Out Of The Game A Couple Of Years.

[Lazermonkey]

Hi folks,

Old timer here with some questions.

I went and upgraded my system. The system before upgrade consisted of an Antec case, AsRock 970 Extreme 4 MB AMD FX-6300, MSI 560 Ti 448, 8 gigs of Crucial ballistix sport, 850 watt Thermaltake toughpower PSU and an Samsung 250gb SSD.

I upgraded to the FX-8370, 16 gigs of Gskill ripjaws 1866 RAM and the GPU is now the EVGA GTX 980 Ti FTW version. Also upgraded the cooling from air to liquid with the Corsair H 105 with the twin 120mm fans.

I ran into an issue where one of the fans had to be mounted to the top of the case as it would not fit inside and was blocking some connectors on the MB.

What I am really curious about is this. What case would hold that radiator and fans and still give me some clearance? I am looking to buy the Corsair or Cooler Master case. I like their designs.

Also, will this 8370 bottleneck my 980 Ti? If so, shhould I move up to the 9590 or what ever the latese AMD CPU is? If I do this, which motherbord is tried and true withe the larger power sucking AMD chips?

One other thing, Would I be better off going with an Intel board and CPU? How is the new gen Intels working out for you guys? I was looking at the newer 5820, is that a good chip for gaming?

TIA for any and all responses. This guy has been out of the loop and things sure have changed!

 

[JATownes]

First, with regard to the case question I would recommend looking into the Phanteks line of cases. They are made with watercooling in mind.

Secondly, the 8370 is an identical chip as the 9370/9590, and will (for the most part) perform the same with an overclock and good cooling, so I wouldn't waste the money on the 9000 series processors. Might want to look into a (good) 990fx board to get the most out of it though (and keep those VRMs cool with some added cooling).

Lastly, I'm an AMD fanboy and can tell you without hesitation that the Intel chips will completely stomp on the FX line from AMD, so if you're spending the money on a complete rebuild, definitely go the Intel route.

JAT

 

[Lazermonkey]

First, with regard to the case question I would recommend looking into the Phanteks line of cases. They are made with watercooling in mind.

Secondly, the 8370 is an identical chip as the 9370/9590, and will (for the most part) perform the same with an overclock and good cooling, so I wouldn't waste the money on the 9000 series processors. Might want to look into a (good) 990fx board to get the most out of it though (and keep those VRMs cool with some added cooling).

Lastly, I'm an AMD fanboy and can tell you without hesitation that the Intel chips will completely stomp on the FX line from AMD, so if you're spending the money on a complete rebuild, definitely go the Intel route.

JAT

Awesome fast response!

This leads me to the next question. Which Intel board and CPU? Is the 5820 a decent choice? I have read so many differing opinions, my head was spinning haha.

Thanks again for the responses. This place and the good folks here are a wealth of knowledge.

 

[P4-630]

If it's mostly for gaming you could go Skylake i5-6600K.

 

[JATownes]

@P4-630 nailed it. For gaming the 6600K is definitely the bang for buck winner.

JAT

 

[Lazermonkey]

Would this beast here give me plenty of head room for the Corsair H-105? It's the large radiator with twin 120mm fans. That sucker barely fits my Antec case, and I really would like a new case with a side window since my GPU and Corsair light up lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854001

 

[JATownes]

Yep. That one should do it. 120/140mm fans fit above the top shroud also, so it would be a little tight, but you could run push/pull in the chassis. But if you are only running pull there will be plenty of clearance.

JAT

 

[Bill_Bright]

Corsair has good "designs" when it comes to cases, but frankly, I was disappointed with the build "quality" of the last two used here (both Carbide 300r). They were not "true" - that is, the bends were not exactly 90.0° so the 4 feet did not sit flat on the floor - the cases were a little warped so they wobbled, even after weighing them down with installed hardware. This also made it hard to remove and put back in place the side panels. There was no damage to boxes they came in so I can only assume they came out of the factory that way. I note in some scenarios, a case that is not true can put undue strain on the motherboard mounting points. Not good. And finally, the sheet metal in one case had a couple rough, knuckle scraping edges. Now I accept the 300r is not one of their upper tier cases, but I felt these problems should not have happened.

My most recent build for my own computer was with the Fractal Design R4 w/window and I love it. No complaints at all.

 

[JATownes]

My most recent build for my own computer was with the Fractal Design R4 w/window and I love it. No complaints at all.

+1 Always forget about Fractal, but I concur...did a build for a friend in one and I was very impressed with the build quality.

JAT

 

[bubbleawsome]

As for CPUs the 6600k is great for gaming, but if you're planning to wait a while before upgrading the 6-core 5820k is also a great processor. It might be worth it to wait for the new 6000 series extreme editions as the xeons using the new silicon have more cores for the price.

