Upgrade or new build ?

RobertM

Hi guys. It's been a while. Think I;ve had my PC for like 3-4 years now and thinking of either upgrading or selling this and build new.

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition
RAM: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666
PSU: XFX 650W XXX Edition
GPU: Sapphire 5850 Vapor-x
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2
Case: Thermaltake V9 (I Really HATE it )


1. What is your budget? Should be around 700 I'd say.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming and twitch streaming in particular.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? no

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Not sure. Parts listed ^

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1680 x 1050 and may upgrade in the future.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Not sure.

8. How can you pay? Any method

9. When are you purchasing? As soon as possible.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Clontarf.



This old setup I can sell it to a friend of mine for like 200 (don't want to charge him anything more since he's a good friend). So that could probably be added to the budget.


Any thoughts ?

Thank you.

BloodBath

A tiny bit over budget but this would be a great upgrade. I'd add a 1080p ips monitor at a later date when you get the chance.

Turn the cpu cooler fan down as much as possible and it should be virtually silent as well.


Item|Price
Alpenföhn Sella - 92mm, AMD/Intel|€18.33
ASRock B85M Pro4, Sockel 1150, mATX|€60.89
HIS R9 280X IceQ Boost Clock 3GB GDDR5 PCI-E DLDVI-I/HDMI/2xMini DP|€267.03
8GB-Kit Team Group Elite Series, DDR3-1600, CL11|€60.43
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.31
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€84.99
Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 Dark Black, ohne Netzteil|€71.15
Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M, 500W|€56.13
Intel Xeon E3-1230v3 Bx, LGA1150, ohne Kühler|€216.07
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€905.32

Xenoronin

Item|Price
Samsung SH-224DB schwarz|€15.70
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€84.99
8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9|€64.04
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€53.03
be quiet! PURE POWER L8 500W|€58.14
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.31
Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150|€204.63
ASRock Z87 Pro3, Sockel 1150, ATX|€79.44
MSI N760 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2GB DDR5|€230.18
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€860.45

Here's a very decent build, similar to my own. I have that nVidia card and it works a treat for anything i've thrown at it so far. The CPU is also great.
I've forgotten to add a cooler, but just check on that site under the CPU accessories.
Alternatively to save money, keep your build. I don't have time to look at it at the moment but I suspect with a CPU, motherboard and GPU upgrade that thing could be flying again, the mobo upgrade might even be optional.

RobertM

Not questioning your builds lads, but would a 500W PSU suffice ? I'm a bit over cautious

BloodBath

Yes both would only use around 350w max. A good quality psu is more important than the wattage.

Xenoronin

Out of interest Bloodbath, would a simple:
FX 8350: http://www.hardwareversand.de/Socket+AM3/68995/AMD+FX-8350+Prozessor%2C+Boxed%2C+Sockel+AM3%2B.article
8gb RAM: http://www.hardwareversand.de/1600+Low+Voltage/125974/8GB-Kit+Crucial+Ballistix+Sport+Series+DDR3-1600%2C+CL9.article
R9 270X: http://www.hardwareversand.de/2048+MB/127776/Gigabyte+Radeon+R9+270X+Battlefield+4+Edition%2C+2GB+DDR5%2C+PCI-Express.article

Optional
Motherboard AsRock 970: http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/79813/ASRock+970+Extreme3+R2.0%2C+AM3%2B%2C+ATX.article

Upgrade not do in this case?

BloodBath

The xeon would come out at a similar price taking into account the better psu, cpu cooler and board needed for an 8350 and it outperforms the 8350 in most areas.

You would want a good 600w psu for the 8350 as well especially if overclocking as it uses around twice the power of the xeon. It can use 200w alone if highly overclocked.

The 8320 would be a cheaper option but I'd still favor the xeon unless you really want to overclock.

The normal 270 is cheaper than a 270x as well and is just lower clocked. If you get one that has 2 x 6 pin power connections they will overclock past 270x levels. I overclocked 3 gigabyte oc models to 1150-1550 on the stock voltage and they all worked perfectly on a low 30% fan speed maxing at 70c in benchmarks, only about 60c in games.

