Full Upgrade (MoBo, RAM, CPU, SSD, GPU) Recommendations

Schweetness101

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Jul 22, 2013
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10,510
Hello,

I originally posted this in the wrong forum.

Here's my current rig (about 7 years old, except the GPU is about 2 years old, and i just got Win 7):

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q9450 OC'ed to 3.2 GHz
IceQ HD 7850
4 GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM
TX 750W Corsair Power Supply
ASUS Rampage Formula E3559 MOBO
500Gb HDD
Windows 7

I'm looking to upgrade the whole thing pretty soon, probably in the next six months if not sooner. I think that my power supply, although old, should be fine given that it's a 750w Corsair (what do you think?), the HDD is fine, and the case is large with good fans, optical drive, usb ports, etc...(its an old Digital Storm. I forgot the model type, but the case is big.).

I want then a new MoBo, CPU, GPU, Ram, and maybe an SSD (or do you think I shouldn't recycle the case et al because of how old they are now?). I'm looking in the range of these parts, and whatever other near equivalents they have:

CPU: 4460 or 4590 or 4690k
GPU: GTX 960 or GTX 970 or AMD R9 290
Ram: 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz or 1866 mhZ
Mobo: H81 or Z97 or H97 or H87 or...I have no idea, I'm most confused about this part
SSD: no idea, probably 120 or 240 GB, dunno brands, enough for OS and a few games if you think its necessary for the new generation of games

so probably roughly in the $500-$800 range? What's the sweet-spot for price/performance here? The 4690k can over-clock, but it's a little more expensive, and to do so I'll need an after market fan and a better MoBo than the 4590 requires, so it adds up in cost. Is it worth it? And, will I notice the difference between the 960 and 970, given my needs (below)?

I mostly like RTS's and RPG's and have spent ungodly time on Men of War 2 Assault Squad, all the Total War games, Mount and Blade plus mods, Divinity Original Sin, Skyrim etc...and would like to be able to play in the years to come the next Elder Scrolls installment, the next Total War, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Mount and Blade 2, The Witcher 3, Star Citizen, and others. I will also probably get an Oculus Rift once it's out of Development, if that's relevant.

Incredible graphical fidelity is not important to me, as long as I can continue to play new games on Med-High settings with around 45fps at least, and rare CTDs, for the next say 3-4 years.

Is now a good time to do this? My current rig is fine for what I play now, but it won't be pretty soon coming up here to play the next generation of games. Will there be major new generation of hardware that I ought to wait 6 months to a year for? Like Nvidia Pascal, or the next Intel CPUs, or whatever equivalents?

Thanks for any help!
 

TheNewGeek420

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Mar 18, 2015
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Well first of all, if you put the i5 4690k and the gtx 980 together, your already at 700 bucks, so here is my recommendation.

CPU: 4690K @ $226.99 (or i5 4460 if you aren't going to OC, and it is @ $177.99)

GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 @ $323.99

Ram: G Skill Ripjaws 8GB 1600MHZ @ $62.95

Mobo: Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 5 @ $129.99

SSD: 250 Gigabyte Samsung 850 Evo @ $99.99

Total: $844 with i5 4690k OR $795.90 with i5 4660

Here are the links:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QdYqyc for i5 4690k one

or

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mYzj7P for i5 4660

If you do plan to OC, take the i5 4690k but remember to get an aftermarket cooler.

Anyways some options you could do with either build is to get a gtx 960 instead, which probably is the better choice for you, and invest in something like a larger SSD or Hard drive, better mobo, or with the i5 4690k build, an aftermarket cooler!

 

Schweetness101

Honorable
Jul 22, 2013
23
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10,510
Sorry, I don't want a 980, that's too much. It seems like the price/performance sweet spot is more around the 960 or 970. I'm also curious to know if I will notice the difference between the 4590 and the 4690k, or even the 4460, and if the 4690k is worth the extra cost of the cpu plus the more expensive mobo plus the aftermarket cooler. I'm just wondering mostly if the 4690k will be significantly more future proof than the 4590.
 

TheNewGeek420

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Mar 18, 2015
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well you wouldn't see a difference for your purposes, but you might want to get the 4690k for OCing to have a stronger CPU for later games. Also I didn't suggest a 980. It's up to you to get a 970 or 960, but a 970 may be somewhat better for Star Citizen or Witcher 3, but I'm sure the 960 can handle the Witcher 3 or Star Citizen fine on med to high settings. Also i think games like Total War and stuff like Mount and Blade may be more cpu intensive, so then again that may be a reason to get the 4690k so you can OC it up to good performance, although I'm sure a 4460, 4590, or 4690K would handle it fine without an OC. Like I said an option would be to get a 960 and save 100 bucks instead of getting the 970, and if you get a 4460 or 4590 your saving 30 to 40 bucks, which can be used for a better power supply. It all depends on what you want. The 970 or 960 is purely preference, while the 4460/ 4590 is better if you don't plan on OCing and a 4690K if you do want to OC.

-TheNewGeek

 

bsod1

Distinguished
what psu do you have exactly? corsair CX isn't all that good for example. anyway here's a good build. non overclocking but you aren't missing much.

this includes a new PSU in case you need one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.78 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($337.35 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $846.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-21 19:34 EDT-0400
 

Schweetness101

Honorable
Jul 22, 2013
23
0
10,510
To TheNewGeek
You did write "...if you put the i5 4690k and the gtx 980 together, your already at 700 bucks..." but I think that was a typo and you meant 970. Do you think the OC potential will give the 4690k considerably greater longevity than the 4460 or 4590, even if right now I won't notice the difference? Or will they both need to be upgraded at the same time anyway? Thanks for the help!

To bsod:
I have the TX 750W Corsair Power Supply, and at this link it says it's pretty good:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
It's listed as tier two, class A (second highest tier) and described as "Excellent quality units, if not, as good as the Tier one class of units." I think it should be fine and it's rated for 100,000 hours, what do you think?
 

TheNewGeek420

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Mar 18, 2015
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no that isn't a typo, i meant that the 980 isn't a good option because you expected a 500 to 700 dollarin all for each upgrade, but if you put the i5 4690k and 980 or any other not half bad cpu together, your already 500-700 bucks out of 800 bucks. So i meant that 980 isn't that good of an option

 

TheNewGeek420

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Mar 18, 2015
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can u tell me the method of getting the build parts onto the comment so i dont have to just copy and paste a link.
 

TheNewGeek420

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Mar 18, 2015
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oh ok thx! really needed that advice!