Review my Upgrade Rig

[supastar1568]

All,

With BF3 around the corner, I think it's finally time to upgrade my e8400 PC. No budget really, and already have HD/monitor/keyboard/mouse/Win7 and a 6950 2GB.

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
Corsair HX850 PSU (may go xfire one day)
i5-2500k
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314
Coolermaster Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler

Pretty straightforward, thoughts?

 

[oynaz]

Get a smaller PSU. "may go xfire one day" means "no Xfire". If you need better video performance down the line, you will be better off upgrading the video card and perhaps selling the old one.

The mobo seems a bit overkill. Do you plan to OC?

 

[lehtv]

Asrock Z68 Pro3 $105, fine single PCIe x16 LGA1155 board
i5-2500K $220
G.Skill RipjawsX 1333 2x4GB $35 OR Mushkin 1600 2x4GB $40 after rebate
CM 212+ $27 OR 212 Evo $35 OR Scythe Mugen 3 $50 (in ascending order of quietness and performance; not sure if Mugen 3 is compatible with RipjawsX)
Corsair CX600 V2 $40 after rebate and promo code (ends 10/24) OR Corsair TX650 V2 $70 after rebate

Total $427 AR to $485 AR

What is the PSU in your E8400 rig?

EDIT: if you seriously consider 6950 2GB crossfire or similar down the line, I recommend

Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $125
Corsair TX750 V2 $95 AR

That's $75 more for dual-GPU compatibility - money that you could instead save towards a GPU upgrade e.g. HD7950.

 

[supastar1568]

Thanks for the replies thus far.

I do plan to OC and I currently have a Corsair TX750 in my e8400 PC, but that may go to my parents.

And I do plan to go XFire one day as I've done in the past.

The 6950 2GB I have replaced my Xfire'd 4850s that I got when I built my e8400 PC.

 

[supastar1568]

Also note that I live near a Microcenter and can pick up the 2500k and P8Z68-V PRO for $350

 

[lehtv]

Wouldn't it be simpler to keep the TX750 and buy some lower power PSU for your parents?

2500K from microcenter $180
+
Asrock Z68 extreme3 from newegg $125
= $305

 

[mfenn]

Wouldn't it be simpler to keep the TX750 and buy some lower power PSU for your parents?

2500K from microcenter $180
+
Asrock Z68 extreme3 from newegg $125
= $305

:thumbsup: To this.

OP, there is a world of difference between, "Xfire'd 4850s that I got when I built my e8400 PC" and "I do plan to go XFire one day". Given that you don't seem to upgrade very often, trying to buy a 6950 2GB when 7950s or 8950s are out will at best look silly and at worst be impossible.

 

[supastar1568]

Yeah, I just like to keep my down the road options open I guess. To me, paying an extra $75ish for a xfire/sli mobo for "someday" needing it is worth it. Especially since I don't build all that often.

But it would be a shame wasting my TX750 on my parents rig which will have a non overclocked e8400 and a single 4850.

 

[lehtv]

The Z68 Extreme3 is xfire/SLI compatible, just like the more expensive Asus Z68 Pro. Your TX750 will also handle 6950 crossfire fine.

If you do decide to go 6950 crossfire when the 7000 series are out, you can always get a used one off ebay if the new ones are out of stock.

 

[mfenn]

If you do decide to go 6950 crossfire when the 7000 series are out, you can always get a used one off ebay if the new ones are out of stock.

That usually doesn't work out to be too cost-effective. People think that their old stuff is made of solid gold because they paid $400 for it back in the day. I mean, check out some of the 4870x2 prices.

 

[lehtv]

Finding good deals on used hardware involves a bit of luck and patience... but I bought my 4870X2 for £200 used when GTX295's were selling on ebay.co.uk for £250-300 IIRC, and I sold it away for ~£100 a bit over a year later.

 

[Skott]

How old is the TX750? If its more than three years old it may be better just go something newer in the new rig. A PSU can degrade in power efficiency over time some people say. How long of a time I'm not sure. I've always built with a new PSU in a new build so never had the problem myself but if true it may be best to go with a new PSU in the new build.

 

[supastar1568]

Yup, its over 3 years old. Figured if I'm replacing my core components I might as well just go ahead and replace my PSU while I'm at it.

 

[lehtv]

There's absolutely no need to upgrade it yet. There's two years of warranty left, and if you experience problems within that time just get a replacement. One of the reasons of buying a quality PSU is that you don't need to replace it prematurely.

 

[mfenn]

There's absolutely no need to upgrade it yet. There's two years of warranty left, and if you experience problems within that time just get a replacement. One of the reasons of buying a quality PSU is that you don't need to replace it prematurely.

