SOLVED Upgrading, would like some feedback on mobo, cpu, psu

[scibuff]

Hello, I currently have the following:

mobo: Asus P5KC
cpu: Q6600 Kentsfield (6-F-B) @ 2.4 GHz (1.25V)
ram: 4xCM2X6400 (8GB) 800MHz 5-5-5-18 (1.8V)
gpu: nVIDIA GTX280
psu: Arctic 700
case: Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000BWS

I can still run SWTOR on basically full settings and do all the stuff I need to do, but I've saved up some cash and wanna upgrade the 4 and half year old setup.

Also, I think my (non 80+) psu may be dying (had to disconnect one of the DVD Drives to boot the system otherwise the main HDD wouldn't start up properly).

After some research here's what I'm thinking:

1. keep the gpu until the end of the year (or so) I'm quite happy with it
2. urgently get a new psu - I'm thinking around 750W, here are some options
   
   • ENERMAX NAXN 80+ ENM750AWT 750W (€100)
   • CORSAIR 750W TXV2EU (€100)
   • OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W (€90)
   • OCZ ZT Series 750W (€90)
   • OCZ ZS Series 750W (€75)
3. then, get the following:
   
   cpu: i7 2700k 3.5Ghz (€260) or i7 3770k 3.5 Ghz (€300)
   mobo: ASUS MAXIMUS V GENE (€163)
   cooler: Arctic Freezer i30 (€30)
   ram: DDR3 2x8192MB CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance (9-9-9-24 1.5V) (€75)
   + an SSD drive for the system and the most used games (2 or 3) (~€150)
   
   I've read the discussion about 2700k vs 3770k.
   In price the difference is 40 euros, the general consensus seems to be that while 3770k is newer, has more features (supports officially 1600 MHz RAM) and the Z77 chipset is specifically created for it, I would like to give overclocking with 2700k a go (to somewhere around 4.6-4.7).
   Unless you guys think I should really spend €40 more for the 3770k.
   
   While most mobos will handle overclocking fine I'd prefer to spend around 150 euros for a solid mobo (€200 for P8Z77-V Pro is a little too much but if you guys think it is worth it I'd consider the top stuff for €200)
   
   Other mobo options I looked at where:
   
   • ASROCK Z77 Extreme4 (€130)
   • GIGABYTE Z77X-UD3H (€155)
   • ASUS P8Z77-V LX (€105)
   
   
   but I'm liking the Maximus V Gene the most (so far).
   
   I've read that although 2700k officially supports only 1033/1333 MHz RAM everyone (I saw) days is runs happily with 1600MHz.
   The one I listed was one of the few 16GB 2 piece sets with 1.5V so I picked it up. It there some advantage of using 2 DIMMs over 4 esp. for overclocking?!

I would appreciate any suggestions

I use the following shop (the pages are in slovak, but should be easy to navigate anyways)

• PSU's
• MoBo's
• CPU's
• Coolers
• SSD's

p.s. as a thermal compound I have a brand new Arctic MX-4 bought about a year ago, should I invest into something newer/better?

p.s.2 for some reason i7 2600k 3.4 GHz in my store is €290, i.e. €30 more than the 2700k.
Based on the product description other than the well known 100MHz clock diff, they are identical.

Thank you

 

[Knufire]

i5s and i7s perform nearly the same in games. I'd go for a i5-3570K.

The MVG is made for more extreme overclocking than you're doing. The Extreme4 or UD3H are better suited for you. Since all OCing is done through the multiplier, the motherboard has very little impact on your overclocking.

PSU, I'd go for the ZT 750.

MX-4 should be fine.

You'll never need more than 8GB of RAM for gaming.

With that saved money, I'd see if you could get a better cooler.

 

[scibuff]

Thank you, for the time to read my post and reply.

Based on that, I'm gonna go with the Extreme4 to save a bit of €.

Any particular reason to go for ZT 750, I actually like Enermax a bit more.

Also just found out that the Arctic Freezer i30 sold out so I'm gonna get the Enermax ETS-T40-TB (€32) - the shop doesn't have hyper212+ but I'd probably still wanna get the Enermax cooler even if it did.

So going down from 16GB RAM to 8GB and from 2700k to i5-3570k would save me about €100.
What kinda of OC should I be able to get for i5-3570k with Extreme4 and the Enermax cooler?

Besides gaming, I do quite lot of data analysis and due to lack of open APIs for the data analysis software the only way I can automate processing of different data set is to run new instances of the software.
Sometime I end up with 20-30 instances and things then seem to slow down quite a lot. Would 16GB RAM help with that?
Would better OC on 2700k speed the software data processing (I believe it can use only a single core and I'm not sure how much HT helps)?

Once again, thanks

 

[Knufire]

Data analysis, now more RAM and HT might help with that. I'm not sure to what extent though, it depends on how it's coded.

According to this review, the Enermax NAXN 80+ is the same platform as the Corsair CX series. The TX750 or the ZT750 are slightly better. I went for the ZT750 as it's fully modular as well.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-NAXN-80+-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/1309

Looking at the coolers, I'd just go for the Zalman CNPS12X if you want to hit above 4.5GHz.

 

[scibuff]

Ok, if I'm looking at Zalman CNPS12X I think I may as well try to get the Noctua NH-D14 and change the RAM to low profile. I hope it will fit the Thermaltake Armor+ case I have

I think the link is for the Enermax lower series (ending with 650W) and the 750W is another series. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-NAXN-82+-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/1275

Also, would ASROCK Z68 PRO3 GEN3 (€85) mobo be too big of a step down from Extreme4 (€130). I don't care too much about the extra €35. Thanks