Another gaming build query

RobCee

RobCee

RobCee

Associate
Joined
15 Dec 2015
Posts
27
Currently I am running a 6 year old system which is due for a refresh

Processor: Intel i7-920 2.66GHz (which at one point was OC to 3.8GHz)
Motherboard: Biostar T-Power X58
Memory: 6GB OCZ Reaper DDR3 1866MHz
Graphics: XFX GeForce GTX 295 1792MB GDDR3
System Drive: Crucial M225 256GB SSD
Other Drives: Western Digital 500GB & 1TB
Dell U2713HM at 2650x1440
HP LP2465 at 1900x1200

It is mainly used for MMO Gaming and 3D CAD/CAM work.

I would like the audience’s thoughts and advice on the following proposed changes please.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,756.04​

The thinking was to go for something that allowed SLI with dual PCIe x16 so that the graphics could be upgraded down the line if required.
I am unsure about the cost/benefit of the M.2 drive over my existing SSD.
Having ignored the market for as long as I have, am bewildered by the choice in processors and the associated combinations! I also do not want to go for water cooling.

Thanks for any input you can add.
 
PSU Is an OCZ Silencer 750w.

Is the performance from the X99 that much better than the Z170 then? I presume you mean the extreme edition?
 
 
That makes sense, so I will go for the board/memory bundle.

Why would there be a preference for the FVGA 980Ti? There appears to be little difference that I can see, but having matched MSI board and GFX card might make sense?
 
OK. So I have been have researching and learning a lot this last week and now feel better informed about the relative merits of the choices I need to make.

I understand that outside of graphics, there will not be a significant (single core gaming) benefit to upgrading from my current mildly overclocked i7-920 to Skylake, but that the newer enthusiast chips are where it's all at currently.

This means that one option is to simply replace my old GTX295 with a GTX980Ti and see how I get along with it and the games I am currently playing (WOW, GW2 and DOTA2).

Obviously, this does not appeal to the geek in me that wants the new shiny system...

So, I would appreciate some feedback on the following choices:

Choice No.1

I have budget to go for SLI GTX980Ti, but with the new Pascal architecture around the corner, do I really want to invest heavily in the old.
The choice is:

Choice No.2

From a motherboard perspective, I cannot conceive wanting to push things further than basin SLI, so most of the X99 boards have me covered.

Should I go for one of these three:

Choice No.3

From a cooling perspective, I am drawn to performance air cooling, as I am cautious about water and electronics. I would like to push the overclock on whatever CPU I go with, but it will not be ultra extreme enough to warrant full custom water! I understand that my choice of air cooler may impact my ram height, but I am after a great solution and can tinker with it to perfect it.

So, my choice is something like:

Choice No.4

The last choice is for a case, where I have little real preference. It lives entirely out of sight but has a height limit of 580mm.

My shortlist is:


Other Elements of the build



System Total

Total: £2,277.85 - £2575.78

As always, your thoughts are appreciated and I hope I am not too verbose...
 
@Malamo999 - Thanks for that, I do need to step up to a new graphics card, so a single 980Ti will do it for now. I can always re-evaluate when the noew models come out later this year. The more I think about it, the better sense the MSI/Crucial combo makes.

@Bantu - Yes, I am definitely leaning towards the Noctua, but will need a careful look at the dimensions, it is a big old thing and does seem to favour low profile RAM and a big case.
 
@lee32uk - Thanks for that, I will switch to the EVGA G2 and the NH-D15S.

I am not really worried about noise dampening in the case, it can't be any louder than my existing setup! I am mainly looking for good airflow, so being able to remove (or just not buy) lots of drive bays is a good thing for me. I have a NAS setup for all the important data, so this machine will get a single SSD and possibly one 3.5" HDD.

Does this one make any sense, or should I just stick to a cheaper case and rip out all the drive bays?

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Mid Tower Case - Black= £139.99

@Quartz, I hear you on the 5930k vs 5820k thing, as I will almost certainly go SLI before changing the CPU/MB again. I think that throwing another £500 at the processor is a bit silly too, so no Extreme edition either.
 
So, currently it is looking like the following:


Total: £1,809.90 to £1,865.90

​
 
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