Upgrading PC, 1 piece at a time

[MatiasMGS]

Hi, I was thinking about buying a new pc completely, but right now I don´t have enough money for it. My country is at inflation, so I prefer to buy 2 parts now instead of keeping money that it´s gonna lose value overtime.

Basically, here´s what my pc is right now:

AMD Phenom 8450 Triple-Core Processor OC @ 2.4 Ghz
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 512 MB
4 GB DDR2 RAM
Asus M3A78-EM
450W Bangho Power Supply

I think that what it´s mainly holding my pc back is my cpu, so I´m planning to buy a new one, and one motherboard that supports it.

I was thinking about getting a i5 2500k or a 2600k, and for a mobo, I´m not sure, I was thinking if you could help me with that one.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, if it can run BF3 at high settings at 60FPS at 1080p, it´s perfect.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around the price of the cpu I´m aiming at + the value of the necessary MOBO.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Argentina
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 and CPU at the moment (maybe a new psu, depends in what you answer).
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
AMD Phenom 8450 Triple-Core Processor OC @ 2.4 Ghz
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 512 MB
4 GB DDR2 RAM
Asus M3A78-EM
420W Bangho Power Supply
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not right now.
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1980x1050 32´
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next Saturday.
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.
The right socket for the cpu you recommend me (keep in mind what I suggested at the top), and enough space for a single big video card.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 and 64 bit.




Keep in mind that I will continue to upgrade my PC until it´s completely new. The card I´m aiming at is a gtx 660, but i´m open to suggestions (not looking for amd cards though), and 8gb ram. So the mobo and the cpu have to be prepared to that. Thanks for reading and sorry if I made too many grammar mistakes

 

[Dangman]

Get a new PSU. The PSU you have now is some generic brand PSU. Go for the Corsair TX650 V2, Antec High Current Gamer 520W or 620W, Antec Neo Eco 520C or 620C, or Antec Earthwatts EA650 650W.

As for the Motherboard, can you please expand on questions 6 and 9 again? In other words, will you ever OC the CPU and what other features do you want in a motherboard? Compatible socket and single GPU is a given already when we do motherboard recommendations.

Also, your entire system is holding you back, not the CPU alone.

 

[Zepher]

I'd be leery of a psu with bang in the name, lol.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Get a new PSU. The PSU you have now is some generic brand PSU. Go for the Corsair TX650 V2, Antec High Current Gamer 520W or 620W, Antec Neo Eco 520C or 620C, or Antec Earthwatts EA650 650W.

As for the Motherboard, can you please expand on questions 6 and 9 again? In other words, will you ever OC the CPU and what other features do you want in a motherboard? Compatible socket and single GPU is a given already when we do motherboard recommendations.

Also, your entire system is holding you back, not the CPU alone.

Sorry I wasn´t clear. I plan to oc in the future, yes. I´m not interested in any other special feature...

I'd be leery of a psu with bang in the name, lol.

As for the psu, Bangho is the brand name of a pc manufacturer in Argentina. My brother bought the previously built pc there, and added the gpu (Very bad decision, but at the time it was his pc, so I didn´t bother in giving him advice)

Well, looks like I gotta buy 3 parts now...

 

[Dangman]

In that case, get the Asus P8Z77-V LK Motherboard.

 

[MatiasMGS]

In that case, get the Asus P8Z77-V LK Motherboard.

Great! So do you think that with an i5 2600k and a gtx 660 it´ll be fine? Will I notice a change in performance now in my current pc, if I change the cpu+mobo+psu?

 

[Dangman]

Great! So do you think that with an i5 2600k and a gtx 660 it´ll be fine? Will I notice a change in performance now in my current pc, if I change the cpu+mobo+psu?

Yes and yes. However note that you will need to buy DDR3 RAM as your current RAM will not work with new platforms. Any DDR3 RAM rated at 1.5V and either DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 speeds will work fine.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Yes and yes. However note that you will need to buy DDR3 RAM as your current RAM will not work with new platforms. Any DDR3 RAM rated at 1.5V and either DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 speeds will work fine.

Damn, so I´ll have to buy ddr3 ram to use this? That sucks... Anyway, I won´t be able to get the P8Z77-V LK, but no problems on the Pro version. Is it worth buying the Pro ver.? Is there another option?

Edit: I couldn´t find any of the PSU you mentioned. Is the Sentey Gamer Extreme Power Rock 650w fine, or the ERP SENTEY 650W SS?

 

[Itzryan]

Are you getting the regular GTX 660 or an 660ti?
If you thinking about getting a 660ti I would suggest buying a Gigabyte/MSI 7950 card instead.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Are you getting the regular GTX 660 or an 660ti?
If you thinking about getting a 660ti I would suggest buying a Gigabyte/MSI 7950 card instead.

Well, that card is definitely more expensive, but I´ll have a look later. I´m not planning in changing my card at this moment anyway.

 

[Dangman]

Damn, so I´ll have to buy ddr3 ram to use this? That sucks...

Yes you do. That that was fairly obvious.

Anyway, I won´t be able to get the P8Z77-V LK, but no problems on the Pro version. Is it worth buying the Pro ver.? Is there another option?

If you're doing heavy duty overclocking, the Asus P8Z77-V is a fine choice. The Pro isn't a good choice unless there's no other option. The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H is another mid-range choice.

Edit: I couldn´t find any of the PSU you mentioned. Is the Sentey Gamer Extreme Power Rock 650w fine, or the ERP SENTEY 650W SS?

None of those PSUs are good. They're of fairly low quality and/or have crappy specs.

Looking through those sites, it looks like there aren't that many good PSUs available in Argetina. The best bang for the buck I've been able to find so far is this Coolermaster:
http://www.eagleinformatica.com.ar/detalles/coolermaster-silent-pro-600w/44/

Not a good deal here in America but it's probably the cheapest high quality PSU available from the sites you linked.

 

[MatiasMGS]

If you're doing heavy duty overclocking, the Asus P8Z77-V is a fine choice. The Pro isn't a good choice unless there's no other option. The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H is another mid-range choice.

I thought the pro version was supposed to be better than the LK. Maybe you thought I was talking about other MOBO, but I was referring to the Asus P8Z77-V Pro.

Looking through those sites, it looks like there aren't that many good PSUs available in Argentina. The best bang for the buck I've been able to find so far is this Coolermaster:
http://www.eagleinformatica.com.ar/detalles/coolermaster-silent-pro-600w/44/

Not a good deal here in America but it's probably the cheapest high quality PSU available from the sites you linked.

Yes, I know. Argentinians never cared about good quality PSUs. Speaking of that, in case I can get a cheaper PSU, in what aspects should I pay attention to, when buying one? What are the things you see that tells you which PSU to buy?

Anyway, thanks for checking those sites, I really appreciate it. I´ll try to check in another ones, but I don´t think I´ll get something that is not in mercadolibre.com, it´s like USA´s ebay...

 

[Dangman]

I thought the pro version was supposed to be better than the LK. Maybe you thought I was talking about other MOBO, but I was referring to the Asus P8Z77-V Pro.

I understood what you said. Let me elaborate: The Pro is better than the LK but it's overpriced, at least here in the U.S. The regular P8Z77-V is the same as the P8Z77-V Pro but has 4 less phases and is significantly cheaper. Hence why I said the Pro isn't a good choice unless there's no other option: The P8Z77-V is cheaper and performs the same as the P8Z77-V Pro.

Yes, I know. Argentinians never cared about good quality PSUs. Speaking of that, in case I can get a cheaper PSU, in what aspects should I pay attention to, when buying one? What are the things you see that tells you which PSU to buy?

If there's no proper PSU review of it that shows that it's a good PSU, don't buy it. That's as simple I can make it without writing an entire article on it. This site has an up-to-date list of websites that actually do proper PSU reviews:
http://www.overclock.net/t/738097/psu-review-database

The list of PSUs are out of date but the sites list is still up-to-date. So with whatever PSU you're looking at, look for it on any of the 6-7 proper PSU review sites listed to see if it's actually good. If there's no review, don't buy it. If the review was bad, of course don't buy it. If the review was good, then buy it.

