Upgrading My PC

Trent10182

Trent10182

Trent10182

Associate
Joined
6 Aug 2012
Posts
49
Location
Falmouth
Hi, i'm going to uni soon and my current rig is a bit too big(corsair graphite 600t.) I'm wanting to move it to a smaller case, could some one help me.

My current build is:

MoBo: Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
CPU: i5-3570K
RAM: 16gb
GPU: GTX 970
PSU: EVGA 550 GS
also a 120gb ssd 1tb harddrive and a h105

During the change I would quite like to upgrade my cpu and storage, I have been thinking a mini-itx case could be exactly what I need, so I would have to change my mobo.
 
Trent10182 said:
I have £1500 for this but the more I save the better really.
Click to expand...

Arguably slightly early to be changing your i5-3570K, however buying a Z77 motherboard for it could also arguably be chucking money away if you'd be upgrading everything in a year or two anyway. Guessing the latter is what you're thinking, unless you'd consider a cheap second-hand Z77 ITX mobo.

I don't know whether your usage would benefit from an i7? But if you want a CPU upgrade then that would be it as moving to Skylake i5 wouldn't be much of an upgrade just now except in a few games. Will you be doing any editing work?

I also don't know if your GTX 970 is handling things fine. It does for me at 1080p. What res is your screen? I wouldn't upgrade GPU just for the sake of it, only if you need to, as there'll be even faster choices within a year or two that you could spend that money on.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £770.14
(includes shipping: £12.30)
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Not the smallest ITX case but the H105 will fit comfortably. Can re-use PSU, and also the other drives if you want.

Go for a better quality/longer warranty SSD like the Samsung 850 EVO if you wish, even though performance-wise it will hardly be noticeable.

Register the mobo for 4 years warranty. There's a cheaper Gigabyte Z170 ITX board but its overclocking ability isn't good according to reviews.

Go for a 7v fan splitter instead of 12v if you value silence more than cooling performance. You need four fan headers in total (H105 fans and pump + 2 case fans 200/140mm) and the board has just two. Or you can get the 12v splitter, try it, and if too noisy transform it yourself to 7v if you're up to it. There are guides on how to do it, on the web.
 
As has been stated, what resolution are you using, games, work related tasks?

Most of the performanced related Mini ITX cases are not the smallest, I would certainly plan and do homework before committing too much. You can get a small ATX case such as the NZXT S340, or a small Micro ATX such as a Silverstone TJ08B-E that are comparable to a few bigger ITX builds.

Not anything I can see wrong with your current system either apart from size?
 
My current resolution is 2560x1080, I am fine not upgrading anything I just thought if I was changing motherboard I would most likely need to change cpu because of the socket.
I mainly need to change the case because there will not be much space in my room and I would like to transport it. I do not mind dropping the h105 for another cooler either.

I play a wide range of games from new to old, I will also be doing a lot of work.
 
Last edited:
Danny75 said:
unless you'd consider a cheap second-hand Z77 ITX mobo.
Click to expand...

Second hand is pretty much the only way you'll get a mitx z77 board. It will be anything but cheap however.

If sff is a non-negotiable, you'd be better off flogging the lot and building new imo, adding to your already quite healthy budget. Could squeeze an i7 and gtx 1080 in there I reckon ;) Though at that res the 1070 would be more than adequate.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,487.87
(includes shipping: £0.00)
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^^Might have to go with a 2.5" HDD and mount it on the floor of the case (there's mounts for it) rather than a 3.5" drive, as I'm not sure if you can fit the radiator and the HDD cage at the same time.
 
Personally I wouldn't bother with a new build. I would get the following:

- ITX motherboard
- Cube/ITX case

As above you will have to go 2nd hand for the motherboard.

You could always look at the one of the above builds and remove the GPU while keeping the one you have. Since you're gaming at 1080p, the 970 will be just fine as would a 1070 if you really felt the need to upgrade.
 
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