Hello and thanks for looking. With the exception of a GPU upgrade a few years ago I have been running this rig for 6 years now and it's due for an overhaul. I have been looking at all the current 'best of' recommendations and other info and am simply blown away by how many more options (and pitfalls) there are on the market today. I am hoping to get some advice on whether the parts I'm looking at are a good fit. I'm also hoping someone will point it out if I'm being stupid and missing something obvious. I have thick skin, don't hold back.
Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP, I would like to order parts by next week.
Budget Range: roughly $750-1000 before rebates and after shipping, I would like to find a balance between low cost and being as future-proofed as possible. Wouldn't we all!
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming is the primary concern, everything else I do isn't system intensive.
Are you buying a monitor: No, mine is old but serviceable and I would rather buy that locally to save on shipping. I'm not worried about it right now.
Parts to Upgrade: Definitely the CPU, Mobo, and RAM, possibly PSU and Case. Probably not the GPU but I am likely to upgrade that within a year.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes! Crap I just bought a OEM Win 7 copy 2 months ago to replace XP.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm comfortable with Newegg but would try others if they were recommended, I haven't looked in years.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska so there is no good local purchase option and shipping is a factor.
Parts Preferences: No real preference, although I'd say Intel for CPU because AMD doesn't have any processors close enough to the top right now.
Overclocking: No for now, maybe in the future.
SLI or Crossfire: No for now, maybe in the future.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, although I have no preference that's just my monitors recommended (max) setting.
Additional Comments: Only games I'm playing now are Guild Wars 2 and Civilization V, but I see some current and upcoming titles I definitely want such Total War: Rome II and Shadows of Mordor further out. I may try another trip through Skyrim if I can play at maximum settings as opposed to minimum settings.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Most of this rig is 6 years old, and it's just time. My kids like Minecraft and this rig can't even handle that very well.
My current case is an Antec Nine Hundred , the original version purchased 6 years ago. I am undecided on whether to stick with it, it is very sturdy and great for air cooling but cable management is not good, setup was a pain and I wish it had washable dust filters.
If I do need a new case I could care less about bling, I like the simple and sturdy ones. I would prefer a big one where I can stick with fans and avoid water cooling. I do like having a window so I can check on dust buildup without removing the cover, but I could go either way.
My first custom built rig sounded like a jet engine when it was on, I don't mind fan noise as long as it's constant. Those Dell's that kick their fans on intermittently though, those suck.
My current PSU is a OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX 12V. I have never had issues with it but it is 6 years old and I'm not sure if it will have the juice to run my new components. With a PSU I'd rather be safe than sorry.
My current GPU is a Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 with 2GB Ram. Far from top of the line but I am currently taking a wait and see on whether to upgrade or not. I also was wondering if picking up a 2nd one for an SLI pairing might keep me from having to buy a high-end GPU for awhile longer. If I can find another one.
Here's my old CPU and Mobo if anyone is interested! Intel Core 2 E6850 Dual CPU 3.0 Ghz & Asus P5N-E SLI.
For my new CPU I was thinking of the Intel i7-4770k. While I read that there isn't a big performance upgrade over the Intel i5-4670k for the money, I don't want to mess with the CPU or Mobo for a long time so this is one spot I'd rather pay more for a longer life span.
For CPU cooler I like the looks of both the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and the Enermax ETS-T40-TB. This is another area of concern though, I see reviews stating that some of today's CPU coolers can block out RAM slots or push into other components. I'm not sure if either of these is a good fit for my CPU/Mobo combo.
The choices for Mobo are truly dizzying, and this is where I really felt the need to tap out and get some help. I like the looks of the MSI Z87-G45 but honestly I just saw it won a bunch of awards, there could be a better choice that I'm not seeing. It's also included in a combo deal with the i7-4770k on Newegg right now.
I currently have this Ripsaw 2x4 GB DDR3 RAM in my cart at Newegg, but I only picked it because it's part of that 3 pack combo on Newegg. If left to my own designs I would pick one of the 2x8 GB options, but that's probably more than I need right?
Edit: Forgot to mention I don't need an Optical drive or Hard Drives, I had to replace the DVD drive fairly recently and have 4 TB of HD's.
If I stick with my current choices then it's $521 for the cpu/mobo/ram combo, another 40 or so for the Cooler and 30 for shipping so just about $600. I have a decent amount of spending room left. That being said, I wouldn't mind saving some of that money if I don't need to spend it!
Please give me whatever feedback you want, I've been out of the game too long.
Thanks for looking!
Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP, I would like to order parts by next week.
Budget Range: roughly $750-1000 before rebates and after shipping, I would like to find a balance between low cost and being as future-proofed as possible. Wouldn't we all!
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming is the primary concern, everything else I do isn't system intensive.
Are you buying a monitor: No, mine is old but serviceable and I would rather buy that locally to save on shipping. I'm not worried about it right now.
Parts to Upgrade: Definitely the CPU, Mobo, and RAM, possibly PSU and Case. Probably not the GPU but I am likely to upgrade that within a year.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes! Crap I just bought a OEM Win 7 copy 2 months ago to replace XP.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm comfortable with Newegg but would try others if they were recommended, I haven't looked in years.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska so there is no good local purchase option and shipping is a factor.
Parts Preferences: No real preference, although I'd say Intel for CPU because AMD doesn't have any processors close enough to the top right now.
Overclocking: No for now, maybe in the future.
SLI or Crossfire: No for now, maybe in the future.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, although I have no preference that's just my monitors recommended (max) setting.
Additional Comments: Only games I'm playing now are Guild Wars 2 and Civilization V, but I see some current and upcoming titles I definitely want such Total War: Rome II and Shadows of Mordor further out. I may try another trip through Skyrim if I can play at maximum settings as opposed to minimum settings.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Most of this rig is 6 years old, and it's just time. My kids like Minecraft and this rig can't even handle that very well.
My current case is an Antec Nine Hundred , the original version purchased 6 years ago. I am undecided on whether to stick with it, it is very sturdy and great for air cooling but cable management is not good, setup was a pain and I wish it had washable dust filters.
If I do need a new case I could care less about bling, I like the simple and sturdy ones. I would prefer a big one where I can stick with fans and avoid water cooling. I do like having a window so I can check on dust buildup without removing the cover, but I could go either way.
My first custom built rig sounded like a jet engine when it was on, I don't mind fan noise as long as it's constant. Those Dell's that kick their fans on intermittently though, those suck.
My current PSU is a OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX 12V. I have never had issues with it but it is 6 years old and I'm not sure if it will have the juice to run my new components. With a PSU I'd rather be safe than sorry.
My current GPU is a Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 with 2GB Ram. Far from top of the line but I am currently taking a wait and see on whether to upgrade or not. I also was wondering if picking up a 2nd one for an SLI pairing might keep me from having to buy a high-end GPU for awhile longer. If I can find another one.
Here's my old CPU and Mobo if anyone is interested! Intel Core 2 E6850 Dual CPU 3.0 Ghz & Asus P5N-E SLI.
For my new CPU I was thinking of the Intel i7-4770k. While I read that there isn't a big performance upgrade over the Intel i5-4670k for the money, I don't want to mess with the CPU or Mobo for a long time so this is one spot I'd rather pay more for a longer life span.
For CPU cooler I like the looks of both the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and the Enermax ETS-T40-TB. This is another area of concern though, I see reviews stating that some of today's CPU coolers can block out RAM slots or push into other components. I'm not sure if either of these is a good fit for my CPU/Mobo combo.
The choices for Mobo are truly dizzying, and this is where I really felt the need to tap out and get some help. I like the looks of the MSI Z87-G45 but honestly I just saw it won a bunch of awards, there could be a better choice that I'm not seeing. It's also included in a combo deal with the i7-4770k on Newegg right now.
I currently have this Ripsaw 2x4 GB DDR3 RAM in my cart at Newegg, but I only picked it because it's part of that 3 pack combo on Newegg. If left to my own designs I would pick one of the 2x8 GB options, but that's probably more than I need right?
Edit: Forgot to mention I don't need an Optical drive or Hard Drives, I had to replace the DVD drive fairly recently and have 4 TB of HD's.
If I stick with my current choices then it's $521 for the cpu/mobo/ram combo, another 40 or so for the Cooler and 30 for shipping so just about $600. I have a decent amount of spending room left. That being said, I wouldn't mind saving some of that money if I don't need to spend it!
Please give me whatever feedback you want, I've been out of the game too long.
Thanks for looking!
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