Upgrading PC: Some new parts for gaming

Brankothefat · Jul 12, 2013

Hello everyone.

First of all, I want to say that, even being my first thread here, I've always used Tom's Hardware (and forum) when it comes to PC'ware. So, that being said, I decided to come here to the forums this time and ask you guys some couple of questions and advices for what's gonna be my next upgrade buy.

For the moment, the part of my rig that I want to upgrade is something like this (I can't remember properly my RAM now, and I can't tell you for now, because I'm far from home, and I'm not really sure on what specific RAM is):

MOBO: Gibabyte X58A-UD3R rev 2.0 (I've had my share of problems :-|)
CPU: Intel i7 930
and a couple of old SATA II harddrives.

So, based in what I've searched here and in other sites, I'm thinking of buying this combo:

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
CPU: Intel i5 3570K
RAM: a pack of 2 x 4Gb (8Gb total) Corsair CL9 Vengeance

But at the same time, I still didn't decide on what to buy on the harddrive level.
Do you guys have any advice? I'm thinking of one SSD and a new harddrive (or should I go for a couple and raid them?). Do you have any names? I would deeply appreciate it.

And by the way, if you can, tell me what do you guys think about the MOBO+CPU+RAM combo; if it is nice and non-conflictuous.
My PSU is a Corsair HX850 and my CPU cooler is a Corsair H50; would these both work perfectly? I was assuming they would.

I'm very much appreciated in advance.
Regards,
Ricardo Cardoso.

EDIT: And yes, I'm planning to OC a little.

dannyboy2233 · Jul 12, 2013

I recommend the Asrock Extreme4 Z77 motherboard; will perform just as well, for $50 less. Also, the RAM should be Corsair Vengeance LP RAM, so that any cooler will fit.
The HX850 is extreme overkill unless you plan on doing something like SLIing 780s, so for now that is complete overkill.
The Corsair H50 is most likely going to perform at a lower level than a good air cooler; either get the H100i, or get a nice air cooler (unless you are purely about aesthetics).
As for the SSD/HDD, get a 256 GB Samsung 840 Series SSD (in Raid 0 if you can afford it for super fast write/read times), and then any 1-2TB, 7200 RPM 64 MB cache HDD; the WD Caviar Blue or Seagate Barracuda are good.

Brankothefat · Jul 12, 2013

dannyboy2233 :

Hello Danny, and thanks on the REALLY fast reply.
I'm sorry for not answering earlier, but I couldn't and I wanted to check some of the things you mentioned first.

From what I've seen, comparing both MOBO's, the Asus one has a couple of features more; including (this being said by users) a more user-friendly UEFI Bios than AsRock. Also, it seems (this being said by users - and I could be wrong here) that AsRock has lower quality MOSFETs in the VRM in comparison to Asus'.
Also from what users say, Asus board (and Asus boards "in general") have a little more ease in OC'ing than others. Add that to my bad experiences with Gigabyte, I wanted to go for a "more trustworthy" brand. This being said, I'm not trying to say that AsRock is bad, or that this AsRock's board is bad, but (MAYBE) that the Asus one is better. And, please, feel free to contradict me as that is what I want now, so I can have the best choice. And I still thank you a lot for helping me here. I thought I saw that you have a P8Z77-V PRO; do you? Did you have any major problems with it?

In the RAM part, I think I agree with you, I missed that spot; I did really forget about that point you made (the Low Profile version, so I can have room for any cooler). Nonetheless, are they both (the LP version and the "normal" version) alike? I mean, in terms of performance...

In the CPU cooler part, I'm not merely about aesthetics; I want a good cooler that allows me to have a very stable OC'd system with acceptable temps. So, will I really need the H100i or a good fan cooler? Also, my tower is a CM Cosmos S; will I have any problems here?

As for the SSD, the Samsung 840 was on my list, but I have a couple of questions regarding this area: will I need the 256 GB or around 120 GB is enough? Also, when you said Samsung 840, you meant Samsung 840 or Samsung 840 Pro series?
As for the HDD, I was thinking about Barracuda too, but I think that the store where I'll be buying doesn't have that one, neither the WD Caviar.

