- Oct 18, 2012
- 43
- 0
- 10,530
So about 5 years ago I built my current computer with help from the community. 2 RMAs (one being botched by the Mobo company) and one forced upgrade a year later, I'm in the position that I have to upgrade my computer again. Luckily for me, I'm reusing some hardware and tiding myself over while waiting for Prices to drop on other components.
I'm including the link to PC part picker for specific specifications so people can see what I selected. The website claims no compatibility issues but i wanted to make sure and to see of there's any other suggestions. As an IT student, I've been watching prices and tying to look things up between my studies and streaming.
Approximate Purchase Date: this week , Either Today or tomorrow so parts arrive early next week
Budget Range: less than $1,200 CDN taxes in (I'm already slightly over budget as is), Using Amazon Prime Student to save on shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Streaming, Video Editing, Gaming, running Virtual machines
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, RAM, Mobo, Graphics card at a later date (see notes)
Do you need to buy OS: No, using Win 7 Ultimate that I bought for original build
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.ca because I have free Prime Student through my school
Location: Canada, Atlantic Coast (Don't feel comfortable giving out my exact province/town sorry)
Parts Preferences: Intel i7 8th gen, 16-32 GB Ram, 1080ti once the price drops and it's more available for purchase (Nvidia direct because they sell at MSRP) Please do not suggest ASRock parts. I've had horrible experiences with them in the past.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: Currently using SLI, will NOT be using SLI once I can afford to upgrade my GPU
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 if i remember correctly
Additional Comments: Upgrading from AMD to Intel, trying to upgrade after 5 years, using the same O/S from 5 years ago, using 64 Bit Win 7 Ultimate (I still have the copy of my install disk), will upgrade GPU once price drops and i can afford the upgrade
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: random and massive frame drops in various games (going from 70 & 60 down to 20-10), stuttering, odd occasional lag when on the desktop or out of games. Games affected include:
Arma 3
Ark Survival Evolved
Fallout 4
Skyrim
Overwatch
Minecraft
Mass Effect series (1-3 and Andronema)
Rocket League
Dragon Age Inquisition
GTA V (singleplayer and offline)
PUBG
Fortnite
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Cvxx6s < the link that has all the specific parts i'm looking to upgrade to. *UPDATED with new part selection*
Here's a screenshot of the list of my current Computer Specs vs what I want to upgrade to (it won't display as an image):
https://gyazo.com/290cc089eaec302db1b2da9e047cdd27 < Upgraded with new part selection
https://gyazo.com/e159f4c4c4015b17e195f8ad8497de9d < the parts I want to upgrade to
I'm aware that AMD is better for gaming, and has some protection against the Meltdown Vulnerability, but a lot of gamers and streamers that I've been following have been using Intels, and my school laptop is also running an Intel and it's been fairly decent with games and it's an i5. I addition, some of my games/software seem to work a bit better on an Intel, (Ark, Mass Effect 1, VM ware and Visual Basic, I'm looking at you).
I would do just a smaller upgrade, but the thing is that Ive been using the same hardware for 5 years -4 years in the case of the motherboard, CPU and cpu liquid cooler, 1 year in the case of the 3 TB hard Drive as i replaced a faulty drive just last year- and it's time for an upgrade, especially for the GPUs. my GPUs are 670, a step above the minimum requirements for a lot of the newer games, and no where near the recommended requirements in some cases.
I want to go from 2 way SLI down to a singular graphics card -also because the 1080 ti seems to have a lower power draw than 1 670. Upgrading to such a high -and expensive- graphics card will help keep that much current for a few years untill i need to upgrade again. I'm also double checking to make sure that my case has the length for the card (Zalman Z11's case is a bit longer to allow more room for bigger cards, time to put it to good use)
I also want to stick with 32GB of ram that i currently have. Some games are requiring more and more Ram now, some going as high as 4-16GBs depending on minimum vs recommended requirements. 32GB keeps me ahead and i find helps during streaming and processing. I'm not sure on the motherboard though. To be honest, the price doesn't look too bad, it's got a max RAM capacity of 64 GBs (very nice) it's kind of Flashy with the LEDs (again very nice) and it means i finally have to use DDR4.
