Requesting Advice for a New Gaming Build

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Finneal

n00b
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
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55
All,

I'm going to be purchasing components for my (once every two years) computer upgrade over the next couple weeks and would love some of your [H]ard advice. You guys have helped me for a decade with build advice and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Here's a link to my last build so you can see what I'm upgrading from.

Here we go:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming - World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, Diablo 3, Mechwarrior Online, etc.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
1500

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Fort Worth, TX - I can get to the MC in Dallas !

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, Motherboard, Memory, Video Card, SSD (>240 GB), HDD (2TB or larger).

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I already have this PSU that I intend to reuse. I also have this HSF that I intend to reuse. I am also reusing this case.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I am currently running two 1920x1200 monitors, but I am upgrading one of my monitors to a 1440p. So I would like to have enough machine to game on the 1440p monitor while watching a 1080p movie on the other screen.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I'm ready to start purchasing components now.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
I will have 4 hard drives in the machine so I will need enough SATA ports to handle that.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I will be reusing my current 64 bit Windows 7 license.


Thanks again for all your assistance !

Finneal
 
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whats your budget, I like is not a complete answer.
Any brand specific as in it has to be Intel CPU or Nvidia gpu or?

I would say support AMD the best you can, they need it and it will help everyone :)
for CPU AMD FX6350-8350 or Intel 3770k
GPU Radeon 280x to 290x depending on budget or Nvidia 770-780Ti again depending on budget
motherboard depends on cpu choice
memory depending on what you normally do as in if it is just for gaming or do you also do "work" type stuff such as ripping movies and the like? Pure gaming needs, 8gb 1600-2133 speed Gskill memory is what I recommend
SSD Samsung 840 EVO or Pro 256gb SSD Caviar Black 2TB or 4TB for the mechanical drive
Case well that depends on you I suppose, there is many to choose from, again this revolves around your budget. one example would be Arc Midi R2
 
When you say WoW do you mean raider or casual? Big raid environments with lots of players are cpu intensive, enough to make my i7 920 insufficient for my tastes so keep this in mind when considering cpu options.
 
I do raiding, mostly LFR but I dont think that makes a difference CPU-wise vs. normal raiding.
 
The outdoor 40 man ones are worse yet.

I can't recommend anything less than a 4770k for you and a modest OC certainly would help ensure you aren't cpu limited in wow for some time to come.
 
I don't see a good reason for you to get a whole new system. The current Intel CPUs aren't that much faster than your 2600K to justify the costs of a whole new CPU and motherboard. That Crucial SSD is still pretty solid and your HD 7950 3GB can still hold its own against the current crop of video cards.

So in other words, there's no cost-effective upgrade for you for the parts I mentioned unless you're now a huge FPS freak and thus need as much FPS as possible. The only justifiable upgrade would just be more storage drives.
 
chibe said:
Wow only uses 2 threads, so a 4770k is overkill
Click to expand...

Incorrect. WoW got an updated 64bit client that makes use of 4 cores some time ago, this is well documented by many separate accounts easily found with a quick Google search, just make sure you look at the dates of what you read.

Aside from having 4 cores WoW performance depends heavily on IPC and clock speed. If your current SB cpu isn't enough I recommend going with Haswell and a modest OC.
 
haswell vs IVY not much difference there and usually Ivy runs cooler(on average) overclocks better (on average) uses less power when overclocked and Ivy for the most part does tend to be a less expensive, just cause its new does not make it better.

Now does WoW use hyper hyperthreading as some games/apps do or do not, I do know by having HT off it will run cooler and allow the clock to go up some, in this regard a decent cooler to support a moderate overclock may give that most bang for the $ then shelling out that much for a modes IPC boost that will not directly show until you overclock anyways, 2600k can take advantage of all the modern decent coolers out there from a Hyper 212 all the way to H100 and so forth so lots to pick from, maybe a batter case to go along with this to ensure more then enough airflow to keep things as cool as possible might be a worthy change?
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. Let me give you a little more background on my situation. Before I got married, I upgraded my computer constantly and always enjoyed having top-end gear. After a couple of years of that, my wife imposed a compromise :) Now I get to upgrade my computer every other year after Christmas. Furthermore, my children are getting older now (my oldest is 13) and like good little PC gamers, they prefer to get on my computer instead of the Xbox or the Wii. I promised them I would go from two computers to three this year so they are not competing for computer resources everyday.

