Need advice on Upgrading current build - ~650e Budget

[razgriz]

Hello and Merry Christmas!

Due to a rather unfortunate event with my motherboard i am forced to buy a new one and since i was considering on buying a new pc in the next few months i might as well do it now as a major upgrade with the money i currently have.


Approximate Purchase Date: Propably the coming week ( as soon as i have settled with what to buy exactly )

Budget Range: Up to 660e / ~860 $

System Usage from Most to Least Important: High end Gaming - Maybe graphics design in a year from now - Watching HD movies + 3D - Folding Home - Surfing the Internet

Parts Not Required: Monitor - Keyboard - Mouse - Speakers - Tower case -

GPU : ATI Sapphire 6970 2g GDDR 5

PW : Etasis - 850 W - 2007 Model i believe ( Bought pc then ) -

Cpu cooler : Enzotech extreme ultra X http://www.enzotechnology.com/extreme_x.htm

DvD Drives: 3 - different brands - Only one working with Sata ( I dont mind leaving the other 2 offline due to IDE, see below mobo )

Hard Disks: 6 - 1x300g WD Velociraptor - 1x150g WD Raptor - 1x500 WD - 1x1000 Seagate - 1x2000g Seagate - 1x250g WD ( IDE ) Same as above for ide

Bad choice of Hard disks yes, I did not know of RAID benefits when buying them.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Since i live in Greece all of the sites are in greek but i will link anyway for prices checking - www.plaisio.gr

Country : Greece

Parts Preferences:

Cpu: I7- 2600k - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/CPU/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-s1155-3-40GHz-8MB-BX80623I72600K.htm
I7-2700k - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/CPU/Intel-Core-i7-2700K-s-1155-3-5-GHz-8-MB-BX80623I72700K.htm

Motherboard: MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/Motherboards/MSI-Z68A-GD65-G3-s-1155-DDR3-Z68.htm
MSI Z68A GD80 G3 - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/Motherboards/MSI-Z68A-GD80-G3-s-1155-Z68-DDR3-Z68A-GD80-G3.htm

Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/RAM/Corsair-Vengeance-8GB-DDR3-1600-Kit.htm ( Bit lower timings )
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/RAM/Corsair-Vengeance-16GB-DDR3-1600-Kit.htm
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/RAM/Corsair-Vengeance-8GB-DDR3-1600-Kit%C2%A0.htm
( 3rd one half the 2nd ram choice )

Overclocking: Yes ( But not right after its out of the box )

SLI / Crossfire: Yes ( Propably a bit later )

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I am planning to get this build and then slowly - every month or 2, Start upgrading with: New power supply. A solid state disk ~160-250g and propably last a water cooling solution for CPU and GPU, thats when propably i will start overclocking.

Also i suppose the cpu cooler i got cannot support the new i7 ?

Running Windows 7 64b - Will propably upgrade to Windows 8 when out/stable.


Thank you in advance for any advice you could give me

 

[g-unit1111]

Cpu: I7- 2600k - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] 72600K.htm
I7-2700k - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] 72700K.htm

Unless you're running CS5 or any other high end design programs you don't necessarily need either one of these. The i5-2500K will do just fine.

Motherboard: MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] R3-Z68.htm
MSI Z68A GD80 G3 - http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] D80-G3.htm

I don't particularly like MSI boards but a lot of them are just personal preference.

I couldn't really navigate that website very well but this looks like a better board for the price: http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Hardware/Motherboards/Gigabyte-Z68MA-D2H-B3-s1155-Z68-DDR3-Z68MA-D2H-B3.htm

Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] 00-Kit.htm ( Bit lower timings )
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] 00-Kit.htm
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 Kit http://www.plaisio.gr/Computers/Ha [...] %C2%A0.htm

If gaming's your main priority then stick with 8 - 16GB will only matter if you use CS5 or anything similar. The speeds and timings aren't going to matter much since by default your motherboard will run the lowest speeds and timings it can handle.

Also i suppose the cpu cooler i got cannot support the new i7 ?

?

Most coolers now will include mounting brackets for socket 1155 - and if you go SB-E some will give you the option of purchasing mounting brackets for socket 2011 for like nothing.

Additional Comments: I am planning to get this build and then slowly - every month or 2, Start upgrading with: New power supply. A solid state disk ~160-250g and propably last a water cooling solution for CPU and GPU, thats when propably i will start overclocking.

Not a bad way to go - that's kind of what I've been doing with my system. One thing you have to keep in mind with water cooling is that there's a lot of room for error - a custom block like the H100 will give you less room for error but you're probably the best off sticking with a good air solution for now.

 

[razgriz]

g-unit1111 - Thank you very much for looking into it !

That board looks tempting too especially with half the price. My problem with gigabyte is that i had one ( GA-N680-DQ6 rev 2.0 ) and after i re wired my whole case few days ago, i removed the mobo battery to reset it and when i turned it on the bios was no there, nothing, mobo searching for bios files but even when i put them in hd nothing happens. From what i read the bios blocker gigabyte is using does not let the floppy disk to be read and in short its a useless board.

Also something i forgot to mention. I also got an X-FI Xtreme gamer. And using Logitech Z-5500, i am not sure how a motherboard indergrated sound card can support them.

I had in my mind i5-2500k to be honest but i thought of getting an i7 for the extra power. Having it there laying around and i am sure i will find a reason to use it.

Thank for the info on the water cooling, guess i will get a new case too and work on the air flow for some time