Upgrading from Q9550, I need suggestions for a CPU/mobo

L

lobski2

Gawd
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
969
Since 2007, I've been using a P5B Deluxe with q9550. I think the motherboard died. I might as well go all out and upgrade to Haswell. But I haven't been following up with the current mobo/cpu trends, and I need help!

I am falling towards the 4770k for maximum overclockability, with a Z87 motherboard. I'm falling towards the ASUS z87 sabretooth as well. I'll probably get around 12gb of ram or something.

Could I please get some insight? Is the 4770k and z87 Sabretooth a good combo? I would like something relatively high end!

Should I get the Sabretooth or the Maximus VI Hero?

p.s. I hear the Haswell series has crap overclocking abilities, is this true? Is it better to get Sandy/Ivy Bridge and get a higher overclock than a Haswell?

Thanks for helping a newbie! :D


Oh, I'm from Canada, and I'll most likely order from NCIX.
 
Last edited:
Sabretooth or Maximus really comes down to the color combo you want IMO. Haswell doesn't overclock as well as Sandy Bridge unless you delid. However if I were to buy today I would for sure go Haswell over Sandy or Ivy regardless of overclocking capabilities simply because I like to have the latest.
 
It's not so much that Haswell overclocking is 'crap', it's just as good as / more varied than Sandy Bridge. Some Haswell chips can do 4.5GHz on 1.2v or less, some need 1.4v. You would still be better off with Haswell due to the IPC improvements.

Deliding would be worth it if you are confident (use the vice method, not a razor blade), use Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra between the die and IHS. Make sure you get a decent aftermarket cooler if you are going to overclock.

As said above, board really comes down to preference on colour and features you want. They pretty much all OC the same on z87.

You would need either 8GB (2x4GB) or 16GB (4x4GB or 2x8GB) of ram for dual channel mode.



Something like this, I just added the NH-D14 because it's on offer:
c2qupgrade_zps01417844.png


Total is $793.96 with NH-D14 or $723.97 without
 
Last edited:
I think I might go with the Maximus Hero instead of the Sabertooth, good idea?

Also, I'm using an esata harddrive enclosure, and I can't find if the Hero has an esata port at the back. Does anyone know if it does?
 
The Hero doesn't have esata. The only Asus z87 boards that do are the Sabertooth, Gryphon and z87-ws.
You may find this comparison chart helpful: http://promos.asus.com/us/z87/comparison/

If you wanted to look at other manufacturers, the Gigabyte ga-z87x-ud3h and ud4h both have esata, so does the ASRock z87 extreme 6. These are just some examples, there are more boards than these that have esata ports.
 
Last edited:
I just upgraded my friends pc from a Q9550, 8gb, and an Asus board to a 4770 and Sabertooth with 16gb.
He is really impressed with the speed increase, it's noticeably faster.
 
Hi,

So I finally went with this and pulled the trigger;

Intel 4770k

Maximus VI Hero

Corsair AX860 PSU

G.Skill 2x8GB kits

samsung 840 Pro 256GB

GPU will be my current one, gtx480.

The reasoning for the 4770k is that, I will rarely ever upgrade the mobo/cpu. I plan on using the cpu/mobo for at least 7-8 years. I think getting the i5 4670 for 8 years isn't better than getting a 4770k for that length of time. My only gripe with this is the crap overclockability the 4770k seems to have. But oh well.

I DO plan on getting a 780 or something similar in a few months or something.
 
lobski2 said:
Hi,

So I finally went with this and pulled the trigger;

Intel 4770k

Maximus VI Hero

Corsair AX860 PSU

G.Skill 2x8GB kits

samsung 840 Pro 256GB

GPU will be my current one, gtx480.

The reasoning for the 4770k is that, I will rarely ever upgrade the mobo/cpu. I plan on using the cpu/mobo for at least 7-8 years. I think getting the i5 4670 for 8 years isn't better than getting a 4770k for that length of time. My only gripe with this is the crap overclockability the 4770k seems to have. But oh well.

I DO plan on getting a 780 or something similar in a few months or something.
Click to expand...

Did you notice any snappier gaming FPS with the upgrade yet keeping the same GPU?
 
Chris Lakies said:
Did you notice any snappier gaming FPS with the upgrade yet keeping the same GPU?
Click to expand...


Haven't gotten it yet I'll probably get it tonight or tomorrow.

I probably wont notice a big increase, my q9550 was at 3.7, pretty decent imo.
 
pretty solid build, imo. You've got room to grow by adding some more HDD/SDD storage and a new vid card (or even SLI/Crossfire with that PSU) so you're good to go!
 
You WILL notice the CPU difference, and SSD difference.

Post your experience though :)
 
I'm just a little nervous with overclocking the 4770k, I haven't done any overclocking since the 775-era. I hope it goes smooth.
 
lobski2 said:
I'm just a little nervous with overclocking the 4770k, I haven't done any overclocking since the 775-era. I hope it goes smooth.
Click to expand...

O/C'ing since the 775 era is actually easier since Intel took AMD's idea of offering unlocked multipliers on all of their o/c'ing models (the K series)...Haswell is a bit more difficult since the introduction of adaptive voltage, but there are tons of threads out there to get you up to speed. Enjoy the new system!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top