SterlingArcher

BloodBath wrote: »

A tiny bit over budget but this would be a great upgrade. I'd add a 1080p ips monitor at a later date when you get the chance.

Turn the cpu cooler fan down as much as possible and it should be virtually silent as well.


Item|Price
Alpenföhn Sella - 92mm, AMD/Intel|€18.33
ASRock B85M Pro4, Sockel 1150, mATX|€60.89
HIS R9 280X IceQ Boost Clock 3GB GDDR5 PCI-E DLDVI-I/HDMI/2xMini DP|€267.03
8GB-Kit Team Group Elite Series, DDR3-1600, CL11|€60.43
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.31
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€84.99
Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 Dark Black, ohne Netzteil|€71.15
Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M, 500W|€56.13
Intel Xeon E3-1230v3 Bx, LGA1150, ohne Kühler|€216.07
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€905.32

This. Other builds are nice too. But this is the one I'd buy.

RobertM

Okay guys, sold my PC a while back and never got around to get the budget for a new one. So now I have my budget which is 1500 including a monitor.

I'd like to go down 1440p and add another R9 290 in a couple of months which is why I've added a 850W PSU.

Still I've a couple of questions:

1. The mobo chosen, is it good for Crossfire?
2. Not sure about the RAM, ideally I'd like to get the Corsair low profile due to the CPU cooler.
3. The case. I'd like to get a case that has very good cable management and cooling.
4. Monitor. I'd like to get the Qnix 27" 1440P. How does a single R9 290 cope with it ?

Thank you.


Item|Price
Intel Core I5-4670k|€203.83
ASRock Z87 Extreme 4, Sockel 1150, ATX|€119.39
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC, 4GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, full retail|€429.37
8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9|€67.51
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.92
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€74.99
Nanoxia Deep Silence One Dark Black, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€95.10
Corsair Enthusiast Series RM850, Modular, 80 Plus Gold 850 Watt|€131.62
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€29.69
Shipping|€18.99
Samsung SH-224DB schwarz|€14.11
Total|€1237.53

RobertM

Bump

BloodBath

Very solid build. Great choices.

A single 290 will handle 1440p very well. A couple of games might need a couple of settings lowered but you will be fine for most. You can always add a second one later if you want more performance.

RobertM

BloodBath wrote: »

Very solid build. Great choices.

A single 290 will handle 1440p very well. A couple of games might need a couple of settings lowered but you will be fine for most. You can always add a second one later if you want more performance.

Excellent. Wasn't sure about the performance of the single card on 1440p. The second R9 290 will be added in like a month and a half.


Order will be placed tomorrow, so hopefully it should be here by the end of next week.


Thank you.

Blitz17

Would 850W handle 290 CF OC aswel as a 4670k OC ??

RobertM

Blitz17 wrote: »

Would 850W handle 290 CF OC aswel as a 4670k OC ??

I was thinking i was cutting it close. Should I go for 1000w just to be on the safe side?

BloodBath

It would use around 600-700w for gaming I'd say. 850w would be fine but not very energy efficient. 1000w gold or plat would be ideal.

RobertM

BloodBath wrote: »

It would use around 600-700w for gaming I'd say. 850w would be fine but not very energy efficient. 1000w gold or plat would be ideal.

Can you recommend one ?

BloodBath

Not in stock sadly but one of the better cheaper options.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/900+-+1000+Watts/113773/Corsair+Enthusiast+Series+RM1000%2C+Modular%2C+80+Plus+Gold+1000+Watt.article

RobertM

BloodBath wrote: »

Not in stock sadly but one of the better cheaper options.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/900+-+1000+Watts/113773/Corsair+Enthusiast+Series+RM1000%2C+Modular%2C+80+Plus+Gold+1000+Watt.article

I was also looking at a fractal design Tesla r3 80+ platinum. Are they a good quality PSU?

RobertM

Ok so narrowed my choices to:


- Corsair AX1200i
- Antec HCP-1000w
- Seasonic P-1000w


All are 80 plus platinum.

From the reviews all are very good with 5-7 years warranty. Altough Corsair is a bit expensive.

Seasonic seems to be the one to go for.




Opinions ?