Looking for help with Upgrade

[ark1]

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

Gaming, watching HD video/streaming, Running multiple VMs from time to time.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Flexible budget depending on parts needed to be replaced. Looking to upgrade to an upper mid-range system based on #1 (good bang for the buck <1000$?).

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

Canada

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

For sure:

CPU: looking for an upper mid-range CPU. (Q6600 current)
RAM: looking for 16GB. (4GB current)
MB: (Current Asus P5K-E)
Video Card: Will be looking for a mid-range 600 series GTX (or equivalent) after rumured 700 release this month. (Current GTX 460)

Maybe:

Sound Card: I have an old Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS - any point in upgrading my sound card these days?
PSU: Not sure if my current Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W will be enough for this upgrade. It is also almost 6 years old.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

(Possible) PSU: Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX Triple 12V 50A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply
Case: Antec P182 ATX Black Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Audio Firewire
SSD: OCZ-Agility 4 (256GB) for fast access (OS + most used apps)
HD: Seagate 3 TB 7200 (main storage), Seagate 2 TB 5400 (archive/backup) and an old WD Black 640 GB which used to be my fast access drive before SSD.
+Peripherals, network card

6) Will you be overclocking?

Not expecting, but not excluding either.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

1080P - 40in HD TV.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Over the next few weeks.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

USB3.0 + Sata 6gb/s for SSD. No need for on-board Wifi.

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

Win 8 64 bits

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

Any chance you can wait another month or two? I ask because the June-July timeframe is when Intel is releasing their new Haswell CPUs and socket LGA 1150 motherboards. Those will be completely incompatible with any Intel CPU or mobo out now.

So if you're going to be getting a new CPU and mobo anyway, might as well get the latest especially when it's so close.

 

[ark1]

Thanks, that is good to know. I can certainly wait and from a quick search seems like an official announcement should be made first week of June.

This said, I'm not sure how much better this generation will be vs the previous one. I do not mind buying a higher-end older gen if the price drops significantly since my next upgrade (3-4 years) will very likely require a whole new mobo/cpu upgrade anyway. I don't want to pay premium simply because it's the latest toy on the market.

 

[Dangman]

This said, I'm not sure how much better this generation will be vs the previous one. I do not mind buying a higher-end older gen if the price drops significantly since my next upgrade (3-4 years) will very likely require a whole new mobo/cpu upgrade anyway. I don't want to pay premium simply because it's the latest toy on the market.

Well you may have to pay a premium (probably $20 to $30) due to the new motherboards. However Intel generally releases their CPUs at or around the same price range as their older CPUs. So you won't be paying that much of a premium for the new CPUs.

Case in point: The Core i7 3770 was released at the same price range as the Core i7 2600K which was released at the same price range as the Core i7 930 which was released at the same price range as the Core i7 920.

 

[ark1]

Well you may have to pay a premium (probably $20 to $30) due to the new motherboards. However Intel generally releases their CPUs at or around the same price range as their older CPUs. So you won't be paying that much of a premium for the new CPUs.

Case in point: The Core i7 3770 was released at the same price range as the Core i7 2600K which was released at the same price range as the Core i7 930 which was released at the same price range as the Core i7 920.

Yeah I'd expect the price range to be similar to the current gen but would like to see how much the price drops on the older generation.

For example: will an i7 3rd gen be same price as an i5 4th gen but provide better performance/better bang for the buck? If not, I may as well go with the new gen.

By the way, I'm also open to AMD/ATI combos.

Do my cost estimations look reasonable for a higher mid-range system?:

CPU/MB $400
Video Card $300
16 GB Ram: $100-150

If needed:

Sound card + new PSU for <$200.

 

[Dangman]

Yeah I'd expect the price range to be similar to the current gen but would like to see how much the price drops on the older generation.

Older Intel CPUs don't drop in price till a year or so after their replacements comes out and even then it's only by $20 to $30 give or take.

Do my cost estimations look reasonable for a higher mid-range system?:

Yes

 

[ark1]

Thanks again, would you have any input regarding the PSU and sound card?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks again, would you have any input regarding the PSU and sound card?

Ask about the sound card over in the Computer Audio subforum. As for the PSU, it should still be ok but if you see a fantastic PSU deal (i.e Seasonic 650W for $90 or Corsair HX series for $100, etc), then jump on it as a replacement for your PSU.