Question regarding current PSU and mobo/CPU upgrade

medwa

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Aug 16, 2012
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Hi guys, this is my first post here. I apologize if I'm asking this in the wrong place (mod feel free to move, if that is the case).

I'll be upgrading my video card, CPU and motherboard in the coming weeks and I'm curious as to whether my current PSU will be able to handle the upgrade or if I will need to replace that as well. I'm hoping to save every penny possible while upgrading to a future proof rig, so if it is at all possible, I'd like to keep my current psu.

Mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz
Card: XFX Double D FX-785A-CDFC Radeon HD 7850

I'm currently using a Corsair HX520w psu. Will it be able to handle the load of my upgraded mobo and cpu? Or will I need to upgrade this as well? My case stays well ventilated and I blow it out regularly to keep it free of dust and build-up. Any insight is greatly appreciated!
 

timarp000

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Oct 24, 2011
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Why z77 motherboard but 2nd gen 2600k?

If you have cash buy the the intel core i7 3770, but you cant overclock
 

medwa

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Aug 16, 2012
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Thanks guys for your help, I really appreciate it. It's a relief to know that I don't have to drop another 100 bucks on a psu.

Timarp, do you think the 3770 is worth the extra $30 for me? I just figured I could overclock the 2600 and it would be the best bang for my buck.
 
Are you planing on doing a lot of multimedia work on this machine? If it's going to be a gaming machine with minimal encoding/decoding or multimedia work, then you could get away with an i5 3570K or 2500K. If you plan on doing a good bit of OCing, then the 2nd gen processors actually OC better.
 

medwa

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Aug 16, 2012
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This will be a gaming machine primarily. I will OC but not to any extremes. I probably could get away with an i5 3570, which would save me about $60. But I only upgrade about once every 5 or 6 years, so I figured I would just go ahead and get the i7.
 
If this is primarily a gaming machine then save the money on the CPu and get the 3570/2500 and use the saved money to upgrade the GPU. The 2600K/3770K are not significantly better at gaming and certainly the slight performance increase does not justify the extra $80. You'll get significantly better performance by putting that money into a better GPU like the HD7870 or for a few dollars more the GTX 660ti.
 

medwa

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Aug 16, 2012
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That's excellent advice, thank you. I was looking to get away from Nvidia (tired of dealing with nvlddmkm.sys errors) so I may go with the HD7870, unless you think that is a silly reason to change from Nvidia to AMD. I've dealt with the nvlddmkm.sys problem three times with my current setup, which is another reason why I chose to upgrade my mobo/cpu/gpu.
 

medwa

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Aug 16, 2012
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Haha thanks, I was wondering...
 

prmtvr

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Jun 22, 2012
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The omly advantage with intel's 3rd gen cpus is that it supports pcie gen 3 which will help in sli and crossfire setups :)
But you can upgrade whenever you want