- Aug 31, 2014
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To start with, my current PC specs:
Partpicker link
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 Micro ATX LGA1155
RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: (list)
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 3.5" Solid State Drive
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Samsung Spinpoint F1 DT 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (x2)
Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (x2)
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred ATX Full Tower Case
Power: Enermax 1000W Galaxy DxX Semi-Modular Power Supply
Optical: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer
Monitors: Dell Ultrasharp U2411M, LG Flatron M2294D
Extra: Akasa front panel USB3 ports (has slots inside for two internal 2.5" drive mounts), OEM front panel memory card reader (+1 USB2 port).
I'm looking to upgrade because my build has run out of space for expansion. I currently have four HDDs and two SSDs and I've run out of SATA ports (even disconnecting my optical drive). I bought a PCIe x1 SATA card, but my H60 CLC is mounted on my lower rear exhaust fan, which blocks access to the top PCIe x16 slot and my GTX 770 mounted in the secondary PCIe x16 slot blocks access to the only PCIe x1 slot (highlighting the downside to mATX motherboards). This means I need to upgrade either my case to better support liquid cooling, my motherboard/CPU to give me more expansion ports (and more SATA ports at the same time), or both.
Budget is no real issue (I've been saving for over a year for this upgrade since early Haswell didn't impress), between £800-1500, and since this is an upgrade I have the option to reuse parts to save money. I'm after value more than extreme performance. Time frame is 2-4 weeks, since I see no need to wait for Broadwell or Skylake and Haswell-E, whilst very tempting, will not actually help me do more than Devil's Canyon will do.
I currently use my system for moderate gaming (around 20 hours a week, games like Borderlands 2, XCOM: EW, Bioshock: Infinite, etc) and studies (Virtual Machines). My system also hosts all of the multimedia for my household (all those photos, videos and music is what fills up those TBs) to be streamed around the house to the various devices my family uses. Also, I will soon start running multiple VMs on my system, so a RAM upgrade is also in order.
The potential build I'm considering (partpicker link):
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0Ghz Quad-Core (£239.94)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-Deluxe ATX LGA1150 (£190.00)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 (£132.00)
Case: Corsair Graphite 760T White ATX (£134.39)
Power: Corsair HX750i (£119.63)
Extra: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Mouse (£61.40), Icy Dock 5.25" Hotswap Caddy (£33.07)
(Total: £1000.42)
Explanation:
Any comments, opinions, suggestions, criticisms, advice, etc, would be greatly appreciated.
Partpicker link
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 Micro ATX LGA1155
RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: (list)
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 3.5" Solid State Drive
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Samsung Spinpoint F1 DT 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (x2)
Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (x2)
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred ATX Full Tower Case
Power: Enermax 1000W Galaxy DxX Semi-Modular Power Supply
Optical: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer
Monitors: Dell Ultrasharp U2411M, LG Flatron M2294D
Extra: Akasa front panel USB3 ports (has slots inside for two internal 2.5" drive mounts), OEM front panel memory card reader (+1 USB2 port).
I'm looking to upgrade because my build has run out of space for expansion. I currently have four HDDs and two SSDs and I've run out of SATA ports (even disconnecting my optical drive). I bought a PCIe x1 SATA card, but my H60 CLC is mounted on my lower rear exhaust fan, which blocks access to the top PCIe x16 slot and my GTX 770 mounted in the secondary PCIe x16 slot blocks access to the only PCIe x1 slot (highlighting the downside to mATX motherboards). This means I need to upgrade either my case to better support liquid cooling, my motherboard/CPU to give me more expansion ports (and more SATA ports at the same time), or both.
Budget is no real issue (I've been saving for over a year for this upgrade since early Haswell didn't impress), between £800-1500, and since this is an upgrade I have the option to reuse parts to save money. I'm after value more than extreme performance. Time frame is 2-4 weeks, since I see no need to wait for Broadwell or Skylake and Haswell-E, whilst very tempting, will not actually help me do more than Devil's Canyon will do.
I currently use my system for moderate gaming (around 20 hours a week, games like Borderlands 2, XCOM: EW, Bioshock: Infinite, etc) and studies (Virtual Machines). My system also hosts all of the multimedia for my household (all those photos, videos and music is what fills up those TBs) to be streamed around the house to the various devices my family uses. Also, I will soon start running multiple VMs on my system, so a RAM upgrade is also in order.
The potential build I'm considering (partpicker link):
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0Ghz Quad-Core (£239.94)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-Deluxe ATX LGA1150 (£190.00)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 (£132.00)
Case: Corsair Graphite 760T White ATX (£134.39)
Power: Corsair HX750i (£119.63)
Extra: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Mouse (£61.40), Icy Dock 5.25" Hotswap Caddy (£33.07)
(Total: £1000.42)
Explanation:
The i7-4790K is partially for the high base clock, and mostly because HT will be useful when running multiple VMs.
The 16GB of 2400Mhz RAM is to give the VMs more breathing room and because Haswell actually responds well to faster RAM.
The motherboard is for the connectivity and expansion options - it has 10 SATA ports (4 of which are shared with the 2 SATA express ports) and I currently use 7. I intend to add a 5.25" hotswap bay to make use of all the extra HDDs lying around my house (leftover from past upgrades), so that's 8. Also, the M.2 port shares resources with one of the SATAe ports, so I'll lose 2 SATA ports if I throw an M.2 card in (which I might do eventually in the coming years). I also considered an Asrock Z97 Extreme 9 and an MSI Z97 XPOWER AC, but since I currently only use one graphics card, I wouldn't benefit from the extra PCIe lanes for triple/quad graphics setups through the use of a PLX chip.
The Graphite 760T is my current favourite since a Corsair 900D or Antec 1900 won't fit under my desk, and the Graphite looks stylish, can fit 6 HDDs inside, has seperate bays for 4 SSDs, and has good support for the Corsair H110 cooler in the top exhaust vents. However, I'm still open to suggestions.
The H110 cooler is because of the balance between cooling performance and quietness (thanks to 140mm fans).
The power supply is optional, and I don't know if I'll get it straight away or leave it for a couple months. I chose it for the high efficiency (Platinum rated), the fact that it's fully modular, and because of the function to read the power stats via USB will help in overclocking.
The Razer mouse, is because my Microsoft Sidewinder X8 has a dodgy wheel which is getting increasingly more annoying when it swaps my weapons at the worst possible times in games.
The 16GB of 2400Mhz RAM is to give the VMs more breathing room and because Haswell actually responds well to faster RAM.
The motherboard is for the connectivity and expansion options - it has 10 SATA ports (4 of which are shared with the 2 SATA express ports) and I currently use 7. I intend to add a 5.25" hotswap bay to make use of all the extra HDDs lying around my house (leftover from past upgrades), so that's 8. Also, the M.2 port shares resources with one of the SATAe ports, so I'll lose 2 SATA ports if I throw an M.2 card in (which I might do eventually in the coming years). I also considered an Asrock Z97 Extreme 9 and an MSI Z97 XPOWER AC, but since I currently only use one graphics card, I wouldn't benefit from the extra PCIe lanes for triple/quad graphics setups through the use of a PLX chip.
The Graphite 760T is my current favourite since a Corsair 900D or Antec 1900 won't fit under my desk, and the Graphite looks stylish, can fit 6 HDDs inside, has seperate bays for 4 SSDs, and has good support for the Corsair H110 cooler in the top exhaust vents. However, I'm still open to suggestions.
The H110 cooler is because of the balance between cooling performance and quietness (thanks to 140mm fans).
The power supply is optional, and I don't know if I'll get it straight away or leave it for a couple months. I chose it for the high efficiency (Platinum rated), the fact that it's fully modular, and because of the function to read the power stats via USB will help in overclocking.
The Razer mouse, is because my Microsoft Sidewinder X8 has a dodgy wheel which is getting increasingly more annoying when it swaps my weapons at the worst possible times in games.
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