Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread - Page 579

On January 05 2016 14:10 micronesia wrote:
I built this computer in 2012, but it has been acting up lately and some of the hardware is getting old so I think I should build a new computer. More recently I had replaced the graphics card with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti when the older gpu was dying. Is it worth bringing this gpu over to the new computer, or is it smarter to just get a new one? I can re-use the hard drives and monitors, or upgrade them later. I'll go through the usual questions.

What is your budget?
Less than 1000 but I probably won't need that much since I don't have any hard performance requirements... the thing I care most about is that I hate troubleshooting problems with my computer!

What is your monitor's native resolution?
One is 1280x1024 and the other is 1920x1080.

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
I don't usually play games with technical requirements beyond blizzard games. I can't think of anything specific right now (unless I decide I won't spring for the ps4 and want to play the ff7 remake pc version :p)

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Nothing taxing (no encoding or heavy-duty processing). Watch video, browse, fool around with computer programming.

Do you intend to overclock?
I did for my current PC but I don't think I need to.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
Don't know what that is.

Do you need an operating system?
I plan to put Windows on it.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
I'll take care of that stuff later if necessary. I might get a new receiver at some point for the surround sound I use for my computer and tv.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I really like for my computer to be quiet. Also, I want to be able to hook up several internal hard drives (right now I'm using 3 including two SSDs and an external).

What country will you be buying your parts in?
Everything in USA

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
I'm comfortable buying from Amazon, Newegg, and Microcenter (brick and mortar). I could shop elsewhere but it would be different from what I did previously.

Please point me in the right direction. Also, it's been a while so I might not remember what other tools or supplies I will need once the parts come in order to build the computer. I'd like to avoid multiple follow-up trips to microcenter to get the necessary wires/parts/etc if possible.

On January 15 2016 11:52 bluegarfield wrote:
@micronesia: just reuse the 750Ti until next gen nvidia/amd cards come out (abt 6mth time) and see if you need an upgrade by then. if you already playing blizzard games just fine, not reason to upgrade, also ff7 remake not coming out any time soon iirc?

i saw you have a hyper 212x in you old system, can reuse that as well, the mounting socket is the same.

do you need an i7? by fooling around with comp programming i assume you dont mind extra few seconds compiling? if so you can even fit a skylake i5, like this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gPzHdC. else, for i7, haswell is still better option i guess due to skylake i7 being short on supply and horribly priced right now. the cheap alternative of i7, namely xeon, is not widely available for Skylake yet, so let's just ignore that.

and how are you planning to obtain windows?

On January 15 2016 12:29 micronesia wrote:
Ah ok. What will I need to move it over, just thermal paste? I replaced the fan on the cooler recently so it's nice to reuse that.

On January 15 2016 12:29 micronesia wrote:

I bought Win 7 not that long ago when I was fixing this computer, but MS may not let me use it on the new computer so I haven't figured this part out yet.

On January 15 2016 13:19 bluegarfield wrote:
Going to skylake i7 will increase the cost by $100-150 compared to the i5 skylake build I linked earlier. but since you are not buying GPU now, can also go a bit higher on CPU, then save up a bit more and 6mth later you should be able to add new GPU as well, assuming $1000 budget is not the hard-limit even for 6mth later. Of course it also depends on your needs, don't get higher end parts just for "future-proofing"

On January 16 2016 01:47 micronesia wrote:

1) How does the i5-6600k you linked save 100-150 dollars when it is listed as $250 and the i7-4770 I linked is $300? I'm not following your discussion of "skylake".
Skylake is the newer Intel CPU architecture (i5-6600/k, i7-6700/k), whereas i7-4770 is Haswell. Comparing clock for clock, Skylake is faster by idk may be 10-15%. However, Haswell still get the jobs done just fine for the budget. What you get with Skylake is newer architecture, DDR4 RAM, may be some USB3.1 and USB-C and NVME SSD (depending on mobo), but it will be more expensive compared to Haswell. Do consider the Xeon E3-1231v3 if you definitely not going to overclock. You get 4cores/8threads of i7 for the price of i5
anyway 6600K is $250, 6700 is $350 and 6700K is $400. hence the price difference

2) Will my cooler work with any i5 or i7?
Yes it will

3) Is there an advantage to the Mobo you linked over mine?
Not really. Your mobo is Haswell, the one I put is Skylake. Different CPU socket, some other features may vary. Consider your needs: do you need/plan to SLI in the future, do you need USB-C, thunderbolt, USB 3.1, M.2 SSD, NVME, overclock (Z-chipset vs H/B chipset), etc

4) I think the RAM you linked is a bit more money for higher quality... is this true?
again, not really. It's DDR4 RAM, supposedly marginally faster compared to DDR3, and slightly more expensive. But DDR4 is only supported on Skylake or X99 platform, so it's either: [i7-4770, your Z97 mobo, Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8GB DDR3 RAM] or [my build, which used Skylake CPU, Z170 mobo and DDR4 RAM]

5) Your PSU is more money considering sales... is it better?
The PSU you put has no specific model, so I can't say which one better. The one I put was some another build, it's a good quality unit anyway. can find something cheaper, but if you want to overclock make sure to find quality unit

Once I understand 1-5 I will run over to microcenter and pick up a cpu and order the rest of the stuff online.

edit: just got an e-mail from newegg with promotions... will paste in a few questions below:

A) How about this CD rom drive for $15?
Any CD/DVD drive will do, really.

B) Are any of these sales better for RAM?
For DDR3 get the black 16GB G.skill, for DDR4 get the red 16GB Corsair, but as said above getting DDR3 or DDR4 depending on your CPU and Mobo

C) How about these motherboards? Also, Microcenter currently gives you a 20 dollar bundle discount if you get a mobo and cpu from them... I'll do this if it's cheaper for a given mobo
Those are AMD mobo, cant use except the Asus Maximus VIII HERO, which is super expensive

D) What about these psu sales? (*added another psu)
check this list http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html, try to get something from Tier 2 at least. If you are really on tight budget AND will not overclock, tier 3 may be sufficient.

E) Finally, how good of a deal is this for $750?
not good, simply because of AMD CPU and bad quality PSU, and since you play blizzard games, you want good single core performance on CPU, which kinda mean Intel, unless budget says otherwise.

Hopefully, individually these questions only take a few seconds each :p