Upgrade Help

weirdGuy

weirdGuy

weirdGuy

Associate
Joined
7 Mar 2012
Posts
49
Location
Hereford, UK
So, last week my PC turned 5 years old & as a present the harddrive decided to fail on me. Luckily I had an SSD I picked up in a deal a while back just waiting around for Win8 to be released, so I got everything back up & running. But the whole fiasco has finally set my mind on upgrading after months of deciding.

I've got a few questions I need answering & am just curious what people would upgrade to with my sort of budget.

Current Specs
  • Intel Q6600 2.4GHz
  • Asus P5K Mobo
  • 6GB DDR2
  • ATI 6870 1GB
  • Enermax Galaxy 850W PSU
  • 250GB WD Caviar
  • 256GB OCZ Agility

I'm looking to spent upto £1000, but I can go a little over if need be, obviously though I've got a few parts on my current build that I want to keep such as the ssd, hdd & graphics card.

Below is an idea of what I'm personally thinking of upgrading to.

I'm gunning for a 2011 core as I do a lot of motion graphic & 3D work along with a lot more gaming, am I right in thinking this core would strike a good balance?

I've left out a PSU & Case, as I'm not too sure what to go for. PSU's have always been a pain for me, I messed up choosing one on my first build & the idea of picking the right one has haunted me since, so I need one of those.

As for a case I've got an Antec 900 currently, but it just feels so small. I'd like an E-ATX/XL-ATX sized case but don't really know anyone with one so any suggestions are welcome. I'm looking for a case that obviously has good cooling, but has a lot of options for cable management.

Other than what I've listed above & suggestions are welcome, I just really want some help/advice before I go & waste my savings. :D

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x ASRock X79 Extreme4 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £167.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9) £79.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) (CWCH60) £59.99
Total : £559.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 
Afternoon,

The first comment I want to make is if you are completing allot motion graphic & 3D work then your GPU will be the bottleneck for the 2011 system.

Your current card isn't bad but the latest cards and drivers are a big step up and with the current cost of the HD7950 range with the games included then it may well be worth a look for what you want.

The next is, the Hydro H60 isn't really worth a great deal in my opinion. You either step up to the H100 dual Rad or go for a full loop. The dual rad will fit nicely in a E-ATX case so the extra performance is worth it.

RAM is your friend for what you are doing so it might be worth investing in some nice 4x8GB cards.

Below is a quick selection of what I would pick for your budget assuming you didn't change card. It is a little over budget but you would see the benefits in the motion graphic & 3D work.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x G.Skill RipJawsZ 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C9 2133MHz Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL9Q2-32GBZH) £219.95
1 x ASRock X79 Extreme7 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £214.99
1 x Seasonic 860w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £169.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £86.98
Total : £1,088.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).



I haven't included the HD7950 but should you want to do that as the next upgrade then that would be an outlay of around £250 and as said would give you a great boost for both rendering and gaming.
 
Thanks for the info!

The parts I listed in my first post were basically the lower end of what i was looking at. I think what you've got there is a more realistic idea of what I'll end up getting. I've pretty much only planned on keeping my 6870 til Christmas as its just an expense I can't afford right now.

Also, I'm only looking for a new PSU so I can keep running the current PC in another room, theres also the fact I've had to replace the fan 4 times...
 
Oh my bad I completely glided over that when reading the post:(

So yeah you could save £170 that way and put money towards a new GPU.

Although saying that I don't like non modular or semi-modular PSU's. I have one currently and it is the bane of my cabling life.

So yeah if you kept the PSU you have then this would work;

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795F3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x G.Skill RipJawsZ 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C9 2133MHz Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL9Q2-32GBZH) £219.95
1 x ASRock X79 Extreme7 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £214.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £86.98
Total : £1,168.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Again, total is a little more but worth it in my opinion.
 
lol was typing while you was explaining but yeah my first list then plus the HD7950 when funds would allow. Is pretty much where I am heading with my system but I am watercooling with a custom loop.
 
Ha, well thanks again for the ideas.

