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Skep18

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May 27, 2015
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Hi all. I am at the point where I am looking to upgrade my 2009 build. I've been doing a good bit of research but I am far from an expert so I was hoping I could get the community to chime in on...


    ■ Making sure these components are compatible (they should be if I understand everything).
    ■ Does this look like a solid list.
    ■ Any suggestions keeping in mind some of these components were chosen for pricing and lack of knowledge on my part maybe.
    ■ I was thinking I can keep my current PSU @ 750W. Can anyone advise if this is correct and/or a good/bad idea?
    ■ I have RAM on the new build list of parts to get. Would this be any better than my existing 4x2GB hardware, at least to the extent to deem it worthwhile to replace it?


Currently I am running the following:


I am looking at buying the following:


And just some explanation of why I chose what I did:

Processor - Popular processor. Think its the fastest one out now for the socket type. One of the highest reviewed on NewEgg.

Cooler - The i7 gets pretty hot apparently. This should be an easy-to-use liquid cooler that does fit my case. One of the highest reviewed on NewEgg.

Graphics Card - Looked at the R9 280X vs this R9 290. General consensus is the 290 is the better card especially around the same price. While the 280X I think can boost to higher speeds, it also runs hotter and does not have as many processors.

Mobo - This one had a $40 off promo code otherwise I was looking at lower GAMING models. The only difference between the Z97 and the Z97X is the inclusion of USB 3.1 which transfers at 10Gbps (who cares). The Z97X model did come with a free stick of HyperX DDR3 (1x8GB) but I don't just want one stick.

RAM - This had the lowest CAS latency in the search. The mobo above can be adjusted via XMP in the BIOS to handle higher frequencies but apparently anything over 1600 is overclocking and the tradeoff is typically CAS latency an the payoff is minimal for the trade off of stability issues and such.
 
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definitly get rid of any 1156 stuff...
I7 4790K is a good choice of cpu ...depending on which budget you have you can go X99 setup too for about 150$ to 200$ more ...but futurproof
about the amd gpu card ...just take note they need more power for running and have a very hot operation
your psu is good ..keep it
about the ram ...the best combination is 1866mhz with CL9 and lower for overclocking
there is no need at all to use a watercooling system...get a good air cpu cooler like phantek/noctua/cryorig

 
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It really depends on what you use the PC for. For mainly gaming, many people testify that the i5-4690k is the best value, but with newer games demanding more than four cores / threads, that statement is slowly becoming more debatable. If you will plan to run more than two GPUs (3-way SLI, 2-way SLI + PhysX, etc.) or SLI and M.2 SSDs, then the X99 platform and i7-5820k is the better option. If you don't already have an SSD, now it's a good time to get one. I upgraded from an i7-950 Bloomfield to an i7-4790k myself and I tell you that boot times on Windows 8.1 and an SSD is like comparing night and day versus my old PC running the old i7, Windows 7, and an HDD.
 
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Awesome response. Thanks so much.

Idk if I know enough and/or am enough of an enthusiast to get into the X99 stuff. For the price, it might be more than I think I need.

Do I have the change anything in the BIOS to utilize the 1866 RAM? How big a difference should I expect vs keeping my old stuff or getting the new sticks I listed?

I picked the water cooling because I just read the i7 I chose can get pretty hot when at the stock overclocking 4.4GHz. I also thought it would leave the door open to OC later if I wanted to but I'm a bit beyond my league here. Would the lower water cool temps benefit me at all? Does running the CPU cooler lead to better performance? Idk the demand GTA 5 or future games put on the system, but for a few bucks it seems like this is a cheap way to ensure cooler temps.

THANKS AGAIN!
 
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I use it mainly for gaming and photo editting amongst other common uses (internet, videos, etc).

I saw some comparisons that led me to feel like the extra $100 for the i7 was not a bad idea. More FPS and GTA V utilizes the hyperthreading.

I do have a SSD (Samsung EVO I think) and a HDD (WD Black). My SSD is my boot drive and I run CS:GO on it. I was debating getting another one to run GTA 5 on it but I don't know yet how much it would benefit. I could also just make my HDD my boot drive and run CS:GO and GTA 5 on the SSD. Unfortunately I don't think my 120GB SSD would hold all 3.

I will still be running Windows 7 though.

Thanks!
 
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Is your Windows 7 license OEM or a full retail copy? If OEM, it cannot be transferred to a new motherboard. You will need a new Windows 7 or 8.1 license. As for the SSD, it's generally a good idea to get a 250 GB+ SSD so that you can install Windows and CS:GO + GTA V onto it and run all other games off the HDD. The costs of SSDs are dropping like a rock and a 1 TB SSD can be had for about $350 if you can catch a good sale.
 
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I'm going to need another copy of Windows 7.

Definitely would have gotten the larger SSD had I thought about this back then. Unfortunately at the time I only played CS:GO and I just want faster boot and game loading times.

If I ran GTA on a seperate SSD than my boot drive, would that affect performance?

Also, if you can chime in any more on the RAM, I'm a bit lost there...
 