I've worked on Intel based machines in class and on my old laptop so while i don't have as much experience as i do with AMD boards/ CPUs, I am at least familiar with them (I know it's a pin and CPU clip difference but still, i find the Intel slips a bit or a hassle to deal with, hence why i need to learn).
I need to double check my CPU cooler. It's a Cooler Master Seidon 120XL (120mm Radiator and 2 Fans) set up and while it says it's compatable with both Intel and AMD, but i'm not sure if it will have adequate cooling/ or if it will fit the newer CPUs.
As a side note: I managed to find my Motherboard info (newegg changed their order history search options, so i can no longer check all time purchase history. i had to dig through my bookmarks). My CURRENT Mobo is a GA-990FXA-UD3 and i think it's a rev 4.0 board.
Like i said, I'm getting odd lag when i'm just working on the computer outside of games, off lag spikes/ massive frame rate drops in games, and in one other game, massive lag/ FPS drops and crackly audio. Reinstalling windows worked for a few months and the frequency of the issues decreased, but as of late, they're starting to increase again and I'm starting to suspect aging hardware, but i'm not sure wich. CPU tempratures aren't bad... about 40 to 67ish C. GPu temps are about 50-70 C depending on the game (Ark and MEA run about 63-70 ish degrees C again 4 fans are running -the 5th is unplugged due to me needing a splitter cable to plug into the motherboard- not including the 2 for my radiator.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding hardware, heads up regarding temperature or compatibility issues i missed, or reviews on specific hardware, that would be great. I'm hoping to order the parts tonight or tomorrow morning so my Amazon Prime student gets them to me by Tuesday. I'll try to add more info once i get home, unless i pass out from exhaustion. Been awake since 4am.
Edit: I've since found some hardware that's cheaper and actually better than i originally selected. I've also dropped the Ram From 32 to 16 GB to help with costs, as i can always upgrade to 32 or 64 GB of RAM later
I'm including the link to PC part picker for specific specifications so people can see what I selected. The website claims no compatibility issues but i wanted to make sure and to see of there's any other suggestions. As an IT student, I've been watching prices and tying to look things up between my studies and streaming.
Approximate Purchase Date: this week , Either Today or tomorrow so parts arrive early next week
Budget Range: less than $1,200 CDN taxes in (I'm already slightly over budget as is), Using Amazon Prime Student to save on shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Streaming, Video Editing, Gaming, running Virtual machines
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, RAM, Mobo, Graphics card at a later date (see notes)
Do you need to buy OS: No, using Win 7 Ultimate that I bought for original build
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.ca because I have free Prime Student through my school
Location: Canada, Atlantic Coast (Don't feel comfortable giving out my exact province/town sorry)
Parts Preferences: Intel i7 8th gen, 16-32 GB Ram, 1080ti once the price drops and it's more available for purchase (Nvidia direct because they sell at MSRP) Please do not suggest ASRock parts. I've had horrible experiences with them in the past.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: Currently using SLI, will NOT be using SLI once I can afford to upgrade my GPU
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 if i remember correctly
Additional Comments: Upgrading from AMD to Intel, trying to upgrade after 5 years, using the same O/S from 5 years ago, using 64 Bit Win 7 Ultimate (I still have the copy of my install disk), will upgrade GPU once price drops and i can afford the upgrade
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: random and massive frame drops in various games (going from 70 & 60 down to 20-10), stuttering, odd occasional lag when on the desktop or out of games. Games affected include:
Arma 3
Ark Survival Evolved
Fallout 4
Skyrim
Overwatch
Minecraft
Mass Effect series (1-3 and Andronema)
Rocket League
Dragon Age Inquisition
GTA V (singleplayer and offline)
PUBG
Fortnite
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Cvxx6s < the link that has all the specific parts i'm looking to upgrade to. *UPDATED with new part selection*
Here's a screenshot of the list of my current Computer Specs vs what I want to upgrade to (it won't display as an image):
https://gyazo.com/290cc089eaec302db1b2da9e047cdd27 < Upgraded with new part selection
https://gyazo.com/e159f4c4c4015b17e195f8ad8497de9d < the parts I want to upgrade to
I'm aware that AMD is better for gaming, and has some protection against the Meltdown Vulnerability, but a lot of gamers and streamers that I've been following have been using Intels, and my school laptop is also running an Intel and it's been fairly decent with games and it's an i5. I addition, some of my games/software seem to work a bit better on an Intel, (Ark, Mass Effect 1, VM ware and Visual Basic, I'm looking at you).
I would do just a smaller upgrade, but the thing is that Ive been using the same hardware for 5 years -4 years in the case of the motherboard, CPU and cpu liquid cooler, 1 year in the case of the 3 TB hard Drive as i replaced a faulty drive just last year- and it's time for an upgrade, especially for the GPUs. my GPUs are 670, a step above the minimum requirements for a lot of the newer games, and no where near the recommended requirements in some cases.
I want to go from 2 way SLI down to a singular graphics card -also because the 1080 ti seems to have a lower power draw than 1 670. Upgrading to such a high -and expensive- graphics card will help keep that much current for a few years untill i need to upgrade again. I'm also double checking to make sure that my case has the length for the card (Zalman Z11's case is a bit longer to allow more room for bigger cards, time to put it to good use)
I also want to stick with 32GB of ram that i currently have. Some games are requiring more and more Ram now, some going as high as 4-16GBs depending on minimum vs recommended requirements. 32GB keeps me ahead and i find helps during streaming and processing. I'm not sure on the motherboard though. To be honest, the price doesn't look too bad, it's got a max RAM capacity of 64 GBs (very nice) it's kind of Flashy with the LEDs (again very nice) and it means i finally have to use DDR4.
I've worked on Intel based machines in class and on my old laptop so while i don't have as much experience as i do with AMD boards/ CPUs, I am at least familiar with them (I know it's a pin and CPU clip difference but still, i find the Intel slips a bit or a hassle to deal with, hence why i need to learn).
I need to double check my CPU cooler. It's a Cooler Master Seidon 120XL (120mm Radiator and 2 Fans) set up and while it says it's compatable with both Intel and AMD, but i'm not sure if it will have adequate cooling/ or if it will fit the newer CPUs.
As a side note: I managed to find my Motherboard info (newegg changed their order history search options, so i can no longer check all time purchase history. i had to dig through my bookmarks). My CURRENT Mobo is a GA-990FXA-UD3 and i think it's a rev 4.0 board.
Like i said, I'm getting odd lag when i'm just working on the computer outside of games, off lag spikes/ massive frame rate drops in games, and in one other game, massive lag/ FPS drops and crackly audio. Reinstalling windows worked for a few months and the frequency of the issues decreased, but as of late, they're starting to increase again and I'm starting to suspect aging hardware, but i'm not sure wich. CPU tempratures aren't bad... about 40 to 67ish C. GPu temps are about 50-70 C depending on the game (Ark and MEA run about 63-70 ish degrees C again 4 fans are running -the 5th is unplugged due to me needing a splitter cable to plug into the motherboard- not including the 2 for my radiator.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding hardware, heads up regarding temperature or compatibility issues i missed, or reviews on specific hardware, that would be great. I'm hoping to order the parts tonight or tomorrow morning so my Amazon Prime student gets them to me by Tuesday. I'll try to add more info once i get home, unless i pass out from exhaustion. Been awake since 4am.
Edit: I've since found some hardware that's cheaper and actually better than i originally selected. I've also dropped the Ram From 32 to 16 GB to help with costs, as i can always upgrade to 32 or 64 GB of RAM later
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