Upgrading PC / mostly new build

Littledog · 3 Oct 2013 at 14:26

Hi all,

I am looking to update my aging I5 750 based pc to something a bit faster to cope with the new generation of games. I'm a big Battlefield gamer and BF3 was taxing enough and BF4 is even more taxing. My I5 750 is currently mildly overclocked to 3.2gig as ive never been able to get it stable any faster, my current (quiet) case and jumble of hard drives and cables probably doesnt help

this is my current pc;

Intel i5 750
Asus P7P55D Motherboard
MSI GTX 670
Corsair XMS3 (4x2GB)
Antec P180 Case
Fenrir Titan CPU cooler
Corsair HX620 PSU

Drives
Crucial M4 SSD 64GB (Windows)
Sandisk Extreme SSD 240GB
1x Western Digital WD Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200
1x Western Digital WD Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200
1x Western Digital WD Green WD20EARX 2TB
generic DVD drive

I am planning on replacing everything but the drives as i'm budget limited and think the drives should still be ok really.?

I 'may' add another gtx670 for sli or make do with my current one until the new amd cards come out to see whats what. With that in mind i want the option to SLI even if i don't end up using it, I think i need to replace my current psu for both Haswell compatibility and enough power for SLI but i'm not sure whats the best to go for, it must be modular though. Also im still unsure whether to get the corsair h100i or go for a big air cooler like the Phanteks Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler (or similar).

Ive been reading other peoples similar threads over the past week or so and have come up with the following list of components, i need a sanity / compatibility / advice check please! (I want to be able to overclock but not massively)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £158.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £134.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD316G2133HC11ADC01) £129.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £94.94
Total : £920.27 (includes shipping : £17.85).

I'm not sure about the motherboards really either ive been thinking between these 3 but don't really know whats best, I don't mind spending £30 or £40 more for a better board but if there's no point i may as well not!

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £163.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £158.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
Total : £454.37 (includes shipping : £9.50).

Any help or advice appreciated, thanks.

fowler002 · 3 Oct 2013 at 14:53

Nothing really wrong with your choices tho you could save money by going 8gb of ram unless you happen to be doing things that require lots of ram, if this is for gaming only then you could drop the CPU to the 4670k tho the 4770k gives some extra future profitability for when the games start taking advantage of extra cores/threads (especially if you'll be going sli/xfire/multi screen).

hakank68 · 3 Oct 2013 at 15:30

i would suggest you dont get a big air cooler, it completely destroys the aesthetics of your pc and may cause problems with ram compatibility

Doomedspeed · 3 Oct 2013 at 15:57

hakank68 said:
i would suggest you dont get a big air cooler, it completely destroys the aesthetics of your pc and may cause problems with ram compatibility

Just don't pick silly high RAM, the teamgroup he's looking at will fit easier under every big air cooler.

Whether it detroys aesthetics or not is a matter of opinion..

BIg air coolers are better value for money than the H80(i)/H100(i)

oceaness · 3 Oct 2013 at 16:37

I don't understand why manufacturers still insist on making high profile ram, I believe they could still make it look just as good, in lots of colours and keep it low profile without affecting it's ability to do it's job.

I love all the 1600 MHz Avexir on this week only, all low profile and different colours and patterns and all good timings too

pastymuncher · 3 Oct 2013 at 16:44

Heatspreaders on DDR3 is just for aesthetics surely? My Sammy greens are naked and barely get warm.

oceaness · 3 Oct 2013 at 16:46

My thoughts exactly :confused:

To be fair I think the Greens are actually more efficient anyway and generate less heat. But still I think on the whole you could achieve lovely themed builds with nice aesthetics without high profile ram.

Edit: With regard to the question about the three boards. I doubt any one is much different from the other. Personally I'd pick the one you picked, as an orange themed build would look awesome.

Cue Ethermaster...

hakank68 · 3 Oct 2013 at 17:21

Doomedspeed said:
Just don't pick silly high RAM, the teamgroup he's looking at will fit easier under every big air cooler.

Whether it detroys aesthetics or not is a matter of opinion..

