Advice on new/current build

[Matt Hunter]

Hello there!

I've read up a little on computer building and have many a times watched friends build custom rigs, but now I'm on my lonesome and just need some advice/reassurance, please.

The fans eventually stopped functioning correctly on the graphics card. Which quickly heated up, and as you can imagine, it didn't like that.

So now I need a new graphics card, and whilst I'm going to need a new card I was thinking of perhaps future proofing other parts of the computer for my gaming/3D modelling needs.

Here's my current setup with the new graphics card added: (from pcpartpicker)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F1 DT 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 II (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master Real Power M850 850W
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Full (64-bit)

Would the power supply manage the new graphics card in this current build?

Also, I was thinking of perhaps purchasing a new, bigger case, and maybe a new power supply to help future proof it from when I come round to upgrading say, the CPU (i7) and motherboard. Or would that be overkill for what I need it for?

I don't have a huge income of money at the moment so I was hoping to purchase parts in separate steps.

Here are the few parts I was looking at getting after the graphics card:

> Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
> NZXT Phantom (Black/Orange) ATX Full Tower Case
> Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Sorry if it's a little long. I just don't want to purchase something and it break/not work. Thank you in advance!

 

[Mattz982]

They all look fine, you wont need to upgrade your PSU, the newer hardware needs less power so upgrading would be a waste, if anything, get a newer i7 chip because a 3770K is old ivy-bridge and will draw more power and perform worse

 

[Matt Hunter]

They all look fine, you wont need to upgrade your PSU, the newer hardware needs less power so upgrading would be a waste, if anything, get a newer i7 chip because a 3770K is old ivy-bridge and will draw more power and perform worse

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

And thanks for the tips on the power and i7 chip. So would it be most likely a 4790K choice when it comes to it? (Or near that range.)

 

[byronlukeallen]

If you're worried about how many watts your system will pull use http://pcpartpicker.com and chuck your parts in.

Gtx970s don't use a lot of power for the performance they provide.

If you get a 4th gen CPU you would also need a new mobo. I'd suggest the asus z97-ar. Fairly cheap but provides features of far more expensive boards. Also supports 5th gen CPUs that you can upgrade to farther down the line.

 

[Matt Hunter]

If you're worried about how many watts your system will pull use http://pcpartpicker.com and chuck your parts in.

Gtx970s don't use a lot of power for the performance they provide.

If you get a 4th gen CPU you would also need a new mobo. I'd suggest the asus z97-ar. Fairly cheap but provides features of far more expensive boards. Also supports 5th gen CPUs that you can upgrade to farther down the line.

Thanks for the advice on the new motherboard. I've only just discovered the 'pcpartpicker' website earlier today and wondered why I wasn't seeing the i7 chip, which I mentioned above. Turns out it's because the site eliminates the incompatible parts! Duh!!

If it wasn't for your input I probably would have missed this! So, thank you! And for the motherboard suggestion! Definitely something to consider.

 

[Mattz982]

They all look fine, you wont need to upgrade your PSU, the newer hardware needs less power so upgrading would be a waste, if anything, get a newer i7 chip because a 3770K is old ivy-bridge and will draw more power and perform worse

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

And thanks for the tips on the power and i7 chip. So would it be most likely a 4790K choice when it comes to it? (Or near that range.)

Yes, but likebyronlukeallen said, you will need a new mobo becuase the sockets dont match or something like that, so a Z97 or Z87 chipset LGA1150 mobo will be what you want, or for a bit more get and X99 board with and LGA2011-3 socket, it will mean new RAM is needed because it supports quad channel DDR4 but the investment will be worth it!

 

[byronlukeallen]

Yes the ivy bridge processors require a different socket. I wouldn't advise a z87 chipset as from memory I believe they don't support the 5th gens coming out soon (whereas the z97 will do, making future proofing later down the line an option). As you state you don't have a great deal of cash to splash you're better off waiting for the new 5th gen broadwell processors to come out, that way you can either get a 4th gen CPU a tad cheaper (coupled with a z97 you can then upgrade to a 5th gen in a couple years) or spend the same amount on a spanking new 5th gen a while after release. I think we would all love a x99 chipset but by doing that as matts says you'll have to replace your ram as well making it a very costly option, at the moment you could just chuck your current ram into a z97.

What I meant to mention before is putting a new ssd in your computer is one of the best things you can do, I put a samsung 850 pro into a Mac mini 2012 (3rd gen i7 CPU like yours - I think it is a 3790qm - and it now boots in around 10 seconds, with the old drive it took well over a minute to boot. Make sure it is at least. 240gb ssd however as any lower capacity models have much slower read/write speeds.