I recently asked you guys for advice about a laptop but I decided to look into upgrading my desktop instead of laying down $1600 for a laptop. So here is what I have come up with to get. If you guys have any advice or alternate recommendations please comment! I am at school so I cannot leave links unfortunately.
The first thing i want to upgrade is the PSU. I am looking at the Corsair HX650. Its modular, its in the second class of power supplies and it got good reviews.
Next is my motherboard. I want to upgrade so I can handle at least 16 gb of RAM. So I am looking at the ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 AM3+ Motherboard.
Then I want a new case that has good air flow for a reasonable price. I am looking at the Thermaltake Chaser A31 Gaming ATX Mid-Tower Case. It comes with 2 fans and filters and it has easy bracketless HDD mounting.
To add to my current 8gb of RAM, I am looking at the Patriot Viper Xtreme 8gb Dektop Module Kit. Cheaper then Corsiar and it seems to get the job done.
Of course I want an SSD so I am looking at the Samsung 840 EVO 250gb SSD. I know nothing about SSD's so this is where I need the most help.
Last, to help with cooling, I want to get a better heatsink/fan for my CPU so I am looking at the Cooler Master RR-212E-20PK-R2 Hyper 212 EVO Universal CPU Cooler. It will also help airflow inside the case.
This all will be added to my CD drive, my current 8gb or RAM, my 1tb HDD, my AMD FX-6100 Black Edition, my two 120mm fans, and my Sapphire 7870.
I would really appreciate your input and advice on this upgrade! Also, if you do reccomend something differnetly, please try to keep it around the price of the product I have already picked out. I want to keep this build under $700.
Thank you guys!
hey dude,
The psu you looked at is fine and will serve you well.
However I do not understand why you would want another 8gb of ram. first off, just buying an additional 8gb is not recommended since it will be dual channel and wont benefit from each other since they are both a dual channel kit. adding more sticks is not going to help.
Secondly, you do not need 16 gb of ram. it is a remenance of the past where you could buy more ram and it would run fine again bnut this is no longer the case.
8gb of ram is more than enough for what you are using it for. 16 gb will only increase motherboard load and power consumption and will not yield better performance. also the motherboard does not support 16 gb of ram in a quad channel configuration and most of them will not, only the highest end ones can. as for the motherboard i would recommend this one: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 4.0) Its got everything that asus has to offer but with more durable components.
AS for the SSD it seems to be the best out there for consumers but i have no personal experience.
I got the Hyper 212 evo myself and im quite suprised by its performance. im running an fx 8350 and it does not peak above 52 degrees. (it is pretty hot here in holland right now, if its more cool I get better temps)
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
Instead of RAM should I upgrade my cpu? And what about the case?
Plus my mother board has to be upgraded. The sound card on it is failing and the data transfer speeds are slow
For the SSD, the Samsung 840 Pro is by no doubt the fastest on the market for the average consumer, and I recommend going for the 840 Pro as its quicker. However the EVO is great as well but you will lose some speed and I think that is write speeds. (Feel free to tell me if I am wrong about the speed differences) And you should buy this CPU Heatsink http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/index.php?lid=2&cid=12&id=64 I get temperatures of between 25-28 degrees when idle and I get roughly 35-40 degrees and sometimes 45 degrees when playing BF4. And for a case I recommend the Corsair Carbide 300R, this thing looks great, comes with the 2 fans, has good airflow and works well. I just love this case.
There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way. --- Christopher Morley
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. --- Anonymous
Get the 212 evo! no other cooler has better bang for the buck.
With the money you save on the RAM i would invest it into a better case. I can recommend the corsair 750D. it is most likely the best case with still good looks.
which CPU do you have, if its pretty recent there is no point in upgrading (yet)
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
But does that case have a small cut-out above the CPU? You don't want to piss of the Schwarzflug
"MICHAEL! Zuig m'n nepel... Ehrrr... Tipple!" - Exhibition (2017)
the case i want is not good? there is no cut out on the top
The 750D has a cpu cutout yes. also the thermaltake has one aswell. I just think the Thermaltake case is a tad small and there is not much room. It seems like a decent case do not get me wrong but if youre going to save some money anyways, why not invest in a bigger case
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
i actually really like this one. Lots of fans and filters. got a ton of room
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147175
quite expensive though
considering its a mid tower case. but it seems like a good case.
