SOLVED General hardware questions.

[bigpoppanick]

Hello this is my first post.

I have a barebones build that I upgraded.

Processor: i5 2500k 3.30ghz (not overclocked)
GPU: GeForce 560SE 1GB DDR5(looking to upgrade)
Ram: 8GBS of Corsair Vengeance DDR3
MOBO: MSI z77a-g45
Case: Chaser MK 1
PSU: Apevia ATX-WA750W Warlock 750-Watt ATX Power Supply
I also have a Thermaltake Bigwater 760 plus cooling only the processor.

I know this is a bargain build. I'm looking to upgrade. My concern is that if I upgrade the graphics card first that it won't give me as much of a punch as upgrading the processor. Or is my processor decent enough that I could upgrade the graphics card and see better performance?

Then that brings me to the graphics card. Would I get better performance out of two of these: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7889694&CatId=7387 in SLI? or one of these?http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3865159&CatId=7387

How do I compare gpu performance? I know that some cards with the same memory are vastly different, even within the same serial numbers.

Also is the MOBO decent? I had to RA one for a short when I first bought the machine.

I'm looking to eke out some more performance in the most cost effective way. I have a lot of mods i want to do, I want to do a seperate Liquid cooling loop with an independent pump and res for the GPU I end up with, I need to get some SP120 Fans to do the Bigwater push/pull mod, and some more fans. i'm looking to do some LED work too.

The less I spend to get the machine running better the more I'll have for fun stuff. I don;t think I'm that far off from getting this thiung beastly and fun to look at .

 

[Ajay57]

bigpoppanick:

Welcome to the Forums, as for your questions the 2500K is a useful CPU!

Motherboard is OK, and 8GB's of Ram fine, the only thing i not sure about is that PSU??

Is it this model OP? http://www.apevia.com/ProductsInfo.asp?KEY=ATX-WA750W

It my say 750w but the output is "48 amps Max" on the 12 volt line. To be honest i can not find any Reviews to help me find, what kind of quality it is?

That said i would change the GPU Card, but i would check the PSU out by some of the members who could give you a yes or no! AJ.

1, http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/motherboards/1297711/msi-z77a-g45

Yep it looks ok!

 

[EarthDog]

Apevia PSU's are ****. Pure ****. That would be my first upgrade personally.

Next, the GPU. I would not SLI two midrange GPU's off the bat. Get a single card (assuming you are gaming at 1080p of course)

You do not need to overclock the CPU, its plenty powerful.

 

[ninjacore]

GPU upgrade suggestion seconded. Your 2500K will last at least another year before it starts to become a bottleneck.

EDIT: I used an Apevia PSU for years in a build and had no issue. If you aren't taxing it (no OC, single GPU), I don't see why it would be a priority upgrade.

That said, a quality unit can be had for less than $50.

And no, don't upgrade to a midrange SLI setup. If you're going really cheap, SLI your current card or get a much better, single card option.

EDIT2: Just saw that your current GPU has only 1GB of vram. Go for a higher-end, single card with more vram.

 

[bigpoppanick]

Yes, that is the PSU. Is that bad? If I need to upgrade that also, it's doable. May cannibalize it for a media center.

 

[bigpoppanick]

GPU upgrade suggestion seconded. Your 2500K will last at least another year before it starts to become a bottleneck.

EDIT: I used an Apevia PSU for years in a build and had no issue. If you aren't taxing it (no OC, single GPU), I don't see why it would be a priority upgrade.

That said, a quality unit can be had for less than $50.

And no, don't upgrade to a midrange SLI setup. If you're going really cheap, SLI your current card or get a much better, single card option.

EDIT2: Just saw that your current GPU has only 1GB of vram. Go for a higher-end, single card with more vram.

My price range for a GPU suggestion is right around $300. I can fudge it a bit, and if I don't have to replace the PSU, that's a load off my mind.

 

[Ajay57]

What we are saying here is that PSU will not carry any up grade on any GPU Card that requires more Amps! I for one do not believe he has 48amps @ Max on that unit. Plus not to mention Ripple etc naah! Use it for some thing else and get a quality unit Corsair or something else. AJ.

 

[EarthDog]

You got lucky Ninja. Apevia PSU's are garbage. If you google "Apevia PSU reviews, jonnyguru" you will see. The are right up there with Raidmax and PowMax among other PSU's that have a much greater chance at taking out your entire system.

Here is a review of one of them... http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=92

As far as a GPU...7870 is the least I would go. And you can use a QUALITY 500W PSU (corsair to name one brand).

 

[Ajay57]

+1 with ED its Cr*p Period!

 

[bigpoppanick]

You got lucky Ninja. Apevia PSU's are garbage. If you google "Apevia PSU reviews, jonnyguru" you will see. The are right up there with Raidmax and PowMax among other PSU's that have a much greater chance at taking out your entire system.

Here is a review of one of them... http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=92

As far as a GPU...7870 is the least I would go. And you can use a QUALITY 500W PSU (corsair to name one brand).

Ok. I'm looking for a quality 1000w or higher then. What would you suggest? the reason I want the higher wattage is to keep my Bigwater happy, and the LEDS and second cooling loop I want to add.

 

[EarthDog]

With respect, you are woefully off in your power consumption estimate. As I mentioned earlier a quality 500-550W PSU will be plenty for ANY single GPU, with your CPU, and water/fans/LED's, WITH overclocking. If you plan to SLI eventually, a 750W PSU is plenty as well.

See the link in my signature for a list of some quality PSUs.

 

[Ajay57]

That is purely over kill what you need is this unit its by Corsair, its on Special Offer with Free Shipping as well.

1, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048

You can get this @ $59.99c and its Modular.

2, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051

Or this unit?

 

[bigpoppanick]

With respect, you are woefully off in your power consumption estimate. As I mentioned earlier a quality 500-550W PSU will be plenty for ANY single GPU, with your CPU, and water/fans/LED's, WITH overclocking. If you plan to SLI eventually, a 750W PSU is plenty as well.

See the link in my signature for a list of some quality PSUs.

Sweet. Thanks for the link. I think i'll look at 750w. I may want to SLI in the future, and would rather not be buying two PSUs.

 

[EarthDog]

That is up to you. For 1080p resolutions however, it is recommended by most to stick with one card. While, for the most part, multi-GPU setups are fine, there are inherent issues that come with it such as double the heat, more noise, double the power consumption, and you never get 2x performance. It can vary from none (rare) to 90%(also rare) with average scaling around 60-80% in most titles. If you are 'green' with PC's I surely do not recommend two cards, espeically with a meager resolution such as 1920x1080.

 

[bigpoppanick]

That is purely over kill what you need is this unit its by Corsair, its on Special Offer with Free Shipping as well.

1, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048

You can get this @ $59.99c and its Modular.

2, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051

Or this unit?

I like the second one.

 

[Theocnoob]

Be careful with that bigwater. Those aren't very reliable from what I've read. If it ever goes on you, you might want to switch to a big air cooler like the Noctua NHD14.
Also, what games do you play? Most games won't see much performance increase from overclocking your CPU but some titles like FSX will see huge improvements.
Overclocking Sandybridge and Ivybridge is totally idiot-proof. You should give it a shot.

 

[bigpoppanick]

Be careful with that bigwater. Those aren't very reliable from what I've read. If it ever goes on you, you might want to switch to a big air cooler like the Noctua NHD14.
Also, what games do you play? Most games won't see much performance increase from overclocking your CPU but some titles like FSX will see huge improvements.
Overclocking Sandybridge and Ivybridge is totally idiot-proof. You should give it a shot.

Yeah almost every review says that the Bigwater is crap. I really like it for what I'm doing, just cooling the cpu. Been running for over a year with no problems.

I mostly just play League of legends, but have been getting the MMO bug again. I have a prob with my GPu right now, i broke off a fan tine, so Oc'ing the fan is not an option right now. The CPU I haven't done yet. I heard it is pretty easy, and my MOBO has a tool that does it.

The concerns over the Bigwater are one of the reasons I want to do a second Liquid system. That way of the Bigwater ever fails i can just loop the CPU into the new system. I have a Chaser MK 1 so space isn't an issue.

 

[Knufire]

OC that CPU...that line is ridiculously easy to overclock.

You can get a 7970 for $320 after mail in rebate if you stretch your budget a little bit. If you want to go cheaper, look for a GTX760

For a 750W PSU, the OCZ ZT 750 is an excellent PSU on an excellent short term deal over on Newegg.

 

[Theocnoob]

The concerns over the Bigwater are one of the reasons I want to do a second Liquid system. That way of the Bigwater ever fails i can just loop the CPU into the new system. I have a Chaser MK 1 so space isn't an issue.

Get that idea out of your head. There is a ton of information to learn if you want to do any kind of custom water cooling. And it's very expensive. You don't NEED liquid cooling of any kind. You can get a very high overclock on that CPU on air. Get a good GPU with good cooling and run it on air. Just run everything on air.

 

[Starrbuck]

OC the CPU and get a new video card. Done!