Please advise me on upgrading my gaming rig

[simmsa]

Hey Guys,

I have a gaming rig that was built by my friend over 5 years ago, have not used it for a while since I have been away for college and while it was state of the art at the time, it is due for an upgrade now. I want to know what components I should pick up and if there is any resale value for the old components.

Components that may need an upgrade?
Intel Q6600
Nvidia 8800 Ultra
Asus Striker Extreme
4GB Corsair CM2X

Components that dont need an upgrade
Ultra 1000w Power Supply
2 Seagate Barracuda 320GB Hard Drives
Mozart Tx Case

My Budget: 1000-1500
I plan on trying to display my computer on a 40inch TV monitor so I wonder what resolution will look good to play games on it?

I have a massive water-cooling system, the Thermaltake Symphony mini which is broken and I would like to replace it with a much smaller system built into the case, does anyone know how I could do this? I can provide some pictures.

Thanks

 

[dmoney1980]

Welcome to the forums!

What kind of games are you looking to play? for 1k-1500$, you should get a high performance beast. Do you have a Micro Center near you?

 

[ElFenix]

40" TV is likely FullHD, so you don't need super high end componentry.

i'd start with mfenn's current mid range build
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

add a geforce 680 (when they're in stock) instead of a 7850 (if you want to spend that much, you really don't in order to push FullHD). in the next week or so we *should* be getting the geforce 670 release, which is probably a better option for you.

junk your ultra power supply and get a good 650 watt (even a 550 would work) corsair, seasonic, or xfx unit.

get a nice air cooler like the scythe mugen 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185168

the little integrated water cooling units don't perform any better than a good air cooler does.

 

[simmsa]

Why do I need to junk my ultra power supply? Im in Montreal so no Micro center, I usually order parts online from NCIX, Tiger Direct, Newegg or the cheapest online merchant.

Okay maybe I will scrap the water cooling idea and use air. Some else recommended these specs, a little bit more that I wanted to spend but what do you guys think?


Blind, I would say:
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Proc: i7-2600k
GPU: Nvidia 680
RAM: 16 GB of Corsair 1600 ram
SSD: 128 GB Samsung 830 (for OS & program files)

If you can wait a couple of weeks, I would get an Ivy Bridge Proc.

 

[Upgrade_Itch]

Often no name power supplies over rate the specs and they may not handle loads effectively or efficiently. Also the soldering inside the unit may not be up to snuff.

Seasonic, Corsair, Kingwin, Antec, all known brands of quality.

JohnnyGuru does the best psu reviews I've ever seen. Check it out before buying a psu.

 

[ElFenix]

Why do I need to junk my ultra power supply? Im in Montreal so no Micro center, I usually order parts online from NCIX, Tiger Direct, Newegg or the cheapest merchant.

capacitors age and power supplies are pretty much just large banks of capacitors. though it's probably fairly fresh if it's been unused most of these years.

if that's the X3 1000W that is a good supply. a lot of of the ultra stuff is, well, not good.


the asus sabertooth is probably overkill. moreso than the 680.

 

[simmsa]

It is the X3 so I think I will be keeping it.

My preliminary list:

Proc: So should I wait to get an Ivy bridge proc? When will they be released?
Mobo: If the Sabertooth is overkill, what mobo would you recommend?
GPU: Do you know when the Geforce 670 is coming out?
Cooler: scythe mugen 3
RAM: 16 GB of Corsair 1600 ram, overkill?

Do i really need a ssd for OS?

 

[Upgrade_Itch]

I think Gigabyte boards you might want to avoid if you go Z68. Lots of boot loop errors.

For Z77, AsRock Extreme 4 or 6......Biostar actually has some good stable Z77 boards, TZ77XE3 and TZ77EX4.......(legit reviews site reviewed the Biostar TZ77EX4 and it hit 4.78 Ghz)

Asus boards are nice but very pricey......After the Gigabyte Z68 boards I'd wait to see more consumer feedback on their Z77 lineup...

IB processors go on sale the 30th of this month in the USA I believe. Geforce 600 series should flesh out in a week or so.

 

[ElFenix]

biostar board looks like a heck of a value. asrock extreme4 also looks good. i'm also thinking the asus LK board is a good value.

seems to me asus is taking the sony camera strategy: build as many models as possible with very little differentiation between them just so there's not much room left on store shelves for competitive models.

Do i really need a ssd for OS?

yes. they're amazing. everything is just faster.

 

[mfenn]

It is the X3 so I think I will be keeping it.

My preliminary list:

Proc: So should I wait to get an Ivy bridge proc? When will they be released?
Mobo: If the Sabertooth is overkill, what mobo would you recommend?
GPU: Do you know when the Geforce 670 is coming out?
Cooler: scythe mugen 3
RAM: 16 GB of Corsair 1600 ram, overkill?

Do i really need a ssd for OS?

CPU: They are technically "released" now, it's just that nobody has them in stock. Best guess is a couple of weeks. If you don't want to build it right now now, then waiting on the i5 3750K is perfectly OK. Otherwise, you won't be disappointed by the i5 2500K. The i7's don't give much of a performance boost in games.

Mobo: The Sabertooth is way overkill. As ElFenix mentioned, the ASRock Z77 Pro3 or Extreme4 are good values, as are the ASUS P8Z77-V LX and LK.

GPU: Nope, but since Nvidia is selling all the GTX 680s they can make right now, I'd expect that they're building up a decent backlog of partially defective chips to make into GTX 670s. Based on the performance of the GTX 680, it'll probably be between 7950 and 7970, so there's no reason to wait from a performance point of view.

HSF: Good

RAM: Probably overkill. Start with an 8GB kit like this Patriot and then throw in another 8GB if you are limited.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Honestly, you don't need an ssd if you can't afford it. But if the budget permits then it isn't a bad decision at all.