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Upgrade / New Build Advice

K

Kiri

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
176
My current system is about 4 years old, and I am wondering if it is time to build a new system (using several parts of the old)

The current specs:

- Core i7 920
- Asus P6T Motherboard
- 18GB RAM
- AMD ATI Radeon HD 4850 Graphics card
- AMD ATI Radeon HD 5450 (this card is only for the purpose of being able to run my TV)
- 630W Japanese power supply ( "kuroutoshikou" model# KRPW-p630w/85+)
-128 GB SSD HD (OS + apps)
- 2 x 640 GB WD HDD (for data and storage)

- Dell U2412M (24inch)
- LG L246WH Monitor (24inch)
- Also hooked up to Sony Bravia HDTV

- Lancool case PC K62


Now, to answer the other questions:
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Primarily photo editing (photoshop, lightroom, plugins), also video (premiere pro), audio production (Native Instruments, Ableton Live). Basically I need a system that can handle media production very well.
I would like to also play games occasionally, but not many. The only one I have had some issues with on my current system is The Witcher 2. I'd like a card that can handle that and Witcher 3.

2) What's your budget?
About US$1000. But I am living in Japan, so prices are a bit different here.

3) Which country do you live in?
Japan

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
I think I will need:
Motherboard, CPU, New RAM(?), Video Card.
Other parts should be reusable.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
If possible I'll reuse:
- PSU 630W ( "kuroutoshikou" model# KRPW-p630w/85+)
- SSD (ADATA 128GB) & HDDs (2x WD 640GB)
- RAM (but I think I will need a different set of RAM for a new MB right?)
- Undecided about the case yet.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not planning to.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor?
2x 24 inch monitors. Max res 1920x1200. + HDTV 1920x1080
(I want to be able to run all three off one card if possible)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Later this month.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
I have no idea sorry :( But whatever works well for my requirements above.


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
I have a legit copy of windows 8 on my current system. I am assuming I can transfer that to the new system. Actually I am planning to build the system to coincide with win 8.1 release so I can do a fresh install of that.


So, will I be seeing a big performance increase by building a new system at this point?
I was advised (late last year), to wait until mid 2013 to take advantage of the new CPUs (haswell?).
I can still hold off a bit longer if need be. But if it is a significant performance upgrade, I'd like to do it.

Thanks for your time!
 
Outside of the hard drives and case you're looking at a new build altogether. I still can't find any solid information showing that PSU is actually of good quality. As for the RAM, as I noted in your last upgrade thread, that RAM is practically unusable with newer Intel setups due to the relatively high voltage. Not to mention that they'll limit your future RAM upgrades.

What Japanese online computer hardware stores are you getting your parts from?
 
You definitely waited until the right time to consider a CPU upgrade. The Haswell Core i7 4770 is about twice as fast as your stock Core i7 920:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/836?vs=47

That's $300 in the states.

And since you're not interested in overclocking you can save money on a motherboard (probably $100), just whatever B85 brand you prefer.

That leaves you $600 USD for ram, video and a new PSU

32GB set of ram in 4x8GB (about $250).

A quality 500w or greater PSU (should be no more than $80-100 USD).

That leaves you serious money to splurge on the video card. In the $250 USD price range you cann get a GTX 760 on the Nvidia side, and an HD 7950 on the AMD side. I would recommend the GTX 760 in your case because you want to run 3 separate monitors, and unless your monitors are native DisplayPort you will need to buy adapters for the AMD card to work.
 
Dangman said:
Outside of the hard drives and case you're looking at a new build altogether. I still can't find any solid information showing that PSU is actually of good quality. As for the RAM, as I noted in your last upgrade thread, that RAM is practically unusable with newer Intel setups due to the relatively high voltage. Not to mention that they'll limit your future RAM upgrades.

What Japanese online computer hardware stores are you getting your parts from?
Click to expand...

Ok, yeah I thought that might be the case with the RAM.

There won't be any English information on the PSU since it is domestic only I think. But it has worked solidly for the past year or more, since my Corsair one died. I would be willing to risk it in the new build. If it fails I can just replace it later.
 
Kiri said:
Ok, yeah I thought that might be the case with the RAM.

There won't be any English information on the PSU since it is domestic only I think. But it has worked solidly for the past year or more, since my Corsair one died. I would be willing to risk it in the new build. If it fails I can just replace it later.
Click to expand...

Please answer my last question.

Also, if that PSU fails, it can kill your PC. That does happen with PSUs, especially those of low quality. Since we can't see if that PSU is good or low quality, that's why I highly recommend getting a new and more reputable PSU.
 
defaultluser said:
You definitely waited until the right time to consider a CPU upgrade. The Haswell Core i7 4770 is about twice as fast as your stock Core i7 920:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/836?vs=47

That's $300 in the states.

And since you're not interested in overclocking you can save money on a motherboard (probably $100), just whatever B85 brand you prefer.

That leaves you $600 USD for ram, video and a new PSU

32GB set of ram in 4x8GB (about $250).

A quality 500w or greater PSU (should be no more than $80-100 USD).

That leaves you serious money to splurge on the video card. In the $250 USD price range you cann get a GTX 760 on the Nvidia side, and an HD 7950 on the AMD side. I would recommend the GTX 760 in your case because you want to run 3 separate monitors, and unless your monitors are native DisplayPort you will need to buy adapters for the AMD card to work.
Click to expand...

Sounds like good options.
I don't have any preference for motherboard manufacturers. Do you have any recommendations I can check out?

I don't have preference for AMD vs NVIDIA either, so I'm happy to go with the GTX760.
 
Dangman said:
Please answer my last question.

Also, if that PSU fails, it can kill your PC. That does happen with PSUs, especially those of low quality. Since we can't see if that PSU is good or low quality, that's why I highly recommend getting a new and more reputable PSU.
Click to expand...

I live right near the "electronic district" here, so I usually don't buy online. But one of the shops I usually go to has an online shop too
http://www.dospara.co.jp/5pc_parts/
All in Japanese though...

I'll consider getting a new PSU too then.
 
Kiri said:
I live right near the "electronic district" here, so I usually don't buy online. But one of the shops I usually go to has an online shop too
http://www.dospara.co.jp/5pc_parts/
All in Japanese though...
Click to expand...
That's why I use Google Chrome: It will automatically translate webpages to English.

Anyway, $1000 USD is apparently ¥97,677.74 according to XE.com. So with that in mind:
¥ 29,960 - Intel Core i7-4770 CPU
¥ 9,450 - MSI B85-G41 Intel B85 ATX Motherboard
¥ 26,950 - 2 x Crucial BLT2KIT8G3D1608DT1TX0 DDR3 1600 RAM
¥ 28,980 - Galaxy GF-GTX760-E2GHD/OC GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
¥ 7,079 - Seasonic SS-520GB 520W PSU
---
Total: ¥ 102,419

A tad over budget but totally wroth it. Now you have 32GB of RAM, a Nvidia card that will boost performance in games and your Adobe software as well as be able to connect up to four monitors to, and a more reputable PSU.
 
Thanks Danny! That looks pretty good.
Are MSI good with keeping their MB drivers up to date? I had a few issues with audio and LAN drivers on my current MB since they don't seem to have put out updates for about 3 years...

Also, I'm considering getting a new case. Do you know if there are any good acrylic / fully transparent ones out there?
Cheers.
 
Kiri said:
Thanks Danny! That looks pretty good.
Are MSI good with keeping their MB drivers up to date? I had a few issues with audio and LAN drivers on my current MB since they don't seem to have put out updates for about 3 years....
Click to expand...
For the most part yes. Though not sure what issues you were having with three year old LAN and audio drivers.
Kiri said:
Also, I'm considering getting a new case. Do you know if there are any good acrylic / fully transparent ones out there?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
IMO, rarely are fully transparent or acrylic cases actually good cases.
 
Thanks. One more quick question.
Is it worth adding another SSD to use as a swap disk in photoshop?
I've seen some build recommendations including that...
 
Kiri said:
Thanks. One more quick question.
Is it worth adding another SSD to use as a swap disk in photoshop?
I've seen some build recommendations including that...
Click to expand...

If you can afford to, yes. Any cheap SSD will be fine for a swap disk.
 
It has taken me a lot longer than I expected to have time to get this system together, but I'm finally ready now :)
It's been a bit over a month, so are there any last minute changes before I go and get these parts?


Dangman said:
That's why I use Google Chrome: It will automatically translate webpages to English.

Anyway, $1000 USD is apparently ¥97,677.74 according to XE.com. So with that in mind:
¥ 29,960 - Intel Core i7-4770 CPU
¥ 9,450 - MSI B85-G41 Intel B85 ATX Motherboard
¥ 26,950 - 2 x Crucial BLT2KIT8G3D1608DT1TX0 DDR3 1600 RAM
¥ 28,980 - Galaxy GF-GTX760-E2GHD/OC GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
¥ 7,079 - Seasonic SS-520GB 520W PSU
---
Total: ¥ 102,419

A tad over budget but totally wroth it. Now you have 32GB of RAM, a Nvidia card that will boost performance in games and your Adobe software as well as be able to connect up to four monitors to, and a more reputable PSU.
Click to expand...
 
Yep, the MB is actually slightly cheaper now :)
Thanks!
Just wanted to make sure there are no new recommendations or new stuff in the last month
 
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