15 replies to this topic

[JRR1285]

My current system is quite old. I built it back in July of 2007 with an 8800GTS 640MB. I have since added a Gigabyte Superclocked 470GTX that has performed great in most games. When MWO hit, my system really showed its age. I had been running my CPU at stock 2.4GHz because overclocking never really worked out well with my board and processor combo. I read a few old guides and had it running at 3.4 and 3.2. I stuck with 3.2 because it was pretty stable. My rig was now able to keep up.

I have been gaming at higher resolutions for a long time, so my builds reflected that need. I have not played as many games in the last 2-3 years so I have not spent the money to upgrade. I have been playing at 1920 x 1080 for a while now. Once 12v12 hit this rig can't really cut it anymore. I was initially cursing myself for going quad back then but it has paid off with a build that had some serious longevity.

My current setting, running at idle. It's getting hot and I have reapplied TIM and am still getting occasional BSOD. MWO is usually the cause.



I am planning on a new build and was hoping for some feedback.

Looking to go for a 3770K with maybe an ASRock MOBO (or ASUS) and either 8 or 16GB of ram. Planning on holding on to my video card even though it is old. Plan on upgrading it in due time but may throw a GTX 760 in as well.

3770K
ASRock Board
Asus Board
Gigabyte GTX 760 (I am partial to their cooling design)

Feel free to recommend anything or tell me I'm doing it wrong. I am willing to explore AMD but from what I've seen this title favors intel. I used to run AMD but when I last upgraded intel was king and I'm not one to remain loyal when there are better options.

[ArmageddonKnight]

Hello there JRR1285.
I regularly help people out on variouse tech support forums in regards to PC upgrades and full rebuilds.

For you it seems you've got the right idea.

A few things i will point out.

Make sure ur PSU is up to scratch.
IMO u should get a Asus or Gigabyte board.
Also since ur replacing the cpu and motherboard you might aswell go to the latest itteration of Intel CPU's, that being Haswell (LGA 1150 - 4770k)
Be sure ot buy an aftermarket cooler. Ether somthing like a CM 212 Evo(no OC'ing), or a NH-D14, or a H100i. (cost&performance Low - High)
8GB RAM is enough. Just make sure its 1600mhz or higiher with CL9 or lower. Normaly i would sugest 1866mhz or higher due to prices lowering, but RAM costs have risen lately due to the fire in the Hynix memory manufacturinng plant.
The GTX 470 still has life left in it. Though if you do want more performance then u would see a signifcant boost going to a 760 or R9 280x.

As for AMD VS intel. AMD CPu's are good, dont get me wrong, but Intel is king in pure performance.
On the GPU side however AMD , with its latest series of GPU, is back on form with Nvida's top of the line GPU's (GTX 780/Titan vs R9 290X) and the lower cards match up relativly evenly, though as usual Nvida is more expensive.

IF, only only IF, u have money spare after buying a new CPU/Cooler/Motherboard/GPU/PSU (if needed), then a SSD 128gb or bigger will give u a better experiance on ur PC, though will show 0 FPS gains in games.

EDIT: Make sure ur OS is 64bit aswell.

Edited by ArmageddonKnight, 18 October 2013 - 05:34 AM.

[JRR1285]

ArmageddonKnight, on 18 October 2013 - 05:26 AM, said:

Hello there JRR1285.
I regularly help people out on variouse tech support forums in regards to PC upgrades and full rebuilds.

For you it seems you've got the right idea.

A few things i will point out.

Make sure ur PSU is up to scratch.
IMO u should get a Asus or Gigabyte board.
Also since ur replacing the cpu and motherboard you might aswell go to the latest itteration of Intel CPU's, that being Haswell (LGA 1150 - 4770k)
Be sure ot buy an aftermarket cooler. Ether somthing like a CM 212 Evo(no OC'ing), or a NH-D14, or a H100i. (cost&performance Low - High)
8GB RAM is enough. Just make sure its 1600mhz or higiher with CL9 or lower. Normaly i would sugest 1866mhz or higher due to prices lowering, but RAM costs have risen lately due to the fire in the Hynix memory manufacturinng plant.
The GTX 470 still has life left in it. Though if you do want more performance then u would see a signifcant boost going to a 760 or R9 280x.

As for AMD VS intel. AMD CPu's are good, dont get me wrong, but Intel is king in pure performance.
On the GPU side however AMD , with its latest series of GPU, is back on form with Nvida's top of the line GPU's (GTX 780/Titan vs R9 290X) and the lower cards match up relativly evenly, though as usual Nvida is more expensive.

IF, only only IF, u have money spare after buying a new CPU/Cooler/Motherboard/GPU/PSU (if needed), then a SSD 128gb or bigger will give u a better experiance on ur PC, though will show 0 FPS gains in games.

