- Jan 4, 2015
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I'm planning on upgrading, or rather, rebuilding my existing setup. I'm looking for help with the selection of new components.
Current situation and history
I bought my current rig in 2007. I've since upgraded my video card once, added storage and an SSD for the OS. This has left me with a system that's perfectly capable of doing most tasks: Office, internet, most games. But for some of the newer games, the age is really starting to show.
My general usage is mostly light: internet use and Office applications, occasional playback of video files (but I mostly use my rPi + NAS + TV for viewing media) and games: classics from GOG.com, Football Manager, Civ4, Dragon Age and the newly released Elite: Dangerous. I'm considering something like Telltale's Game of Thrones, and I'm completely not into any FPS or MMO at all. It's games like Dragon Age and Elite: Dangerous where I'm seeing significant drops in performance.
Current setup:
Target
Performance
The main measure (because whatever I build, I'll be happy with simple internet and office use) will be the ability to play games like DA:Inquisition and Elite: Dangerous at highest detail levels at 60Hz@1080p. I'm not looking at replacing my current display any time soon, so this will be my target platform for a few years to come.
Upgrade path: As you can tell from my previous build, I'd like this build to last into the next decade. I won't be happy if I have to discard this platform before the end of 2020. I will expect to upgrade a few components to extend lifetime: graphics card has always been the usual suspect to upgrade first, but additional memory or some other new technology (SSD was a huge improvement) are all things I'll gradually improve on if I feel the setup needs another boost after a while. I can't see myself going for 4K anytime soon, but if I do, I'll accept that I probably need to upgrade both my display as well as my graphics card.
Other considerations
I don't care for overclocking. I don't believe I'm currently doing anything that benefits much from that.
SLI is also something that's only marginally important. It might be a little important in my upgrade path: I would have the option to go for SLI in the future instead of going for an entire new graphics card. It's definately only a Nice to have-feature and no deal breaker.
Component selection
Choices and my thought process, per component to be upgraded:
Graphics card: Asus STRIX GTX970 4GB
I'm starting the build with video and the current best bet seems to be GTX970. I have had a nice run with ASUS, so that would be the ASUS STRIX GTX970 4GB card.
CPU: Intel core i5-4460
This seems to be the price-performance sweet spot right now and I don't think I'll miss any overclocking features.
Cooler: ???
Nothing fancy is needed I suppose. I don't mind a slight hum, I usually have some background music or headphones on anyway, so I won't notice it. Suggestions?
Motherboard: ??? ATX
Please help! I know very little here, except that I like bigger board because I like space when I actually have to go inside the case. That means ATX. No mATX for me.
Memory: 2x4GB DDR3-1600, cheapest of any reputable brand
My old DDR2 is no use right? So I will need new RAM as well. 8GB is my target. Most games are still 32bit, so I won't be needing any more. If the future demands more memory, I'll buy extra then. Obviously the memory should match the max CPU / Motherboard specs (DDR3-1600). Will any module from a reputable brand (Corsair, G.skill, GeIL?) do? I'm guessing I won't see much difference on lower timings, so it's just a price thing. Is dual channel 2x4GB the best way to go? With the possibility to add another 2x4GB (or even 2x8GB, depending on future developments) in the future.
PSU: 500W - 550W
PSU I'd like to keep as well, but I don't think I can: The Zalman product page says Dual PCI Express VGA Power 6-Pin Connector. That's not good enough, is it? Something around the 500-550W will probably be the thing I'm aiming for. The GTX970 says it needs a 500W PSU and these specs are usually on the safe side. So even if I have three HDD's and a DVD player, I'm still not doing anything major and should stay well within the 500W. 550W at the max: anything more is way overkill and will just eat into my energy bill for nothing. Suggestions?
Additional cooling: not needed
Case comes with 1x12cm and 1x8cm case fans. Overheating has never been a problem, unless I've let the dust build up way too long. And in those cases, the dust was the obvious problem, not the lack of airflow.
Case: no upgrade (Chieftec Giga GX-01B ATX)
I'd like to keep my case. I've grown used to it and there is no need to replace it. Unless the graphics card won't fit: the ruler is at the height of the current graphics card and the green arrow points at 28cm, measured from the rear panel of the case. 28cm is what ASUS says the board is. Because the board dimensions should include the rear panel bit, I should have a little slack. But I can always move my 3.5 bays to a the three free 5.25 bays in a bracket if needed.
That's all I have for now. Please help!
EDIT:
Budget: approx 700-800 euro
Budget is not a major concern; I've already narrowed down the main costs by zooming in on GTX970 and i5-4460. If your suggestion tops the 800 euro I'll be surprised, but it's not a show stopper. Obviously, this shouldn't go to the 1000 euro, but I consider this new build a tool where I have a very set limit to what I can afford.
EDIT2:
Time of purchase: 2015Q1: Most likely in January or February at the latest. I'm unlikely to wait till March.
