looking for SSD & GPU (possibly more)upgrade advice

degrassinoel

Hey,
I've been thinking about upgrading my gpu for a while now but i'd also like to get myself a reasonable sized SSD - this is my current rig spec - anything else i should be looking at?

CPU: i7-4820l @3.70.Ghz
GPU: GeForce GTX 780
8GB ram (4x2 1600mhz z DDR3 Quad channel)
Running dual monitors @ 1920x1080
1TB Sata 6g/s 7200rpm 32mb cache

As it is right now, the machine runs pretty well, though i have been noticing some stuttering and graphic lag/low FPS on high/ultra custom with games like Warhammer:Total War, Deus Ex:MD. load times in both are killing me though, 2-5 minutes in some cases. And cannot record or stream while either game is playing or the load times and graphic issues multiply.
Any help at all would be great, thanks


I've just included the relevant questions below

1. What is your budget? [€600-1000, preferably on the lower side]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/streaming] recent AAA's at ultra while streaming/recording.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [No]

8. How can you pay? [Credit Card/Cash]

9. When are you purchasing? [immediately/this month]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [North Dublin]

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (€76.07 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€153.76 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card (€466.94 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €696.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 13:15 CEST+0200

Drop the RAM to DDR3-1600 @ CAS 8 or 9 if your motherboard can't run higher speeds.

degrassinoel

I'm reasonably confident with replacing the memory and SSD, just not sure about the video card - anything i should need to know or is it a fairly simple operation? remove the old card, insert the new one? nothing else?

Wasn't sure about the CPU, and that'd probably be the one part i'd not be comfortable with replacing at all

RoyalMarine

degrassinoel wrote: »

I'm reasonably confident with replacing the memory and SSD, just not sure about the video card - anything i should need to know or is it a fairly simple operation? remove the old card, insert the new one? nothing else?

Wasn't sure about the CPU, and that'd probably be the one part i'd not be comfortable with replacing at all

Will need to remove drivers. There's some good automated tools that will remove them.

Shutdown
pop out the card.
Connect via on board graphics
Boot up
Remove drivers
Shutdown
Insert new card
Install latest drivers.

TerrorFirmer

That's not even really necessary, just uninstall drivers, remove card, insert new one and install latest drivers. No need to use the onboard in-between.

K.O.Kiki

degrassinoel wrote: »

I'm reasonably confident with replacing the memory and SSD, just not sure about the video card - anything i should need to know or is it a fairly simple operation? remove the old card, insert the new one? nothing else?

Wasn't sure about the CPU, and that'd probably be the one part i'd not be comfortable with replacing at all

Your CPU is pretty beast, won't need replacing for a good few years.

golfcaptain

Hi,

Sorry if you already know but don't forget to ground yourself or otherwise discharge yourself before/while touching electronics. You can pick up a wrist strap for a couple € or just touch something grounded (eg metal part of metal appliance) before and few times during the job.

Re the SSD do you plan to move everything to it? Depending what hard drive you have another option would be to have smaller SSD for OS and use HD for Data. 500GB EVO is a solid drive suggestion though.

Ciaran

degrassinoel

ah yeah, wouldn't be my first rodeo thanks though

the ssd is mainly for steam/origin/blizzard launcher etc.. i'm debating whether to use it for the OS too

Xenoronin

The answer to your debate is yes. Flat out, yes.

degrassinoel

why's that?

golfcaptain

degrassinoel wrote: »

ah yeah, wouldn't be my first rodeo thanks though

the ssd is mainly for steam/origin/blizzard launcher etc.. i'm debating whether to use it for the OS too

Personally id always start with os on ssd. That way your boot up, program loads and file read/writes should be faster. Then you can choose whether to put games there too if space/cost allows. You can also put some games on ssd and leave others on hdd. Generally games that take ages to load (or read intensive) you'd put on ssd first (gta/witcher/skyrim/far cry/battlefield).

In terms of performance improvements for games you'll definitely appreciate the loading time improvement on bigger games especially.

What mobo you have?

Disclosure: I'm selling ssd at moment but not recommending to you as not right for your needs.

degrassinoel

standard board that came with an alienware aurora r4, other than that i have no clue

golfcaptain

degrassinoel wrote: »

standard board that came with an alienware aurora r4, other than that i have no clue

If you have/can download a program called 'cpu z' it will show you. I can show you how to check without installing anything also if don't want to install. Reason I suggest that program is it shows you a lot of info about your hardware which you can check before and after you upgrade your parts. Just make sure you download it from cpuid.com and check it doesn't ask to install any other software.

Without knowing mobo you may end up with incompatible parts or you may overspend for faster parts your mobo can't fully utilise (eg RAM speeds). You've a healthy budget so like to see you get most out of it.

Serephucus

I'd go with:

Palit GTX 1070 GameRock
Another 8GB of the RAM you have
and whatever capacity 850 Evo you can get with what's left over.

I have that 1070, and it's a stonking card. Absolutely massive cooler, and is the quietest 1070/1080 out there to boot.

No point getting different RAM than what you have now. Assuming your board has 4 slots, you might as well keep what you've got and expand, rather than buying a new kit.

You can go for other SSDs, the 850 Evo is just a good bang/buck. I'd also absolutely use it as an OS drive first, and absolutely would not use it for games while leaving your OS on a spinner.

degrassinoel

i'll have a gander at the ram so, i'm fairly sure i've got 2 sticks of 4gb and two free slots

K.O.Kiki

degrassinoel wrote: »

i'll have a gander at the ram so, i'm fairly sure i've got 2 sticks of 4gb and two free slots

Now that I have a Palit 3-slot card - yeah, get that unless you want EVGA's warranty.

The coolers on them are utterly silent.

degrassinoel

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Now that I have a Palit 3-slot card - yeah, get that unless you want EVGA's warranty.

The coolers on them are utterly silent.

What would you go for yourself? - sorry that sounded stupid xD - what would ye go for yourself with my rig?

K.O.Kiki

degrassinoel wrote: »

What would you go for yourself? - sorry that sounded stupid xD - what would ye go for yourself with my rig?

https://www.computerbase.de/2016-07/geforce-gtx-1080-partnerkarten-vergleich-test/4/#diagramm-lautstaerke-beim-spielen

Palit/Gainward's 3-slot cooler is 5-6dB quieter(since Decibel scale is logarithmic, this means it would be perceived as twice as quiet).

Looks like it's also 9-10c cooler than EVGA's.

However, EVGA have an RMA base in the UK iirc, so if anything ever goes wrong they might be better to deal with.

tl;dr: up to you :pac:

degrassinoel

not too fussed so long as it's not aerlingus jets on ultra settings

i'll probably go with evga - murphy's law and all