It's that time again: Build new? or upgrade?

J

Jaer44

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
134
Hi all, I came here a while back and got some great advice on what to go with when I built my last system (what I'm currently using now, listed below). So i'm back asking for advice on whether I should build new, or upgrade my system (ram/second GPU/psu)?

My current system:
I7-2600 (stock)
8gb Gskill ram
EVGA 970 4gb GPU
Corsair 650w PSU


Now on to the questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming, Music recording and various art (among general use)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No set budget, I priced out some prebuilts and they were around 2600, the newegg set I built was around 2k

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
In the US.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer.

If a new build, every component would be ordered. I'm looking at the I7 5820, Asus X99-Pro, Corsair (or equiv.) RAM, SSD for OS and 2TB WD storage drive.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'd like to SLI my current 970 EVGA 4gb GPU as it's not entirely that old

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not myself no, though prebuilt systems offer it. It's not a priority.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080, I have my PC and other components connected to my 60" TV

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next few months or later, I'm not in a rush.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Nothing specific other than SLI support

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Windows 7 64bit disc, but I'm currently running Win10 on this pc.

Further notes:
I'm wondering if an upgrade in RAM and a second 970 would be a worthy upgrade, or whether the CPU would just hold it back in the gaming aspect.

I've only just *started* to price things out, trying to weigh options etc. I don't mind building my own system, but I'm wondering if even a prebuilt system (given that they're not *much* more than the components as it is.) Is the x99 platform worth the extra cost? Or is another recommended?


Thx
 
Generally, a prebuilt PC from a good PC Boutique is going to cost an additional $500 to $800 or so over the cost of a DIY PC. There are prebuilt PCs whose prices are closer to DIY PC at about $100 to $300 but those are generally from less reputable and less trustworthy PC Boutiques. If you're willing to pay the higher cost, the prebuilt PC route isn't a bad choice necessarily. But if cost is a concern, DIY all the way. The middle ground kinda doesn't exist without severe caveats.

In regards to the X99 platform, really depends on whether or not you plan on using more than 32GB to 64GB of RAM or more and if you're doing massively complex multi-track/layer audio work. If not, then stick with your current platform or upgrade to the Z170 platform. Now whether or not to upgrade the platform itself is really dependent on whether or not you feel any sort of slow-down or want to improve performance in a specific app or game. So is that the case? If so, what apps and games?

For the GPU upgrade, unless there's a game where you're really really struggling to get high or near max settings, GTX 970 SLI is pretty much not worth it due to your current monitor resolution.

Though I think you'll be fine with a SSD upgrade like the Samsung 850 Evo 500GB for your OS. That'l make the most bang for the buck improvement to a PC that doesn't already have a SSD. Plus you'll still be able to move it over to a new PC later on. As for RAM, RAM is ridiculously cheap right now. Grab this RAM and you'll total out at 24GB of RAM which should last you quite some time:
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GAR - Newegg.com
 
Exactly why do you need a new system? It's not like your current one is horribly slow or anything.
 
The games I'm playing I'm getting 30-50fps, on high settings. And I just got the gpu last year, the newer gashes I don't see any terrible slowdown unless in an mmo there's tons of effects from 30+ people.


I'm not saying I need a new pc, just weighing options between a new system and upgrades.
Thanks for the advice, I'll look into the z170 platform tiki see what pricing I get from that too.
 
Jaer44 said:
The games I'm playing I'm getting 30-50fps, on high settings. And I just got the gpu last year, the newer gashes I don't see any terrible slowdown unless in an mmo there's tons of effects from 30+ people.


I'm not saying I need a new pc, just weighing options between a new system and upgrades.
Thanks for the advice, I'll look into the z170 platform tiki see what pricing I get from that too.
Click to expand...
Upgrades dude. You're about a year early minimum before you have to seriously consider a CPU + mobo + RAM upgrade. Just ballparking it at the moment but you're looking at about $370 for the Skylake equivalent SKU of your current CPU, around $120 to $160 for a solid Z170 motherboard, and about $65 to $75 for 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Not to mention the $140 Samsung SSD as the SSD is THAT important of an upgrade. For the total cost of around ~$695 to ~$750, the new system just won't provide that much of a major increase to justify the costs.

Whereas upgrading to the Samsung SSD mentioned earlier will cost you $140 and the RAM will cost you $63 for a total of ~$203 and keep you trucking along for at least a year minimum if not two.
 
Although you mentioned you are not overclocking, overclocking your current machine about 1Ghz over stock will cost you a good heatsink/fan (< ~$100) and will put you to about par with a stock Skylake 6700..
 
Thanks for the advice/replies, I decided to go with the upgrade route (ram/SSD) and even look into overclocking sooner or later. I have a noctua HSF (I've always liked that brand) on my CPU since I've built it. I'll look into it a bit more as I go. Also a side note, after tweaking some settings in Black Desert I'm at a solid 60fps now with very little slowdown (seems High end mode, which gives very little in return, hits most systems for 20-30fps).
 
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