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Upgrade time

C

Chris.C84

n00b
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
8
Looking to start upgrading, Current build is about 5 years old. Specs are AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz (@3.0GHz), BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX A2+, G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB), XFX Radeon HD5550, 500GB HDD (OS and apps) and 2TB HDD (storage), LG DVD Burner, Antec 300 case with Antec EarthWatts 380W

Intel vs. AMD and NVidia vs. AMD can go either way, not a die hard either way just want the best bang for the buck.

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

Gaming (Batman series right now), video streaming/XBMC, dvd ripping

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

Hmm. As little as possible, but as high as $6-700 I guess.

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

Dallas, TX. Have Fry's 5 mins away, Microcenter 15 mins away. Not opposed to buying in store or online (Newegg, Amazon)

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.

Mobo, CPU (and cooler), Ram, Video Card are the majors, any other recommended hardware can be mentioned (case, psu, etc)

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

For the time being I would like to use my current harddrives. If possible I would like to keep the case I have and upgrade psu if needed (can change case if I need to). Will also keep current optical drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?

Not a requirement, have in the past.

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

1920x1080

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

Within 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.

No major requirements, standard USB and SATA stuff

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

Win7 x64
 
For the core components, I recommend the following:
$270 - Intel Core i5-4670K CPU + MSI Z87-G41 PC MATE Intel Z87 ATX Motherboard Microcenter combo
$70 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$86 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
---
Total: $426 shipped plus tax on the CPU and mobo.

You are looking at a new PSU for sure. Since you live near a MC, take full advantage of that Intel CPU + mobo combo deal as that will be one of the most bang for the buck configs possible. As for the video card, ask about that a day or three before you buy. Right now, the video card market is extremely volatile and it's rather hard to recommend a GPU for a build in the next few weeks.

While you could keep the case, it is a bit outdated these days since it lacks many of the features common to newer cases these days like front panel USB 3.0. cable management features, space, better cooling, etc. Since you're practically getting a new PC anyway, might as well change the case as well. I recommend the following cases since all of them will be better than your Antec 300 in every way:
$50 - NZXT Source 220 Black ATX Case
$60 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Case
$75 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$90 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK White Full Tower ATX Case
$100 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$110 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-W ATX case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Full Tower ATX Case
 
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Thanks for the reply. I checked out the cpu/mobo combo on MicroCenter website. Funny it shows it there for $254.98 as a bundle, but when I add to cart it comes up at $279.

Since I was there, I pulled up RAM, how does this compare to the stick on Amazon you linked to?
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...R3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Desktop_Memory_Module

I do like the look of that Corsair Carbide 200R and will package it with the PSU you recommended. With these recommendations I may just put in an order to get all the parts coming this weekend. If I were to do that, what GPU would go well? Or would it be wise to get the core components now and setup and just use onboard graphics temporarily to see what GPU market does?
 
Chris.C84 said:
Thanks for the reply. I checked out the cpu/mobo combo on MicroCenter website. Funny it shows it there for $254.98 as a bundle, but when I add to cart it comes up at $279.
Click to expand...
The deal is in-store only. So to get the lower price, you have to drive to the store and buy from there.

Chris.C84 said:
Since I was there, I pulled up RAM, how does this compare to the stick on Amazon you linked to?
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...R3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Desktop_Memory_Module
Click to expand...
Compares very well in fact. If you can find it at your local MC for that price, get that Crucial RAM.

Chris.C84 said:
With these recommendations I may just put in an order to get all the parts coming this weekend. If I were to do that, what GPU would go well? Or would it be wise to get the core components now and setup and just use onboard graphics temporarily to see what GPU market does?
Click to expand...
For myself, I'm actually waiting for the GPU market to normalize a bit before buying a new GPU. With that said, if you need a new GPU now, the R9 270X for $210 shipped would be a good choice.
 
I may cruise by there later today or tomorrow then and pick up some parts if I can save over online ordering from the same place. Thanks for the help!
 
Picked up all the parts from Micro Center yesterday, except for the PSU which will be here tomorrow from Amazon. I have an Antec Kuhler H2O 620 on my old system, will it work or be enough to cool the 4670K? I think I still have the Intel mounting bracket for it if it is a worthwhile upgrade over the stock cooler.
 
Chris.C84 said:
Picked up all the parts from Micro Center yesterday, except for the PSU which will be here tomorrow from Amazon. I have an Antec Kuhler H2O 620 on my old system, will it work or be enough to cool the 4670K? I think I still have the Intel mounting bracket for it if it is a worthwhile upgrade over the stock cooler.
Click to expand...

If that Intel bracket is for LGFA 1156, LGA 1150, or LGA 1155 (they're basically the same bracket), then yeah it should work and is totally worth using over the stock cooler.
 
Thank you again for the help! Got everything purchased and built, ended up getting Win8x64 as well. Just need to tidy up the wiring in the case a bit and its good to go. Now I'm wanting faster harddrives, and perhaps a BluRay drive. When I swapped the drives over I found out they are only 5400rpm drives and I have to assume only 1.5 or 3.0 Sata with how old they are. How do the "SSHD" compare to normal drives and solid state drives? They seem fairly competitively priced with standard drives and claim to offer performance *close* to ssd. Anyhow so far pretty much all I have installed in the way of games is Arkham Origins, and with all the graphics turned up as high as they go, @ 1080p it is showing an avg of 58fps in the in game built in benchmark. Huge upgrade over the sub-20's from my old system.
 
Chris.C84 said:
How do the "SSHD" compare to normal drives and solid state drives? They seem fairly competitively priced with standard drives and claim to offer performance *close* to ssd.
Click to expand...
They're an ok choice if you're using a laptop. Otherwise, I'd recommend the tried and true SSD + HDD route. I recommend the Samsung Evo series SSDs.
Chris.C84 said:
Anyhow so far pretty much all I have installed in the way of games is Arkham Origins, and with all the graphics turned up as high as they go, @ 1080p it is showing an avg of 58fps in the in game built in benchmark. Huge upgrade over the sub-20's from my old system.
Click to expand...
What video card did you buy?
 
Been running Arkham Origins and Saints Row 4 with no issues since I have put this together. Nice having a current system again. Ordered a LG BDRom and a Samsung EVO 250GB SSD should be here Monday.
 
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