Tips for Gaming Rig UPGRADE

[jonathan1107]

Processor: I7 875k @@4ghz (more like 3.8ghz now, 4ghz wasn't stable enough)
Motherboard: Sabertooth 55i
Cooling: Coolit ECO (CPU watercooler)
Memory: Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card: Asus Directcu ii GTX 670 2GB (+145CC +260 Mem)
Hard Disk(s): 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesterDigital RAID 0
Optical Drive: Lite On BluRay Read/Write
LCD/CRT Model: Asus 24" ve248h 1920x1080
Case: NZXT Phantom
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply: Antec TPQ 1200w
Software: Windows 7 (64 bit)

Hey guys, up here are my specs for my current RIG. I'd like your opinion on what to upgrade next. I use my PC 80% of the time for gaming and the rest is web-browsing (lots of multi-tab surfing and video stream watching online) and sometimes I watch movies...

Here are the 3 options I've considered, feel free to point out which one you think is best or suggest something different if you like. We're talking about a 600-700$ budget here for the upgrade. Keep in mind though, that whatever I upgrade, I can sell the previous parts as well...

OPTION A: Upgrade the CPU+MOBO+COOLER:

If I do this, I'll probably get either an i7 4970k + a decent OC mobo and a better cooler than my current one (my current is okay, but I'd get something like an all in one water cooler with a dual radiator (for better heat dissipation)

OPTION B: Sell my current ASUS GTX 670 2gb directcu ii and buy a GTX 780ti or a GTX 980 (the reviews seem to point towards the 780 ti rather than the 980). + buy a big azz SSD Question on the side here: "What'S the difference between the GTX 780 and the GTX 780 ti?" What kind of %performance increase are we talking?

OPTION C: UPGRADE a little bit of everything. Swap the CPU for an i5 4690k, swap the mobo (at this point I should be at 400$ already) swap the GPU for a GTX 780 ti (boom im at 800$), here maybe if I manage to sell my old mobo, cpu, gpu and cpu cooler, I might be able to afford a new decent CPU cooler and maybe even save some money.

N.B. I live in CANADA (so make sure to use canadian websites if you got interesting links)

 

[jonathan1107]

I did find this as well, should I decide to only upgrade my CPU+mobo
I could get another gtx 670 (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121695&cm_re=gtx_670-_-14-121-695-_-Product)

 

[GhostRyder]

Processor: I7 875k @@4ghz (more like 3.8ghz now, 4ghz wasn't stable enough)
Motherboard: Sabertooth 55i
Cooling: Coolit ECO (CPU watercooler)
Memory: Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card: Asus Directcu ii GTX 670 2GB (+145CC +260 Mem)
Hard Disk(s): 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesterDigital RAID 0
Optical Drive: Lite On BluRay Read/Write
LCD/CRT Model: Asus 24" ve248h 1920x1080
Case: NZXT Phantom
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply: Antec TPQ 1200w
Software: Windows 7 (64 bit)

Hey guys, up here are my specs for my current RIG. I'd like your opinion on what to upgrade next. I use my PC 80% of the time for gaming and the rest is web-browsing (lots of multi-tab surfing and video stream watching online) and sometimes I watch movies...

Here are the 3 options I've considered, feel free to point out which one you think is best or suggest something different if you like. We're talking about a 600-700$ budget here for the upgrade. Keep in mind though, that whatever I upgrade, I can sell the previous parts as well...

OPTION A: Upgrade the CPU+MOBO+COOLER:

If I do this, I'll probably get either an i7 4970k + a decent OC mobo and a better cooler than my current one (my current is okay, but I'd get something like an all in one water cooler with a dual radiator (for better heat dissipation)

OPTION B: Sell my current ASUS GTX 670 2gb directcu ii and buy a GTX 780ti or a GTX 980 (the reviews seem to point towards the 780 ti rather than the 980). + buy a big azz SSD Question on the side here: "What'S the difference between the GTX 780 and the GTX 780 ti?" What kind of %performance increase are we talking?

OPTION C: UPGRADE a little bit of everything. Swap the CPU for an i5 4690k, swap the mobo (at this point I should be at 400$ already) swap the GPU for a GTX 780 ti (boom im at 800$), here maybe if I manage to sell my old mobo, cpu, gpu and cpu cooler, I might be able to afford a new decent CPU cooler and maybe even save some money.

