Upgrading computer

[penguin]

Birthday is coming up soon. And I was just looking around at getting an upgrade on my computer.

I already have a 1 TB hard drive, a case( may need new one) and Nvidia GTX 460.

I just need everything else ( new mobo, ram, processor, power supply), but I'm not sure whats good. I really want a good processor more than anything. But please help me out

Budget: $400-700.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Here is a starting point:

2500k is the cpu you want. Best bang for your buck at the moment. The update to the processor will be released in Aprilish, so depending if you want to wait, it should be at a similar price point (though probably a few more bucks).

8gb ddr3 1600 ram is fairly cheap

A decent motherboard with some usb 3.0 ports, sata 6 ports, usb 3.0 headers, and 2 pci-e slots that can run x8/x8.

The power supply is overkill for your current setup, but if you even want to go dual graphics cards or upgrade your computer again, not a bad thing to have a little more. I would go for at least 80 plus efficiency and 4 pci-e connectors (if you ever sli/crossfire).

Leaves you some room to get a case and another gtx 460 if you need the power. Those run about $150 atm.

 

[Cigarjohn]

Birthday is coming up soon. And I was just looking around at getting an upgrade on my computer.

I already have a 1 TB hard drive, a case( may need new one) and Nvidia GTX 460.

I just need everything else ( new mobo, ram, processor, power supply), but I'm not sure whats good. I really want a good processor more than anything. But please help me out

Budget: $400-700.

I agree with I'm your huckleberry. Great movie and saying by the way.

Anyway, I would stay with the mainstream of computers. If your going with a i7 2500k, you might as well go with the i7 2700k. Its not much difference in price. When I built my new system in December, I used the i7 2600k. The 2700k wasn't released yet. I'm overclocking my processor to over 5.0 ghz completely stable. Great processor. Unlessl your into heavy benchmarking, I would then opt for the X79 2011 processors.

Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, Foxconn, are great motherboards to deal with.

Ram is still pretty cheap. 1600 mhz with tight timing of 7-8-7-24 2T are more than you need. I'm using Mushkin ram. Very reliable and awesome customer support. Based in the United States. Also Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial and Kingston are great ram companies too. I've had past problems with G.Skill but they have awesome support too.

1600mhz with those tight timings will be equal to 2400mhz ram overclocked and having 9-9-9-24 2T timings. You may be able to lower the 2400 mhz ram to 8 latency but any lower will force your system to be either unstable or force your 2400mhz to drop to 1866mhz. And still the 1600mhz will still faster. And 2400mhz is 3 times more expensive than 1600mhz. And you won't see any performance in your game play. Only in larger applications like photo and video editing programs.

I stress this to everyone. I don't care how cheap you want to build a system. I don't care if anyone purchased the crappiest hardware. But please don't buy a crappy power supply. Stick with Antec, Thermaltke and Corsair. There the best. They have the best reputation in the businees. They have excellent support and warranties.

And I would highly recommend you purchasing more wattage than you need. I have a 1200 watt PSU and I'm probalby using about 900+ of it. But a 1200 watt PSU or even a 750 to 900 will run more efficiently and use less electricty than a smaller power supply maxed out.

If your planning on running two video cards in SLI or Crossfire, I would definitely recommend you not going less than a 1000 watt PSU.

If you need further advice, ask some of our great, trusted clan members: Jon Paso and Blue Stealth. They know there stuff and will also give you great advice.

I hope I was able to help you out.

Peace and be well.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Well, for his budget and most peoples everyday use, the hyperthreading that the 2600k/2700k provide is not worth the extra $100+. For gaming and everyday general use, the 2500k will be plenty. While x79 is nice, for his $400-$700 budget, it is a little much.

PSUs are a place where I like to get a little more than needed for future upgrades such as sli/crossfire. 650w is plenty of power for even 2 7970s. Power consumption for higher end cards are staying at about the same levels or going down with the manufacturing size decrease. While you can go with the general rule of antec and corsair, it is not true that every unit they make is great. Same goes for antec and thermaltake. About the only company where every one is golden is seasonic. XFX does have some quality units. Looking at online reviews from reputable sites such as jonnyguru and hardocp where they do intensive testing is important. Long term reviews and DOA reviews from newegg are also good to take note of. But yea, I do not agree with the 1000w recommendation for all sli/crossfire setups. Maybe for a pair of 590s or 6990s, but for 2 gtx 460s or even 2 7970s, you do not need that much wattage. With his current setup, during gaming, he might be pulling 300w which is at 50% of the unit I said which is the sweet spot for max efficiency. You also may want to take note of low power usage efficiency as you are not always stressing your computer.

Also, appreciate the comment on the name. One of the greatest movies.

 

[runo]

I think that anything above a 2500K is going to be overkill for a $400-$700 budget even if he ups the ante to dual GTX 460s. IMO, I'd save the money that a 2600K/2700K would cost and spend the difference towards a matching 460 to SLI them, which would make excellent use of the 650w PSU that huck recommended. Then there's also enough change left over that he could get a fairly rockin' case to put it all into.

 

[Muffs]

2500k and get another 460.