Upgrade GPU and? Or new build

[Terk]

Hey guys, getting back into computers recently, my last build which is the one I use now I must have built around 3 years ago the specs are:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD

Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black

OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £36.65

Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual
Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU)

OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Corsair Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060007-WW)

Starting comp sci in september at uni so I thought id would be time to treat myself with a nice upgrade or new build? Id rather save the money obviously and go with an upgrade, Im particulary keen on upgrading my gpu to a 970 but how would the rest of the system handle it? would I have to upgrade anything else? also wanted to move the build to a new case and get an SSD. Thanks guys!.

For a new build my budget would be around £700 could go up to £800, also im sure if i were to go with a new build I could reuse some of the components? which ones though? thanks again.

 

[stulid]

Hi,

All you need to do with that is,

• Add a faster GFX card
• Add a SSD
• Overclock that CPU


The board will need to have the latest BIOS flashed onto it as its notorious for needing this done to work with new GFX card releases.

If you dont have an aftermarket heatsink to overclock the CPu then spend £20 and get one.

 

[Terk]

Hi,

All you need to do with that is,

• Add a faster GFX card
• Add a SSD
• Overclock that CPU


The board will need to have the latest BIOS flashed onto it as its notorious for needing this done to work with new GFX card releases.

If you dont have an aftermarket heatsink to overclock the CPu then spend £20 and get one.

Awesome, thank you very much!

 

[Quartz]

To @stulid's list, I would add a second monitor. You will find this most useful with your studies as you will be able to have reference materials on one monitor while you use the other for your work.

 

[Terk]

To @stulid's list, I would add a second monitor. You will find this most useful with your studies as you will be able to have reference materials on one monitor while you use the other for your work.

Already got 2 mate haha just got the other one two months ago but yeah cant wait till I start. Thanks.

 

[maltrabob]

Pretty much what stulid and yourself wrote:

- OC your i5, Sandy Bridge CPUs are still awesome and 4.5GHz on low voltage with your Corsair H60 should be easy
- SSD will give you a massive improvement of system responsiveness, loading games etc.
- new graphics card, GTX 970 won't be bottlenecked by your CPU at all
- your current 550W PSU will handle all of it
- Corsair has a nice range of quality cases for reasonable money, I prefer them but it all depends on your personal preferences like design etc.

 

[Snookums]

Add another monitor if you can. As a student, engineering, I'm even finding two monitors not enough. Gonna buy a third one this summer. As long as space allows it. And yes OC that 2500k I'm running mine at 4.4 ghz but I could easily go a lot higher. What uni you heading to just out of curiosity?

 

[Terk]

Pretty much what stulid and yourself wrote:

- OC your i5, Sandy Bridge CPUs are still awesome and 4.5GHz on low voltage with your Corsair H60 should be easy
- SSD will give you a massive improvement of system responsiveness, loading games etc.
- new graphics card, GTX 970 won't be bottlenecked by your CPU at all
- your current 550W PSU will handle all of it
- Corsair has a nice range of quality cases for reasonable money, I prefer them but it all depends on your personal preferences like design etc.

Thanks mate was actually wondering about my psu thought it would have been too weak felt like I was a bit cheap when I first bought it. Yeah thats exactly why im changing cases, my current one is fine but I really want the corsair 650D

Add another monitor if you can. As a student, engineering, I'm even finding two monitors not enough. Gonna buy a third one this summer. As long as space allows it. And yes OC that 2500k I'm running mine at 4.4 ghz but I could easily go a lot higher. What uni you heading to just out of curiosity?

Sweet well ill see if I need a third one after I start uni would mine it tbh would look good, Cardiff hopefully mate

 

[mahius]

Add another monitor if you can. As a student, engineering, I'm even finding two monitors not enough. Gonna buy a third one this summer. As long as space allows it. And yes OC that 2500k I'm running mine at 4.4 ghz but I could easily go a lot higher. What uni you heading to just out of curiosity?

Sweet well ill see if I need a third one after I start uni would mine it tbh would look good, Cardiff hopefully mate

Cor 3 monitors? Really? Over these past few years, I've known many engineering friends. Nobody has ever really required the use of more than just their small laptops, though a couple of Macbook users also had a monitor as a second screen. I've had a monitor for about a year and haven't really needed it as a second screen, except my final dissertation. Right now I'm using it for it's speakers as my laptop died (just before final exams, ouch) and the tablet I got as a replacement doesn't have loud enough speakers.

Long story short: 2 monitors is more than enough.

Perhaps spend that monitor money on either a Noctua NH-D15 air cooler or a Corsair H110i AIO cooler if it fits in your case. The extra cooling power would help with the overclocking and would also be a bit of future proofing if you do one day decide to get a better processor. For graphics card, the best course of action right now is to wait until all the new cards have been released before choosing. Price drops abound. And I'd recommend a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU) £79.99
Total : £88.69 (includes shipping : £7.25 Ex.VAT).



Finally, good luck with your degree. It's more about the experience and fun than the actual qualification haha! I'm just finishing (next Friday... can't wait!) and I won't be any better for finding an appropriate job. Cardiff is quite close by to me actually...