So you see, I'm doing this for my family :):)

That being said, I would like to upgrade to a 4770K. I could use a recommedation for a motherboard and a cooler. I am assuming the memory from my current computer will work just fine (please correct me if I'm wrong). I will buy 8GB for the kids computer. As for the video card, I am looking for something similar or better than what I have now (possibly Nvidia). If there isn't anything better than what I have in the 300ish price range, I will probably just buy a cheaper video card for the kids computer and stick with what I have. I could also use a recommendation on a 256ish GB SSD to complement my current one (I am constantly having to move things on and off of it to make space).

Hope this explanation makes sense to some of you. Thanks again for all your help !
 
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Finneal said:
Hope this explanation makes sense to some of you. Thanks again for all your help !
Click to expand...
Then wouldn't that mean you would need a new Windows 7/8 key as well? Or do you already have one? Actually, wouldn't that also mean that you would need a new case, and PSU as well?

How long is the drive to Microcenter for you?

As for the video card, keep your HD 7950 for now. Unfortunately the huge litecoin craze has pretty much caused the stock of $300 R9 280X cards to dry up as well massively increased the pricing. While the Nvidia GTX 770 is a match, if not better, for your current HD 7950 3GB, IMO, it's still a bit pricey at $336 shipped unless you must have Nvidia at all costs. Go for the R9 270X as a cheaper replacement for your kid's PC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131532
 
I will have to buy an additional Windows 7 license for sure. I bought my current cpu/mobo combo at Microcenter and it has worked great. It's about 45 minutes away and I wouldn't hesitate to go there again. I will follow your advice on the video card. Since I paid so much for it when I bought it, I suspected it would be difficult to find an upgrade in the 300 dollar price range.
 
Finneal said:
I will have to buy an additional Windows 7 license for sure. .
Click to expand...
What about the case and PSU?
Finneal said:
Since I paid so much for it when I bought it, I suspected it would be difficult to find an upgrade in the 300 dollar price range.
Click to expand...
If you had asked about an upgrade about 2-3 months ago, it would have been easier. But alas the litecoin craze hit.
 
In that case, I recommend the following:
$350 - Intel Core i7 4770K + MSI Z87-G41 PC MATE Intel Z87 ATX Motherboard Microcenter combo
$60 - Crucial Ballistix Sport BLS8G3D1339DS1S00 8GB DDR3 1333
$161 - Samsung 840 Evo Series 250GB SSD
$88 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
----
Total: $659 shipped
 
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So are you confirming that my current memory will work with the new cpu/mobo? Also, can you recommend a HSF for the new CPU?
 
Finneal said:
So are you confirming that my current memory will work with the new cpu/mobo? Also, can you recommend a HSF for the new CPU?
Click to expand...

Yes your current memory will work with the new CPU/mobo. I recommend this HSF:
$29 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF
 
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Woot, made some purchases today. I went to Microcenter and picked up the CPU/mobo combo you suggested which was 379 including tax (I have a 10 dollar MIR for that).

Also picked up the HSF you recommended from Amazon for 29.99.

I also picked up the Samsung Evo SSD you recommended for 139.99 (was on SD today)

Still have a few things left to purchase to finish out the kids build.

Video card
Monitor
Keyboard (I will probably upgrade mine to a G710X and give them my old G15)
Windows 7 License (home premium OEM)
Memory

I will probably wait at least a week or two to get the rest of these parts unless a [H]ot deal comes up before then. In the meantime, I will commence with the upgrade on my rig once the HSF and drives show up.

Thanks very much for all your help !!
 
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