 

[MatiasMGS]

I understood what you said. Let me elaborate: The Pro is better than the LK but it's overpriced, at least here in the U.S. The regular P8Z77-V is the same as the P8Z77-V Pro but has 4 less phases and is significantly cheaper. Hence why I said the Pro isn't a good choice unless there's no other option: The P8Z77-V is cheaper and performs the same as the P8Z77-V Pro.


If there's no proper PSU review of it that shows that it's a good PSU, don't buy it. That's as simple I can make it without writing an entire article on it. This site has an up-to-date list of websites that actually do proper PSU reviews:
http://www.overclock.net/t/738097/psu-review-database

The list of PSUs are out of date but the sites list is still up-to-date. So with whatever PSU you're looking at, look for it on any of the 6-7 proper PSU review sites listed to see if it's actually good. If there's no review, don't buy it. If the review was bad, of course don't buy it. If the review was good, then buy it.

Ok, good news: I found a store with the P8Z77-V LK. Way cheaper than the Pro. As for the PSU, I couldn´t find something better than the one you found. So the upgrade has become to this:

PSU: Coolermaster Silent Pro 600w
CPU: Intel Core I7 2600K
RAM: Kingston 4gb Ddr3 1600mhz Hyperx x2
MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V LK

Thanks for all the help Danny. I don´t know what I would have done without your help. I´ll post again when I own all the pieces.

 

[Dangman]

Whoa whoa, is that RAM rated at 1.5V? If you can't find that info, cancel the order immediately Intel recommends no more than 1.5V for the RAM or otherwise you risk CPU damage. A lot of Kingston HyperX RAM are rated at 1.65V.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Whoa whoa, is that RAM rated at 1.5V? If you can't find that info, cancel the order immediately Intel recommends no more than 1.5V for the RAM or otherwise you risk CPU damage. A lot of Kingston HyperX RAM are rated at 1.65V.

Don´t worry, I already asked the provider for the voltage. If it´s rated more than 1.5V, I´m sure they have other ones that are not.

Edit: I found this ram: Kingston kvr1333d3n9/4g. It´s DDR3 1333 and 1.5V. I guess it´s ok. Also, what do you think about the ASUS P8Z77-V LX?

 

[zandor]

Kingston ValueRAM (KVR) is a good, safe choice in my experience. I've bought a lot of it and never had an issue with it. It's regular, normal ram from a major brand. It's not quite as fast as the fancy stuff, but you're unlikely to notice without running benchmarks. KVR & regular Crucial (both naked chips on a green PCB) are what I look at for laptops, servers, and "normal" desktop PC builds for friends & family. I'd add Samsung to the list, but haven't used any yet.

 

[Dangman]

Also, what do you think about the ASUS P8Z77-V LX?

Not a fan of that motherboard.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Ok I bought everything between Monday and Tuesday.

CPU: Intel i7 2600k
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
RAM: 2x AMD 4gb DDR3 1600MHz Entertainment Edition AE34G1609U2-U
PSU: Coolermaster Silent Pro 600w.

Lots of travelling and car breaking, but I got the parts. Not the end of the story though... As I couldn't reinstall windows because of constants BSODs, I ran a Memtest. Turns out both the memories are damaged. I tested them together and separately, and in different slots. Memtest always detects thousands of errors within the first 5 minutes... Anyway I already called the provider and they told me I can get them changed tomorrow. But it seems weird that both the modules are damaged. Is there any other cause that could trigger such errors?

 

[Dangman]

But it seems weird that both the modules are damaged. Is there any other cause that could trigger such errors?

The motherboard itself could be defective or you have the wrong settings for the RAM. Either of those are two other reasons why you would have Memtest errors.

 

[MatiasMGS]

The motherboard itself could be defective or you have the wrong settings for the RAM. Either of those are two other reasons why you would have Memtest errors.

How do I know if I have the wrong settings for the RAM? I didn´t change anything in the BIOS.

 

[Dangman]

How do I know if I have the wrong settings for the RAM? I didn´t change anything in the BIOS.

Look through the RAM settings in the BIOS and see if it matches the specs/settings for that RAM.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Look through the RAM settings in the BIOS and see if it matches the specs/settings for that RAM.

Well, the frequency, size, tcl, trcd, trp and tras are fine. there is like 3 more t stats but I don't know what are those. I found a setting in the memory settings called performance enhance, and it was set to turbo by default. That can´t be a problem, right?

Edit: I checked the motherboard memory support list, and the exact same model of my ram is there. But I keep on thinking, what are the odds of getting 2 bad rams at the same time? Isn´t it weird?

 

[Dangman]

That can´t be a problem, right?

Probably not.

Edit: I checked the motherboard memory support list, and the exact same model of my ram is there. But I keep on thinking, what are the odds of getting 2 bad rams at the same time? Isn´t it weird?

Despite what it says on the motheboard support list, I'm fairly sure that the RAM is incompatible due to it being AMD. And no it is not weird to get two defective RAM at the same time even if that RAM wasn't AMD.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Probably not.

Despite what it says on the motheboard support list, I'm fairly sure that the RAM is incompatible due to it being AMD. And no it is not weird to get two defective RAM at the same time even if that RAM wasn't AMD.

What do you mean by incompatible? Are you saying the memory support list isn´t reliable?

 

[Dangman]

I am just saying that I have never seen AMD branded RAM work with Intel platforms

 

[MatiasMGS]

They tested the memories and they are fine. At least they didn´t fail the Memtest like when I tested them. That leaves motherboard, right?

 

[Dangman]

Yes the mobo will be the next part to check.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Yes the mobo will be the next part to check.

Yes, I hope. Because if it´s not, the CPU is next on the list. I´ve been thinking, what if it´s not a hardware malfunction? Do you think updating the bios would help? Is it worth doing the update? It´s not really risky, because the mobo has dual bios, right?

 

[Dangman]

Yes, I hope. Because if it´s not, the CPU is next on the list. I´ve been thinking, what if it´s not a hardware malfunction? Do you think updating the bios would help? Is it worth doing the update? It´s not really risky, because the mobo has dual bios, right?

It might help.

 

[MatiasMGS]

I think I screwed up. My PSU has 2 cables with 4 pin cpu power connectors each. A moment ago I was checking the motherboard for burned capacitors and such, and I notice I plugged the thing pretty bad... A 4 pin cable was correctly placed, but the other one was plugged half in half out, leaving 2 pin unused. Could that be the source of these problems? More importantly, could that damage my CPU?

 

[Dangman]

It's a possibility yes.

 

[MatiasMGS]

It's a possibility yes.

A possibility that it is the source of the problem or a possibility that it could damage my CPU?

 

[Dangman]

The former

 

[MatiasMGS]

Don´t worry about it. I plugged it correctly and it´s doing the same thing. I think I hit the Memtest Error WR: 300000 errors in the first minute. My provider tested both ram modules for the whole weekend: zero errors. I can´t even install Windows because of restarts and BSODs. I even tried with x87 and x64 official ISO images of Win 7, no difference. I´ll RMA the motherboard tomorrow, hope that´s the problem...

 

[MatiasMGS]

I just called my provider. They say the motherboard its perfectly fine. What should I do? Maybe they are scamming me? I don't know how to handle this. Should I open another thread? Can a damaged CPU throw that many errors in memtest? Fuck, I just want my pc working...

 

[Dangman]

Yes a damaged CPU can throw that many errors. Also, try a different set of RAM.

 

[MatiasMGS]

Can a Prime95 test confirm that the CPU is damaged? How should I set up the test?

 

[Dangman]

Can a Prime95 test confirm that the CPU is damaged?

Yes and no. Sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't.

 

[beto]

Did you try a different set of RAM? Do you have a friend or anyone you can borrow RAM from just to test the system? Did you ever return that initial set of RAM that had the errors? You said something about "contacting the provider" and they said you could return it, no?