Upgrade advice for an i7 Lynnfield system

[mfenn]

Hi,

I'm still undecided whether to go for something in the Z97-C/Asrock Z97-Pro4/Z97-HD3 price range or higher like the Z97-A. At the moment I'm leaning towards the latter just because the motherboard tends to be the very last item I replace in a system. I'm not really concerned about the port orientation nor LAN (I will use a separate wifi card). I just want something that simply works.

As for cooler, can I actually use the Prolimatech Megahalem I am currently using with the i7-860? I have been pondering between the Mugen 4 or NH-U12S (can't choose). It would be good if I can re-use the Megahalem.

Thanks.

Yes, you can use any 1156 cooler with 1155 or 1150.

As for motherboard replacement, the days of a motherboard being usable for many processor generations are long gone. You'll need to upgrade the motherboard along with the processor if you want to upgrade past Broadwell. Upgrading to Broadwell won't make sense becasue it will be a very minor improvement over Haswell.

 

[Zorander]

Thanks again for the advice.

Just one more question then in regard to overclocking. While I do intend to overclock the CPU to some degree, I also require that CPU downclocking (AMD's equivalent of CnQ) works during idle times. I read somewhere that this is usually disabled when overclocking. I am conflicted; if this is the case, I might just skip the whole overclocking idea and go for a H87/4790K combo whose stock speeds are about what I'm aiming for and for no hassle.

I'm also going to re-use the Megahalem. I will order a Noctua NF-F12 fan to replace the 7-year-old Noctua I currently have on it.

Thanks.

 

[Termie]

Thanks again for the advice.

Just one more question then in regard to overclocking. While I do intend to overclock the CPU to some degree, I also require that CPU downclocking (AMD's equivalent of CnQ) works during idle times. I read somewhere that this is usually disabled when overclocking. I am conflicted; if this is the case, I might just skip the whole overclocking idea and go for a H87/4790K combo whose stock speeds are about what I'm aiming for and for no hassle.

I'm also going to re-use the Megahalem. I will order a Noctua NF-F12 fan to replace the 7-year-old Noctua I currently have on it.

Thanks.

Simply use an offset or adaptive mode for overclocking, rather than a fixed override voltage. You'll use just slightly more power at idle. In fact, you can often take many processors up 400-500MHz before needing any extra voltage.

That being said, the 4790K has definitely changed the ball game when it comes to the need for overclocking. It already boosts to 4.2GHz under load, which is very close to the peak of many previous CPUs, without the need for tinkering, adding voltage, or even the use of a Z87/97 motherboard. The 4790K/H97 (not H87, mind you) is not a bad solution really.

 

[crashtech]

It's called EIST now, and you can easily leave it enabled for mild to moderate overclocking.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Assuming they have Windows 7 or older, there are two types of licenses:

- OEM, stays with the computer (motherboard technically), no matter who owns it
- Retail, installable on any machine, not legally transferable, but there is no technical mechanism to detect a new owner.

As far as I am aware, Retail MS software has ALWAYS been transferable. There is a clause in the EULA that basically says that all copies of the software and the license have to be transferred together (not keeping any copies), and that the new owner needs to also agree to the EULA.

 

[Zorander]

Thank you everyone for your input. After a few days of pondering between the 4690K/Z97 and 4790K/H97, I decided to go with the former. I re-discovered the joy of overclocking when I further cranked my i7-860 from its current 3.3GHz to 3.8GHz with no issue. I think I'm going to have a similar go with the 4690K (going to aim for 4.4-4.5GHz).

Below is the list of my (to be) new rig. I have marked the parts I'm re-using with [Old].

[New] CPU: i5-4690K
[Old] CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalem + [New]Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM
[New] Motherboard: Asus Z97-A
[New] SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
[New] HDD: WD Green 2TB
[Old] RAM: Corsair XMS3 2x4GB 1.65V
[Old] GPU: Gigabyte HD7950
[Old] Soundcard: E-MU 1212m
[Old]Case: Corsair 550D
[Old]Corsair HX620
[Old]Optical drive
[Old]All external peripherals

I have ordered all the parts from Amazon, except the motherboard (Amazon does not seem to allow export of this item type to Australia). I will get the Z97-A locally (AUD$195) when everything arrives. If anyone can convince me to go for a different motherboard, I'm listening. The cheaper the better, of course.

Cheers!

 

[Termie]

Thank you everyone for your input. After a few days of pondering between the 4690K/Z97 and 4790K/H97, I decided to go with the former. I re-discovered the joy of overclocking when I further cranked my i7-860 from its current 3.3GHz to 3.8GHz with no issue. I think I'm going to have a similar go with the 4690K (going to aim for 4.4-4.5GHz).

Below is the list of my (to be) new rig. I have marked the parts I'm re-using with [Old].

[New] CPU: i5-4690K
[Old] CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalem + [New]Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM
[New] Motherboard: Asus Z97-A
[New] SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
[New] HDD: WD Green 2TB
[Old] RAM: Corsair XMS3 2x4GB 1.65V
[Old] GPU: Gigabyte HD7950
[Old] Soundcard: E-MU 1212m
[Old]Case: Corsair 550D
[Old]Corsair HX620
[Old]Optical drive
[Old]All external peripherals

I have ordered all the parts from Amazon, except the motherboard (Amazon does not seem to allow export of this item type to Australia). I will get the Z97-A locally (AUD$195) when everything arrives. If anyone can convince me to go for a different motherboard, I'm listening. The cheaper the better, of course.

Cheers!

Excellent picks. Overclocking is fun. Start by trying 4.2 without extra voltage to see if you get lucky. That's basically equivalent to what a 4790K is doing.

Does Amazon US actually ship to Australia? Is it cheaper overall than your local vendors?

 

[Zorander]

Does Amazon US actually ship to Australia? Is it cheaper overall than your local vendors?

It works out a little cheaper generally than the local retailers, even MSY (who is generally among the cheapest in Australia). Purchasing the CPU and fans from Amazon saved me nearly AUD$15 (against the AUD$326 I would have spent if I bought locally). I could have saved an additional AUD$40-50 if only Amazon would sell motherboards to Australia.

 

[crashtech]

I don't know if this will help you in the future, but more choices can't be a bad thing:

http://blog.newegg.com/thousands-newegg-products-united-kingdom-australia/

 

[schmuckley]

I'd say z97 Haswell.
A good medium-range z97 board is
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=731
Get some 2400Mhz+ RAM, too.
Be warned:If you like XP,Haswell z97 will not boot into XP.
I can't remember if z87 will,but I'm pretty sure it does.
I got a special BIOS for my M7g from JJ though.
There will be none of that on lower-tier boards.
I'm sure Giga has an XP BIOS as well.

 

[Zorander]

I don't know if this will help you in the future, but more choices can't be a bad thing:

http://blog.newegg.com/thousands-newegg-products-united-kingdom-australia/

I did take a look at newegg but their calculated international shipping fee is prohibitive (roughly triple that of Amazon). I do hope they work that bit out as it makes them uncompetitive to those of us in Australia.

 

[crashtech]

That's a sign of them being new to your market, I suppose. Hopefully they'll get it sorted.