Time to replace my system - Would appreciate advice please?

firbolg

firbolg

firbolg

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Joined
21 Oct 2014
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34
Hi My current system is a bit long in the tooth
- Coolermaster Mystique, Corsaid HX620W, Asus P5KE/WiFi-AP, dual-core E8400 (O/Clocked to 4.2), 4MB ram, GEForce8600GTS with SSD etc.

Built with advice from this forum, it is very responsive and has served me well but I'm starting to have some issues (USB connections, WiFi etc) and I reckon I've got my money's worth and it's time to replace it.

My workload is browsing,email,WP,Music,video,Virtualisation, minimal games. I run WIn7 and Arch linux. My workload does not justify a high-powered system but I want a very responsive system - at least as responsive as my current system.

I plan to re-use some components initially (Disks,DVD,display,mouse,KB etc), so I am looking for
- Case, Power supply, Motherboard, (Intel) Processor, Ram, Graphics card.
I want a decent life-span from it with some upgrades perhaps along the way

My thoughts (just thoughts - willing to consider others) are
- socket 1150 / 1155?
- Processor i5-4670 / 4690? I will want to over-clock to 4.0 or higher
- Decent graphics card without being expensive (Not really into gaming)
- 8GB ram
- case ATX (not too big) or micro-ATX case (a la bitfenix prodigy ?) Good cooling, looks secondary.
- Processor water cooler (Corsair hydro?) (since over-clocking)
- Motherboard to have min 3xsata 6 and min 2xUSB 3.0 and min 8xusb in total, and ideally on-board wifi but not essential.

I'm not specifying a budget (NOT because I'[m loaded - I'm NOT) but I want a level of responsiveness at least the same as I have and preferably a bit more.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Ed
 
Since I posted, I've been doing some searching.
My thoughts at this stage are as follows

Definite
- Definitely ATX - I've ruled out Micro-ATX / Mini-ITX
- Processor i5 4670K or i5 4690K (Any key implications either way?)

Possible choices
- Case Corsair Carbide 300R mid-tower
- CPU Cooler Corsair Hydro - Not sure which version
- Power Corsair CS550M

No thoughts yet
- Ram 8GB no suggestion yet
- Motherboard No suggestion yet
- Graphics card No suggestion yet but max £175

I'm open to alternatives to my own suggestions - I don't have a preference for any one manufacturer. I'm open to considering bundles etc.

Ed
 
Samcat / Stas823

I'm already using SSD.

Re the i7
That would be overkill for me.
I'm looking to match or better my current performance (dual-core E8400 over clocked to 4.2ghz). The i5 is plenty.

Ed
 
Shivy011
Thanks for the specs.
I will be carrying forward 2xssd and 1 spinning disk so I don't need the disks.
Not sure yet what OS I will run.

Re the rest:
- Z97x bundle: I can do without the on-board wifi if I can add a wifi adapter. There are enough USB on this (6). Is this motherboard a good overclocker? Does it have any O/clocking facilities built in? I may have missed it in the specs but I assume it supports both old and new BIOS?

- GTX770 probably is over-kill. I could start with the on-board graphics I suppose. As a way to deciding, is it possible to say what price I should go for to get somewhat better than on-board graphics? e.g is on-board same as say £100 card?

- Ram is fine

- Superflower is not modular I think? Is that a disadvantage in any way?

- Not sure about the case. I was thinking of something along the lines of Corsair carbide 300R / Coolermaster cm690. How does this one compare from a cooling and installation point of view? If more or less on a par then great.

- Also not sure about the CPU cooler. I was willing to go £70/80 for a hydro-type to give maximum protection against heat, especially since I want to do some overclocking. This seems a long way short of that ?

Thanks again.
 
Hi Shivy011
Looks like I'm almost there.
I need to make a call on the cpu cooler and the power supply. I intend to take a last look through all the specs this evening with a view to placing an order tonight / tomorrow.
One last question if I may: If I opt NOT to go for the liquid cooler, which case do you reckon is best - 300R or Ronin or is there no significant difference.

Thanks again for your help in this.
ed
 
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