 

[BigPaPaRu]

I have a Corsair 760T and I love it. Got it for less then $100 open box from Microcenter. Has enough room for anything you throw at it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139034

 

[Lazermonkey]

I have a Corsair 760T and I love it. Got it for less then $100 open box from Microcenter. Has enough room for anything you throw at it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139034

I have a Microcenter about an hour drive from my location. I may head down there and see what they have. Just need something bigger so everything doesn't have to be in there so tight.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

since you're looking at cases in the +$200 range, I want to say I have been really happy with my Silverstone FT04. Plenty of room for either large air cooled heatsinks or water cooling set-ups. Large amounts of air circulation. Air filters for keeping dust out. Excellent build quality. And a clean classic look.

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-case-ft04bw

 

[bubbleawsome]

Ooh, the 5820k is on sale for $299 at microcenter, cheaper than the 6700k. Obviously you pay more for an x99 board, but it may be worth it. A good (not great) board plus CPU is $485

 

[Bill_Bright]

That 760T is a "full" tower case. That means it is not just big, it is HUGE!!! The only real reason to need a full tower case is if you have tons of drives and expansion cards. A comparable mid tower will offer the width and climb-in room, just not be so tall (and maybe not quite as deep) or be as much of a pain to lug outside for cleaning (even filtered cases eventually need blasting out). And a decent mid-tower will still offer outstanding conventional and alternative cooling options.

I note that Newegg link incorrectly shows the drive support. As seen here, that case really supports 13 drives!

I am not saying there's anything bad about it, but even most heavily used file servers don't need full tower cases.

Just something to think about.

 

[P4-630]

Another nice case: http://www.bequiet.com/en/case/595
I got it's smaller brother, the Silent Base 600.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I've enjoyed using Fractal Design Arc XL (full tower) and the Fractal Design R4 is it's little brother.

If I was going mid tower, I like what I've seen from the Corsair Carbide 400Q in the recent review posted on here on techpowerup - I'm very tempted to pick one of these up....but the wife would kill me for spending more money on something I don't need.

 

[BigPaPaRu]

That 760T is a "full" tower case. That means it is not just big, it is HUGE!!! The only real reason to need a full tower case is if you have tons of drives and expansion cards. A comparable mid tower will offer the width and climb-in room, just not be so tall (and maybe not quite as deep) or be as much of a pain to lug outside for cleaning (even filtered cases eventually need blasting out). And a decent mid-tower will still offer outstanding conventional and alternative cooling options.

I note that Newegg link incorrectly shows the drive support. As seen here, that case really supports 13 drives!

I am not saying there's anything bad about it, but even most heavily used file servers don't need full tower cases.

Just something to think about.

Yeah the case is monstrous. I personally like the space. I have 4 hard drives, blu ray burner, dvd burner, nzxt hue, three slot 980 ti, and infinite upgradeability. But you know when you see a case and you know you have to have it, well that's what happened when I seen the 760T

 

[Bill_Bright]

Well, even with all that, the free space is still cavernous. That said, I know the feeling when you see something you can't live without. The itch never goes away until you get it - that is, until you see the next thing you can't live without.

 

[BigPaPaRu]

Well, even with all that, the free space is still cavernous.

Yeah I own 3 other computers and I work on computers a lot for friends and family and It's nice to be able to add parts with no problems and very easy and quick with all the space. That being said, OP, If you do decide to go full tower, you should definitely go over case measurements. I just wish it were easier to move my computer around.

 

[Lazermonkey]

Well I went to Micorcenter and picked up the Corsair 760T. It is a beast of a case. But, It has room, lots of room lol. I also picked up a new PSU the EVGA 750w Supernova full modular. Also got myself a new MB for the FX-8370. Picked up the MSI 990FXA gaming board. So far so good. Everything went together with no issues. My Corsair H105 fit in there with no problem. that was my main issue, room.

I really like the windowed door that shows the internal components. Overall it seems like my new setup will be just fine.

Thanks again for all of the helpful tips and advice.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I am not one for showy, fancy cases or flashy lights on my cases - they don't do anything for performance. And I tend to pay attention to what's on my monitors. I used to not like side panel windows but now I insist on them. While I also insist on cases with removable, washable filters, dust buildup inside the case is still inevitable - just not as often. And because I don't like to tear down and lug my computers outside for cleaning either, it is really nice to be able look through the window to see if the dust has started to bridge the heatsink fins yet and that all the fans are spinning properly too, without having to pull the case out of my desk's cubby hole and open the side panel.

Glad you like your 760T.

 

[BigPaPaRu]

Well I went to Micorcenter and picked up the Corsair 760T. It is a beast of a case. But, It has room, lots of room lol. I also picked up a new PSU the EVGA 750w Supernova full modular. Also got myself a new MB for the FX-8370. Picked up the MSI 990FXA gaming board. So far so good. Everything went together with no issues. My Corsair H105 fit in there with no problem. that was my main issue, room.

I really like the windowed door that shows the internal components. Overall it seems like my new setup will be just fine.

Thanks again for all of the helpful tips and advice.

Enjoy your new system. I think you will love your new case, I know I love mine.