N.B. I live in CANADA (so make sure to use canadian websites if you got interesting links)

Why not try something like this:

i5 4690K
MSi Z97-G55 Motherboard
EVGA GTX 970

That totals about $762 CDN.

I would say that getting an i5 over an i7 would be better for the fact the performance in games is exactly the same for the most part and they overclock just as well. On top of that the Z97-G55 from MSI is a great value motherboard that supports SLI and has a great 8 Phase VRM for overclocking to the limits. With the video card your best bet is the GTX 970 in general as its performance compared to the GTX 980 is close and overclocks very well. With selling your old parts you could then invest in an updated and better cooler for some serious overclocking!

 

[Chetkigaming]

As far as i know new haswell-E motherboards are not so stable, big failure rate and questionable ddr4 performance for gaming, i can suggest only msi gtx 980 + azz SSD.

 

[eidairaman1]

If your mobo is sli capable id grab another 670

 

[jonathan1107]

I did some reading on the web, and a lot of reviews of the 9xx series seem to point towards the GTX 780 ti rather than a 9xx series card

I prefer going with a single Strong GPU than going SLI (if I can avoid SLI) ... since SLI depends too much on driver support and optimization in games (and god knows lots of them are game ports with no optimization whatsoever). Also if I change my CPU, I have got to change my mobo since its a different chip (also my mobo doesn'T support PCI-E 3.0 or USB 3.0)

EDIT: I just found out about the G-Sync feature that nvidia has developped... how helpful is it? is it better than adaptive V-Sync... does it have anything to do with Vertical sync? does it require a specific monitor?

 

[jonathan1107]

If your mobo is sli capable id grab another 670

it is but it drops to 8x lanes instead of full 16x... and like I said in prev post, I'm not a big fan of SLI and CFX because it depends on driver support and optimization too much... More often than not, one does not really profit from having SLI

 

[GhostRyder]

I did some reading on the web, and a lot of reviews of the 9xx series seem to point towards the GTX 780 ti rather than a 9xx series card

I prefer going with a single Strong GPU than going SLI (if I can avoid SLI) ... since SLI depends too much on driver support and optimization in games (and god knows lots of them are game ports with no optimization whatsoever). Also if I change my CPU, I have got to change my mobo since its a different chip (also my mobo doesn'T support PCI-E 3.0 or USB 3.0)

EDIT: I just found out about the G-Sync feature that nvidia has developped... how helpful is it? is it better than adaptive V-Sync... does it have anything to do with Vertical sync? does it require a specific monitor?

Requires specific monitor to use G-Sync, it basically syncs the monitors refresh with what the GPU is outputting eliminating the need for V-Sync and getting rid of potential problems like Frame tearing and stuttering.

it is but it drops to 8x lanes instead of full 16x... and like I said in prev post, I'm not a big fan of SLI and CFX because it depends on driver support and optimization too much... More often than not, one does not really profit from having SLI

8x on PCI-E 2.0 is not really saturated and such does not offer much if any performance differences with 2 GPU's.

I would say get a GTX 970 if you can because they are cheap and overclock better along with strong performance that is on par with a GTX 780ti. Not to mention the extra Vram can only be better for future proofing and higher resolutions. I would say if you can get one to go for the Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 personally if you get a lot of options or the MSI Gaming GTX 970. But I would recommend anyday a GTX 970 over a GTX 780ti at the moment because of its price, overclocking, and overall performance.

 

[eidairaman1]

Requires specific monitor to use G-Sync, it basically syncs the monitors refresh with what the GPU is outputting eliminating the need for V-Sync and getting rid of potential problems like Frame tearing and stuttering.


8x on PCI-E 2.0 is not really saturated and such does not offer much if any performance differences with 2 GPU's.

I would say get a GTX 970 if you can because they are cheap and overclock better along with strong performance that is on par with a GTX 780ti. Not to mention the extra Vram can only be better for future proofing and higher resolutions. I would say if you can get one to go for the Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 personally if you get a lot of options or the MSI Gaming GTX 970. But I would recommend anyday a GTX 970 over a GTX 780ti at the moment because of its price, overclocking, and overall performance.

If you can get a 780 for a really nicr price go for it otherwise spend for a 970

 

[m&m's]

If it was my computer, I would add 8GB of ram, change the GPU for a GTX 970 or GTX 980 and if there's still some money left I would buy a MX100.
Your CPU is still strong, PCIE 2.0 is still more than enough for any card, the only downside is SATA 2, but the real benefit of a SSD is the access time so it doesn't matter. Yes, it will be a little slower, but not enough to concern me.

