What to upgrade next?

Rob Turbo

Rob Turbo

Rob Turbo

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Joined
28 Aug 2012
Posts
354
Location
Durham
I built my current pc late last year and have been upgrading bits and bobs here and there, the spec of the new parts is,

Gigabyte ga-z77-d3h
i5 3570k @4.4ghz
Coolermaster Hyper 612S Cooler
8gb (2x4gb) Kingston HyperX 1600mhz
Sapphire hd 7850 2gb OC edition
Samsung 840 pro 128gb SSD
XFX XXX edition 650w pro PSU
Antec 300 two case
3x Coolermaster 120mm fans (can't remember which ones, they light up green!)
A Chinese fan controller, only one I could find that sort of matched the case
TP-Link TL-WN881ND PCI-E Wireless card
Logitech z506 5.1 speakers
Wireless xbox 360 controller
Razer Nostromo keypad


The bits I'm using from my old computer(s),

1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
LG DVD writer
Viewsonic VA2010wb Monitor (1680x1050, 20")
Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 keyboard and mouse


I'm already planning on getting a new mouse, probably this weekend, so far I think I've decided on the Logitech G500, I have no plans to get a new keyboard, I like the one I have, it does everything I want!

What next? Either an upgrade or addition. You know the feeling, it's never finished! It's not that I have money burning a hole in my pocket, I really don't, anything I decide to get is going to need saving for, it might take until Thursday (payday) or it might take a few months, maybe longer!

So, fire away! :D
 
I don't really have space for a bigger case, I've had to move the shelf under the desk to fit this one in, any bigger and I'll have to take it out and find a new home for everything that was on it!

I'd go for a new fan controller if there's something that won't look out of place.

The graphics card is only about a month old, but yeah, I've thought about it, my first thought was a 2nd hd 7850 in crossfire, I know some people have issues with/don't like crossfire but I've never tried it, 7850's are fairly cheap and IMO very good value for money, where as the 79xx are rather expensive, I'd still like one though!
 
Any suggestions for a monitor? Possibly something with display port in case I fancy getting another 2 at some point, very doubtful but I like to keep my options open.

I think I'll have to wait until the 7970 comes down in price before I consider one, unless I sell my bike and bike gear like I've been thinking for a while!
 
Rob Turbo said:
Just been looking at this, BitFenix Recon Internet-Connected Fan Controller, may be better off starting a new thread for this but I'll try here first, when you turn it off does it turn the fans off or just the display? I'd like to be able to turn the fans off easily and this looks like a nice bit of kit.
Click to expand...

Only the display turns off through the display button. You can turn off all of the fans via a profile with the software, i suggest Phoebetria, you'll lose internet control but i'm bias ;)
 
I don't need the internet control, if I need to adjust fans I'm going to be sat right in front of my pc!

Is it as simple as having a profile with fans set to do whatever and another profile with fans off, then just switch between them to turn them off? Is switching profiles simple or will I have to open software and go through menus?
 
Switch profiles is simple, you have to have the software running but you can choose to have it minimize to the tray and you can change profiles through the tray icon. You actually just made me think of global hot keys assigned to profiles, I will have to see how difficult that would be to implement :)

EDIT: You might also look into the software auto feature of Phoebetria, I have a swauto profile that will actually turn off my fans when the probes go under a specific threshold. They will turn back on if I go above it, but again the software must be running for swauto to work properly !!
 
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Looks like I'll be getting one of them fan controllers then, thanks for the info. I think I'll be in the market for a new monitor next as well.

A 7870 isn't much of an upgrade over my 7850, which overclocks nicely as well, if I happen to come into some money after the fan controller and monitor I'll either be after another 7850 to crossfire or a 79xx and sell the 7850. I doubt that will be any time soon though, I still need to buy a suit for my brother's wedding!
 
If you wanted another addition, without spending too much grab another SSD, same model and run them in RAID 0...

you would shorten the life of them a little, but speeds would be nice... :)
 
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