~$1,000 Upgrade to Gaming PC (GPU, CPU, Mobo...)

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Pork Chop Sandwiches

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While 4k gaming would be nice, my goal is to play any current game at 1920x1080 @ 60Hz , max settings, and 60 fps average. To facilitate this request, I've copied and pasted the suggested template below:

Approximate Purchase Date: This week.
Budget Range: ~$1,000.00 USD
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Primary list includes GPU, mobo, and CPU. Open to any additional suggestions such as SSD, memory, power supply, etc.
Do you need to buy OS: No (Non-OEM, transferable)
Preferred Websites for Parts: www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com, Fry's Electronics (brick-and-mortar)
Location: Bay Area - California
Parts Preferences: Heavily leaning towards Intel i5 versus comparable AMD processor. Also, this time around, I believe I'd prefer Nvidia's GTX series over AMD's Radeon.
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (leaning towards single-card GPU unless a good reason is given to consider otherwise)
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Why I am Upgrading: Gaming PC is getting long in the tooth, so to speak. ;)

Before posting, I've perused several articles in line with my topic and have made a short-list of potential must-have purchases listed below:

Potential Primary Upgrades:

CPU: Intel i5 4690k
GPU: Option #1: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G (Single-card, or SLIx2 config)
GPU: Option #2: MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G
Mobo: ASUS Maximus VII Hero LGA 1150 Intel Z97


Additional Comments: Premium for aesthetic appeal is fine to a point, but once again, my main criterion is gaming performance (i.e., 1920x1080 @ 60Hz , max settings, and 60 fps average for any current game.) Please feel free to make any suggestions where I could best upgrade my gaming PC relative to my current components.

Current Gaming PC

Mobo: MSI 790FX-GD70
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb Quad-Core 3.2GHz] With ZALMAN CNPS9500 heatsink
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 With ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme IV GPU cooler
Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
PSU: CORSAIR TX750W
HDD1: Western Digital WD VelociRaptor 300GB 10k - Boot Drive
HDD2: Western Digital WD Black 500GB 7200rpm - Storage
HDD3: Western Digital WD Black 1TB 7200rpm - Game Storage
ATX Full Tower: Antec 1200 v1


Other miscellaneous items include an old 24" ASUS monitor, 1920x1080 @60 Hz, Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit), a very nice DAC, headphones, keyboards, mice, etc. that do not need to be upgraded.

I look forward to your suggestions. Thank you for your time!

 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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Jan 4, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($116.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $989.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 05:34 EST-0500
 
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i7Baby

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CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($151.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $1014.65
 
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Pork Chop Sandwiches

Pork Chop Sandwiches

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Thank you for your suggestions. It seems as though some of them aren't exactly upgrades (e.g., suggested memory, 1TB hdd, PSU, and ATX case). Please, correct me if I'm mistaken, but it would appear that the money saved on these non-upgrades would be better spent on perhaps a better GPU or better RAM?

edit: Thanks for pointing out the 4690k over the 4670k as that is what I actually meant. Updated my original post.
 
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Pork Chop Sandwiches

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Interesting. Would I be able to use my current Antec 1200 ATX Full Tower with the suggested CPU cooler? Also, you would also prefer the i7 4790k over the i5 4670k strictly for gaming?
 
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i7Baby

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Pork Chop Sandwiches

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I'll do a search on potential water cooling options some may have used with their Antec 1200 towers and see what I can find. I'll check out those links you posted regarding gaming with a Core i7, too. Thanks!
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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i would not reuse your tx power supply. the memory is cas 8 1600 which is quite speedy. otherwise if you keep some of your parts and save $100, then you just drop a 4790k in there. the gtx970 is as high as you need to go. you could go with 16gb of ram, but that is unnecessary. maybe move to a fractal r4/r5 case. but your gaming performacne wont change at all since your already topped out with an unlocked i5 and 970.
 
