Hello folks,
It's about that time a year again where I ponder what new heights I want to take my desktop rig. Aside from new video cards last year, the system hasn't been torn down and rebuilt in several years. Even my water-cooling system has been running maintenace free for about a year and half. I have a new motherboard on the way (current one is RMA'd due to south-bridge issue) and I figure since I have to tear down for the new motherboard, it's the perfect time to upgrade.
The current rig is in my sig, and here's what I'm thinking:
- New case (tired of the Cosmos S... want to go back to something with more classic lines.)
- An SSD (at least 256GB worth, if not two of them for 512GB total.)
- Maybe a new six-core processor.
For the case I'm looking at a Corsair 800D, but assuming I want to keep this case around for at least three years (basically my average case life-span, dating back to a TJ-09 from 2005,) there are a couple of things that concern me: First, no USB3 or e-sata on the front panel. Second, no 2.5 inch drive bays for SSDs. Third, the hot-swappable bay (which is a great feature) is only SATA-II. Anyone have any recommendations for an 800D-like case with newer guts? Maybe a Lian-Li or a Silverstone? (The TJ-11 looks great, but not at $600+.) The one required feature is support for mountain an internal 3x1 120mm radiator without modification (preferably across the top.)
For the SSD I'm looking at a Corsair C300, although I'll wait a to see if the C400s really begin to pop-up next week. On my current setup, I have about 160GB of program files installed (including Windows,) so a 256GB is a must. I also have this fantasy of being able to load my image catalog instantly in Lightroom, so I'm thinking of doubling up the SSDs to bring me to 512GB. Price per gigabyte is still not where I want it, but at least it's now under a grand for 500+ GB.
For the hex-core CPU, well, I'm not sure about this one... Given my usage: very little gaming these days, but a lot of image management and editing, software development, and a great deal of VM use, would I benefit from upgrading to a 970 or a 990X? Never had an extreme chip before -- typically I think they're ridiculous and I'm against them, but hey, the Gulftowns may be the exception here, right?
Anyway, the above is just what I'm thinking about now... As I state in the title, this is an inspiration thread, so any upgrade ideas are welcome As is typical with my spending habits surrounding my PC hobby, I'm not too concerned about the price tag, but I don't go too nuts -- usually I'm firmly in the upper high-end without going into too many extremes. I never build a new system from scratch, but can typically afford to do some hefty upgrading each year.
If I do all three (the case, CPU, and SSDs) it's a big upgrade -- but since I haven't really done a big upgrade in a couple of years, a total around $2k won't be the end of the world. If I limit the upgrade possibilities to those mentioned in my opening post, I may not do all three, or I may downgrade to one SSD or do the non-extreme Gulftown... still not sure.
It's about that time a year again where I ponder what new heights I want to take my desktop rig. Aside from new video cards last year, the system hasn't been torn down and rebuilt in several years. Even my water-cooling system has been running maintenace free for about a year and half. I have a new motherboard on the way (current one is RMA'd due to south-bridge issue) and I figure since I have to tear down for the new motherboard, it's the perfect time to upgrade.
The current rig is in my sig, and here's what I'm thinking:
- New case (tired of the Cosmos S... want to go back to something with more classic lines.)
- An SSD (at least 256GB worth, if not two of them for 512GB total.)
- Maybe a new six-core processor.
For the case I'm looking at a Corsair 800D, but assuming I want to keep this case around for at least three years (basically my average case life-span, dating back to a TJ-09 from 2005,) there are a couple of things that concern me: First, no USB3 or e-sata on the front panel. Second, no 2.5 inch drive bays for SSDs. Third, the hot-swappable bay (which is a great feature) is only SATA-II. Anyone have any recommendations for an 800D-like case with newer guts? Maybe a Lian-Li or a Silverstone? (The TJ-11 looks great, but not at $600+.) The one required feature is support for mountain an internal 3x1 120mm radiator without modification (preferably across the top.)
For the SSD I'm looking at a Corsair C300, although I'll wait a to see if the C400s really begin to pop-up next week. On my current setup, I have about 160GB of program files installed (including Windows,) so a 256GB is a must. I also have this fantasy of being able to load my image catalog instantly in Lightroom, so I'm thinking of doubling up the SSDs to bring me to 512GB. Price per gigabyte is still not where I want it, but at least it's now under a grand for 500+ GB.
For the hex-core CPU, well, I'm not sure about this one... Given my usage: very little gaming these days, but a lot of image management and editing, software development, and a great deal of VM use, would I benefit from upgrading to a 970 or a 990X? Never had an extreme chip before -- typically I think they're ridiculous and I'm against them, but hey, the Gulftowns may be the exception here, right?
Anyway, the above is just what I'm thinking about now... As I state in the title, this is an inspiration thread, so any upgrade ideas are welcome As is typical with my spending habits surrounding my PC hobby, I'm not too concerned about the price tag, but I don't go too nuts -- usually I'm firmly in the upper high-end without going into too many extremes. I never build a new system from scratch, but can typically afford to do some hefty upgrading each year.
If I do all three (the case, CPU, and SSDs) it's a big upgrade -- but since I haven't really done a big upgrade in a couple of years, a total around $2k won't be the end of the world. If I limit the upgrade possibilities to those mentioned in my opening post, I may not do all three, or I may downgrade to one SSD or do the non-extreme Gulftown... still not sure.