Well, that's all of it I think. I'm very pleased and grateful for the help Danny, and I'll be hoping to hear from you again.

Note: Ah!, just remembered, I have the HX850 because, when I bought it, I was thinking of buying the second graphics card, so they advised me to get that one.

dannyboy2233 · Jul 12, 2013

Brankothefat :

Alright, here we go.
First off, thanks for replying as well; you'd be surprised at the amount of people who simply ignore answers.
Second of all, to answer the MoBo question; I do have the z77-V Pro, and I love it; it's been nothing but great, and the UEFI BIOS is very fluid; however, it is slightly overpriced, and since I don't have a huge problem with BIOSes, I might've been better off saving $50 on the Rock. However, if you really want a friendly interface, you can't go wrong with Asus; they DO make great boards.
For the RAM; they will perform exactly the same. In fact, the large heatsinks don't even provide better cooling; it is all just for looks.
For the CPU cooler: No, you won't need an H100i. However, IMHO the H50 is a bad purchase; it is at that point where it is more expensive than air, but doesn't really perform any better. If you only want OCs of up to like 4.4 GHz, then the CM Hyper 212 EVO will be great; if you are going higher, then something like the Noctua DH-14 or some of the Phanteks heatsinks are great. If you want EXTREME OC, then something like the H100i/Kraken X60/Swiftech H220 is the way to go.
For the SSD: I meant the regular 840 Series; it has a much longer lifespan than that which is advertised, and it performs quite well for a relatively low price. However, if price is no object to you, then I would recommend the 840 Pro Series in a heartbeat. For the size: I have a 120GB SSD, and formatted, its size drops to about 100GB. This is enough to store my OS and all my programs, but I have no space for a single game. I recommend either a single 256 GB (for a lot of storage), or perhaps two of them in RAID 0 for super fast read/write times if you've got extra money to blow or something.
Thanks for all the questions!

Brankothefat · Jul 12, 2013

dannyboy2233 :

Hey again Danny!

Hey, from what I can say, I can only say thanks for the help... I mean, that's what it really is: you're helping ME. So, from that part, I have more of a reason to be thankful for.

Moving on to the MOBO. I'm happy to know that you're happy with your board. That gives me an extra "user-assurance"; and that's where I usually look at.
The thing with Asus is: when I was on Asus systems, I rarely had bigger problems. It happened, but not that frequently. On top of all those things I've said on the previous thread, I still look at Asus with "other eyes"; so, I mean, from that perspective, an extra 50 bucks for that assurance is fine by me.

For the RAM: I thought exactly that when you advised me the Low Profile ones. OK, I'll go for it here.

For the CPU cooler: I'm not intending to purchase one H50; I have one already, from my actual rig. So the question was in that direction: should I take advantage of the fact I have one already?; Or should I, anyways, upgrade it?
I'm not thinking of extreme OC'ing. I'll prolly go around something 4.4 GHz or a little higher; which tells me I should go fo the Noctua DH-14. But I think I would have problems with the Cosmos S side-big-fan, I mean, in terms of space (I could be wrong here).

For the SSD: money isn't an issue, and at the same time, is an issue. With this I mean, I still have a budget. I want a good/very good system, but I think it's always wise not to spend "the whole thing" (hard to explain better).
Well, the regular 840 series are a little cheaper than the PRO series, so I could go at least for one of 256 GB. Still don't know about the second.
Other than that, on the HDD question: are there any other HDD? I mean, besides the ones you already mentioned (like Barracuda and WD Caviar; still, I'll look into other stores to check about those).

Again, I'm really appreciated for your help on this matter. I was really needing some kind of guidance here, at the user-level. ;-)
Best regards man. And thank YOU for all the answers.

dannyboy2233 · Jul 13, 2013

Brankothefat :

dannyboy2233 :

Hey again Danny!

Hey, from what I can say, I can only say thanks for the help... I mean, that's what it really is: you're helping ME. So, from that part, I have more of a reason to be thankful for.

Moving on to the MOBO. I'm happy to know that you're happy with your board. That gives me an extra "user-assurance"; and that's where I usually look at.
The thing with Asus is: when I was on Asus systems, I rarely had bigger problems. It happened, but not that frequently. On top of all those things I've said on the previous thread, I still look at Asus with "other eyes"; so, I mean, from that perspective, an extra 50 bucks for that assurance is fine by me.

For the RAM: I thought exactly that when you advised me the Low Profile ones. OK, I'll go for it here.

For the CPU cooler: I'm not intending to purchase one H50; I have one already, from my actual rig. So the question was in that direction: should I take advantage of the fact I have one already?; Or should I, anyways, upgrade it?
I'm not thinking of extreme OC'ing. I'll prolly go around something 4.4 GHz or a little higher; which tells me I should go fo the Noctua DH-14. But I think I would have problems with the Cosmos S side-big-fan, I mean, in terms of space (I could be wrong here).

For the SSD: money isn't an issue, and at the same time, is an issue. With this I mean, I still have a budget. I want a good/very good system, but I think it's always wise not to spend "the whole thing" (hard to explain better).
Well, the regular 840 series are a little cheaper than the PRO series, so I could go at least for one of 256 GB. Still don't know about the second.
Other than that, on the HDD question: are there any other HDD? I mean, besides the ones you already mentioned (like Barracuda and WD Caviar; still, I'll look into other stores to check about those).

Again, I'm really appreciated for your help on this matter. I was really needing some kind of guidance here, at the user-level. ;-)
Best regards man. And thank YOU for all the answers.

Here we go once again

First of all, I wouldn't necessarily say that Asus motherboards have higher quality than the others... At this point, most of them are using the exact same parts from six or so enormous companies, and it really just depends how they present them. In fact, there have been some PCIe lane problems with the Z87 Asus motherboards; however, IMHO the Z77 motherboards (like mine) are spectacular.
If you already have an H50, there is no reason not to use it. If you decide that you want more OC, you can always just upgrade to something larger, like an H80i (which is 140mm and thick), or an H100i (which, as you know, is a 240mm rad).
If you're only going to grab a single SSD, and you've got the cash, go for the 840 Pro Series. I was simply suggesting the RAID 0 cheaper SSDs because regular 840 Series has fantastic longevity, so if you were willing to pay a bit more, you could have nearly twice the performance of the better drive, at about $100 more.
In terms of HDD, there are companies like Hitachi; however, I am very surprised that there is a retail store which does not sell WD and Seagate HDDs; they are literally the biggest names in the business.
Anyway, if you've got any more questions, just give me a holler! I'm glad to be of help

Brankothefat · Jul 15, 2013

dannyboy2233 :

Brankothefat :

dannyboy2233 :

Hey again Danny!

Hey, from what I can say, I can only say thanks for the help... I mean, that's what it really is: you're helping ME. So, from that part, I have more of a reason to be thankful for.

Moving on to the MOBO. I'm happy to know that you're happy with your board. That gives me an extra "user-assurance"; and that's where I usually look at.
The thing with Asus is: when I was on Asus systems, I rarely had bigger problems. It happened, but not that frequently. On top of all those things I've said on the previous thread, I still look at Asus with "other eyes"; so, I mean, from that perspective, an extra 50 bucks for that assurance is fine by me.

For the RAM: I thought exactly that when you advised me the Low Profile ones. OK, I'll go for it here.

For the CPU cooler: I'm not intending to purchase one H50; I have one already, from my actual rig. So the question was in that direction: should I take advantage of the fact I have one already?; Or should I, anyways, upgrade it?
I'm not thinking of extreme OC'ing. I'll prolly go around something 4.4 GHz or a little higher; which tells me I should go fo the Noctua DH-14. But I think I would have problems with the Cosmos S side-big-fan, I mean, in terms of space (I could be wrong here).

