Best possible upgrade path for my PC

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Jonathan Watson

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Aug 1, 2013
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10,510
Hi guys,

I'm in the process of doing a major overhaul on my PC. I use it mostly for gaming. I was wondering if I can get some input on the best possible upgrade path. Also, I don't have a budget but I'd like to be realistic. Here are my specs:

Processor: Intel i7 920 @ 2.67 GHZ (going to start by overclocking this but have limited experience)

GPU: Nvidia GTX 570 (going to get a GTX 780)

Memory: 6 GB @ 1033 MHZ (I heard anything more than 8 GB @ 1600 MHZ isn't worth it. Is this true? Also can anyone recommend me a some as well as a brand?)

Motherboard: EVGA 132-BL-E758

Power Supply: 600W (Going to get a 1000W power supply)

I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off just upgrading my current PC instead of getting a new one since my processor can be overclocked and comparable to current ones. My memory definitely needs an upgrade as well.

Anyone see any bottlenecks? Also can someone recommend me a good monitor to use at 2560 x 1600?

Any other advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
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H
yep. by the time you take into account the higher latency of the 1600 mhz ram there would be little to no difference in performance. like i said when i oc'd my ram to 1440 i got zero perfomance gain. i did gain a little bandwidth but like i say its a theoretical increase because the system wouldnt ever use it.
i would however suggest you go for 3x4 gig 1333 as it will likely be cheaper than 6x2.
i got my 3 stick of balistix (12 gig) for £52, 3 months ago from ebuyer, at the time the same ram config was selling elsewhere at x2 that price while 12 gigs split into 6x2 would have cost over 3 times that much.
so as long as the ram slot can handle 4 gig dims i would say go for the 3x4 (and that way you can add another 12 gigs if you wish...
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fnatic

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Jun 25, 2013
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10,860
So.. I'd upgrade your PSU to at least 80 bronze certified. 1000 watt PSU? Why do you need something even close to that? Do you ever plan on running SLI or no? Upgrade your RAM as well to at least 8 gbs of 1600 or above if you really want (2x4 set up). You already stated you're going to get a 780 for a GPU. A monitor that size I wouldn't get anything less than 3gb of VRAM.
 
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J

Jonathan Watson

Honorable
Aug 1, 2013
3
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10,510


If an 80 plus bronze certified is all you would think I'd need then that works. I was just unsure whether or not that would be enough of a power supply to handle a GTX 780. Appreciate the input

 
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HEXiT

Champion
Mar 13, 2011
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the i7 920 maxes out its native ram support at 1333mhz so anything above that will be limited to 1 stick per channel limiting you to 3 sticks of ram total(if you have 6 available ram slots. if you looking to fill all your ram slots then you will have to limit the speed to 1333. the advantage here is that you can get much lower latencies. currently i run my 1333 @1440 cas 8 but the extra bump on the memory doesnt actually give me any more performance just more theoretical bandwidth.
as for the kilowatt psu its not needed. 650w is more than enough to run a 780 as long as it has enough amps on the 12v rail/s
so i would recomend you get a lower power but better quality (more efficent silver/gold/platinum) psu.
as for overclocking the cpu its not at all difficult. i run mine at 3.6 on stock volts. all i did was take everything for cpu voltage off auto and set them to the stock manual timings (1.18125v) for the cpu all the way down through the power settings to the ram and set that at 1.5v
end result is my cpu performs just as well as the i7 950 and then some.
 
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J

Jonathan Watson

Honorable
Aug 1, 2013
3
0
10,510


You are correct about the 6 available ram slots on my motherboard. So in your opinion would I be better off using all available ram slots 6 x 2GB @ 1333 mhz rather than 3 x 4GB @ 1600 mhz?

 
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H

HEXiT

Champion
Mar 13, 2011
10,957
13
51,965
yep. by the time you take into account the higher latency of the 1600 mhz ram there would be little to no difference in performance. like i said when i oc'd my ram to 1440 i got zero perfomance gain. i did gain a little bandwidth but like i say its a theoretical increase because the system wouldnt ever use it.
i would however suggest you go for 3x4 gig 1333 as it will likely be cheaper than 6x2.
i got my 3 stick of balistix (12 gig) for £52, 3 months ago from ebuyer, at the time the same ram config was selling elsewhere at x2 that price while 12 gigs split into 6x2 would have cost over 3 times that much.
so as long as the ram slot can handle 4 gig dims i would say go for the 3x4 (and that way you can add another 12 gigs if you wish
later)


if you cant find a 3stick 12 gig set you can get a 2x4 and a 1x4 gig pack and mix them if there exactly the same brand, speed. reason being is they have been in production so long now that there is little or no difference between the 1,2,3 piece ram configs from the same brand and model.
 
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