Advice upgrading current Rig

Ali3ta1r

Ali3ta1r

Ali3ta1r

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Joined
15 Nov 2017
Posts
32
Hi all,

After recently posting here about a new rig build and receiving some great advice, I'd like to ask for some help with another rig which I currently own and whether it's worth spending some money on it.

Again looking for a semi-decent/capable gaming rig to play Counter Strike Global Offensive but primarily it needs to be a system that is a pleasure to work on from 9-5. Essentially, a silent system with fast boot times and a non-laggy office workstation (nothing intensive, just Office and internet).

I think I'd be willing to part with about £350 on the below set-up, but open to advice:

CPU Intel - Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler - Corsair - H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard - Asus - Z97-WS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory - Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage - 2 x Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card - PNY - GeForce GT 740 1GB Video Card
Case - Cooler Master - Elite 311 (Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply - Corsair - VS 450W ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive - Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System - Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Monitor - 2 x AOC - I2369VM 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor

My first thoughts are to install new storage with a Samsung 960 EVO 250GB to install the Operating System on. Outside of that, I am wondering about a memory or graphics upgrade?

Also, does anyone know how good (or bad) the Asus Z97-WS motherboard is? I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere on the internet and I'm wondering if it still hold it's own in today's market (I bought it in late 2014).

Thanks,
~Ali
 
That's Quartz - is the current Corsair - H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler not any good?

I thought having a liquid cooler would be quieter and more efficient than a fan?
 
Would I see any great performance difference if I were to upgrade the memory? Say a Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 memory stick, as my current Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (1 x 8GB) is DDR3 @ 1600 MHz, while the Corsair stick is DDR4 @ 2666 MHz.

Also I like the idea of a silent GPU. But how does the Palit Geforce GTX 1050 Ti KalmX compared to per say the Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB.

Also, does anyone else have any thoughts on the PSU and Lee32uk's suggestion to upgrade my Corsair - VS 450W ATX? And if I should get the 850 or 950 Samsung EVO SSD?
 
So after some consideration, I think I'm going to upgrade with the below.

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti WindForce X2 OC (£139.99 from Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£56.63 from Amazon.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD (£79.99 from Overclockers.co.uk)

Anyone have any strong opinions I am making a mistake or should be spending a bit more money? Also, I am thinking to upgrade my PSU. Can anyone suggest a good one for around £50 - £90?
 
JasonM said:
This is what I would do.

1) I would get another 8GB to match your existing Kingston memory.
2) I would get a better graphics card.
3) I would upgrade the PSU but only if your upgrading to a good PSU such as the Seasonic. Whats the point in upgrading one cheaper PSU to another cheaper PSU.
4) I would wait on the SSD at least doing the other upgrades first. Those 1TB WD black drives are quiet fast (for HDD's) plus having 1TB for C drive gives so much more freedom over a 256GB SSD.

Over 16GB memory, Windows has something called standby memory where it will cache your regular files. You can have situations where a computer with 16GB & HDD can outperform a computer with 8GB & SSD, providing the data files have already been cached in standby memory. So if your playing a game and your loading the same maps, once you have loaded those maps once, the next time files will be loaded from standby memory. Standby memory will outperform any SSD you can buy, this is why it's wrong to only get the minimum amount of memory in windows computers.
Click to expand...

Thanks JasonM, puts a curve ball in the mix from what I was thinking. However, I'm now convinced to buy the additional 8GB of HyperX memory (1600Mhz) and also the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti WindForce X2 OC.

Just a couple of questions.

Do you think I am making the right choice on the GPU? I don't really want to go above £220 unless it really would make a noticeable bigger difference... I'm open to persuasion.

What benefit would I see in performance by upgrading per say to the SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX PSU? Which I can get for £90.

Regarding the SSD, if I were to stretch to a 500GB 850 EVO SSD would you then agree I should upgrade from my WD 1TB HDDs?
 
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Okay, so I have ordered the below parts based on the feedback above:

GPU: Gigabyte Nvidia Windforce GTX 1060 3GB (£184.97)
RAM: Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£56.63)
PSU: Seasonic Focus Plus 650W Gold (£90.46)

So all at a total cost of £332.07. And my new rig set-up is as below:

CPU Intel: Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus - Z97-WS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Windforce OC Video Card
Case: Cooler Master - Elite 311 (Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Monitor 2 (Dual) x AOC - I2369VM 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor

Anybody see any glaring concerns with the above upgrades and new rig set-up?

Am I definitely better not getting a Samsung EVO 250GB SSD to install the Operating System on and a few core software applications?
 
Last edited:
JasonM, actually I recently downloaded this when doing a full Windows re-install and it came from the ASUS website when downloading a SATA Driver for my Z97-WS motherboard.

I am not really sure how it works or what it does... after installing it just seems to sit in my task bar and there is very little functionality of anything I can do with it when opened.

I bought a SSD 250GB Samsung EVO this morning. So what do you propose I do?
 
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