 

[jonathan1107]

Requires specific monitor to use G-Sync, it basically syncs the monitors refresh with what the GPU is outputting eliminating the need for V-Sync and getting rid of potential problems like Frame tearing and stuttering.


8x on PCI-E 2.0 is not really saturated and such does not offer much if any performance differences with 2 GPU's.

I would say get a GTX 970 if you can because they are cheap and overclock better along with strong performance that is on par with a GTX 780ti. Not to mention the extra Vram can only be better for future proofing and higher resolutions. I would say if you can get one to go for the Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 personally if you get a lot of options or the MSI Gaming GTX 970. But I would recommend anyday a GTX 970 over a GTX 780ti at the moment because of its price, overclocking, and overall performance.

ok thanks a lot for the input ghostryder, will definitly take that into consideration. I noticed there doesn't seem to be many gtx 980s out there... its as if stocks are very limited. I watched more videos about G-Sync. And G-Sync does sound VERY interesting... I know there are DIY kits out there to mod monitors. What are your thoughts about G-Sync? It sounds very interesting indeed (I for one have always used V-Sync... Adaptive V-sync has been very dissapointing and G-Sync does sound very promising) Are there already G-sync capable monitors out there? or is it all DIY?

I was considering to get a Dell ultra sharp monitor (24 inch glossy) will have to see if it's g-sync capable or "mod-able"

 

[XSI]

Why not try something like this:

i5 4690K
MSi Z97-G55 Motherboard
EVGA GTX 970

That totals about $762 CDN.

I would say that getting an i5 over an i7 would be better for the fact the performance in games is exactly the same for the most part and they overclock just as well. On top of that the Z97-G55 from MSI is a great value motherboard that supports SLI and has a great 8 Phase VRM for overclocking to the limits. With the video card your best bet is the GTX 970 in general as its performance compared to the GTX 980 is close and overclocks very well. With selling your old parts you could then invest in an updated and better cooler for some serious overclocking!

that's great recommendation. all 3 parts. i was about to suggest same. OP you will get similar performance like 670 sli, get new cpu with good OC get new good mobo with lots of features. stay under your budget.

edit: gsync monitors are kind of 200$ more expensive, but they give you smoother experience even on lower fps + no tearing.

 

[jonathan1107]

that's great recommendation. all 3 parts. i was about to suggest same. OP you will get similar performance like 670 sli, get new cpu with good OC get new good mobo with lots of features. stay under your budget.

yes indeed, I do like his suggestions, I'm thankful he clarified my confusion about the 780ti... I was under the impression the 780ti was a better purchase than the 9xx series, but the price point is definitly interesting, so is the VRAM indeed...

I'm thinking of doing exactly what he mentionned. The hard part will be getting my parts sold. I'm not very familiar with selling parts on forums. Cause my mobo, my GPU and my CPU aren't very old, they should still be worth some $$$

 

[eidairaman1]

Look at parts bnib and base the price off of that. And consider years of ops on them. You might consider that 670 for physx duties if you got the games

 

[jonathan1107]

Why not try something like this:

i5 4690K
MSi Z97-G55 Motherboard
EVGA GTX 970

That totals about $762 CDN.

I would say that getting an i5 over an i7 would be better for the fact the performance in games is exactly the same for the most part and they overclock just as well. On top of that the Z97-G55 from MSI is a great value motherboard that supports SLI and has a great 8 Phase VRM for overclocking to the limits. With the video card your best bet is the GTX 970 in general as its performance compared to the GTX 980 is close and overclocks very well. With selling your old parts you could then invest in an updated and better cooler for some serious overclocking!

One thing that came to my mind though: I'm pretty definitive about SLI being something that I'll probably never need. I never intend to do multi-monitor gaming. I don't intend to do high res gaming anytime soon either (4k is not optimized enough to my liking yet and 25xx/14xx res is not my thing either... I'm gonna be either 1920/1080 or 1920/1200 most likely. So with that in mind, would you still recommend the same MOBO (msi z97-g55) or is there a good performing mobo I could go for to save money? (smaller mobo without SLI capabilities)

it all depends on how much savings we're talking about... because if I'm correct, even small mobos still cost around 70-90$ ... so if SLI is FULL atx mobo is only 40$ more, I'll spend it

 

[eidairaman1]

If you can find an matx with higher quality then year sure, however if you plan on expansion you need a newer board. Your Cpu is good enough for a 970.