BIg air coolers are better value for money than the H80(i)/H100(i)

i guess you are true about it being an opinion, there are some air coolers which do look ugly but some of them , i gotta admit look really good.

Doomedspeed · 3 Oct 2013 at 18:43

I think something along this sort of theme would look nice.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £163.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £134.99
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Red £69.98
1 x Patriot Venom Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0KRD) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 24pin ATX extension 30cm - Grey/Silver £8.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 8pin EPS extension 45cm - Grey/Silver £5.99
2 x BitFenix 6+2-Pin PCIe Extension 45cm - sleeved silver/black £5.99 (£11.98)
Total : £603.31 (includes shipping : £17.85).

BTW: im completely in love with the UD4H

EDIT: or maybe black cables.. (just not red)

hakank68 · 3 Oct 2013 at 22:51

Doomedspeed said:
I think something along this sort of theme would look nice.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £163.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £134.99
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Red £69.98
1 x Patriot Venom Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0KRD) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 24pin ATX extension 30cm - Grey/Silver £8.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 8pin EPS extension 45cm - Grey/Silver £5.99
2 x BitFenix 6+2-Pin PCIe Extension 45cm - sleeved silver/black £5.99 (£11.98)
Total : £603.31 (includes shipping : £17.85).

BTW: im completely in love with the UD4H

EDIT: or maybe black cables.. (just not red)

+1 awsome colour theme

Doomedspeed · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:00

See you do like air coolers after all!

Littledog · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:03

Thanks for the input guys looks like im not too far off with my choices so far and i havent made any major **** ups, it must be 4 years or something since i last specced a pc...

I think i may drop back down to 8gig of ram, the teamgroup stuff i picked seems to get a lot of recommendations in builds on the forums which is why i picked it!

Is 750w PSU enough for sli gtx670's ?

I just need to decide between the Gigabyte UD4H motherboard and the Z87X-OC one now i think, theres only a few £'s diff between them. (Then i can pick red or orange ram

)

Finally still pondering the h100i vs a big air cooler, theres pros and cons to both i guess. The corsair 750d is out of stock atm so i have some more time to decide.

I will stick with the i7 rather than an i5 for future proofing reasons really as it looks like more games are going to be utilising more than 4 cores/HT, certainly Frostbite does already.

Oh and thanks Doomedspeed for for suggestion i may have to splash out on some of those extension cables when decide between orange or red lol!

Doomedspeed · 3 Oct 2013 at 23:08

No worries,

750w is plenty for 2 670's..

Whichever motherboard you choose you've made a great choice.. and like you say you can get RAM and cables to go with both.

the 750D sold quickly, may have been mine and Ethel's fault!

honosuseri · 4 Oct 2013 at 02:41

The UD4H is a good mobo but the X-OC is better and being cheaper whilst on offer it's a no brainer......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £158.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD316G2133HC11ADC01) £129.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £114.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
Total : £881.78 (includes shipping : £22.45).

Another good case from Corsair with excellent watercooling potential and a lovely side window.

The refurb'd H100 still offers great cooling for the price, I've used the saving to upgrade it's fans. When the pump eventually fails I'd look to do a custom loop and re-use the 240mm rad from the H100.

As my basket is cheaper you might like to inject some colour with braided extensions etc. Hope this helps

Littledog · 4 Oct 2013 at 15:22

honosuseri said:
The UD4H is a good mobo but the X-OC is better and being cheaper whilst on offer it's a no brainer......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £158.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD316G2133HC11ADC01) £129.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £114.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
Total : £881.78 (includes shipping : £22.45).

Another good case from Corsair with excellent watercooling potential and a lovely side window.

The refurb'd H100 still offers great cooling for the price, I've used the saving to upgrade it's fans. When the pump eventually fails I'd look to do a custom loop and re-use the 240mm rad from the H100.

As my basket is cheaper you might like to inject some colour with braided extensions etc. Hope this helps

Oh god, just when i had thought i was sorted now youve got me thinking about upgrading fans :rolleyes:

p.s That is a nice case i agree but due to location (under my desk and next to my legs) i need to stick to a standard tower design.