PC refresh suggestions

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

Associate
Joined
18 Feb 2010
Posts
940
Hi,

As a full time software engineer, and as someone who enjoys playing games, I spend an awful lot of time on my PC. I have always built them, and a few years ago I would have known exactly which CPU architecture I want and which memory, but it has been a while since I looked into it. I've come in to some money and my PC isn't running quite as well as I'd like it to, so it's time for a refresh. I'd like to limit myself to spending £800, but if it's a case that spending a bit more gives me something substantially better I can spend a few hundred more maybe up to £1,200.

Current Specs (thinking about upgrading these parts):
- Maximus VII ranger Z97
- i5-4690 (Haswell, 3.5Ghz).
- 16Gb DDR3 Dual Channel
- Samsung EVO 830 250gb (C: [Operating system etc]) - 50gb free
- Samsung EVO 750 250gb (D: [Games etc]) - nearly full - 100gb free.

Current Specs (happy with):
- AX1200i PSU.
- NZXT h440 case
- GTX 970 (Think this is fine for Rocket League/ESO/League of legends.
- GTX 950 (Left over from when I used to mine).
- Predator Z35 monitor
- Corsair mouse
- Corsair K95 RGB Platinum

My thinking is:
- I'd like a new CPU, as mine is slow and IntelliJ which I use for development seems hungry for it.
- I have read good things about the m.2 SSDs, I don't know anything about them, but if they'll give me a real boost for loading times (Particularly elder scrolls online), I'd like one.
- I realise a new CPU will mean a new motherboard, and if I'm doing that, I will probably end up with DDR4.
- I'm not going to overclock anything. I used to do this and it was extremely time consuming and it meant always fixing something. I'd rather just pay more than overclock things.
- I love Corsair, as a heads up. If I have the choice between components and one is a Corsair, I'd buy that on the grounds I've never had a problem with them.

Thinking of buying:
CPU 8700k Coffee lake: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ocket-lga1151-processor-retail-cp-63s-in.html £259.99*

Motherboard: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...cket-1151-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-55x-gi.html £119.99*

16gb DDR4 2666: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...hannel-kit-red-cmk16gx4m2a2666-my-454-cs.html £199.99*

500GB 960 EVO x4 NVME: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sams...-3.0-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-hd-22h-sa.html. £239.99

Comes to £830.

Questions:
- ALL recommendations would be a huge help. Should I wait for the next architecture?
- Is there a hardware fix for any of the meltdown issues that I should wait for - does this even matter?
- Should I switch to AMD instead?
- Will the 960 EVO work happily at full speed with that new motherboard and GTX 970 and 950?
- Faster memory?
- Benchmarks show the CPU at 34% faster 'effective speed': http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4690K/3937vs2432. Will the DDR4 and SSD change make a big difference too?
 
orbitalwalsh said:
Can't really fault your list, might want to add thermal Grizzlie paste, £5 coffeelake runs hot .

8700 no K is now finally a great price ! All 6 cores boosting to 4.3ghz and 4.6ghz for single/dual core ops .

Team group gets a lot of love here !

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £435.88 (includes shipping: £9.90)


And to cool it

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £358.84 (includes shipping: £9.90)
​
Or hopefully you've got a damn good air cooler !​
Click to expand...


Thank you for the suggestions! I really appreciate the time to help, thank you :).

Good shout on that. I'll replace the memory with the 32gb 2400Mhz Team Group!
About the cooler, I agree - but I do have a huge Raijintek air cooler at the moment. My worry is that there isn't much space at the top of the h440 case for a 360mm radiator. I'd much prefer it, as it would look a lot better and would no doubt perform better. I might get away with it, I see you picked one which is very thin and the case does have 3x 120mm fan spaces at the top. I've popped it into my basket for now, I think it should just about fit - we'll find out!

I think I'm pretty happy with the whole set up now, my only remaining concern being that the motherboard says:

1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX1_2, 3, 4 slots. The PCIEX4 slot operates at up to x1 mode when the PCIEX1_2, 3, or 4 slot is populated. 4 x PCI Express x1 slots (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)

This would mean by 970 takes the PCI-e x16 and the 950 the x4. Does this impact the SSD at all? Also, do I need to worry about cooling this SSD? Maybe something like: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-water-blocks-ek-m.2-nvme-heatsink-red-hs-009-ek.html?
 
 
lee32uk said:
Which raijintek cooler do you have ?
Click to expand...

I don't have the box anymore, but I'm pretty sure it's the "EREBOSS". It's massive, has a hole in the top of it for placing a screw in - my screwdriver wasn't even long enough so I had to borrow one from an electrician. It has the one thin fan at one end like on the EREBOSS product page.

Here it is:
 
Last edited:
orbitalwalsh said:
Good review on the cooler

https://www.eteknix.com/alphacool-eisbaer-lt-360-cpu-liquid-cooler-review/amp/

Wait, that cooler should handle it :)

Worth trying it with thermal Grizzlie paste first
Click to expand...

I've got some arctic silver kicking around which I've had for,.. ummm... 6-7 years, as well as some thermal paste remover, so I should be good to go if that's still OK. However, I don't have any of the gubbins which will have come with the monster-sized CPU cooler, so I'm hoping it uses the same brackets which is already on. If it does, I can just swap it over onto the new motherboard/CPU with what I have. If it requires some kind of different mounting then I'll be in a spot of trouble (Which may be frustrating if I've taken everything to bits and have no PC) - if that is the case, which I doubt as it's socket 1150 to 1151 then it's off to the local "World of PCs" (*sigh*) on the day. It looks like 1150/1151 are the same in terms of mounts (https://www.quora.com/Can-an-LGA-1150-CPU-cooler-fit-on-an-LGA-1151-CPU-socket).

I'll remove the aio cooler and add a long screwdriver to the basket which gets me back into the £800s:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £889.95 (includes shipping: £0.00)​
​
 
orbitalwalsh said:
Awesome, let us know how you get on. That cooler looks a beast with such a thin fan on it ;(

Heads up, rear looks like it's set up as an intake , would clash with the CPU coiler which is pushing air in that direction .

B9NWtDx.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice! The fan on the back is an exhaust (going out of the case) - it's the one that came with the NZXT case and I haven't changed it in any way. I did have to double check though! I think it'll be this weekend coming up when I rebuild everything. I'm quite looking forwards to getting rid of some of that dust too! I might add a pressured air can whilst I'm at it. I don't really get the chance to mess around with my PC very often so I am looking forwards to giving it a bit of TLC. I'll post up some pics when I'm done.
 
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