CPU Upgrade

Ice Globe

Ice Globe

Ice Globe

Associate
Joined
31 May 2006
Posts
1,136
Location
Cheshire
I'm planning to upgrade my current PC as below with a particular focus on the CPU. I'm primarily upgrading for future gaming in mind, particularly Watchdogs and GTA5 but also do a fair amount of image processing. I'm not someone who needs to run everything on ultra but running smoothly on medium/high would be a nice upgrade (although I appreciate both games aren't even out yet!).

I'm currently using:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6300 1.86GHz
Gigabyte 965P-DS3 C2 (ATX)
4Gb RAM
Radeon HD 5770
Creative SB X-fi soundcard (currently uses a PCI slow)
450W Corsair PSU
Samsung 840 evo SSD

I was thinking along the lines of upgrading to:

Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £239.99 inc VAT
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £76.99 inc VAT
Thermalright True Spirit 140 BW Cooler £34.99 inc VAT
Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK) £79.99 inc VAT
8Gb DDR3 RAM at 1600 MHz

Retaining the graphics card and sound card with the ambition of upgrading to 16Gb RAM when worth it and upgrading graphics cards and potentially moving into CrossFire when required.

Total budget of around £400-500

I'd appreciate any comments/feedback on the above setup and would welcome any other suggestions.

CPU - Chosen as 8 threads will be useful in the future. Don't see the advantage of Haswell CPUs which I've heard run hotter. No need to future proof sockets as won't be anticipating a CPU upgrade for 5+ years. As someone who hasn't previously done any overclocking, debating whether to go for the K or non-K variant.
CPU Cooler - With idea of keeping temps cool and bearing noise in mind and potentially opening door to some minor overclocking. No particular preference, could consider liquid closed loop block+fans.
Motherboard (ATX) - Would prefer to go Gigabyte for their history and UK RMA ability. Don't need WIFI as have USB WIFI connectivity. Would today's motherboard's onboard sound outperform my current quite old sound card?
RAM - Would there be any advantage of going above 1600MHz? Would the 3770K CPU limit any higher speed RAM?
PSU - Presumably should future proof a move to a twin graphics card CrossFire setup when needed.

Many thanks! :)
 
Last edited:
Go with Haswell rather than the older Ivybridge. Also get faster RAM.

I's also change the power supply for a Seasonic unit. Arguably better build quality with a better warranty.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £87.95
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £45.95
Total : £467.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 
Might as well go with the K variant so you can overclock if necessary and it would be an interesting experience!

A cooler will certainly help as the stock retail one won't be good enough. So you could go with the OEM CPU instead as it comes with no cooler which means you can put your own one on straight away! Beware OEM only comes with 1 year warranty as opposed to 3 years on retail version. But hey CPUs usually last years!

I would go with a better motherboard that can operate two graphics cards at full speed.

There isn't really a noticeable advantage of going higher than 1600MHz but might as well since prices are similar anyway.

I've added a PSU that comes with 10 years warranty and is gold rated

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £239.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £490.51 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Or as above get the newer 4770K CPU and Z87 motherboard but you should spend a bit more on the motherboard
 
Last edited:
dacads said:
Might as well go with the K variant so you can overclock if necessary and it would be an interesting experience!

A cooler will certainly help as the stock retail one won't be good enough. So you could go with the OEM CPU instead as it comes with no cooler which means you can put your own one on straight away! Beware OEM only comes with 1 year warranty as opposed to 3 years on retail version. But hey CPUs usually last years!

I would go with a better motherboard that can operate two graphics cards at full speed.

There isn't really a noticeable advantage of going higher than 1600MHz but might as well since prices are similar anyway.

I've added a PSU that comes with 10 years warranty and is gold rated

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £239.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £490.51 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Or as above get the newer 4770K CPU and Z87 motherboard but you should spend a bit more on the motherboard
Click to expand...

Why are you advising an Ivybridge build?
 
ExRayTed said:
Why are you advising an Ivybridge build?
Click to expand...

because it's cheaper..

Here is a build with the latest architecture..as you can see will need to spend more on the motherboard to support two graphics card in x8/x8 mode

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £512.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Or this mobo



YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
Total : £115.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).



Ok I guess the £20 difference between £490 and £510 isn't much :p
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the suggestions, interesting that Haswell is so strongly recommended.

Is the additional PCIe bandwith worth the additional motherboard cost?
 
I'd go haswell as well, at the end of the day its there newer chip which is an improvement on ivy, not that much admittedly, but still its worth the extra few quid.
Depends on if you will go crossfire and what GPU's you plan on getting.
Although I would spend the extra on the x8/x8 as its not much more in the grand scheme of things and its piece of mind
 
dacads said:
because it's cheaper..

Here is a build with the latest architecture..as you can see will need to spend more on the motherboard to support two graphics card in x8/x8 mode

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £512.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Or this mobo



YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
Total : £115.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).



Ok I guess the £20 difference between £490 and £510 isn't much :p
Click to expand...

Exactly. Don't recommend a dead socket for the sake of £20. The negatives far outweigh the positives
 
If you dont plan on overclocking you could also look at the Xeon 1230 v3 and a H87 mobo, basically same performance as a i7 4770 for a bit cheaper.
 
Wrong Xeon.
OCUK stock the 1220v2, which is just a plain old i5 with more cache.

It's the 1230v2 you want (Which I've got my brother and it's excellent)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom