Upgrading/Building Comp

[Alkinftw]

HI all, I've Just recently discovered this website, and I totally love it.
I Have a Comp already but I'm wanting to Upgrade to a DDR3 build and try to keep my CPU, Power Supply, HardDrive.
I would say my video card but it's an old GTX 260. and the main aim of this upgrade is to be able to run the Next Gen graphic engines on ultra like BF3's Frostbite 2, Cryteks new engine, and Unreal4.

My current set up is.
CPU- AMD Phenom X3 720

MOBO- GA-MA790X-UD4P Version F4
PowerSupply- Thermaltake 700W Toughpower
GPU- EVGA GTX 260
Harddrive- 1tb Sandisk
Ram- 3gbs Kingston Hyperx

So I guess my real questions would be,
What Motherboard would be best for Overclocking, and maybe Unlocking my Phenom and I'm wanting to upgrade my graphics to This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696
So what Mobo would you guys suggest. and I've never tried to Overclock my CPU before but, I'd really like to do that too. is there a beginners guide some one could point me to(I only have stock heat-sink and Fan)

Also How can you tell if you Phenom is a Black Edition. I'm pretty sure mine was, but not positive.

 

[Alkinftw]

I also want to be able to SLI that GPU in the future when the need comes

 

[mocchan]

What is your budget for your rig? It may be better to just start from scratch and build a new rig

 

[Alkinftw]

Around $1000 less if at all possible I'd like to atleast keep my PowerSupply and Harddrive. also do you think my current rig could run a GTX 660ti if I got it first?

 

[mocchan]

Actually... I'll be right back with a parts list for you. I'll leave out the PSU and HDD due to you reusing.

However, I would recommend a Radeon HD7950 instead of a GTX660Ti. The HD7950 performs better, and with the recent price drops from AMD, is the same cost.

 

[mocchan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($317.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $921.65
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-29 21:42 EDT-0400)

If you re-use your PSU and HDD, you could easily build one monster of a rig such as this one

 

[Alkinftw]

I've used Radeon and Nvidia , always had more longevity from the Nvidia products. I'm probably just being a Fanboy but, I'd prefer to stay Nvidia. also I would like to Stay with AMD for the CPU. should have put this stuff in OP i know, sorry.

 

[mocchan]

I've used Radeon and Nvidia , always had more longevity from the Nvidia products. I'm probably just being a Fanboy but, I'd prefer to stay Nvidia. also I would like to Stay with AMD for the CPU. should have put this stuff in OP i know, sorry.

Any particular reason why you want to stick with AMD for the CPU? They lack so much performance with their recent generation of CPU's it's not even funny anymore. Also, I'll edit the list to accommodate for the GPU preference However, I would VERY MUCH prefer if you stook with Intel for the CPU.

 

[mocchan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($384.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $968.77
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-29 21:59 EDT-0400)

Edited parts list with GTX670.

 

[Alkinftw]

if I bought the GTX 660 now would it run on my current specs

 

[mocchan]

Yes, it could, however, you may run into some bottlenecking issues due to your CPU.

 

[Alkinftw]

Ok, Thanks! See I don't have the cash-flow to buy all of this at once. so I'm going to have to piece it together and my GTX 260 is about to crap out. so I'm needing a video card Badly!
Also I looked at alot of benchmarks for the i5 verses some of the 8core amd stuff, gotta say I was really impressed. You might have changed me over to intel!

 

[mocchan]

Ok, Thanks! See I don't have the cash-flow to buy all of this at once. so I'm going to have to piece it together and my GTX 260 is about to crap out. so I'm needing a video card Badly!
Also I looked at alot of benchmarks for the i5 verses some of the 8core amd stuff, gotta say I was really impressed. You might have changed me over to intel!

I'm glad I was able to change your preference about the CPU It's not really worth getting AMD's value of "Price/Core" ratio anymore as their cores lack greatly in performance compared to Intel.

However, I understand what you mean about the money :lol: it's tough not being able to get everything at once. However, if you do plan to upgrade your CPU in the near future, you may want to invest in a GTX670 It'll be worth your money and I can almost say you won't be disappointed with the performance.

As modest and great a card the GTX660 Ti is, I wouldn't really recommend it due to it's crippled memory interface. At resolutions such as 1080p, you still need AA; I'm a sucker for eye candy, so I will almost certainly turn that all the way up. The GTX660 Ti may fail to perform if you turn it up too much.

 

[Alkinftw]

Well my plan Is to have the Abilty to SLI when the time comes, and I figured that factory OC'd 660Ti would suit my needs (1600x900) on all the next gen games.

 

[mocchan]

Well my plan Is to have the Abilty to SLI when the time comes, and I figured that factory OC'd 660Ti would suit my needs (1600x900) on all the next gen games.

I should have asked for your screen resolution first.

In that case, yes, a GTX660Ti will do MORE than enough for you. If you have plans to upgrade to 1080p later on, I would recommend sticking with a GTX670, however. You may need the extra horse power and extra memory bandwidth in the future.

 

[Alkinftw]

Honestly, 1600x900 is plenty for me. I don't like Huge Monitors. I do dual monitor. but ones 1600x900(for Gaming and Movies) and the other 1280x1024(word processing, music, ect.)

So for that display setup I figured the SLI'd 660ti would be more than enough.

 

[mocchan]

Honestly, 1600x900 is plenty for me. I don't like Huge Monitors. I do dual monitor. but ones 1600x900(for Gaming and Movies) and the other 1280x1024(word processing, music, ect.)

So for that display setup I figured the SLI'd 660ti would be more than enough.

Most likely a single card will do more than enough at that resolution IMO (Single HD6870 did fine for my brother on BF3 at your resolution; Ultra presets on BF3 Multiplayer. Not much power is required for your resolution)

Unless you plan on using PhysX to the max, you wouldn't see any issues that would require two cards