Current situation and history
I bought my current rig in 2007. I've since upgraded my video card once, added storage and an SSD for the OS. This has left me with a system that's perfectly capable of doing most tasks: Office, internet, most games. But for some of the newer games, the age is really starting to show.
My general usage is mostly light: internet use and Office applications, occasional playback of video files (but I mostly use my rPi + NAS + TV for viewing media) and games: classics from GOG.com, Football Manager, Civ4, Dragon Age and the newly released Elite: Dangerous. I'm considering something like Telltale's Game of Thrones, and I'm completely not into any FPS or MMO at all. It's games like Dragon Age and Elite: Dangerous where I'm seeing significant drops in performance.
Current setup:
Chieftec Giga GX-01B ATX tower
Athlon 64 X2 5600+ CPU
MSI K9N motherboard
6GB DDR2 main memory
ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO video card
DVD, SSD, 1 WD 250GB drive, 2x Seagate 1TB in RAID1
500W Zalman PSU
Target
Performance
The main measure (because whatever I build, I'll be happy with simple internet and office use) will be the ability to play games like DA:Inquisition and Elite: Dangerous at highest detail levels at 60Hz@1080p. I'm not looking at replacing my current display any time soon, so this will be my target platform for a few years to come.
Upgrade path: As you can tell from my previous build, I'd like this build to last into the next decade. I won't be happy if I have to discard this platform before the end of 2020. I will expect to upgrade a few components to extend lifetime: graphics card has always been the usual suspect to upgrade first, but additional memory or some other new technology (SSD was a huge improvement) are all things I'll gradually improve on if I feel the setup needs another boost after a while. I can't see myself going for 4K anytime soon, but if I do, I'll accept that I probably need to upgrade both my display as well as my graphics card.
Other considerations
I don't care for overclocking. I don't believe I'm currently doing anything that benefits much from that.
SLI is also something that's only marginally important. It might be a little important in my upgrade path: I would have the option to go for SLI in the future instead of going for an entire new graphics card. It's definately only a Nice to have-feature and no deal breaker.
Component selection
Choices and my thought process, per component to be upgraded:
Graphics card: Asus STRIX GTX970 4GB
I'm starting the build with video and the current best bet seems to be GTX970. I have had a nice run with ASUS, so that would be the ASUS STRIX GTX970 4GB card.
CPU: Intel core i5-4460
This seems to be the price-performance sweet spot right now and I don't think I'll miss any overclocking features.
Cooler: ???
Nothing fancy is needed I suppose. I don't mind a slight hum, I usually have some background music or headphones on anyway, so I won't notice it. Suggestions?
Motherboard: ??? ATX
Please help! I know very little here, except that I like bigger board because I like space when I actually have to go inside the case. That means ATX. No mATX for me.
Memory: 2x4GB DDR3-1600, cheapest of any reputable brand
My old DDR2 is no use right? So I will need new RAM as well. 8GB is my target. Most games are still 32bit, so I won't be needing any more. If the future demands more memory, I'll buy extra then. Obviously the memory should match the max CPU / Motherboard specs (DDR3-1600). Will any module from a reputable brand (Corsair, G.skill, GeIL?) do? I'm guessing I won't see much difference on lower timings, so it's just a price thing. Is dual channel 2x4GB the best way to go? With the possibility to add another 2x4GB (or even 2x8GB, depending on future developments) in the future.
PSU: 500W - 550W
PSU I'd like to keep as well, but I don't think I can: The Zalman product page says Dual PCI Express VGA Power 6-Pin Connector. That's not good enough, is it? Something around the 500-550W will probably be the thing I'm aiming for. The GTX970 says it needs a 500W PSU and these specs are usually on the safe side. So even if I have three HDD's and a DVD player, I'm still not doing anything major and should stay well within the 500W. 550W at the max: anything more is way overkill and will just eat into my energy bill for nothing. Suggestions?
Additional cooling: not needed
Case comes with 1x12cm and 1x8cm case fans. Overheating has never been a problem, unless I've let the dust build up way too long. And in those cases, the dust was the obvious problem, not the lack of airflow.
Case: no upgrade (Chieftec Giga GX-01B ATX)
I'd like to keep my case. I've grown used to it and there is no need to replace it. Unless the graphics card won't fit: the ruler is at the height of the current graphics card and the green arrow points at 28cm, measured from the rear panel of the case. 28cm is what ASUS says the board is. Because the board dimensions should include the rear panel bit, I should have a little slack. But I can always move my 3.5 bays to a the three free 5.25 bays in a bracket if needed.
That's all I have for now. Please help!
EDIT:
Budget: approx 700-800 euro
Budget is not a major concern; I've already narrowed down the main costs by zooming in on GTX970 and i5-4460. If your suggestion tops the 800 euro I'll be surprised, but it's not a show stopper. Obviously, this shouldn't go to the 1000 euro, but I consider this new build a tool where I have a very set limit to what I can afford.
EDIT2:
Time of purchase: 2015Q1: Most likely in January or February at the latest. I'm unlikely to wait till March.
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