The long awaited upgrade!

[Chriscross3234]

I've been out of the computer tech loop for a few years, but I think I'm set on replacing the core components of my 5 year old build. Does anyone see anything glaringly wrong with this build?

New:
Intel Core i5-2500K
ASUS P8Z68-V
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Corsair Force Series GT 90GB

Keeping:
GTX 460 1GB
WesternDigital 400GB Sata II HDD
Antec 900
Ultra 650W PSU

This should be able to handle current games and photo processing (at least much better than my Intel C2D E6400). I do plan on a moderate overclock of the i5-2500k and 460 GTX. The Corsair Force GT will be my first SSD that I'll own and it will be my boot drive running Windows7 64bit with the HDD used as storage. I know 90GB is on the low side, but it should be plenty to at least have a few games and programs. Down the road I plan on getting at least a 1TB HDD when prices start to drop, maybe another GTX 460 for SLI (which I'm pretty sure the 650W PSU should be able to handle), and another pair of 4GB RAM sticks.

 

[janas19]

Looks really good, in fact.

 

[Chriscross3234]

Thanks!

Any tips for installing the OS on the SSD? Is the install similar to doing it on a HDD? I know that the AHCI mode should be enabled in the BIOS. Any other tips?

 

[fffblackmage]

Any tips for installing the OS on the SSD? Is the install similar to doing it on a HDD? I know that the AHCI mode should be enabled in the BIOS. Any other tips?

Pretty much just use the SSD like any other HDD. AHCI isn't even necessary, though preferred.

And other than the Ultra PSU you're using... :thumbsup:

 

[Chriscross3234]

And other than the Ultra PSU you're using... :thumbsup:

Yeah, that's a buy I do regret, but I'll stick with it until it craps out on me.

 

[mfenn]

My thoughts:
- CPU: fine
- Mobo: Spend less here to free up some money in the budget. You can get a P8Z68-V LE for $133
- RAM: Fine but a little high in price. This Patriot performs the same and costs less.
- SSD : Spend a little more here. $27 more gets you a 128GB Crucial M4.

 

[Chriscross3234]

My thoughts:
- CPU: fine
- Mobo: Spend less here to free up some money in the budget. You can get a P8Z68-V LE for $133
- RAM: Fine but a little high in price. This Patriot performs the same and costs less.
- SSD : Spend a little more here. $27 more gets you a 128GB Crucial M4.

Thanks for this! After some more digging and reading around, here's what I'm ending up with:

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Your reply got me looking at cheaper Mobos, this one seems to be the flagship of value Z68 boards. It has all the features I wanted from the Asus, plus PCI-E 3.0.

Crucial M4 Good call on this SSD. That money saved from the Mobo will go towards this, a bigger more reliable drive.

 

[mfenn]

No problem, the Extreme3 is also a very good board that I recommend a lot.

 

[Chriscross3234]

Just chiming in here with the new build. I've assembled the rig and got everything working with no hiccups. The difference between my old C2D E6400 and the new i5 2500k is literally night and day. After I got everything updated and in working order, I loaded up Skyrim and my jaw dropped. There is a smoothness in that game that I've never seen before! A solid 60FPS at high graphics settings, making the upgrade so worth it.

Installing all of the components went very smoothly. The Asrock Extreme 3 Gen 3 is a solid and stable motherboard at a great value, pretty much everything I expect out of a motherboard. The M4 needed a quick firmware update, which was the first thing I did after assembly. Installing Windows 7 was very quick and boots up in seconds.

My old Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 (designed for LGA775) either didn't fit in the LGA1155 socket or the plastic clips got worn. My attempts resulted in breaking one of the clips, so now I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ on the way, though I'm dreading taking apart everything just to get it on. Hopefully OCing the 2500k will go smoothly just like the rest of the build.

 

[mfenn]

Glad you like it! 🙂

The LGA 775 and LGA 1155 mounting holes are indeed different, but the Extreme3 Gen3 actually has two sets of holes drilled, one for 775 and one for the standard 1155. The Hyper 212+ is a nice upgrade though.