- Jan 7, 2012
- 100
- 1
- 18,685
Hello again Tom’s!
I’ve asked a few preliminary questions, but I’ve gotten to the point where the pieces are beginning to come together. I am upgrading my Q1 2012 build, shooting for upgraded graphics and speed, while reusing as many existing components as possible.
Below is the 2012 build with its 2014 potential upgrade listed, and my reasoning. Please critique away. The more help the better.
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 --> Corsair Carbide Series 400R (I want more ventilation.)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 --> ASUS Maximus VI Formula (Going for one end of the OC spectrum to the other…the Gigabyte has failed me in terms of ramping up my i5-2500K and when you read the 2013+ reviews, I’m not alone. In early 2012 I was optimistic. The ASUS apparently will help ease me into overclocking by being as user-friendly as a bios can get.)
CPU: Intel i5-2500k --> Intel i5-4690k (Have thought long and hard about keeping the Ivy Bridge processor and just going with a stronger MoBo and actually overclocking it above the 3.3GHz it provides….but the new processors and boards are pretty tempting.)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 --> SWAP (assuming I can – can a CPU cooler be reused??)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 2x 4gb--> SWAP + adding 2 more (4 x 4gb)
GPU: Galaxy GTX 560ti 448core --> I posted a dedicated question on the graphics forum about this very dilemma, but so far there are no replies. I really don’t want to scrap what was a $300-ish GPU and still works…but I didn’t listen to the advice of Tom’s members telling me to buy 2 since they were limited editions. Now, with a SLI capable board, and horrible Heaven/3DMark11 benchmarks (embarrassingly bad), I want to SLI this card with another. BUT this seems to be a problem. Help here would be greatly appreciated.
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB (recently added a Samsung 840 250GB for the O/S) --> SWAP
HDD: WD Caviar Green 1.5TB --> SWAP
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 --> SWAP (unless you think an extra GPU would push the 650 watts beyond capacity.)
By doing the above, without counting a yet-to-be-decided GPU, I’m at about $700. Expensive, but not awful for what will amount to essentially a new computer, without having to reinstall all my software. I would like to learn how to overclock the right way (not just using the supplied software). Just like last time, I’m building a rig for games, media, home office, and internet – a computer that does it all.
Thanks in advance!
I’ve asked a few preliminary questions, but I’ve gotten to the point where the pieces are beginning to come together. I am upgrading my Q1 2012 build, shooting for upgraded graphics and speed, while reusing as many existing components as possible.
Below is the 2012 build with its 2014 potential upgrade listed, and my reasoning. Please critique away. The more help the better.
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 --> Corsair Carbide Series 400R (I want more ventilation.)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 --> ASUS Maximus VI Formula (Going for one end of the OC spectrum to the other…the Gigabyte has failed me in terms of ramping up my i5-2500K and when you read the 2013+ reviews, I’m not alone. In early 2012 I was optimistic. The ASUS apparently will help ease me into overclocking by being as user-friendly as a bios can get.)
CPU: Intel i5-2500k --> Intel i5-4690k (Have thought long and hard about keeping the Ivy Bridge processor and just going with a stronger MoBo and actually overclocking it above the 3.3GHz it provides….but the new processors and boards are pretty tempting.)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 --> SWAP (assuming I can – can a CPU cooler be reused??)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 2x 4gb--> SWAP + adding 2 more (4 x 4gb)
GPU: Galaxy GTX 560ti 448core --> I posted a dedicated question on the graphics forum about this very dilemma, but so far there are no replies. I really don’t want to scrap what was a $300-ish GPU and still works…but I didn’t listen to the advice of Tom’s members telling me to buy 2 since they were limited editions. Now, with a SLI capable board, and horrible Heaven/3DMark11 benchmarks (embarrassingly bad), I want to SLI this card with another. BUT this seems to be a problem. Help here would be greatly appreciated.
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB (recently added a Samsung 840 250GB for the O/S) --> SWAP
HDD: WD Caviar Green 1.5TB --> SWAP
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 --> SWAP (unless you think an extra GPU would push the 650 watts beyond capacity.)
By doing the above, without counting a yet-to-be-decided GPU, I’m at about $700. Expensive, but not awful for what will amount to essentially a new computer, without having to reinstall all my software. I would like to learn how to overclock the right way (not just using the supplied software). Just like last time, I’m building a rig for games, media, home office, and internet – a computer that does it all.
Thanks in advance!
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