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Upgrading my 2011 rig to last a few more years - need advice

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  • RAM
  • CPUs
  • Power Consumption
  • Systems
  • Windows 8
  • System Builder
  • SSD
  • Video Capture
  • Graphics Cards
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June 17, 2014 11:57:18 PM

I am looking to upgrade my rig to handle the current wave of PC tailored games (i.e. ARMA 3) and hopefully keep me covered for the duration of this new generation of consoles. I am also interested in recording and/or streaming gameplay video.

My current rig (from 2011) is:

Motherboard - MSI LGA 1155 Intel P67
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
Video Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1600MHz
Storage - Samsung 2TB 5400rpm HDD
Power - Rosewill 600W
All running Windows 7 Home Premium and outputting to two 1080p displays (only one for gaming) and stereo headphones


My (many) questions about my upgrade:

1) I am planning to pick up an SSD to use as a boot drive. The one I am looking at is the Samsung 840 EVO but I could save some cash by getting something like the Crucial MX100. Will I notice the performance difference?

2) Is 250GB about right for a boot drive with some games on it?

3) I think I will need a 3rd drive to record HD video. What kind of drive should I be looking for?

4) Is 16GB of RAM the right amount for this kind of gaming?

5) Is it better to get, say, 2 x 8GB sticks or 4 x 4GB sticks of RAM? E.g. This or this?

6) For a video card I am looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB. I think it might be overpowered for my needs but I do plan to get a bigger monitor at some point and I don’t want to have any problems recording video. What do you guys think?

7) That video card calls for a 600W power supply...which is exactly what I have. I am used to over building on the power end. Should I be worried?

8) I have looked at some Ivy Bridge CPUs and I’m not really seeing a huge difference from what I already have. Am I missing something? Will my old CPU bottleneck my system if I leave it in with all of these other upgrades?

9) Should I be thinking about upgrading to Windows 8?

Thank you so much for your time!

- Matthew Vilter

More about : upgrading 2011 rig years advice

a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 12:35:54 AM

1) You shouldn't notice the difference, especially coming from a 5400RPM one.
2) Yup.
3) Your existing 2TB drive should be fine, unless you're running out of space.
4) Usually 8GB is enough.
5) 2 sticks tends to OC better, and leaves you more upgrade room.
6) The 770 is a good choice if you're going to be using Shadowplay to record gameplay.
7) I'd replace your PSU. It's not great quality, and probably can't do what's on the label. However, 600W is plenty (those recommendations have a lot of padding). I'd be looking at one of these.
8) K-series CPUs are overclockable. That's about the only thing a new CPU will get you.
9) Not really.
a b à CPUs
a b U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 12:54:50 AM

MatthewVilter said:
I am looking to upgrade my rig to handle the current wave of PC tailored games (i.e. ARMA 3) and hopefully keep me covered for the duration of this new generation of consoles. I am also interested in recording and/or streaming gameplay video.

My current rig (from 2011) is:

Motherboard - MSI LGA 1155 Intel P67
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
Video Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1600MHz
Storage - Samsung 2TB 5400rpm HDD
Power - Rosewill 600W
All running Windows 7 Home Premium and outputting to two 1080p displays (only one for gaming) and stereo headphones


My (many) questions about my upgrade:

1) I am planning to pick up an SSD to use as a boot drive. The one I am looking at is the Samsung 840 EVO but I could save some cash by getting something like the Crucial MX100. Will I notice the performance difference?

2) Is 250GB about right for a boot drive with some games on it?

3) I think I will need a 3rd drive to record HD video. What kind of drive should I be looking for?

4) Is 16GB of RAM the right amount for this kind of gaming?

5) Is it better to get, say, 2 x 8GB sticks or 4 x 4GB sticks of RAM? E.g. This or this?

6) For a video card I am looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB. I think it might be overpowered for my needs but I do plan to get a bigger monitor at some point and I don’t want to have any problems recording video. What do you guys think?

7) That video card calls for a 600W power supply...which is exactly what I have. I am used to over building on the power end. Should I be worried?

8) I have looked at some Ivy Bridge CPUs and I’m not really seeing a huge difference from what I already have. Am I missing something? Will my old CPU bottleneck my system if I leave it in with all of these other upgrades?

9) Should I be thinking about upgrading to Windows 8?

Thank you so much for your time!

