Advise for upgrading my more than 5 yrs old PC

[shendao]

Hi All,

Would certainly appreciate if the good folks here could chip in some recommendations for my pending upgrade from the current 8400 system which is more then 5 yrs.

I am contemplating to get the ASUS Z87 Pro motherboard with the Haswell 4770K, using the Intel 530 240GB SSD, I won't be overclocking for the present but need opinions on these items:

1) What brand of 2 x 8 (16Gb) DDR3 Rams (1600 - 2133MHz) is good (taking into account that I may overclock in future)

2) Which CPU cooler should I use.

3) Will my existing Corsair HX 1000 watt power supply be good enough for the setup.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jaydip]

1.Gskill/Corsair/Kingston are all good.

2.Will be more than enough.

 

[shendao]

Jaydip thanks for your opinion but should I get the 1600MHz or 2133MHz.

 

[lehtv]

Welcome to the forums. Pls post answers to the sticky on top of this forum.

The hx1000 may be reusable, though i have a strong feeling it will be way overkill

 

[Jaydip]

Jaydip thanks for your opinion but should I get the 1600MHz or 2133MHz.

If the price difference is not outrageous get the fastest.

 

[shendao]

Another question is which CPU cooler should I use, is the Corsair HD80i necessary or should I just use the stock cooler.

Thanks

 

[Jaydip]

Haswell gets pretty hot if you are into oc, so get a better cooler if that is the case.

 

[mjd]

I just put a 212+ on my Xeon Haswell and it was 30C degrees better than the stock at peak.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065
(Often gets a promo or rebate, look for one).

 

[mfenn]

What is the purpose of the upgrade (i.e. what are you attempting to improve the performance of)?

Can you list out the full specs of your current machine?

 

[shendao]

Purpose for upgrade is because my current system E8400 dual boot with Win Pro and Win XP is booting up very slow. My motherboard does not have the POST sound when it boot.

Current spec;

E8400 (stock)
4 GB Ram
3 pcs of Normal Hard
1 DVD-RW
1DVD ROM
Nvidia Quadro 2000
Corsair HX 1000 Power supply
Dell 2412M monitor

I don't overclock and don't game much.

I just want to upgrade to the Haswell to last me another 5 years.

Thanks

 

[mjd]

You should just get a 4770 (no K) if you aren't going to overclock.
Also, the Samsung 840 SSDs are often giving good deals at Newegg. Keep an eye on the promo email.

 

[shendao]

Just order the new Intel 530 240GB from amazon. Was looking at the 4770K because I might want to overclock in future though.

 

[lehtv]

What do you use the PC for? What is the E8400 not fast enough for?

 

[shendao]

Mostly for work and a little Photoshop. Since I am upgrading to SSD I believe my motherboard GA-EP35-DS3P might not be able to support SATA 3

 

[lehtv]

You probably won't notice any difference in responsiveness between SATA 3 and SATA 2. The SATA 3 SSD you bought is backwards compatible with a SATA 2 interface.

While just adding the SSD might get you the performance boost you're looking for... if you've got the budget, upgrading the internals now is not a bad idea. But your most intensive use, "a little Photoshop", does not call for an i7. It is simply put overkill. Buy an i5-4570.

Also sell your overkill power supply... Using a 1000W unit in a 150W PC just makes no sense. I'd get a decent quality 400W unit.

I'm also not convinced that 16GB RAM is worth it to you, you'll most likely be fine with 8GB which is double what you have now. You can always add another 8GB if required.

Are u located in the US?

 

[shendao]

lehtv, good advise, I'm located in the little Red Dot (if you get what it is).

 

[Aithos]

1) I personally prefer Corsair Vengeance Pro or Dominator Platinum, look for 1866 or 2133 with 9 or lower cas latency. You'll pay more for better specs but particularly if you intend to overclock it is worth it.

2) CPU cooler really depends on your case and whether or not you want to overclock. Haswell is VERY hot (they changed materials under the heat spreader) so that makes a big difference. I've been looking at a lot of reviews and the following coolers are all good air coolers: Phanteks ph-tc14pe, Noctua u14s, Prolimatech Genesis and Be Quiet! Dark Rock 2 Pro. There may be memory clearance issues, depending on MB you might want to go with the Noctua. If you intend to overclock more than a TINY bit I'd go with and AIO water cooler: Swiftech h220, Corsair h100i, NZXT Kraken are all good. The swiftech is probably the best but is nearly impossible to get in the USA anymore because of a legal issue they didn't want to go to litigation over.