I will probably end up with the PSU you suggested. Mostly due to the fact my current one, is also the bane of my cabling life. :D
 
I would read some reviews on the 2011's if I were you (just so you don't take what I say now as fact)

I read somewhere that the 3820 was no real improvement on the 3770k. The 3930k is the best chip to get for your needs. The review I read also said it justified its price in the relative performance difference over the 3820.

Like I say, make sure that im not talk complete rubbish. :). Worth looking at though.

Is the 3930k within your budget atall?
 
I'll have a look around at some reviews to be sure, but from what I've read the 3820 is just better for my needs down to the hyperthreading, cache size & quad channel RAM.

I might be wrong, I haven't read up on things in such a long time. But thanks for the suggestion.

As for the 3930k, maybe, doubtful though. Everything comes down to how far I want to push my student loan/savings. ><
 
I would have suggested the 3930k over the 3820 because it is a good step up but the price does reflect this. The 3820 is the same chip but has two less cores. It still overclocks very well with people able to hit the high 4GHz and some even getting close/around 5GHz.

There is no major improvement over the 3770k and if anything the 3770k stays ahead of the 3820 but the 3820 is the cheaper chip set now and has more opportunity to improve the cpu at a later date with a higher end model when funds allow should you wish so.

Looking at the details http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=523 though and you can see that the 3770k is slightly ahead most the time so it depends if you want to spend the extra and have no upgrade path?
 
Last edited:
 
Having a bit more time to check some details and to think about what you could do then if you don't believe you are going to be upgrading your CPU in the next 2-3 years then maybe the i7-3770k would be the better option. You could save the money on the motherboard to even out the extra cost of the cpu and have a small performance gain.

Something that I haven't asked but are you wanting to watercool your system with a full loop later and are you going to play with overclocking? This may make a difference also between the two recommendations.

Also if you went for the 1155 socket you could use memory thats rated at 1600MHz so 32GB is more affordable also for yourself.

On a note about the above. I can't comment on the motherboard as I haven't used it. The Antec 1100 isn't the same quality as the NZXT. Check out TinyTomLogans video on youtube for a review of the NZXT and it will show the quality of the case.

The H100 will keep your CPU cooler than the heatsink and personally looks better. It is also a good way to get into water cooling. It should be noted that you do need some fluid by the way which is something that I hadn't mentioned before.

Corsair Dominator, G-Skill & Patriot are the only memory cards I suggest but that is more because I have used them allot before compared to the others and never had issues. TeamGroup is also another good shout though and the mid range cards seem to have good reputation. I find their pricing for the higher quality cards to be too much compared to the others though so take some time to check the pricing out.

Anyways with all that said this is the 1155 socket build I would do:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x HIS HD 7950 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795F3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Seasonic 860w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £169.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
2 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel kit (PV316G160C9K) £89.99 (£179.98)
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £86.98
Total : £1,222.56 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
Curlyriff said:
Having a bit more time to check some details and to think about what you could do then if you don't believe you are going to be upgrading your CPU in the next 2-3 years then maybe the i7-3770k would be the better option. You could save the money on the motherboard to even out the extra cost of the cpu and have a small performance gain.

Something that I haven't asked but are you wanting to watercool your system with a full loop later and are you going to play with overclocking? This may make a difference also between the two recommendations.

Also if you went for the 1155 socket you could use memory thats rated at 1600MHz so 32GB is more affordable also for yourself.

On a note about the above. I can't comment on the motherboard as I haven't used it. The Antec 1100 isn't the same quality as the NZXT. Check out TinyTomLogans video on youtube for a review of the NZXT and it will show the quality of the case.

The H100 will keep your CPU cooler than the heatsink and personally looks better. It is also a good way to get into water cooling. It should be noted that you do need some fluid by the way which is something that I hadn't mentioned before.

Corsair Dominator, G-Skill & Patriot are the only memory cards I suggest but that is more because I have used them allot before compared to the others and never had issues. TeamGroup is also another good shout though and the mid range cards seem to have good reputation. I find their pricing for the higher quality cards to be too much compared to the others though so take some time to check the pricing out.

Anyways with all that said this is the 1155 socket build I would do:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x HIS HD 7950 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795F3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Seasonic 860w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £169.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
2 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel kit (PV316G160C9K) £89.99 (£179.98)
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £86.98
Total : £1,222.56 (includes shipping : £14.75).

