New $1700 build or upgrade existing?

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Hey guys.. Just have a few questions.. I have an older PC which i build many years ago. The parts are listed below.. My question is.. Is it worth upgrading that OLD SYSTEM with better parts? or am I better off selling it for $350 to a family member assembling a brand new one with a budget of around $1700? I'm not sure what to do. I'm debating and need suggestions. Don't really like shelling out $1700 for a new system when I can make a decent affordable upgrade.

I basically just want to have the versatility of playing Secondlife (With high settings) GuildWars2, Elder Scrolls Online, and maybe a few of the 3D shooter games on the market right now (or within a year or 2) with moderately decent FPS at 1920x1080 resolution. I'm also not really into overclocking as I like my stuff to run cool.

I know this is alot to look at.. But i've been outta the loop for 6-7 yrs and am now deciding at an upgrade so suggestions from PROFESSIONALS is needed.. :0
Thanks

OLD SYSTEM

1. Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

2. ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045

3. Corsair 4 GB of XMS2 RAM (2x)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

4. EVGA NVidia 260 GTX (superclocked) (mine has 2 GB of ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433

5. Corsair HK620W Modular PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

6. Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM HD (Primary HD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

6. Western Digital Caviar 1 TB 5400 HD (Secondary HD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151

7. Lian Li V1000 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112058

8. Zalman 9700 CPU Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118020

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NEW POTENTIAL BUILD
This is the new system I am looking into but am kinda stingy of shelling out $1700 :\ Any recommendations on upgrade/downgrade improvements?

1. Intel I5-3570K CPU $ 224
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

2. ASUS Z77 Motherboard $ 129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

3. Corsair Vengence 4x8GB (32 GB Memory) $ 269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233238

4. Asus GTX670-DC2-4GD5 GeForce 4GB $ 439
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121659

5. Corsair HX 750W PSU $ 139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

6. Intel 240GB 520 Series Cherryville SSD $ 269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167086

7. Cool Master Storm Sniper Mid Tower Case $ 159
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194

8. Zalman 9900 CPU Cooler (I prefer air) $ 77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118074

TOTAL $ 1705

Guest · May 22, 2013

This is terrible build for 1700$.. For 1200$ I could get you GTX680 and i7 3770k at least. i5 and 670 for that much money is TOO MUCH.

You said you're not into overclocking? Why wasting 77$ into a custom cooler? You waste too much on branded RAM and PSU..32 GB RAM? Get 16GB of RAM and you won't have to worry about it next couple of years.

X79 · May 22, 2013

Sell the old, buy the new.

Someone Somewhere · May 22, 2013

Sell the old - grab the 1TB drive out of it and use it for storage.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Mid Tower Case ($165.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1260.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 05:09 EDT-0400)

Use the remainder to buy yourself a nice awesome screen/peripherals at some point.

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Can you really? for $1200 ? The OLD System I i had since 2007 and lasted me until now.. So i like quality.. But if you can spec a system like that for $1200, by all means bro, spec.. I just started to dabble again with this PC stuff yesterday so I'm still researching. Open to any suggestions.. Thanks

My system now is virtually noisless.. The case fans barely make any sounds if at all.. Only when it gets hot outside the gpu/cpu fan starts to spin.. I like quiet btw.. So plz keep that mind

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Someone Somewhere :

Actually thought about doing that.. Is there anywhere I can shave some $ off the items of the new potential build? Like, I don't know if I really need 32 GB of Ram... or a 240 GB SSD.. I just put this rig together based on peoples reviews from Newegg.. I'd like my next PC to last me for about 5 yrs.... I would like quality and don't mind paying a lil extra for slightly slower but more reliable components...

X79 · May 22, 2013

You don't need anywhere near 32GB unless you're doing some serious heavy-lifting
in the form of various 3D programs or whatnot. Even 8GB would be superb. 16GB for a
bit room to breathe in too. Or "for fun".

An SSD would do you really well, but they're expensive. Even just a 128GB SSD would be
great, paired with a 1TB HDD. Lots of storage AND lots of speed too.

Lastly, do get Windows 8, since you're wanting it to last several years. Winodws 7 won't
be supported anymore soon.

Someone Somewhere · May 22, 2013

You really don't need 32GB of RAM, unless you plan to use a RAM drive and render to it.

240-256GB is nice in giving you some breathing room over a 128GB, though storing movies on it won't work too well. You could also go to an 840Pro, which is slightly faster and more reliable (uses MLC, not TLC NAND).

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

Darlok9 :

You definitely don't need 32 GB of RAM. 8 will see you in good stead. A 128 GB SSD is what we usually recommend to folks, though you have enough spare budget to afford it, if you want it. This would be my recommendation:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1161.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 07:51 EDT-0400)

I have a question, however: do you want to overclock? I note that your original build uses OC-friendly components, while the recommended price cuts thus far have sacrificed overclocking.