3) That power supply is PLENTY good enough. I'm running the same one and have in my past two builds, I'm upgrading now just because mine is pretty old and I want the 80+ platinum that their AXi series power supplies are sporting now. The AX860i and the AX1200i from Corsair are two of the best ones on the market and the digital power software looks neat.

I also recommend the Samsung 840 SSD (pro or not), that IMO is the best SSD for the money on the market. I'm getting a couple 256gb models for my next build. Here would be my recommendations:

Intel i5-4670k or i7-4770k (i7 if you want HT, might as well get the K in case you want to OC later)
Asus z87-Pro
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16gb 2133
Samsung 840 256gb
Noctua u14s

 

[lehtv]

1) I personally prefer Corsair Vengeance Pro or Dominator Platinum, look for 1866 or 2133 with 9 or lower cas latency. You'll pay more for better specs but particularly if you intend to overclock it is worth it.

Neither is even nearly worth the extra cost, no matter what your usage scenario. Memory just doesn't matter, memory is memory. As long as you have a sufficient capacity of any known brand DDR3, you're set.

3) That power supply is PLENTY good enough. I'm running the same one and have in my past two builds, I'm upgrading now just because mine is pretty old and I want the 80+ platinum that their AXi series power supplies are sporting now. The AX860i and the AX1200i from Corsair are two of the best ones on the market and the digital power software looks neat.

Don't you still agree that a 1000 watt unit is overkill for a 150W PC?

Asus z87-Pro
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16gb 2133
Samsung 840 256gb
Noctua u14s

Z87 Pro - over the top packed with features given the OP's usage scenario
RAM - see above
SSD - he can fit OS and programs on a 120GB SSD just fine, saving $70-80
Cooler - while it's good, it's also really expensive. I don't see the OP benefitting from overclocking with just light photoshop use, so I'd use either the stock cooler or a cheap cooler like 212 Evo.

 

[shendao]

I actually have these in mind;

ASUS Z87 Pro + i7 4770K (combo for S$730)
Corsair or G-Skill 2x8Gb 2133MHz (same price for both S$239)

Wonder if its cheaper in the US.

 

[lehtv]

I can't agree with any of those choices... You would need to put forward a really good case for why you need those components.

You should get 95% of the practical gains in your usage scenario for about half the money by getting a 4670(K), a lower tier H87 or Z87 board, and 2x4GB of 1600MHz RAM. Don't believe anyone who tells you that an i7, a SLI board an high speed RAM are worth it for you.

 

[mfenn]

I can't agree with any of those choices... You would need to put forward a really good case for why you need those components.

You should get 95% of the practical gains in your usage scenario for about half the money by getting a 4670(K), a lower tier H87 or Z87 board, and 2x4GB of 1600MHz RAM. Don't believe anyone who tells you that an i7, a SLI board an high speed RAM are worth it for you.

Agree. Based on your usage, an SSD would give you 75% of the performance boost you're looking for. A Haswell i5 (i5 4570 or thereabouts), 8GB of RAM, and a reasonable H87 motherboard would seal the deal.

Do the shops you're looking at have web sites? That'd help us find specific deals for you.

 

[shendao]

http://pricewatch.vr-zone.com/sim-lim-square-pricelists/

Would the 4670K with 16Gb Ram be sufficient for video editing which my nephew sometime does on my PC.

Tks

 

[lehtv]

It depends on the nature of your nephew's video editing projects. I've successfully edited 720p video with 6GB RAM...

 

[mfenn]

I actually have these in mind;

ASUS Z87 Pro + i7 4770K (combo for S$730)
Corsair or G-Skill 2x8Gb 2133MHz (same price for both S$239)

Wonder if its cheaper in the US.

I picked a pricelist that had been updated recently from your link (Cybermind). Looking it over, here are good deals:

i7 4770 + ASRock H87 Pro4 S$532 - no point is spending S$200 for something that you might do at some point in the future. Better to save that money for a future CPU that's altogether faster and/or more cores
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 C10 16GB S$219 - No need to spend money on faster memory IMHO, but the price difference is so low that I don't think getting the 2133 is a horrendously bad decision.

 

[shendao]

mfenn, thank you for your suggestion, will give it some consideration.