X/8X for two cards, but that is fine. Crossfire works at a minimum 16X/4X so two cards get different bandwidth, but 8X/8X (the minimum for SLI support) is better so both get equal bandwidth.


That PSU is fully able to run two R9 290/GTX980, it is insanely strong and I bet it has more Amps on the 12v rail than your current PSU.

Reviews,



You want more storage?

Simple,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £157.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £79.99
Total : £247.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Click to expand...

OK so if I understand that review correctly running two of these GPU's in x8 lane would result in maybe 1 or 2 FPS drop. I think I can live with that.

This is the thing that has confused me now about the PSU, the specs of the GPU say it requires a 600w PSU to run so how can an 850w PSU run 2 of them? Would that not require a 1200w PSU?

Final question, instead of all the upgrades I mentioned in my original post, your recommending I just get a second GPU, a new PSU and the storage solutions you have mentioned?

I did run a benchmark on this computer when I bought the new GPU and while I was getting massive numbers (can't remember the exact score) from my GPU, I was getting a fairly low number from the CPU tests so I was led to believe that the next viable upgrade would be to get a new CPU and motherboard. I am more than happy to go with your recommendation though but I do want to make sure that it's going to be enough to get me through the next 3 years or so (I'm a big fan of future proofing).
 
The PSU rating/requirement,

That is for the whole system and factors in rubbish PSUs that cost £20 and claim to be say 600W.

As you add a 2nd GFX card you are not doubling the power draw of the CPU/board/drives etc.



I am not sure you even need a 2nd GFX card. You are upgrading for a game that is a long way from being completed, all that you can do so far in it is walk around a hanger, play a few maps in the dog fighting module and that's about it.

There are newer GFX cards coming next year from AMD (the 300 series) and I am sure Nvidia will have some GTX980ti or TitanII etc.
 
Listen to Stulid. The 2600k is still a excellent cpu, especially when overclocked. Replacing it would be just throwing money away. Overclock the cpu, get a decent psu and your extra storage and you will be set for a long time.
 
stulid said:
The PSU rating/requirement,

That is for the whole system and factors in rubbish PSUs that cost £20 and claim to be say 600W.

As you add a 2nd GFX card you are not doubling the power draw of the CPU/board/drives etc.



I am not sure you even need a 2nd GFX card. You are upgrading for a game that is a long way from being completed, all that you can do so far in it is walk around a hanger, play a few maps in the dog fighting module and that's about it.

There are newer GFX cards coming next year from AMD (the 300 series) and I am sure Nvidia will have some GTX980ti or TitanII etc.
Click to expand...

OK that makes more sense, I did figure that the 600w requirement was for the entire system, I just thought that the GPU was the main user of all that power.

As for Star Citizen, I am able to play it on ultra settings on my current system but that is only at 1920x1080 and I think I get something like 55-60 FPS. I was hoping to get more than that cause I recently bought a nice ASUS gaming monitor that can display 144 FPS. In any case if I did upgrade to 4k in the near future, I can't see my current set-up being able to run the game in ultra at all.

I think I for now I will take your advice and buy the PSU and the additional storage and get the second GPU closer to the release date of Star Citizen.
 
You are right, currently your system is not able to run 4K and that is just because of the single GFX card.

Also I am not sure star citizen is fully optimized yet and drivers always help impose things.
 
Keep the 2600k, still a great CPU, after all I did just buy one for a new build for my GF over more expensive options (Z97).

Also 4k is a distance from being the 'normal' for decent performance for a good price.
G-Sync is a good compromise at the moment or just 1440p.
 
stulid said:
You are right, currently your system is not able to run 4K and that is just because of the single GFX card.

Also I am not sure star citizen is fully optimized yet and drivers always help impose things.
Click to expand...

OK so if I was to get the second graphics card with all the other upgrades you have suggested do you think the current CPU/Motherboard/RAM combo will last another couple of years? At what point will the 2600K no longer be good enough? I know that there will be a new CPU out around the middle of next year (Broadwell I think) and I have been told that that will be a big improvement over the CPU's currently available. I suppose what I am really asking is how long do you think it will be until the next major leap forward in processing power comes around?
 
ThaReaperGuy said:
Keep the 2600k, still a great CPU, after all I did just buy one for a new build for my GF over more expensive options (Z97).

Also 4k is a distance from being the 'normal' for decent performance for a good price.
G-Sync is a good compromise at the moment or just 1440p.
Click to expand...

G-Sync is an Nvidia only thing is it not?

I have to be honest, I'm not really looking to replace my current 290x as I have only had it 5 months, I'm happy to add a second card if necessary but that's about as far as I'm willing to go for the next few years in that regard.
 
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