Click to expand...

I believe he mentioned he doesn't need to upgrade the GFX and the PSU is suitable. The high-end RAM you've specified isn't necessary and H100 doesn't come recommended.
 
If you re-read the posts the PSU is required for the current computer and he would like a modular one due to cabling so that is my recommendation. It is probably the best performing PSU for price out there at the moment.

The GPU was as discussed in my previous comments if you wish to read where I said that his current one would be the bottleneck for the work/gaming this machine is capable of compared to the CPU/RAM ability. He also stated that he would be looking around xmas maybe to upgrade so thought I would show the total costs to give the idea. This can easily be changed but shows what I would personally upgrade too at a later date if can't stretch at the moment.

I believe the OP is aware from our previous comments etc.

The RAM I recommend is there because I have used it before and know what it is like. I haven not used the ones previously linked and do not know enough about that but the OP can Google it or ask for experience as required. I just happen to like and recommend the products I have personally used so that is what I would choose knowing it is a great performing memory.

Also if he is doing 3D rendering while other activities sometimes the extra RAM is required. I have had 3D models I have rendered that would take allot longer without the extra RAM. Admittedly not allot use it and he could at this current time likely run off 16GB just fine but that again is by choice and would save some further cash.

I also think the H100 for an initial foray into watercooling is a good step to understand the difference between the heatsink and a full loop. If there was an extra £100 ish I would have recommended a proper loop. Maybe he can drop the extra RAM and the GPU for now and the budget would allow for a CPU loop that would be more effective. That can be discussed if the OP wishes.

In regards to the actual quality/ability of the H100. It doesn't dramatically improve over the heatsink but it will slightly. It looks clean and you can set it up so the pump runs off the fan control to keep the unit quite. It is never going to perform like a proper loop but its £87 not £200+.

I wouldn't select the smaller units that the OP originally linked because you wont get the performance without the fans on maximum which are too noisy. But you can keep them running low and your only going being around 6 degree at stress more. Again you can also replace the fans for something like the apache black fans and they can be switched out to a full loop should he wish at a later date.

Anyway's, just my opinions and reason for what I have selected.

Kind Regards,

Adam

P.S this is a watercool looped PC that the OP could run. Sacrifice the extra 16GB ram, remove GPU as stated above and of course the H100 but this would be a nice build if the op wanted to do his own loop for some extra fun.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x Seasonic 860w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £169.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Big Tower Case - White £139.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel kit (PV316G160C9K) £89.99
1 x EK-D5 X-RES 140 CSQ - Acetal £59.99
1 x EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £56.99
1 x Alphacool Laing D5 Vario Pump 655 - NO TOP £56.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 240 £35.99
2 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £13.99 (£27.98)
1 x Mayhems X1 UV Oil Black Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99
6 x Bitspower Premium G1/4" "Stubby" High Flow 7/16" Fitting - Black Sparkle Finish £3.98 (£23.88)
2 x XSPC 7/16" ID [16/11mm] High Flex Hose - Clear £2.99 (£5.98)
Total : £1,071.46 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
On another note if you prefer a bay res loop for something different then this would an option and save you £57 on the above build so would also be closer to your initial budget. The bay res are generally louder, the pump isn't as good but that is what the cost brings. It can also make a cleaner look with a bay res though with an internal pump.

YOUR BASKET
1 x XSPC X2O 750 Dual Bayres/Pump (Black) V4 £59.98
1 x EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £56.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 240 £35.99
2 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £13.99 (£27.98)
1 x Mayhems X1 UV Oil Black Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99
6 x Bitspower Premium G1/4" "Stubby" High Flow 7/16" Fitting - Black Sparkle Finish £3.98 (£23.88)
2 x XSPC 7/16" ID [16/11mm] High Flex Hose - Clear £2.99 (£5.98)
Total : £230.21 (includes shipping : £9.50).



Edit: this is a link for the H100 with standard and Noctua fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qAvH3yJ_A8&feature=fvwrel

Edit 2: Again last point at least for tonight before I think of something else. There are kits available with all the parts pre set. There are 3 that you would be worth taking a look at:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-172-EK&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-143-XS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-041-OE&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom