Advice on building new/upgrading current

[BiffBoX]

Well, its that time to upgrade again. My current computers is a few years old now and starting to get some stutters in games I play.Some games wont hardly run at all (BF3 in particular). So, I am looking to upgrade or build a new one altogether..

My end goal is to end up with 2 working machines, 1 for work, and 1 for gaming from what I buy and from what I currently have. Work computer wont need much, browsing internet, email, and general use. I plan on loading linux on the work computer if that makes any difference. The gaming machine is would be used for shooters and mmo's (current kick is swtor) but I do enjoy a variety of games..

my current setup..

AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6 Ghz AM2+ 125W Quad Core Black Edition
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
200GB SATA 3.0Gb/s windows drive
1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s for storage/games
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Also, with using 2 computers I will need a way to use multiple keyboard/mouse/video. Do KVM switches affect gaming? Do you get latency issues between keyboard and computer by using one?

1. What*YOUR*PC will be*used for. That means what types of*tasks*you'll be performing.
Gaming. I don't need the best of the best. But something that will run games for the next 2-3 years at med/high settings and a decent frame rate.

2. What*YOUR*budget*is. A*price range*is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1000

3.*What country*YOU*will be buying*YOUR*parts from.
USA

4. IF*YOU*have a*brand preference. That means, are you an*Intel-Fanboy,*AMD-Fanboy,*ATI-Fanboy,*nVidia-Fanboy,*Seagate-Fanboy,*WD-Fanboy, etc.
Not really a fanboy of any brand..

5. If*YOU*intend on*using*any of*YOUR*current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Any of the parts listed above can be used

6. IF*YOU*have*searched*and/or*read*similar*threads.
I have. And I really liked the looks of mfenns 'Mid-Range System's list' that was update 2/18/12. just not sure if it would be wiser to use anything from my current system. Not a huge fan of the case, but i could live with it...

7. IF*YOU*plan on*overclocking*or run the system at*default*speeds.
Never OC'd before. Something I would probalby stay away from for now.

8.*What resolution*YOU*plan on gaming with.
1920x1080

9.*WHEN*do you plan to build it?
Now..

 

[DaveSimmons]

I don't overclock, so I just ordered this:

Item Number: Item Description: Quantity: Price:
N82E16820148477 MEM 4Gx2|CRUCIAL CT2KIT51264BD160B 1 34.99
N82E16813157279 MB ASROCK|Z68 PRO3 GEN3 Z68 1155 R 1 104.99
N82E16819115073 CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500 3.3G 6M R 1 209.99
N82E16827106289 DVD BURNER LITE-ON | IHAS124-04 % 1 17.99

= $368 shipped. Many would argue for spending the extra $15 for an i5-2500K in case you do decide to overclock someday, but by that time I'll just buy a new and better CPU. If you're near a Microcenter a K might be cheaper because of motherboard bundle deals and specials.

Add a PSU, video card, SSD, data drive, case (I have antec P280, but Fractal R3 is good and cheaper).

mfenn's good advice: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841


> Also, with using 2 computers I will need a way to use multiple keyboard/mouse/video. Do KVM switches affect gaming? Do you get latency issues between keyboard and computer by using one?

I've never noticed it with my PS2-connector KVM or heard about it with USB ones.

 

[bullbearish]

I use a KVM switch and I can't say that it is noticable at all.

I'd personally recommend a K model Intel processor. The performance bump you get with an overclock is substantial, and with a decent motherboard overclocking is very easy. I got 4.4Ghz out of mine with very little effort. It runs stable and cool. As a BF3 fan, you'll appreciate the performance in 64 player maps.

Your current drives are fine. The power supply is probably enough too unless you want to do a xfire or SLI setup with a power hungry card like the 580. A single 580, 7970, or 7950 will do very well at 1920x1080. If you are price sensitive you can probably do with an even lesser capable GPU, turn down some settings, and still get high framerates.

mfenn's list is a good one. The SSDs are are a very good addition too. I went to SSDs a couple of years ago and I'll never go back. The performance is remarkable.

 

[mfenn]

mfenn's good advice: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

:thumbsup: to this. :awe:

OP, your budget is large enough such that you don't have to play the mix and match game. Just build a new $1000 computer and use your current computer as-is for Linux.

 

[BiffBoX]

I was looking thru random parts on newegg and ran across this SSD..
OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

would it be roughly on par with the (Crucial M4 128GB $175) that is suggested in mfenn's recommended build?

and looking at the motherboard.. what exactly does the OC mean next to the speed of RAM. is that meaning you can OC the ram to that speed or it will support ram of that speed by OC'ing itself..

DDR3 2133(OC) / 1866(OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066

 

[mfenn]

The Agility is somewhat similar in performance to the M4, faster in some areas, slower in others. It is however less reliable than the M4.

As for the RAM question, it means that you can use RAM that is rated at that speed or attempt to OC lower-rated RAM to the speed.