For the SSD: money isn't an issue, and at the same time, is an issue. With this I mean, I still have a budget. I want a good/very good system, but I think it's always wise not to spend "the whole thing" (hard to explain better).
Well, the regular 840 series are a little cheaper than the PRO series, so I could go at least for one of 256 GB. Still don't know about the second.
Other than that, on the HDD question: are there any other HDD? I mean, besides the ones you already mentioned (like Barracuda and WD Caviar; still, I'll look into other stores to check about those).

Again, I'm really appreciated for your help on this matter. I was really needing some kind of guidance here, at the user-level. ;-)
Best regards man. And thank YOU for all the answers.

Here we go once again

First of all, I wouldn't necessarily say that Asus motherboards have higher quality than the others... At this point, most of them are using the exact same parts from six or so enormous companies, and it really just depends how they present them. In fact, there have been some PCIe lane problems with the Z87 Asus motherboards; however, IMHO the Z77 motherboards (like mine) are spectacular.
If you already have an H50, there is no reason not to use it. If you decide that you want more OC, you can always just upgrade to something larger, like an H80i (which is 140mm and thick), or an H100i (which, as you know, is a 240mm rad).
If you're only going to grab a single SSD, and you've got the cash, go for the 840 Pro Series. I was simply suggesting the RAID 0 cheaper SSDs because regular 840 Series has fantastic longevity, so if you were willing to pay a bit more, you could have nearly twice the performance of the better drive, at about $100 more.
In terms of HDD, there are companies like Hitachi; however, I am very surprised that there is a retail store which does not sell WD and Seagate HDDs; they are literally the biggest names in the business.
Anyway, if you've got any more questions, just give me a holler! I'm glad to be of help

Hello and thanks again for the reply Danny! I'm sorry for just replying now, but I didn't receive any notification mail, I didn't know.

I've found another store, where a couple of my friends use to buy. They have more acceptable prices and more of the items I wanted/you mentioned. So, I'm going for that. I'm still deciding on the CPU cooler part, but maybe I'll just stick to my H50, which I already have.

I returned home now, so I'll start the "research" so I can advance on the buy.
I'll say something when everything's ready and set. Once again, thanks for all your help and advice Danny. I really appreciate it!

dannyboy2233 · Jul 16, 2013

Brankothefat :

dannyboy2233 :

Brankothefat :

Here we go once again

First of all, I wouldn't necessarily say that Asus motherboards have higher quality than the others... At this point, most of them are using the exact same parts from six or so enormous companies, and it really just depends how they present them. In fact, there have been some PCIe lane problems with the Z87 Asus motherboards; however, IMHO the Z77 motherboards (like mine) are spectacular.
If you already have an H50, there is no reason not to use it. If you decide that you want more OC, you can always just upgrade to something larger, like an H80i (which is 140mm and thick), or an H100i (which, as you know, is a 240mm rad).
If you're only going to grab a single SSD, and you've got the cash, go for the 840 Pro Series. I was simply suggesting the RAID 0 cheaper SSDs because regular 840 Series has fantastic longevity, so if you were willing to pay a bit more, you could have nearly twice the performance of the better drive, at about $100 more.
In terms of HDD, there are companies like Hitachi; however, I am very surprised that there is a retail store which does not sell WD and Seagate HDDs; they are literally the biggest names in the business.
Anyway, if you've got any more questions, just give me a holler! I'm glad to be of help

Hello and thanks again for the reply Danny! I'm sorry for just replying now, but I didn't receive any notification mail, I didn't know.

I've found another store, where a couple of my friends use to buy. They have more acceptable prices and more of the items I wanted/you mentioned. So, I'm going for that. I'm still deciding on the CPU cooler part, but maybe I'll just stick to my H50, which I already have.

I returned home now, so I'll start the "research" so I can advance on the buy.
I'll say something when everything's ready and set. Once again, thanks for all your help and advice Danny. I really appreciate it!

Of course! I'm glad that I could be of help

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