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Running GTA V on a separate drive will not affect performance at all. But keep in mind that you don't get much fps increase running games on an SSD compared to an HDD. The only benefit you will gain from an SSD is faster load times. As far as the RAM is concerned, you can get 1600 MHz RAM at lower latency ratings. I have 1600 MHz G.Skill Ripjaws X with a CAS rating of 7 and games rarely crash.
 
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Awesome. Thanks!

Just looking for opinions at this point, but should I be considering different graphics cards? I have an AMD card currently selected but am not sure if they're pretty much similar in performance.
 
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Any chance you could recommend a card in a similarish price range? Although if it requires a new PSU, I'm not sure how interested I am, just curious... These price tags seem to climb rather quickly...

For convenience, here's the NewEgg link to desktop video cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709&IsNodeId=1
 
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Will the GTX 970 run GTA on ultra at 60+ FPS?

Also would I be correct in assuming since the nVidia cars run cooler they don't require as much of a PSU? (keeping my 750W would be a good idea not just doable?)
 
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Short answer: no. You'll need two GTX 980s in SLI to run that game on ultra @ 60 fps.
 
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lol, gotcha.

Well opinions on the R9 290 vs the GTX 970 are still welcomed. Looking at specs, it does seem the nVidia cars do indeed require less PSU to operate. This is a plus I think.
 
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to answer your question about ram... there is just a bit improvement in performance between 1866mhz CL9 vs 1600mhz CL9 to compare apple to apple. but still having a bit improvement if you like to have the best of the best like me often for the same price

the X99 platform is a most above all when you do video editing or 3D rendering / cfd
but for photo editing i do not think you need an X99 setup but not a specialist in photo editing

and of course nvidia is the way to go for less need in power and run cooler ...the only bad thing is the price
a gtx 970 will run gta v without problem with an I7 4790k
 
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Lol, well it sounds like springing for the nVidia may be the way to go for me.

Any opinions or thoughts on which manufacturer to go with? Just based on the things I've read, I'm a fan of MSI. EVGA gets rave reviews too.

Thoughts on any specific ones? Below I have filtered out all the GTX 970's @ NewEgg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709%20600536049
 
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Sounds good. The MSI 4G seems to get good reviews. I looked at the 100ME, but given it seems to be only minor changes to hardware (if any), change in color and the addition of a back plate, I might not bother. I am actually debating going dual SLI or waiting to do so later. If I wait, having the non-100ME would make it easier to match later.
 
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Well I sort of ditched the previous conversation and got something that should meet my expectations and even exceed in some areas though I suspect I have some bottlenecks in here somewhere... I decided I should throw in a few more bucks and get what I really want rather than spend the cash and not really be happy with the purchase.

I sprung for a new gaming monitor as well. The Acer 27" G-Sync seemed like a sweet monitor and was on sale pretty low so I bought it. Not, it's not the UHD version or whatever, it's just 1080p but the features within really look good.

Also, as you can see I just went ahead and instead of going the R9 290 route I decided getting two GTX 970's and running them both was a better idea. For GTA, I think this will help me maintain high FPS numbers.

I am keeping my 750W PSU for now. If it proves not able to keep up I'll upgrade that as well. The calculator says the recommended PSU is ~590W so mine should be fine.

Anyways, if anyone would like to chime in and let me know your thoughts, I'd be all ears. My intention at the moment is to run GTA 5 on higher settings in 1080 with the hardware capability to expand for future needs to play games in 1080p for the next few years at least.

I ended up getting the list below:


Some thoughts:

- I got the i7 because my last PC build lasted 6 years and I wish I had the faster CPU for the build when using it now (more futureproof) as well as I am banking that GTA uses hyperthreading and more games in the future will.

- Did I buy too much graphics card? If nothing else, I don't think I could have gotten much more CPU so I might have room for settings expandability or monitor upgradability?

- I know 27" in 1080p disturbs some people. Hopefully I won't be bothered. The G-Sync technology seems sweet and really revolutionary. Unfortunately getting that in 1440 or more costs twice what I paid and almost as much as my living room TV. My hopes are than in one or two years the technology will be more common and I can get a better monitor then and have the computer build to keep up with it.

- I got 1866 ram afterall. It was in a TigerDirect bundle. Does it matter if they are sold as two seperate (non-paired) sticks of 4GB if I run them in the same channel?

- I got that bigger SSD as well.
 
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Sweet. I couldn't have hoped for anything more. ... Well, maybe 4k, but besides that! lol. My $2k build would have turned into a $4k+ build...

Looking at your specs. How do you like your CAS 7 RAM?
 
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Games crash much less frequently than they did with my old RAM on an old LGA 1366 motherboard and CPU.
 
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Just an update, I built the machine above. I ended up using two SSD's in RAID0. Why didn't I just buy one 500GB SSD you ask? Well I ordered one, had shipping issues, ordered a second, was going to return one but ended up just keeping it. I figured 500GB of gaming space on SSD would be beneficial. RAID0 benefits would just be a bonus although I read games don't benefit too much.

Anyways, I am working on getting my OS installed and well see how well it runs!
 
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