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
I thoroughly recommend the following build, augmented to your budget/tastes of course... it is the build I recommend to everyone at the moment:
SKELETON
Corsair Carbide Series 200R - £39.95
i5 4570 - £143.00 OR i7 4771 - £219.99
Gigabyte B85-HD3 - £61.04 OR equivalent
Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB 1600 - £58.00 OR Patriot Viper 3 16GB £119.99
Corsair CXM600W Modular - £52.88
STORAGE
Kingston V300 120GB - £45.99 OR Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB - £98.00
WD 1TB caviar blue - £39.50
G-CARD
Palit GeForce GTX 760 - £176.98
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CC-9011041-WW-Windowed-Performance-Compu...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Graphics-BX80646I54570-Generation-Technolo...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Motherboard-4thGeneration-IntelCore-Pro...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-1600-Beast-Desktop-Memory/dp/B00A77202C/r...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Builder-Series-Modular-Certified/dp/B00A...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Technology-120GB-Solid-2-5-inch/dp/B00A...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1TB-inch-Internal-Hard-Drive/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=s...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-GeForce-Graphic-Express-980MHz-1033MHz/dp/...
I can also vouch for the Hyper 212 evo. It's perfect.
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!
well schwarz it depends on what he has now
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
Yeah, I know, he can adapt the build I suggested according to what he has/doesn't have and what he needs/doesn't need.
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!
The case a few to choose from
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-135-NX
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-107-CA&groupid=2...
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-100-CS&groupid=2...
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-122-CS&groupid=2...
The PSU
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-SF&groupid=7...
The mobo
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-350-GI&groupid=7...
Cooling
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-014-CS
SSD
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-168-SA&groupid=7...
I disagree with Fantastic. Corsair 200R is the only way for minimum budget and maximum features. You really don't need anything else! PSU seems a tad expensive for being a brand i'm unfamiliar with, the mobo is overkill, the closed loop system is overkill and for the SSD I give my stamp of approval!
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!
What ive listed is well within the budget.
The PSU is an excellent choice and they are extremely well made and reliable.
In that case, I'll add the maker to my bucket list!
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!
Well, i would recommend you to buy a r9 270x or 280x as gpu, doesnt matter wich producer, best is msi, its better than the gtx770 and its much cheaper. Just my opinion. Why is it better? It has a better shader/min if u know what I mean
Mafi ~
also known as -Moriturs-
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-270X-vs-GeForce-GTX-770
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-280X-vs-GeForce-GTX-770
And for a price point comparison:
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290-vs-GeForce-GTX-770
Almost $300 extra for an identically specced card? TAKE MY MONEY AMD!!!!!!11111111
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!
The R9 290 is a better card but you are paying £70-95 for gains of 22%-25% and pulls away more so at higher resolutions.
the gap between the 2 is a little closer when playing Nvidia favoured games.
Mafi the 270x and 280x are not better cards they are very good cards for the money, even though the 280x comes extremely close and can better the 770 depending on what model you buy.
Those 2 cards and the 700 series cards are just rebranded 600series cards 7000 amd cards.
@Fantastic yes the 700 series from Nvidia use the same core types as the 600 series but they are two different beasts entirely. The 700 series is much more efficient and power saving than the 600 series. Also software wise the 700 series is much better. for example GPU boost 2.0 reacts to your GPU temperature rather than voltages which the 600 series would base the overclock on.
This results in a much mor stable and consistent overclock that is adjusted to your environment properly.
These features made me purchase the 760 over the at the time slightly better 670 because of these facts.
Moral of the story: you cannot just state the a card is a simple rebrand just on the GPU core and specification.
Audio is love, audio is life.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, It's doing what must be done despite the fear.
"An apology is worthless if you do not learn from your mistake." - Me
Yes i agree there much more efficient cards. Just forgot to add what you've put beautifully
Well, thats true
Mafi ~
also known as -Moriturs-
my 7870 will work fine now for the time being!
I just need to figure out if i need a 250 gb ssd or a 150.....
Buy as large an SSD as you can afford, or you'll probably regret it later :L
Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB is what im getting soon. Seems to be one of the best SSDs out there currently.
The Samsung 840 Pro 256GB performs a lot better on writing, has 6!!!!! extra GBs, and it only costs a bit more.
"MICHAEL! Zuig m'n nepel... Ehrrr... Tipple!" - Exhibition (2017)
The PRO and EVO range are very similar in real world performance. You'd never realistically see the difference. I studied this pretty thoroughly when I made a recent SSD purchase. I ended up buying the EVO 500GB. The only advantage of the PRO is that it should last longer. You'll probably upgrade it before than becomes an issue though.
Yeah. It also turned out to be quite a big difference in price, so I'd go for the EVO as well now. But I'm happy with my extra 6GBs
"MICHAEL! Zuig m'n nepel... Ehrrr... Tipple!" - Exhibition (2017)
I dunno what sites you're buying from Kiwi but I can assure you the price difference between the EVO and PRO models is astonishing, and it really reflects which situation best suits each SSD: EVO for the consumer and PRO for the workstation user.
£89.99 250GB Evo
£139.99 256GB Pro
That's a 60% price increase, chap. And i've just seen your last post just as I wrote this out. Turds.
If you're planning on buying the 840 Evo, Sam, you should take a look at the Kingston HyperX 3K also.
Schwarzflug
А ну чики брики и в дамки!