Upgrade path not clear, experience help needed

WlLKO73 · 21 Jun 2013 at 22:10

Hi,

I built my first computer from scratch around last christmas, it was needed for some heavy MatLab, SimuLink work regarding my degree, which is now thankfully finished. Whilst at the time I wanted it to be able to play a few games nicely, its main focus was Maths and Office, a TEX editor and such...

The build is an m-ITX, into the Bitfenix Prodigy, i5-3550, 8GB vengence RAM, MSI 7850 and a corsair 430 CM. Didn't know a great deal at the time, so looked for a really nice case, since it was going to be on my desk and in view of myself, housemates etc all the time.

Not really happy with the prodigy since theres not much I can do with it. I'll hang on to the case and left over components for a NAS build I have in mind down the road but for now I want to game, and game hard!

I've seen the newly announced Corsair 540 case and have been inspired. That, fitted with a corsair AX860, and I can build to my hearts content. I'm thinking dual graphics cards, overclocked CPU and moderate watercooling loop consisting of 360 + 280 rads cooling CPU and 2xGPU.

Once I have the new case (Roll on August!),I'll move everything over from the prodigy and slowly upgrade to the dual GPU beast I have in my mind.

What I'm thinking:

i5 3550 or 3570k OC
Dual 770 SLI (Start with one and add another a year or so down the line)
ATX Motherboard (Not sure which)

Already have a H60, so will leave everything else air cooled for a while and do the watercooling loop last.

I could really do with some experienced help as I'm not sure what to do. Since I'm getting a new motherboard and potentially a new processor, should I make the jump to Haswell?

TL;DR Newbie needs advice on what to upgrade first.

kaku · 22 Jun 2013 at 00:57

Get a 770 asap if gaming is what you want.

The jump from Ivy to Haswell isn't worth it normally, but since you need a new motherboard too you may as well go for the latest tech. If you stayed with Ivy it might be difficult for you to upgrade your 3550 to a 3750k in a cost-efficient manner. I don't know what the second hand market for an i5 3550 would be like since everybody is obviously after the K chips.

snips86x · 22 Jun 2013 at 08:27

Are you looking for an ATX or MATX build?

Also, what is your budget?

I would recommend keeping your current chip and get a new motherboard and look at the 680/770 or even the 7950/7970 as the price vs performance is better.

Something like this maybe?

YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7970 IceQ X² 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H797QM3G2M) £311.99 (£623.98)
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI GENE Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £169.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 350D Windowed Micro ATX Case - Black £99.95
1 x Corsair SP120 Performance Series High Pressure - Dual Pack (CO-9050008-WW) £25.99
Total : £934.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).

MATX:

YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7970 IceQ X² 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H797QM3G2M) £311.99 (£623.98)
1 x Parvum Systems S1.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £139.99
2 x Corsair SP120 Performance Series High Pressure - Dual Pack (CO-9050008-WW) £25.99 (£51.98)
Total : £968.54 (includes shipping : £10.50).

stulid · 22 Jun 2013 at 08:45

snips86x said:
MATX:

YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7970 IceQ X² 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H797QM3G2M) £311.99 (£623.98)
1 x Parvum Systems S1.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £139.99
2 x Corsair SP120 Performance Series High Pressure - Dual Pack (CO-9050008-WW) £25.99 (£51.98)
Total : £968.54 (includes shipping : £10.50).

Im just checking, but I think theres something wrong here.

stulid · 22 Jun 2013 at 08:49

Got it,

The Sniper m3 does SLI/Crossfire, but it uses the green slots furthest apart.

Thus if you put a dual slot card in the last green slot (8X electrically wired) then you will need a case with 5+ expansion slots.

WlLKO73 · 22 Jun 2013 at 09:21

Thanks for the replies so far.

I was looking at Full ATX as apposed to MATX. I would like the ability to do the SLI/Crossfire and have room for a decent sound card. Do ATX board have better over clocking potential, or is it similar across the range?

Budget for the whole upgrade, probably around £1000 but I'm not doing it all in one go. Going to move everything to a new case, then add components over time.

Doubt I could run a 770 off a 430 Watt supply, so that would be first to upgrade.

Thanks for the suggestion of the Corsair Obsidian 350D, but I prefer the look of the Carbide 540, at it potentially offers better water-cooling without modding.

snips86x · 22 Jun 2013 at 14:44

stulid said:
Got it,

The Sniper m3 does SLI/Crossfire, but it uses the green slots furthest apart.

Thus if you put a dual slot card in the last green slot (8X electrically wired) then you will need a case with 5+ expansion slots.

That's interesting.

It would seem they have now changed it on the new Z87 board for slots 1 & 2 which is good news.

olivier renault · 22 Jun 2013 at 20:41

start with single card, upgrade all the rest.