Choices, choices..

pilch

pilch

pilch

Associate
Joined
19 Mar 2008
Posts
75
Hi guys, planning to upgrade from my Q6600 and GTX260 soon so I've been burying myself in articles about everything I might need, having not really paid much attention to hardware news for the last 7 years or so! The list so far looks a bit like this:

i5 4690K
16GB G.Skill TridentX 2400
Gigabyte GTX 970
Crucial MX100 512GB for OS
WD Green 3TB for extra storage
Noctua NH-D15
Corsair 750D case

Budget isn't set in stone but I was thinking around £1100-1200 max.

I want to overclock and I often have a large number of tabs/windows open in Chrome as well as other programs and I've noticed that I can quite easily get up to 90% RAM used so I'd quite like 16GB, even though it's not strictly necessary for gaming.

Any feedback is welcome but I have a couple of other questions -

1. I have a 620W Corsair HX PSU that I've had for just over 5 years. Would it be a good idea to get a new one?
2. Motherboards.. there's just so many options I'm left scratching my head over the best choice. The following have caught my eye:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Maximus VII Ranger Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £129.95
1 x MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Asus Z97-A Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x MSI Z97S SLI PLUS Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £95.99
Total : £556.51 (includes shipping : £8.00).



I want at least 6 SATA ports for all my hard drives, M.2/SATAe is more of a bonus as I'm not really a compulsive upgrader, I don't need anything like wifi or insane overclocking options, just enough for at least 4.2GHz or so.

I've had an Asus motherboard in the past but that was a long time ago so that experience probably counts for little, my current one is an Abit IP-35 PRO which has been excellent, but apparently they either don't exist anymore or don't make Z97 motherboards! Basically I just want something good that won't break the bank, don't really want to spend more than what the Ranger costs :)

Thanks in advance :D
 
I would get a new PSU just to be on the safe side, 80+ rated are the ones to go for.

Asus and Gigabyte are good motherboards to go for, If I had to pick I would go for the Gigabyte board.
 
Thanks for the reply, will add a 650W EVGA Supernova to the list, as well as the Gigabyte mobo. Wonder if this system will last me 6 years like the old one? Place bets now! :)
 
It should do. It's a hell of a lot more power than a Q6600 and Intel seems to be concentrating on power efficiency rather than more grunt. This is why we are advising people on Sandybridge to stick with what they have instead of upgrading as the performance gains over the past couple of years have been tiny.
 
Sorry to jump in here fellas, quick question, can I ask how pilch imported the items of his basket into his post? Been trying to work it out but am well and truly stumped.

I know this is the wrong section to ask in, so I apologise.
 
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