Need help with upgrades.

gibbingslfc

gibbingslfc

gibbingslfc

Associate
Joined
29 Nov 2011
Posts
64
Just to start, my PC at the moment is this:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
ASUS P67 P8P67 Motherboard
Corsair Professional Series HX+ 650W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C8 1333MHz Dual-Channel
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
GeForce GTX 560 Ti Graphics Card
LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
I also have a small wireless card.

My case is some kind of silverstone Raven with the motherboard at 90 degrees, meaning you have to lift the top off to access USB ports and such, this has turned out to be a massive pain in the arse for me so i'm going to get another case.

I also want to upgrade my gfx card to be able to play most to all games on max settings with multiple displays. Can you recommend a graphics card, preferably Nvidia, that will accommodate me?

Also, I wondered about whether or not to invest in some water cooling, I have no experience with building a machine with watercooling so any help would be appreciated.

Lastly i'm sure these upgrades will require a new PSU so any recommendation will be welcome.

I have £1000~ to spend altogether.

Thank you.
 
Looking at what you have, I would think replacing the motherboad for something like a Gigabyte Z77 D3H, K2 or Phanteks cooler, get another 4gb or 8gb DDR3 @ 1600, 128/256gb SSD and you could always go with anoter 560 and SLI.

If you dont fancy SLI, take a look at the 670 or 7950.

Overclock the CPU and put the money into Haswell once it's been released if you can wait, at least you'll have the RAM, SSD & G/Card.
 
For a case I'd recommend looking at some of the Corsair ones. They are pretty wonderful in terms of performance, but can look a bit dull. It's personal preference though :)

You could probably get a Nvidia 670 graphics card with your budget, maybe more. The AMD 7970 is also worth a look.

I personally hate watercooling. With air doing a good job already, often at a cheaper price, I think watercooling is a little expensive for what it is. I also find the tubes a bit ugly in a case but it's all my opinion, of course:)

As for a PSU look for a XFX or Seasonic one as they are considered some of the "best" now a days. Although, I'm sure a 650W is good already for most single graphics card setups (but if you plan to watercool you might need more watts).

You could also upgrade that RAM. 8GB 1600MHz is fairly cheap and software/games are starting to use more of it. A SSD could be a nice upgrade to.
 
I also want to upgrade my gfx card to be able to play most to all games on max settings with multiple displays. Can you recommend a graphics card, preferably Nvidia, that will accommodate me?
Click to expand...

Sell the 560ti, because sli wont max out games on multi monitors. I can play Crysis 3 on mostly high settings on 1920x1080 and Ultra on a lot of other games
If your mobo still meets your requirements and performs well, no point in upgrading.
I`ve stuck in a 680 as you said you prefer Nvidia but you could get a 7970 3GB

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency £399.95
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CML8GX3M2B1600C11) £44.99
1 x Thermalright HR-02 Macho CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366) £39.98
Total : £807.40 (includes shipping : £13.75).



http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555
 
Idleman said:
Sell the 560ti, because sli wont max out games on multi monitors. I can play Crysis 3 on mostly high settings on 1920x1080 and Ultra on a lot of other games
If your mobo still meets your requirements and performs well, no point in upgrading.
I`ve stuck in a 680 as you said you prefer Nvidia but you could get a 7970 3GB

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency £399.95
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CML8GX3M2B1600C11) £44.99
1 x Thermalright HR-02 Macho CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366) £39.98
Total : £807.40 (includes shipping : £13.75).



http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555
Click to expand...

Yummy.

Would personally get a 670 and the k2/d14/tc14pe.
 
Thanks to all; I'm going to leave the water-cooling as suggested, I'm going to get the Corsair case, SSD and gfx card and wait for Haswell before getting a new mobo and CPU.
 
YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £44.99
Total : £939.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I know you asked for Nvidia but AMD is currently better bang for buck. A 670 is a slightly cut down 680 and that won't do MAX graphics on multiple panels from a single GPU and it would be nice to have the 4GB version of the Nvidia GPUs. The 7950 comes with games but there is supposed to be a huuuge free games bundle if you adopt Xfire from the get go.

Case is a personal preference, for dual GPUs a full tower would be nice. I look forward to seeing what you settle on.
 
Idleman said:
That`s ok, only asked as it was`nt in your spec and we are all recommending coolers.
I assume it`s OC`ed.
Click to expand...

Yeah of course.

honosuseri said:
YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £44.99
Total : £939.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I know you asked for Nvidia but AMD is currently better bang for buck. A 670 is a slightly cut down 680 and that won't do MAX graphics on multiple panels from a single GPU and it would be nice to have the 4GB version of the Nvidia GPUs. The 7950 comes with games but there is supposed to be a huuuge free games bundle if you adopt Xfire from the get go.

Case is a personal preference, for dual GPUs a full tower would be nice. I look forward to seeing what you settle on.
Click to expand...

I've decided on getting the cards you suggested, thanks.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom