Please some advices to upgrade my rig

[Beeeno]

Hi there

I was thinking about upgrading main part of my rig (almeno per la maggior parte dei componenti) with 400 € budget.

This is my actual config:Attualmente
1. CPU: E8400 OC @ 3.6 + Dissipatore Artic Freezer 7,
2. mobo: ASUS P5Q Pro
3. GPU: MSI 6850 Cyclone
4. RAM 2x2 Gb DDR2 GSkill da 400 MHz
5. PSU: 800 W Corsair (don't remember model but it's noisy)
6. SSD: Samsung 830 da 128Gb
7. HDD: 1 Samsung 750 Gb + 1 WD Green 1Tb
8. SO: Win7
9. monitor 22" (1680x1050)


I exclusively use this PC to play (Men of War Assault Squad, Red Orchestra 2, Battlefield3), so I was thinking to go for Intel I5 2500k (... or maybe ivy bridge one ?!?!) but I've to choose new mobo (Z77 ?!?!), RAM (8 or 16 Gb?) and cooler (fan). I would like to buy stuff to do a safe daily OC (4.5 GHz ?!?). Maybe in the future I could decide to experience SLI/Crossfire (but not this year or next one).

This is what I've seen around:
1. mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V (there are many models tra i 130 ed i 200 €), ASUS P8Z77-M, ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 or 6 (120 € or 152 €);
2. cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer i30;
3. RAM: DDR3 Vengeance 1600 MHz (39 € for 2 x 4Gb).

So here are some questions:
1. mobo ?!? (you can suggest other models too)?
2. what do you think about the model I'was thinking about ? 8 Gb or 16 Gb ??
3. cooler: do I need such a big model ? could I experience troubles with DDRAM placing ?
4. as I use my montor at 1680x1050 res., do you suggest me to change my GPU too (Radeon 7850 or 7870)?
5. a quiet PSU you suggest ?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Opusbuild]

This is what I've seen around:
1. mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V (there are many models tra i 130 ed i 200 €), ASUS P8Z77-M, ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 or 6 (120 € or 152 €);
2. cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer i30;
3. RAM: DDR3 Vengeance 1600 MHz (39 € for 2 x 4Gb).

So here are some questions:
1. mobo ?!? (you can suggest other models too)?
2. what do you think about the model I'was thinking about ? 8 Gb or 16 Gb ??
3. cooler: do I need such a big model ? could I experience troubles with DDRAM placing ?
4. as I use my montor at 1680x1050 res., do you suggest me to change my GPU too (Radeon 7850 or 7870)?
5. a quiet PSU you suggest ?

Thanks a lot.

1) I would think all of the mobos would be a good choice, I know that many people in the forum speak highly of ASrock. There is a really nice comparison review between each mobo at Toms hardware.

2) In terms of RAM, I think most people would tell you here that RAM is RAM, just make sure you consider which choice is right for your "low profile" or "high profile", it matters when fitting your after market cooler if you intend to use the space for all RAM slots. I would personally go for low profile for you have the additional space for more cooling options.

3) See my response (2) above for RAM space issue. How much are you willing to spend on cooling?

4) I wouldn't know without research myself...

5) I wouldn't know without research myself...

Hope this helps

Oh another thing:
Check which version of Windows 7 you have. They all have a limit on the RAM amounts.

 

[Beeeno]

Thx Opusbuild !! I've Win7 64 bit and I was thinking to buy a cooler for 30 € about.
Moreover I've always had ASUS mobo but I remained confused for the large numnber of models for ASUS P8Z77-V mobo (... which one should I choose ?).

 

[Opusbuild]

Glad it helped Beeeno,

I am not sure you can guarantee a 4.5GHz processor with a $30 cooler? Someone with a 2500k might be able to offer there input.

Asus have been around for a long time. Something I found helpful were checking out the ASUS youtube channel, there is a guy called JJ and he explains things so well. Also check out the ASUS website, there is a comparison chart where you can select multiple boards and directly compare them. From here you can clearly see what the higher spec boards have over the low entry boards.

What I found was (and what JJ will tell you) is that the philosophy of the Z77 boards were you make sure all boards come with the core features that all users will benefit from.

All the best

 

[Knufire]

I would grab a 3570K, ASRock Z77 Extreme4, and 8GB of RAM. Cooler, you would need something along the lines of a TRUE Spirit 140 for 4.5GHz.

At 1680x1050, the 6850 might be fine. It won't play games on Ultra settings, but it should play them on high settings.

 

[Beeeno]

THX Knufire and I beg your pardon. May ask you why you should prefer 3570 instead of 2500k ? Moreover 4.5 is a really heavy OC I see. What do you think could be a rock solid and easy to do daily oc for me? Finally do you think for the hardware we're talking about a 650 W PSU could be enough ? What quiet PSU you'd suggest me ?
Thx.

P.S. I'm Italian and I speak a simple English.

 

[Knufire]

You get PCIe 3.0 support. Ivy Bridge is also 3-5% faster than Sandy Bridge at equal clock speed.

You can probably get 4.2GHz on Ivy Bridge or 4.5GHz on Sandy Bridge with a Hyper212+ or Hyper212 Evo.

 

[Opusbuild]

Take a look at the price difference between the 2500k and 3750k, you might find its not that much different. Also, there are arguments for and against the choice of each CPU over the other. However, I would think the general consensus to go with the newer technology.

It's handy to know that the ivy bridge CPUs have "respectable" graphics considering it is onboard, but then again if you are buying a GPU this might not make much of the difference to you, unless you make use of the Lucid Virut MVP, which I know very little about at the moment.

The cooler that Knufire suggested is known to be a popular value for money cooler choice.

 

[Beeeno]

THX guys
I think the main reason for me to go for I5 2500K is I've read about temperature troubles with ivi brigge cpu OC. Unluckily the cooler Thermaright TRUE Spirit is not available from the eshop I've seen to buy all the remaining stuff. I've read about Scythe Mugen 3 rev b good value for money. Do you know it ?
Moreover I'd ask to Knufire if he knows some goo quiet 650-700 W PSU (if it's enough for the hardware config we're talking about).

 

[Opusbuild]

I am not sure if it's "troubles" as such, I think it's more like the type of 22nm technology not lending itself to overclocking to a frequency as high as the sandy bridge. I guess it depends on how important that is to you.

Also, if PSU noise is of high importance to you, check out this review http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs

How noisy are the other parts of your case? Fans? HDD's, etc? Is the PSU to loudest part of your rig?

 

[Beeeno]

How noisy are the other parts of your case? Fans? HDD's, etc? Is the PSU to loudest part of your rig?

Unluckily PSU I've it's extremely noisy ... don't know why ?!? :/

 

[Opusbuild]

I assume it's no longer under its warranty? I once had a noisy psu on an older computer so I can understand where you are coming from.

 

[Beeeno]

No no it's still warranty covered... The problem is I don't know if it's noisy as normal ?!? I mean it's noisy as I've installed for the first time ...

 

[Opusbuild]

Having not had personal experience with corsair on the support front, I am not sure how easy a problem it will be to solve through them. Someone else might be able to give some input on this.... It might be worth a try, you never know you might get a brand new/repaired psu out of it?

 

[Conumdrum]

It could be a bad fan sensor. Does Corsair have a 'charge your credit card, send you a new PSU' option? You have 30 days to send the new one back and get CC credit, no charge to you.

I did it on my Ultra brand PSU, got a new one, all costs for shipping were covered.

YOU need to find out.

 

[Tak]

I would grab a 3570K, ASRock Z77 Extreme4, and 8GB of RAM. Cooler, you would need something along the lines of a TRUE Spirit 140 for 4.5GHz.

At 1680x1050, the 6850 might be fine. It won't play games on Ultra settings, but it should play them on high settings.

You've got to watch out on what RAM you choose if you pick the Z77 Extreme4 and TRUE Spirit 140 combo. The motherboard is only 8.6" wide, not 9.6". So the RAM is a lot closer to the CPU socket than normal and can cause issue with larger HSF. The width also doesn't allow it to be screwed into the their set of mounting posts.

Here's my issue right now. That space between RAM and fan is 1mm at most. The RAM is G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL.