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Keep and work with or upgrade?

D

dabomb666

n00b
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
36
First of all, I've been out of the hardware game for quite some time, I'm totally lost in what's new. Take a look at my old build and see what's worth salvaging or if I should just upgrade to some new components.

Mobo - Asus P5K-E (LG775) 65nm
Proc - Intel core2duo E6420 @ 3.12ghz (planning on higher, see Watercooling bellow)
Ram - G.Skill 4GB DDR2 @ 468MHz (5-5-5-15)
-Nvidia GTX460
-120gb Vetex3 SSD
-1TB Seagate HDD
-Razr Baracuda AC-1 audio
-Corsair 520W psu

All in an Antec 1200 case.

Has to power a 1920x1080 Samsung LED monitor + 32" Sharp Aquos tv for movies but it currently does that without issue anyway.

My system actually currently isn't too bad, to me at least. I've learned to overclock recently(ya I've had the system for 4 years and never overclocked it -_- go ahead, slap me).

Recently decided I wanted to install my watercooling system that I never installed. I have EVERYTHING to do a CPU loop, I would just have to get a new waterblock for my gtx460. It's a tripple swiftech rad, swiftech pump, swiftech res, D-tek fuzion cpu block ect. Not too bad I think.

If I were to upgrade, I realize I would have to buy AT MINIMUM: Mobo, cpu, ram, possibly PSU.

Not looking to spend over ~600 bucks to do upgrades, In college currently but at home. What do you guys think?

Thanks
 
wouldn't really be worth it to watercool that cpu at this point, if you have nice watercooling stuff and $600 to spend, you should just upgrade. but if your setup is doing the job, then there's really no immediate need to upgrade either, you should probably answer the questions in the sticky.

side question, does your AC-1 sound card have any buzzing? i recently took mine out because my headphones were buzzing all the time, and i only play games with headphones on.
 
bigted said:
wouldn't really be worth it to watercool that cpu at this point, if you have nice watercooling stuff and $600 to spend, you should just upgrade. but if your setup is doing the job, then there's really no immediate need to upgrade either, you should probably answer the questions in the sticky.

side question, does your AC-1 sound card have any buzzing? i recently took mine out because my headphones were buzzing all the time, and i only play games with headphones on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of just keeping the watercooling system for a next build and just getting a new cpu waterblock and gpu waterblock when I do.

For around $600 price range, what am I looking at for mobo, cpu and ram? Mainly cpu; i5, i7(then, which more specifically, there's a million) and any particularly good mobo's for a decent price? And i keep thinking my PSU is way too damn small but what kind of power do these new systems suck up? I figure they don't use too much power as things are more efficient now with this 35nm technology. I'll just keep my video card for now.


And no, the ac-1 is great. had it for many years.
 
dabomb666 said:
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of just keeping the watercooling system for a next build and just getting a new cpu waterblock and gpu waterblock when I do.

For around $600 price range, what am I looking at for mobo, cpu and ram? Mainly cpu; i5, i7(then, which more specifically, there's a million) and any particularly good mobo's for a decent price? And i keep thinking my PSU is way too damn small but what kind of power do these new systems suck up? I figure they don't use too much power as things are more efficient now with this 35nm technology. I'll just keep my video card for now.


And no, the ac-1 is great. had it for many years.
Click to expand...

which cpu depends on what you do, if you mainly use it for gaming, then an i5 2500k or i5 3570k will suffice. as far as motherboards, stick with asus, gigabyte or even asrock. if you do plan on overclocking, get a Z77 chipset motherboard. your PSU will be fine (is it 80+?) for newer cpus and your 460.

if you're just buying CPU/MOBO/RAM, you probably won't hit $600 with an i5 build.

the ac1 worked great for me too, until i moved to a new build, i just put my headphones into the onboard and i hear buzzing still, so it's probably my headphones. ac1 is one of the best w00t.com purchases i've made, haha.
 
Ok cool I've already started digging in.

Considering:
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=70541

Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24
http://www.ncix.com/products/?mode=productreviewread&product_id=57078


And I actually need some motherboard choice assistance between these 3. These 3 specifically because there's 3 of these kits that sell with the CPU I listed above. I love my Asus so I have a hard time deciding between them so I'll let an unbiased, more experienced view help me decide lol.


-Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Z77DDR3 3PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 HDMI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=7...7X-UD5H&manufacture=Bundle Deals&promoid=1292

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 SLI 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 DisplayPort USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69883

MSI Z77A-GD65 ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 4PCI-E1 SATA3 DVI HDMI VGA DX11 USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69234

Also need an opinion on a CPU waterblock. I'll hold off and save up for a GPU waterblock later, this case has awesome air cooling for now and I have it oc'd conservatively


Edit: Sorry, not sure what you mean with the PSU being 80+?
 
dabomb666 said:
Ok cool I've already started digging in.

Considering:
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=70541

Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24
http://www.ncix.com/products/?mode=productreviewread&product_id=57078


And I actually need some motherboard choice assistance between these 3. These 3 specifically because there's 3 of these kits that sell with the CPU I listed above. I love my Asus so I have a hard time deciding between them so I'll let an unbiased, more experienced view help me decide lol.


-Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Z77DDR3 3PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 HDMI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=7...7X-UD5H&manufacture=Bundle Deals&promoid=1292

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 SLI 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 DisplayPort USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69883

MSI Z77A-GD65 ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 4PCI-E1 SATA3 DVI HDMI VGA DX11 USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69234

Also need an opinion on a CPU waterblock. I'll hold off and save up for a GPU waterblock later, this case has awesome air cooling for now and I have it oc'd conservatively


Edit: Sorry, not sure what you mean with the PSU being 80+?
Click to expand...

If you are going to WC your cpu then you should be fine, or using the stock cpu HSF.
If you have an aftermarket cpu cooler, and decide to add more ram, the tall heatsinks on that memory could interfere with the cooler.
I now only buy the samsung 4gb low profile memory to avoid any of this.
 
Hagrid said:
If you are going to WC your cpu then you should be fine, or using the stock cpu HSF.
If you have an aftermarket cpu cooler, and decide to add more ram, the tall heatsinks on that memory could interfere with the cooler.
I now only buy the samsung 4gb low profile memory to avoid any of this.
Click to expand...

Nah I'm going to commit to water cooling it so I'll go with this ram, unless there's better stuff for the price? Need a nice CPU waterblock for a not too harsh price. Any ideas?
 
dabomb666 said:
Nah I'm going to commit to water cooling it so I'll go with this ram, unless there's better stuff for the price? Need a nice CPU waterblock for a not too harsh price. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I have only done the AIO water cooling. I havnt found a reason to go full WC since I keep my temps well under control.
The samsung ram is low power ram and people have OC them to 2133 easily, but speed wise it wont make a difference anyways.
 
dabomb666 said:
Nah I'm going to commit to water cooling it so I'll go with this ram, unless there's better stuff for the price? Need a nice CPU waterblock for a not too harsh price. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

you'll get a better answer for this in the overclocking/water cooling section.
 
Unless the samsung low-voltage ram is significantly more expensive or difficult to obtain, I would aslo recommend purchasing that instead.
 
Ok I'll search for this Samsung ram you guys speak of.

Next topic; thoughts on the Asus vs Gigabyte mobo? core i5 is pretty set in stone now I believe. Just battle of the mobo's at this point. I'm leaning toward the Asus. Any reasons I should go with the Gigabyte?
 
dabomb666 said:
Ok I'll search for this Samsung ram you guys speak of.

Next topic; thoughts on the Asus vs Gigabyte mobo? core i5 is pretty set in stone now I believe. Just battle of the mobo's at this point. I'm leaning toward the Asus. Any reasons I should go with the Gigabyte?
Click to expand...

main reason to choose the gigabyte over the asus would be if you ever decide to Xfire or SLi, you would have x16/x8 on the gigabyte and "only" x8/x8 on the asus.

oh, the gigabyte has dual LAN, so if that tickles you, there's another plus.

other than that they seem to be the same board, if you only plan on using one video card, i'd go with Asus
 
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