X58 System - to Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

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Royalneo

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Sep 5, 2014
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Hey everyone, I build this system from scratch back in 2009 and have slowly replaced parts over the years. Recently I've been in a bind about what I should upgrade. I jump from component to component and can't seem to decide on where to go as I read so many conflicting threads. Here is my current setup:


  • i7-920 2.66GHz 1366
    EVGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard
    CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W
    Cooler Master V8 CPU Fan
    Mushkin Redline 12GB DDR3 1600
    Hitachi GST Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
    A second older HDD where I keep my games
    HAF 922 Case
    Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHZ OC 6GB DDR5


    I added the 7970 about a year ago and it is a beast. I have an extremely slow boot process and an occasional (yet repeated) clicking noise coming from the tower that I haven't been able to pinpoint. I have limited funds and generally sell the parts that I can make a profit off of to help fund the upgrade. We also have a home server and an HTPC in the home, but those are fine. Another thing is that while I have OC'd my CPU, I'm not sure how well that V8 works as I've had some problems over the years.

    Do I dump X58 and get a new mobo and cpu? (pricey)
    Stick with x58 and upgrade the cpu?
    Replace the HDD with an SSD?
    Replace the CPU Fan?
    Upgrade the RAM?
 
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FastGunna
Pretty much all good CPU coolers put out a ton of heat because they are taking the heat away from the CPU. The CPU cooler itself will not generate any considerable amount of heat because its just fans on a stack of metal fins.

If you want quiet, either http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h55 or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww are good options on the water cooling side, assuming you want all the weight of the cooler off your motherboard. My personal preference between the 2 is the H60 because it comes with a 5 year warranty where as the H55 only comes with a 2 year.
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RaDiKaL_

RaDiKaL_

Splendid
Apr 17, 2006
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"extremely slow boot process and an occasional (yet repeated) clicking noise coming from the tower"

Sounds like your HDD is dying, make a backup of all critical data just in case.

Your system is good overall, your CPU can handle every modern game/program you throw at it with no issue at all (specially if OCed).

I'd say to get an SSD to improve boot/loading times, as for your V8 CPU fan, monitor your temps on idle and also under stress, most likely is still good but might need to replace the thermal paste as it wears off after a couple of years of use.
 
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Royalneo

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Sep 5, 2014
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I've used it on several mobo's and I've never liked the mounting system, plus the thing is huge and heavy and has warped a mobo in the past. The problems are more of...I don't care for it, then anything.

I have 2 hard drives in this sytem. One has the OS and the other has data / games on it. It is rather slow loading startup software, which isn't a lot, however if I try to open a browser during that boot up period nothing will open. Suddenly 4 Browser windows will open (because I clicked it so many times) once everything loads. After that the system is smooth, except for user error with modding. A failing HDD has crossed my mind, however hardware tests have come up with nothing and the system never randomly crashes. Every once in a while there is a repeated clicking noise, which is completely random.
 
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FastGunna

FastGunna

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Jun 25, 2013
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Its not uncommon for HDDs to make clicking noises, its not always a sign of failure but it can be. I have a drive thats been clicking for years but has never had any issues. You could try wiping your boot drive and doing a fresh windows install which could speed things back up but I would just get a small SSD to boot off and you'll see an improvement.

For the cooler, if your concerned with it causing damage, id replace it or add support to it.
 
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Royalneo

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Sep 5, 2014
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Looks like the SSD is a must. My only question is - I like to install OS on one drive and Games on another. Any disadvantages to that? Should the SSD be for the OS or the rest of my data?

Also, now that I'm home I've determined there is no clicking noise - It's a variable humming noise. When I open the case and stick my head close to it I can't tell where it is coming from with all the fans - However, once I back away it is really noticable.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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May 11, 2012
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OS definitely goes on the SSD, thats the far and away most common usage in consumer systems. Sticking general "files" on an SSD is wasting its performance, you want stuff the needs to be accessed quickly and/or regularly on the SSD.
So the OS, commonly used programs (browser, steam, Office Suite,etc), games with endless loading screens (Fallout 3, Skyrim) and any working files (for professional applications) on the SSD.
 
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Royalneo

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Sep 5, 2014
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Skyrim and Fallout mods take up a lot of space - That is actually what I'm asking about. I currently keep my steam games and all the mods on my second hard drive.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
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I was surprised that Fallout 3 GOTY only took up 8GB, who knows with mods though.
This is where the judgement call comes in, is it worth using up SSD space for the speed in that application? You will basically have to make this decision with every software install running an SSD+HDD setup.

Its up to you where stuff goes.
 
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FastGunna

FastGunna

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Jun 25, 2013
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I personally have my OS and a majority of my programs on my SSD, I do have a couple games on there but generally I only put the small games that I don't plan to uninstall (like terraria) and games that I play for long periods of time like battlefield. Everything else goes on a HDD, especially mod heavy games like skyrim, fallout and Minecraft because I'm constantly uninstalling and trying new mods which IMO is a waste of an SSDs writes. Skyrim for example is 6-7 GB, and I had its file size up to 32gb from all the mods.
 
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Royalneo

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Sep 5, 2014
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I like that Kingston SV300S37A/120G SSD, might need two - one for my HTPC because XBMC slugs when loading fanart. Would anyone have any recommendations on a cpu fan? My brother got one of those Corsair H100i's and he seemed to like it, but its a bit pricey. My V8 runs loud and puts out a ton of heat.
 
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FastGunna

FastGunna

Honorable
Jun 25, 2013
532
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Pretty much all good CPU coolers put out a ton of heat because they are taking the heat away from the CPU. The CPU cooler itself will not generate any considerable amount of heat because its just fans on a stack of metal fins.

If you want quiet, either http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h55 or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww are good options on the water cooling side, assuming you want all the weight of the cooler off your motherboard. My personal preference between the 2 is the H60 because it comes with a 5 year warranty where as the H55 only comes with a 2 year.
 
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