Advice on PC refurb

[Sparkwix]

Hey guys,

Im basically looking for any advice on my PC upgrade and wondering if this is a reasonable build to run most games throughout 2013/2014 on max settings ( I know game technology cant really be predicted but ye) . My budget for my refurbishing is about $1500 AU (Im in Aus). Im recycling the case, PSU, CPU Heatsink and some of the ram from my original build for this new one. Im mainly looking at playing at a standard one monitor 1920x1080 with the potential of picking up another 770 when and if i need to( if I either notice im not keeping up or I want to set up a triple monitor rig). No SSD atm but looking to pick up one probably when and if I decide to SLI the 770.

Also, can anyone advise me whether or not my new system could handle a 780? I guess the only thing i'm unsure about is the PSU.

Cheers.

Original Build (Ended up picking up a Antec 1200 for the case)


New Parts

[Deleted]

Try this partslist. It's slightly more expensive than yours, but it includes a small SSD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-C ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($155.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($519.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1226.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 16:28 EST+1000)

If you can forego the HDD in my list above, you can upgrade to the 240GB version of the Samsung 840.

[Sparkwix]

I like Gigabyte as a brand, any reason why I should consider the MSI 770 over the Gigabyte version?

[Deleted]

Bold lines are the changes, you don't want 1.65v RAM., the GPU is the cheapest non-reference. If you prefer a different brand as long as it's non-reference then go for it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.00 @ Scorptec)
Memory: Avexir Standard Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.25 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1152.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 18:33 EST+1000)

Even cheaper solution with IvyBridge:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Avexir Standard Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.25 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1086.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 18:35 EST+1000)

I just realized you said $1500, you could easily fit in a 250GB SSD (same brand) it's much less micromanaging.

Samsung 840 Series 250GB

If you want SLI support you'll have to change motherboard regardless of the build you go with, either of these as a minimum:

ASRock Z87 Extreme3 (Haswell)
ASRock Z77 Extreme3 (IvyBridge)

[Sparkwix]

Bold lines are the changes, you don't want 1.65v RAM., the GPU is the cheapest non-reference. If you prefer a different brand as long as it's non-reference then go for it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.00 @ Scorptec)
Memory: Avexir Standard Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.25 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1152.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 18:33 EST+1000)

Even cheaper solution with IvyBridge:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Avexir Standard Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.25 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1086.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 18:35 EST+1000)

I just realized you said $1500, you could easily fit in a 250GB SSD (same brand) it's much less micromanaging.

Samsung 840 Series 250GB

If you want SLI support you'll have to change motherboard regardless of the build you go with, either of these as a minimum:

ASRock Z87 Extreme3 (Haswell)
ASRock Z77 Extreme3 (IvyBridge)

To be honest its kind of hard for me to figure out how much of this is aimed at my original post, and how much is to the reply with the other parts list. How are the parts i've outlined in my OP, like the ram and such.

[Deleted]

The bolded parts are the ones that are different from tenangrychickens build.

RAM - No reason to pay $30 extra when the RAM brand doesn't really matter much and specs are about the same

HDD - If you need 3TB then by all means get that, SSD will just make the system feel a lot snappier, games loads faster, reloads etc.

CPU - For gaming and general PC use there is no reason to get an i7 CPU also it's locked so overclocking is very limited.

Motherboard and GPU it's fine

I guess we are just showing that you can get more for less or about the same cost (like an SSD, overclocking with the CPU)

[Sparkwix]

The bolded parts are the ones that are different from tenangrychickens build.

RAM - No reason to pay $30 extra when the RAM brand doesn't really matter much and specs are about the same

HDD - If you need 3TB then by all means get that, SSD will just make the system feel a lot snappier, games loads faster, reloads etc.

CPU - For gaming and general PC use there is no reason to get an i7 CPU also it's locked so overclocking is very limited.

Motherboard and GPU it's fine

I guess we are just showing that you can get more for less or about the same cost (like an SSD, overclocking with the CPU)

Would a 780 be worth the investment if i'm possibly planning on running an eyefinity setup or the like? Would it be worth it in terms of future-proofing? Additionally, could my new mobo and current PSU support it?

Other than that, thanks for the advice, i'l probably pick up a 3570k then and i'll go with the ram you suggested. Will probably end up getting that SSD aswell.

[vesseblah]

Would a 780 be worth the investment if i'm possibly planning on running an eyefinity setup or the like?

AMD does multiple monitor spanned games better than Nvidia, it's a driver thing. On the other hand Nvidia does multiple cards better than AMD. It's a mess you need to decide for yourself.

Would it be worth it in terms of future-proofing?

Usually 2nd highest graphics card gives best value for money if you're looking for longevity, which would be GTX770 instead of 780.

Additionally, could my new mobo and current PSU support it?

In theory yes. I couldn't find any reputable review of your PSU, but the 450W TT Litepower is good so odds are the 700W model is good as well.

Will probably end up getting that SSD aswell.

Get it. Preferably the 250GB model so you don't need to worry about it too much. It'll make a night and day difference in generic computer use outside games no matter what you do.

[Sparkwix]

AMD does multiple monitor spanned games better than Nvidia, it's a driver thing. On the other hand Nvidia does multiple cards better than AMD. It's a mess you need to decide for yourself.



Usually 2nd highest graphics card gives best value for money if you're looking for longevity, which would be GTX770 instead of 780.



In theory yes. I couldn't find any reputable review of your PSU, but the 450W TT Litepower is good so odds are the 700W model is good as well.



Get it. Preferably the 250GB model so you don't need to worry about it too much. It'll make a night and day difference in generic computer use outside games no matter what you do.

How do you think a 2gb 770 would go at triple monitor games and the such?

[Deleted]

PSU is ~576W, no certificate, ~75% efficiency. There is one 450W Bronze unit that's good (FSP OEM), seems there are a lot of low quality LitePower units. For SLI I'd look for a better unit.

I think this would be a decent replacement:

OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

I guess you can always wait until you know if you're going to need it or not.

[chazus]

In theory yes. I couldn't find any reputable review of your PSU, but the 450W TT Litepower is good so odds are the 700W model is good as well.

The 350 and 450w Litepower are made by FSP, and are indeed good. They're also the only ones made by FSP. All of the other Litepower series are made by janky brands. I wouldn't call them 'bad', but I would never recommend someone pick them up. Maybe on sale. In quality/reliability on a 1-5 scale, they hit about a 3. If it's done him good so far, it's probably reliable enough. If the money is available, I'd pick up a nice new one.

[Sparkwix]

The 350 and 450w Litepower are made by FSP, and are indeed good. They're also the only ones made by FSP. All of the other Litepower series are made by janky brands. I wouldn't call them 'bad', but I would never recommend someone pick them up. Maybe on sale. In quality/reliability on a 1-5 scale, they hit about a 3. If it's done him good so far, it's probably reliable enough. If the money is available, I'd pick up a nice new one.

If I were going to SLI in the near future it would probably be with two 770's, and at which point when picking up my second card, id also upgrade my PSU.

[vesseblah]

How do you think a 2gb 770 would go at triple monitor games and the such?

Rather go for 4GB model if you're planning triple monitors. 770 will run it, but not at highest settings. For maxing out games on triple screens you really need more than one card which kinda forces you you to pick up Radeon 7970 instead. Which is not bad deal either especially if you can use the games that are freebies with it.

The 350 and 450w Litepower are made by FSP, and are indeed good. They're also the only ones made by FSP. All of the other Litepower series are made by janky brands.

Allright, mystery solved then. PSU replacement is mandatory to run more than one graphics card.

[Sparkwix]

Rather go for 4GB model if you're planning triple monitors. 770 will run it, but not at highest settings. For maxing out games on triple screens you really need more than one card which kinda forces you you to pick up Radeon 7970 instead. Which is not bad deal either especially if you can use the games that are freebies with it.



Allright, mystery solved then. PSU replacement is mandatory to run more than one graphics card.

The freebies are of little want for me :c - I wouldn't be against SLI'ing two 770's if I had to for triple monitor gaming.

[vesseblah]

I wouldn't be against SLI'ing two 770's if I had to for triple monitor gaming.

It's totally possible and doable, AMD drivers are just little bit better at doing things automagically for you. But if you don't mind pressing few extra buttons while switching from single to triple monitor while gaming 2x770 should be good and sensible value for money choice.

[Sparkwix]

Awesome, thanks for all the help guys.