Marcopolo123 · May 22, 2013

case and hdd dont have to be replaced
Wait for HASWELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tripple screen setup is beast

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($90.52 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($159.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($159.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($159.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1775.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 07:58 EDT-0400)

1730$ when everything bought from newegg

Someone Somewhere · May 22, 2013

Yes, but if he can sell the old build for $350, he might as well get a new case & SSD. Note I also suggested keeping the 1TB drive.

Yeah, Haswell is a good idea.

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

Marcopolo123 :

Why would he go for triple screen off a single graphics card? Or at all, for that matter? I can understand including multiple monitors if the OP wants a multi-monitor configuration, but surely we shouldn't be trying to instruct them as to their monitor layout.

Edit: We are in agreement about Haswell, however.

Marcopolo123 · May 22, 2013

well maybe he changes his mind... singel gtx 670 can run tripple screen with the correct settings.

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

Marcopolo123 :

By "correct", I assume you mean "low". Why do you keep trying to sell people builds which can't keep up with their monitors?

Marcopolo123 · May 22, 2013

mid/high/highest settings 40+ fps average possible

Mashari · May 22, 2013

go easy on ram make it 16GB, don't buy ssd the only remarkble diffrence is in booting and copying files, 7200RPM hdd will just fine, cheaper case, upgrade to GTX 680 dc2T

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

Marcopolo123 :

And you consider that to be superior to max settings and 60+ FPS on a single monitor? Why invest so much and end up unable to max games on your standard monitor resolution?

Marcopolo123 · May 22, 2013

because there is no difference between high and ultra

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

Marcopolo123 :

Even if that were true (which it isn't), there is a rather significant difference between medium and ultra, as well as between 40 FPS and 60 FPS.

SamGriffiths · May 22, 2013

Eyefinity/Surround really takes it out of your graphics card, you should really stop telling people to get Eyefinity/Surround unless they ask for a build with it. I also wouldn't wait for Haswell, it's going to be 30% more expensive and 10% faster so there's not much point.

Sell the old system, keep the 1TB HDD for movies and music and stuffs and then the SSD should store all your games and your OS. On that note do you need an OS?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($473.74 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($449.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1577.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 08:50 EDT-0400)

Jack Revenant · May 22, 2013

SamGriffiths :

Eyefinity/Surround really takes it out of your graphics card, you should really stop telling people to get Eyefinity/Surround unless they ask for a build with it. I also wouldn't wait for Haswell, it's going to be 30% more expensive and 10% faster so there's not much point.

Sell the old system, keep the 1TB HDD for movies and music and stuffs and then the SSD should store all your games and your OS. On that note do you need an OS?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($473.74 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($449.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1577.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 08:50 EDT-0400)

+1 on Eyefinity, but I don't believe that you're correct about the Haswell prices. Last I heard, the 4670k was going to be $230 or so.

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Jack Revenant :

Darlok9 :

You definitely don't need 32 GB of RAM. 8 will see you in good stead. A 128 GB SSD is what we usually recommend to folks, though you have enough spare budget to afford it, if you want it. This would be my recommendation:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1161.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 07:51 EDT-0400)

I have a question, however: do you want to overclock? I note that your original build uses OC-friendly components, while the recommended price cuts thus far have sacrificed overclocking.

Thanks bro! I'll look into those.. And Yeah I thought I would overclock but after seeing my friend struggle to overclock his AMD CPU + GPU a long time ago and getting crashes left and right, (artifcating in games) I kinda never bothered. I do like my system to run cool.. I'm in NYC and although it's not Arizona it does get a lil hot in the summer and I hate when the fans spin up and make lots of noise.

I haven't heard of some of the stores you mentioned where to get parts. Thanks!

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Someone Somewhere :

Thing is.. I'm not sure (haven't researched yet) if I need alot of ram.. but I am an avid SecondLife user.. It's a 3D virtual chat world with player built SIMS.. So everytime I go to a new SIM It needs to renders/loads all the new Textures etc which can constantly change. So i'm not sure if a bigger Ram pool would help.. I know for 3D shooter FPS games 8 or 16 GB is probably enough, but not too certain about SecondLife.

I was told by a friend that INTEL Makes superior SSD's in terms of quality. Is the 840 Pro really better?

bigbang · May 22, 2013

16gb is more than you can possibly use unless you do calculations/high resolution image editing etc. stick with new build but dont spend so much, get an upgradable kit

Darlok9 · May 22, 2013

Marcopolo123 :

Marco.. I don't need a 3 Monitor Set up man.. I have a nice 24 INCH DELL which is one and a half years old and it's Awesome! I might however upgrade to a 27 inch in the future but I'm not sure.. I was told going bigger than 27 is not worth it as it will make me move my head too much. I always thought newegg is the way to go when purchasing components.. Never heard of the other companies.. Will definitely need to check those to see whether paying S&H from diff retailers warrants the Newegg markups.

New $1700 build or upgrade existing?

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