 

[GhostRyder]

ok thanks a lot for the input ghostryder, will definitly take that into consideration. I noticed there doesn't seem to be many gtx 980s out there... its as if stocks are very limited. I watched more videos about G-Sync. And G-Sync does sound VERY interesting... I know there are DIY kits out there to mod monitors. What are your thoughts about G-Sync? It sounds very interesting indeed (I for one have always used V-Sync... Adaptive V-sync has been very dissapointing and G-Sync does sound very promising) Are there already G-sync capable monitors out there? or is it all DIY?

I was considering to get a Dell ultra sharp monitor (24 inch glossy) will have to see if it's g-sync capable or "mod-able"

I have seen G-Sync in action from a friends rig using the Asus VG248QE (I'm 99% sure trying to remember exactly) and I can safely say it works and is a pretty cool technology. Basically the major point of getting one is when you run a setup at 120hz+ (Generally 144hz) on 1080p, or 1440p because of how difficult it is to be stable at that high of a framerate and you will see a lot of jumping around which makes the transition smoother. In all honesty its great for that, but I find it unnecessary for basic 60hz monitors even up to 4K because as long as the fps is stable and your using dynamic V-Sync at those levels the difference might be miniscule for the cost.

The DIY kits only work with monitors that already have the port ready for you to add the module which is a very limited pool. You cannot just add G-Sync to any monitor sadly.

One thing that came to my mind though: I'm pretty definitive about SLI being something that I'll probably never need. I never intend to do multi-monitor gaming. I don't intend to do high res gaming anytime soon either (4k is not optimized enough to my liking yet and 25xx/14xx res is not my thing either... I'm gonna be either 1920/1080 or 1920/1200 most likely. So with that in mind, would you still recommend the same MOBO (msi z97-g55) or is there a good performing mobo I could go for to save money? (smaller mobo without SLI capabilities)

it all depends on how much savings we're talking about... because if I'm correct, even small mobos still cost around 70-90$ ... so if SLI is FULL atx mobo is only 40$ more, I'll spend it

Well yes, I mostly recommend that board because its value is upper high for what your getting. I love the board as I did 2 clients requests that involved that board and it honestly was just fantastic to use without a feeling you were paying a ton for nothing more than a few bells and whistles. If you are looking to save a bit more and do not care about SLI, you can try one of the following instead.

MSI Z97 Gaming 3 (Lose 2 Phases for power delivery and the SLI capabilities to save around $10)
Asrock Z97 Pro4 (Same deal as above basically but with a little more savings)
Asrock Z97 Extreme3 (8Phase Power Delivery and SLI support, all at cheaper than the Z97-G55 by ~$10, good board as well)

If your really wanting to save the problem is as you get much lower you start to really cut on board quality. Many boards try and make it sounds/look great but you really suffer on the Z97 chipset with some of the poor quality power delivery systems on the lower boards that effect a multitude of things including life. Normally I say investing in your board is a primary thing since everything relies on it and it along with the CPU maybe two of the things you keep the longest from a system.

For savings sometimes the best option maybe to look for a MATX board as stated above by @eidairaman1 raman1 because with the smaller board they normally save a couple of bucks over their big brothers but once again you need to check deep specs to see if they skimp out anywhere else.

 

[jonathan1107]

I have seen G-Sync in action from a friends rig using the Asus VG248QE (I'm 99% sure trying to remember exactly) and I can safely say it works and is a pretty cool technology. Basically the major point of getting one is when you run a setup at 120hz+ (Generally 144hz) on 1080p, or 1440p because of how difficult it is to be stable at that high of a framerate and you will see a lot of jumping around which makes the transition smoother. In all honesty its great for that, but I find it unnecessary for basic 60hz monitors even up to 4K because as long as the fps is stable and your using dynamic V-Sync at those levels the difference might be miniscule for the cost.

The DIY kits only work with monitors that already have the port ready for you to add the module which is a very limited pool. You cannot just add G-Sync to any monitor sadly.


Well yes, I mostly recommend that board because its value is upper high for what your getting. I love the board as I did 2 clients requests that involved that board and it honestly was just fantastic to use without a feeling you were paying a ton for nothing more than a few bells and whistles. If you are looking to save a bit more and do not care about SLI, you can try one of the following instead.