:thumbsup:

Most all of the PSUs we recommend around here have 3-5 years of warranty (3 years for most Antecs and low-end Corsairs, 5 years for XFX, Seasonic, and high-end Corsairs). Note that "quality" doesn't necessarily mean "oversized capacity" though.

 

[supastar1568]

Thanks guys.

I've been seriously considering the ASrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 per the recommendation in this thread. Looks like it has all the features I'm looking for at a great price.

 

[supastar1568]

So how bout this:

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
i5-2500k
GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1600
Hyper 212+
Windows 7 OEM Copy
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Keeping:
Coolermaster CM690 Case
6950 2GB
TX750 PSU
Asus DVD Reader/Writer (Hardly Use)
WD 640MB Black
Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor

 

[lehtv]

Just two things, then you're set:

You can still get perfectly good 1600MHz RAM for $40 after rebate from newegg. If you don't want to bother with rebates, G.Skill 1333MHz RAM is just $35, or get Corsair Vengeance Low-profile 1600MHz for $50 for teh fancy looks and 1-3% faster performance

Then there's the cooler + thermal compound thing... There are a few ways to look at this:
1) Noctua NT-H1 costs the same as AS5 and performs just as well if not better, and it doesn't have a 200 hour curing time.
2) For the price of 212+ and AS5 / NT-H1, you could get the better Cooler Master 212 Evo.
3) You could also just drop the thermal compound and use whatever comes with the sink. This stuff isn't needed for the vast majority of users, and it's not good value for money when combined with a cheap heatsink (more useful for high end stuff).
4) If you grab the low-profile G.Skill, you can use that $15 saved and the $10 from the AS5 to get the Scythe Mugen 3 for $50. It outperforms 212+ on every level. An even better option: Thermalright HR-02 Macho from amazon for $50, which outperforms Mugen 3 on every level, especially noise. It also comes with Chill Factor 3 thermal paste which is equal to NT-H1.

 

[supastar1568]

great input, lehtv, thanks!

Also, and for what it's worth, I forgot to mention that I have a Zerotherm Nirvana NV120 from my e8400 build. Not sure how well it will do with a 2500k which is why I was looking at alternatives.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835887011

 

[lehtv]

LGA1155 or LGA1156 is not among the sockets listed as compatible for that cooler... so it wouldn't work, unfortunately. It looks like a decent cooler though.

 

[mfenn]

Just two things, then you're set:

You can still get perfectly good 1600MHz RAM for $40 after rebate from newegg. If you don't want to bother with rebates, G.Skill 1333MHz RAM is just $35, or get Corsair Vengeance Low-profile 1600MHz for $50 for teh fancy looks and 1-3% faster performance

Then there's the cooler + thermal compound thing... There are a few ways to look at this:
1) Noctua NT-H1 costs the same as AS5 and performs just as well if not better, and it doesn't have a 200 hour curing time.
2) For the price of 212+ and AS5 / NT-H1, you could get the better Cooler Master 212 Evo.
3) You could also just drop the thermal compound and use whatever comes with the sink. This stuff isn't needed for the vast majority of users, and it's not good value for money when combined with a cheap heatsink (more useful for high end stuff).
4) If you grab the low-profile G.Skill, you can use that $15 saved and the $10 from the AS5 to get the Scythe Mugen 3 for $50. It outperforms 212+ on every level. An even better option: Thermalright HR-02 Macho from amazon for $50, which outperforms Mugen 3 on every level, especially noise. It also comes with Chill Factor 3 thermal paste which is equal to NT-H1.

Great post! I would personally go with the least expensive RAM alternative.

LGA1155 or LGA1156 is not among the sockets listed as compatible for that cooler... so it wouldn't work, unfortunately. It looks like a decent cooler though.

Actually, the Extreme3 has LGA 775 mounting holes as well as the 1155/1156 arrangement. So his old cooler "should" work, barring clearance issues.

 

[supastar1568]

Cool thanks, think I'll go with the low profile corsair vengance 1600MHz to avoid any clearance issues with the 212+.

 

[supastar1568]

Cool dudes,

Just ordered the following:

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

And will hit up microcenter later this week for the 2500k

 

[lehtv]

Could you by any chance explain why you bought the AS5 and 212+, despite my recommendations against it, and despite mfenn's backing up of my recommendations? Why weren't my recommendations convincing? I'm just a bit puzzled here.

 

[mfenn]

Could you by any chance explain why you bought the AS5 and 212+, despite my recommendations against it, and despite mfenn's backing up of my recommendations? Why weren't my recommendations convincing? I'm just a bit puzzled here.

Agree. Also, why did you pay $15 for fancy RAM with only 1% performance benefit?