EDIT: Make sure ur OS is 64bit aswell.

Thanks for the detailed and informative response.

I went overboard on the PSU last time and it's a PC Power and Cooling 800 or 850 watt.

I was thinking of going Haswell but at that price point I was thinking it seemed to not offer enough to justify being in excess of $100 more between the CPU and Board. I can get the 3770K for around 250 and I was even thinking the 3570K would be a decent bet at around 190. I was hoping the 3770 might offer a little more future proofing over the 3570 with the hyper threading, don't know if I'm being naive thinking that.

I have also read that while the 1155 socket is pretty much dead, that the 1150 is going to see only one more refresh before moving onto a new socket. So I'm unsure what to decide now. I know I can't really go wrong either way, just trying to figure out the best cost/performance route to go. I tend to really research and over analyze. Makes things take longer than they should lol

I plan on running Win7 64bit since it's what I have now and I like it.

Edited by JRR1285, 18 October 2013 - 06:01 AM.

[JRR1285]

Actually just found the 4770K at microcenter for 279. This is going to make the decision harder lol. I was planning on overclocking, will that effect my decision?

[ArmageddonKnight]

Fine points made. If it wil lcost u that much more getting a HAswell then indeed do get a a Ivy.

The performance difference between a Sandy 2700k and a Haswell 4770k, when both are OC'd to theeir highest on the SAME cooler, is 0. becuse the HAswell wont reach as high clocks but wil do more on the lower clocks and the Sandy will reach higher clocks but do slightly less with it. Thus they even out. The Ivy line is right smack in the middle.

So yea get a 3770k and a Z77 motherboard, ether Asus or Gigabyte is a good bet , get a good cooler and OC.

800w PSU is more than enough.

EDIT: if u can get a Haswell then get it, just know that its a hot runner when OC'd so u need a good cooler. But the points above still stand

2700k At 5ghz
3770k at 4.7ghz
4770k at 4.5ghz

All performance roughly the same, those clocks can be reached with a NH-D14 level air cooler, or a H100 level water cooler, on an 'average' Chip.

An i7 is more future resistant than an i5 simply due to the upcoming consoles and the way games will be coded for them. This will transalte to PC ports and hopefully also PC exclusive games being much better optimised for up to 8 threads.

Edited by ArmageddonKnight, 18 October 2013 - 06:17 AM.

[JRR1285]

Thanks again, it's helpful bouncing ideas off of someone.

I was going through my order history and my PSU is actually a 750, shouldn't matter though I'm thinking.

I am inline with getting the Asus board. I went evga with this build and I had memory issues and OCing stability trouble. My last Asus was great. How has your P9-79 been for you?

I like the idea of the H100i cooler. I was hoping I could get the evo 212 and be done but I want to OC.

I'm going to think it over and pick one because I would really like to play MWO on decent settings with a good framerate.

[ArmageddonKnight]

Nothing bad to say about the performance of my board.
its a X79 LGA 2011 extreme chipset though so its a bit different.
I guess the only bad thign to say about it is visual it isnt al lthat impressive, the P9x79 series of boards are not really geared towwards 'looking great'

I have a second rig in the house that uses a 4770k with a Gigabyte board and NH-D14, it hasnt been OC'd yet as it doenst require the extra performance. But the Gigabyte LGA 1150 boards imo look better than the gold color scheme of the LGA 1150 Asus boards.

750w is still plenty for a single GPU rig.

A 212 evo would be fine for a Sandy and even an Ivy and would allow mild OC's on both, it would handle the Haswell fine also but i doubt u would get any meaningful OC out of it, you would probably just be able to push the clock without increasing voltage.
The H100i is expensive but its the best u can do without going into a custom water loop which is significantly more expensive whilst also be significantly better cooling. Just make sure ur case has room for a 240mm rad.

Edited by ArmageddonKnight, 18 October 2013 - 06:33 AM.

[JRR1285]

ArmageddonKnight, on 18 October 2013 - 06:28 AM, said:

Nothing bad to say about the performance of my board.
its a X79 LGA 2011 extreme chipset though so its a bit different.
I guess the only bad thign to say about it is visual it isnt al lthat impressive, the P9x79 series of boards are not really geared towwards 'looking great'

750w is still plenty for a Ivy or haswell bassed rig.

A 212 evo would be fine for a Sandy and even an Ivy and would allow mild OC's on both, it would handle the Haswell fine also but i doubt u would get any meaningful OC out of it, you would probably just be able to push the clock without increasing voltage.
The H100i is expensive but its the best u can do without going into a custom water loop which is significantly more expensive whilst also be significantly better cooling. Just make sure ur case has room for a 240mm rad.

I just realized that you're running a six core beast.