MSI Z97 Gaming 3 (Lose 2 Phases for power delivery and the SLI capabilities to save around $10)
Asrock Z97 Pro4 (Same deal as above basically but with a little more savings)
Asrock Z97 Extreme3 (8Phase Power Delivery and SLI support, all at cheaper than the Z97-G55 by ~$10, good board as well)

If your really wanting to save the problem is as you get much lower you start to really cut on board quality. Many boards try and make it sounds/look great but you really suffer on the Z97 chipset with some of the poor quality power delivery systems on the lower boards that effect a multitude of things including life. Normally I say investing in your board is a primary thing since everything relies on it and it along with the CPU maybe two of the things you keep the longest from a system.

For savings sometimes the best option maybe to look for a MATX board as stated above by @eidairaman1 raman1 because with the smaller board they normally save a couple of bucks over their big brothers but once again you need to check deep specs to see if they skimp out anywhere else.

Thanks, I've thought about everything, I'm gonna try to get a buyer first for my older parts, then use that money in combination with my current budget to get all the parts we talked about along with a new PC monitor (I want better picture quality and contrasts and colors) I'll probably get an asus VG23AH or a dell ultrasharp (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&sku=860-BBCG)

 

[Chetkigaming]

I voting for Benq xl2420G monitor, 144 hz, 1 ms gtg, g-sync, reduced blur.

 

[jonathan1107]

yeah but I have a personal preference for glossy or semi glossy monitors (colors pop out more and blacks are way deeper)

 

[jonathan1107]

oh and a quick question, if I wanted to future proof my build a bit more?

mobo seems nice, are there better gaming mobos out there or is that the best I can get for that CPU?
what about the graphics card? grab another gtx 970 in the future when the need arises? or get a 980? or something else?
I'm also a huge fan of ASUS directcu ii aftermarket cards (quiet cards, low temps, good OCs... love em)

do you guys have recommendations for a really good all-in-one water cooler to go with that setup? (I have an NZXT phantom full tower case, gotta make sure the radiator can actually be mounted without having to MOD the case)

 

[GhostRyder]

oh and a quick question, if I wanted to future proof my build a bit more?

mobo seems nice, are there better gaming mobos out there or is that the best I can get for that CPU?
what about the graphics card? grab another gtx 970 in the future when the need arises? or get a 980? or something else?
I'm also a huge fan of ASUS directcu ii aftermarket cards (quiet cards, low temps, good OCs... love em)

do you guys have recommendations for a really good all-in-one water cooler to go with that setup? (I have an NZXT phantom full tower case, gotta make sure the radiator can actually be mounted without having to MOD the case)

It really depends, like I said the MSI Z97-G55 would give you everything you would need for years whether you invest in an I5 4690K or i7 4790K. I would go with the i5 because even a sandy bridge i5 2500K is still one heck of a processor so I would not worry more than that when it comes to components. Any of the decent Z97 motherboards are more than enough for future proofing with something like the i5 4690K for probably 4+ years if you really pushed it.

I would say on graphics to not worry and stick with the 970, another one later if needed but even so that should last quite awhile especially at 1080p.

For an AIO, well it would depend and probably the best are either the basic H100i or the Swiftech H220X which if I was picking I would probably grab the 220X.

 

[jonathan1107]

thanks a lot. Yeah the reasonning behind my wanting a different mobo, is I read some places that there are mobos out there that are compatible with 4th gen and 5th gen intel processors which seemed very interesting because it would mean that I could upgrade to a 5th gen in the future if needed.

 

[GhostRyder]

thanks a lot. Yeah the reasonning behind my wanting a different mobo, is I read some places that there are mobos out there that are compatible with 4th gen and 5th gen intel processors which seemed very interesting because it would mean that I could upgrade to a 5th gen in the future if needed.

Z97 is the ones that have that type of compatibility (Along with a few of the lower chipsets). You would be fine with any then of any of the above boards then because Intel said they would be, it was the main point of releasing the Z97 platform in general.

 

[jonathan1107]

oh ok good. what do you think about the asus mobo (hero vii)
or the msi gaming mobo?

just out of curiosity... as for the evga superclocked... I heard it was quite noisy compared to other cards... How much better is the ACX 2.0 new cooler?