- Matthew Vilter


Ans 1. Both of them are great and their specs are identical. So just save yourself 25 bucks by buying the mx 100.
Ans 2. Yes that is a good amount of space for your os and some games. But you shouldn't store media content there.
Ans 3. Just get yourself the cheapest 2 Tb 5900 rpm video drive out there. Something like this would do fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... Costs you about 95 bucks
Ans 4. 16 gb is overkill for the current games. However if you do heavy multitasking (i.e video editing + photo editing + recording + gaming at the same time), you might need 16 gb. I suggest you keep your 2*2 gb sticks and get 2 more 4 gb sticks of the same brand with the same Cas timings and configure it this way: A( 1st ram slot)- 2gb, B(2nd) - 4 gb, C(3rd) - 2 gb, D(4th) - 4 gb. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... Buy this and combine it with your ram in the configuration i suggested.
Ans 5. See above.
Ans 6. The Gtx 770 is a great choice if you have multiple displays. However having a bigger monitor makes no difference. The resolution makes the difference. A gtx 770 would render the same on a 20 inch 1080p display and an 85 inch 1080p display.
Ans 7. If you plan on overclocking your graphic card get atleast a 700 watt psu and make sure you have sufficient cooling.
Ans 8. No an i5 2500 will be great for atleast another 2 years. Rest assured, it won't be the bottleneck in your system.
Ans 9. If you are ok with the metro ui, then the windows 8.1 experience is great. The bootup times are better than windows 7. However, it does not give you a big spike in performance. Whatever you do just make sure you have the 64 bit os installed.
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a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 1:17:08 AM

Mixing RAM sticks tends to be trouble, and there's no way you get the right timings. Also, you're almost certain to lose striped dual channel.

550W is plenty for any single GPU system, even with OCing.

Win8 is very slightly faster, but not worth paying for if you already own 7 IMO.
a b à CPUs
a b U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 1:25:12 AM

Someone Somewhere said:
Mixing RAM sticks tends to be trouble, and there's no way you get the right timings. Also, you're almost certain to lose striped dual channel.

550W is plenty for any single GPU system, even with OCing.

Win8 is very slightly faster, but not worth paying for if you already own 7 IMO.


The sniper 1600 mhz series all have the same timings. CL9-9-9-24 to be specific.

I'll agree with you on the second point.

Yes, that was what I said. I said if the metro ui is ok with him he might consider upgrading. But it does no give a big spike in performance.
a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 1:38:18 AM

Not tertiary ones.

Why would you spend ~$100 for a sidegrade?
a b à CPUs
a b U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 1:46:32 AM

Someone Somewhere said:
Not tertiary ones.

Why would you spend ~$100 for a sidegrade?


Didn't get you?? wat sidegrade?
a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 2:30:13 AM

There's more timings further under the hood that end users generally don't bother with.

Windows 8/8.1 is not a significant upgrade. It's one step forward, half a step back. While it might be worth going for if it was free, it's not worth $100.
a b à CPUs
a b U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 2:35:43 AM

Someone Somewhere said:
There's more timings further under the hood that end users generally don't bother with.

Windows 8/8.1 is not a significant upgrade. It's one step forward, half a step back. While it might be worth going for if it was free, it's not worth $100.


Yup that's alright. I never recommended it. I only said if he likes the metro ui he could buy it. Yup and those timings wouldn't do much to performance
a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 2:56:42 AM

They can cause compatibility issues, or force it down to slower speeds.
June 18, 2014 11:10:18 AM

Thank you so much for all the help guys!

Here is my plan:

1) Just grab the Crucial MX100.

2) Check.

3) Alright that Seagate Video ST2000VM003 looks nice but I do want to poke around on my own a bit so... What should I be looking for? I.e. how does one know that, say, 5900rpm is the right speed?

4) I do tend to do a lot of "multitasking" (i.e. leaving lots of junk/miscellaneous programs open/running in the background) plus too little RAM is what really hammered me this last time around so I think I am going to stick with 16GB.

5) I guess I will go with the 2 sticks.

6) Sorry, I should have said "...I do plan to get a higher resolution monitor..." and yeah with the recording I guess the 4GB 770 is not too too much overkill.

7) Based on this post I think I will stick with what I've got for the moment. It does not look like I'm at too much risk of a blowout and if it is too weak I guess I'll overnight something else...

8) Sweet, one less thing to buy!

9) So I think I'll pass on this.


So am I nuts to keep my power supply? :) 
a c 211 à CPUs
a b * Windows 8
a c 171 U Graphics card
June 18, 2014 6:33:18 PM

I generally wouldn't bother with speed for a bulk storage device - you're not going to do much random access. Get the cheapest cost per gigabyte.

I can't find much on exactly which category of Rosewill that falls under, and whether it counts as RP2, or if it's the original RP or something. Still looking.

EDIT: It looks like that Rosewill is in tier 3, it's just slightly strange naming. Should be OK, though don't get it hot and expect to replace it before too long.
June 19, 2014 7:58:55 PM

Okay I pulled the trigger on the order. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks again for all the help!
!