It's funny you mention the visual thing because while I don't find how the Asus boards look to be bad, I just like how some other boards look much better. I really liked the MSI boards looks, but I don't like its 20% 1 egg rating. Some of the Asus boards look "cooler" but I can't justify the cost difference.

I do think I'll get the H100. I'm a little concerned about some reviews saying the lines have come off or it has leaked but I have been satisfied with Corsair products in the past. I really like their ram. I'm hoping the issues may be user related.

[ArmageddonKnight]

Yes the MSi boards look great and the newer Z87 ones are just as relaible as Asus and Gigabyte, in the past (Sandy bridge and older) they did have reliability issues when OC and capacitors blew. But the new ones seem fine. If u want to look at a good one then the MSI z87 GD-65 Gaming is a great board.

Corsair ram is tall, but if ur going with a AIO water cooler that wont be an issue. if u ever decide to get a big Air coolerl iek the NH-D14 then u would need lower profle ram like the G.Skill ripjaw series.

FYI: A good review site, (very long video reviews) is Overclock3d.net.
There is a bunch of motherboard reviews up including Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI.

http://www.youtube.c...d&v=ZVYg1pIbRCs

EDIT: please note in that vid... he has gone through like 6 4770k's to get one that clocks that well, so its a very good chip form the silicon lottery..hence the 4.8ghz.

Edited by ArmageddonKnight, 18 October 2013 - 06:49 AM.

[JRR1285]

It's between this board for 4770K

As well as this one for 3770K

I just can't decide between the two. As it stands it is about $100 difference between the two builds. Microcenter which has a store near me locally has the 1150 Asus for 169 with a $15 rebate.

[ArmageddonKnight]

They are both perfectly fine. I used to always recommend the V-LK for the 1155 board due to its features and price. And the 87-Pro is bassicaly the LGA 1150 version of the board i have..though ofc as its newer it has newer features.

So its up to you really, u can compare the specs urself, performance will be pritty much identical once u OC so its just down to ur preference on looks and the motherboards specs ..i.e sata ports. .onboard audio ..PCI-E slots etc etc.

Delay in response due to me watchign the Nvida conference ... G-Sync sounds awsome !!!

[Goose]

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__2733155

+1 for MicroCenter

[Goose]

Also: The GTX760 meets the "three tiers higher" rule of thumb over at Tom's, so you could go ether way.

I would spring for a Hyper 212 Evo, or Xigmatek Gaia, as anything that helps the turbo kick in moar is the next best thing to free performance.

Edited by Goose, 18 October 2013 - 08:53 AM.

[SunderODeath]

Specs:
i7 3960X @ 4.8GHz h100i (HT ON)
16Gb ddr3 2133mz
EVGA GTX 780 Classified SLI OC

Hey guys, just though I would chime in about the h100i. I just picked one up last week with my 780s and I am quite impressed with it considering its an AIO and only around $100. Before the h100i I had a high end air cooler from phanteks which allowed me to get my 3960x up to 4.2, and even then temps where unreasonable considering such a mild O.C.

With the h100i I got my chip up to 4.8Ghz with load temps while running OCCT PSU test (combine GPU and CPU stress test) hitting 80C on the hottest core after a few hours, and averages in the mid to low 70s. Temps while just running prime or linpack by itself are a few degrees lower than that. So overall I am very happy with the cooler and definetly recommend it if you plan on overclocking. Just make sure your case has adequate airflow and you will be impressed.

Edited by SunderODeath, 18 October 2013 - 11:47 AM.

[JRR1285]

SunderODeath, on 18 October 2013 - 11:46 AM, said:

Specs:
i7 3960X @ 4.8GHz h100i (HT ON)
16Gb ddr3 2133mz
EVGA GTX 780 Classified SLI OC

Hey guys, just though I would chime in about the h100i. I just picked one up last week with my 780s and I am quite impressed with it considering its an AIO and only around $100. Before the h100i I had a high end air cooler from phanteks which allowed me to get my 3960x up to 4.2, and even then temps where unreasonable considering such a mild O.C.

With the h100i I got my chip up to 4.8Ghz with load temps while running OCCT PSU test (combine GPU and CPU stress test) hitting 80C on the hottest core after a few hours, and averages in the mid to low 70s. Temps while just running prime or linpack by itself are a few degrees lower than that. So overall I am very happy with the cooler and definetly recommend it if you plan on overclocking. Just make sure your case has adequate airflow and you will be impressed.

Thanks for the insight. I was just looking at my case. It's an old Lian Li that I will need to hack up to make the H100i fit. I am considering getting a new case but I'm trying to keep the cost down for now. I think I can make it fit.

[Sen]

Just to chime in on the h100, I just added a pair of corsair quiet high static pressure fans...better coming than the stock fans and almost silent at full load ! Working on getting a second pair for push pull, but an awesome upgrade to an already great chiller

Edited by Sen, 19 October 2013 - 02:01 PM.