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Akhlys

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Only a few games make full use of all 8 or more cores. Its up to you, if you do 3D rendering or video editing, the multiple cores will surely come in handy. For now, i5-4690K for overclocking.
Since you are playing games at 1080P, I would suggest you go towards GTX 970. It handles everything at really high setting combined with an i5-4690K like a dream. Hell it maxes out games at 1440p (excluding crysis 3). If you do want to play at 4K later, you can always get another 970. I did so and then got a 980. Waste of money to buy the one 980. Go with Gigabyte WINDFORCE edition.
The motherboard? It depends on what you require. If you are overclocking, you need a Z87 or Z97. Z97 has more support (some mobos). If you have want an SSD, you may want an M.2 port. To be on the safe side, I had go with an MSI Z97 Gaming 5 or Asrock extreme6, if you have the money. The asus ROG series have too much unnecessary bells and whistles that are not relly required. Again, that depends on what you really want.


My preference:
i5-4690K
MSI Z97 Gaming 5. (Looks really good)
Gigabyte GTX 970 WINDFORCE
Throw in a few fans if you are doing serious OCing.
An SSD is a good improvement.
And better RAM. Like G.Skill Ripjaws X series DDR3-1866

Asus Maximus are just waste of money in my opinion. Save some money and go with a Samsung SSD. GTX 970s in SLI are not needed bcuz you are not playing in 4K.

Peace, all the best for the upgrade
 
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Pork Chop Sandwiches

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You wouldn't recommend re-using my current PSU due to the years of use its already had? The 750w PSU you recommended would seem to be fine for OC'ing my CPU and GPU. For a bit more future-proofing and potential dual SLI configurations, what do you think would be a good investment wattage wise?

If you think the upgrade in memory would be quite noticeable, then I'm surely open to the suggestion. From what I read, the "low profile" version seems to be ideal all things considered. The SSD upgrade seems like a no-brainer at least as a boot drive and perhaps my most played games. Prices have come down a lot! I'll do some more research on potential setups with your suggested parts.
 
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As things currently stand, this PC is still going to be strictly for gaming. It's looking more and more like the Core i5 4690k will be my processor of choice, but I'll do a bit more research on games that really make use of the added cores of an i7 where it's noticeable as well as any upcoming titles that plan to benefit from this.

I figure it's hard to go wrong with even a reference board GTX 970. That having been said, is there a particular reason you prefer the Gigabyte Windforce Edition over, say, the MSI or ASUS version? Also, what wattage PSU would you recommend if I wanted the option to run two of these babies in an SLI configuration with the ability to safely OC both of them as well as the Core i5 4690k?

Overclocking is a must-have option for my mobo, but as you say, I don't need unnecessary bells and whistles that I'm not going to take advantage of. As long as it's not cost-prohibitive, I wouldn't mind spending a slight premium for aesthetics, though.

I'm really looking forward to an SSD upgrade. I haven't had much time to read up on the best configurations so I was hoping you could chime in on your thoughts as I start to do my research. What are the benefits of the M.2 port specifically and do certain SDDs take advantage of it over others?
 
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Pork Chop Sandwiches

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From an aesthetic point of view, I have to say that I'm loving the MSI Z97 Gaming Series mobo. It's gorgeous. The ASRock Z97 Extreme6 is also quite appealing. I've always been a fan of all-black PCBs. In a perfect world, red accents would normally win out. However, blue accents would fall closely behind. Their price-to-performance ratios seem to be inline with what I'm looking for while acknowledging the slight premium for the aesthetics.

I was planning on sticking with my Antec 1200 case initially. I have to admit that cases have come a long way. Many current cases add a lot more versatility I've noticed such as rig configurations, bays for SSDs, easier water cooling options not to mention far more efficient removal of fan filters. I would go about two weeks to a month between cleaning my Antec 1200's fan filters due to the inconvenience.

I'm still looking at options for potential cases, but man, the quality and engineering in the Fractal cases I've seen so far is incredibly impressive! Quite elegant and well-made much like the two Lian-Li cases I've owned in the past. Time to do more research. :)
 
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