Upgrading Current System ($800 - 900 budget)

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luckyjoe716

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Jan 17, 2016
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Approximate Purchase Date: this week
Budget Range: $800-900

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, Mobo, GPU, SSD, RAM
Do you need to buy OS: No
Location: FL
Parts Preferences: None
Overclocking: Maybe...on second thought probably not.
SLI or Crossfire: Eventually

This is what I was able to come up with so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($308.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $831.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-17 21:28 EST-0500

Existing Parts:
PSU: FirePower ModXStream Pro 700MXSP 700W 80Plus Semi-Modular
HHD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
Heat Sink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Case: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX

I was also planning on going to Microcenter to buy the Motherboard and CPU since they have the CPU for $300 and the Motherboard for $79 when combined with the CPU. Thoughts? Am I able to improve the build?
 
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Forever Oleg
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luckyjoe716

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Jan 17, 2016
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Current Build:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 445
Mobo: BIOSTAR TA785 A2+ AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G ATX
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT)
Ram: 2 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800
PSU: FirePower ModXStream Pro 700MXSP 700W 80Plus Semi-Modular
HHD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
Heat Sink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Case: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX

My current computer is starting to crap out on me. It's lagging in games, lots of fps drops and choke and doesn't seem to be able to handle games like it used to. I would say that I really only use the desktop for gaming, but I want to make sure that I don't need to upgrade again for another 5-6 years.

Would I also need to upgrade my PSU?
 
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luckyjoe716

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Jan 17, 2016
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Looks like that Xeon is available at microcenter for $210...might not be a bad alternative.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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Jul 15, 2015
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This build has Xeon E3 1231v3 (which is essentially i7-4770 without the integrated graphics) alongside a GTX 980. I also changed the case because it is not really good and will not otherwise fit the GTX 980. I would also recommend changing the PSU but you could go along with it some more if it's not 5+ years old. I added an SSD - thought it would be an awesome addition.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($506.69 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Micro Center)
Other: FirePower ModXStream Pro 700W 80Plus Semi-Modular (Purchased)
Total: $996.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-18 10:29 EST-0500
 
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luckyjoe716

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Jan 17, 2016
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Thanks for the insight. Couple follow up questions to the build.

Ram: for most users, will there be a noticeable difference between the 16gb and the 8gb?
PSU: I will probably need to buy a new one since it was purchased in 2010. There are no issues though and it seems to be chugging along well. Better safe than sorry?
Video Card: is the % in performance for the 980 justified for the % increase in price over the 970?
 
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luckyjoe716

Reputable
Jan 17, 2016
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4,510
Okay, so with that in mind, I modified the build that you sent over to reflect your responses:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/X9N4rH
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/X9N4rH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($308.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $835.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-18 14:10 EST-0500
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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Jul 15, 2015
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Looks good to me. I don't understand why you chose a single 8GB stick of RAM though. Get 2x4GB to take advanatage of dual channel. That motherboard has 4 RAM slots anyways.

Although B2 750W is a solid and high quality unit, you could fork out $20 more for a G2 unit - one of the highest quality units out there.
 
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luckyjoe716

Reputable
Jan 17, 2016
6
0
4,510


To be honest, I forgot about the dual channel and just had an oversight...it's been awhile since I last upgraded.

Okay, I'll look at upgrading to the G2 for the PSU.

Thanks for all your help!
 
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