It's been 8 years since my last build, which is the longest I've ever gone between upgrades (usually it was a new PC every 2 years). So I'm a bit out of date when it comes to researching new components, and would love a little advice.
First I'll state the reasons for upgrading my 8 year old PC (which is still running great, with a couple exceptions), and then my rough ideas for what I need:
Reasons for upgrading:
1) My CPU (i7 950) is too old to support some recent games (e.g., Assassin's Creed Odyssey appears to require AVX, which my CPU does not support).
2) My boot drive (60GB SSD) is constantly running out of space, forcing me to use symlinks and junctions to move apps to other drives.
3) My OS is Windows 7, which I hear will no longer receive updates at some point next year, so I need to upgraded to a Windows 10 computer for work.
4) (Lesser priority) CPU-intensive apps and games seem sluggish. For example, Photoshop takes a long time to boot (longer than on my newer laptop), Cakewalk Sonar's soft synths can't run at low latency without pops and clicks, and Flight Simulator X never seems smooth enough (which I hear is because of the CPU rather than the GPU).
And that's it. My video card is a GTX 970, which still runs games very well (though not always at max settings). Disk space is okay(except for the boot drive): I have three 3 TB drives plus another 120 GB SSD. RAM is ok but not great (12 GB). And so son. The computer has been very reliable and pleasant to use, and if it weren't for the first 3 reasons I listed above, I wouldn't be upgrading.
Rough idea of requirements:
So here's my rough ideas for a new desktop, based on a couple hours' research:
1) CPU: Intel i7 8700
I prefer Intel because I experienced compatibility issues with AMD in the [distant] past. I prefer i7 to i5 because my current PC is an i7, and anything less would seem like a downgrade. I prefer 8700 to 8700K because I don't intend to overclock.
2) Motherboard: ??? Any suggestions ???
In the past I usually got ASUS or Intel mobos. Are those still solid brands today?
3) RAM: 16 GB or more
Should this be DDR4? And should I care about brand?
4) Video: Geforce GTX 1070
This seems plenty fast for games running at 1080p, and I can always upgrade late. I'll keep my current GTX 970 in the old computer so that it can continue to run decent games (for the kids perhaps)
5) Audio: Onboard initially, external USB audio card later
I already have a Focusrite Scarlett 4x2 USB audio card which I can use on the new PC once I get the music making apps working on it.
6) Boot drive: 500 GB SSD
I'm so tired of running out of disk space on my 60 GB C drive! 500 GB will let me comfortably install all my [non-game] applications to the system drive. What a relief that will be!
7) Other drives: 500 GB SSD, 2 @ 4TB HDD 7200 RPM
The second big SSD will be soft synth libraries, and possibly for disk-intensive games. The two HDDs drives will be for everything else: data, games, backups, etc. I'll also move a third HDD there from my old PC (since it just holds videos)
8) Power supply: 850 W or better
My current PC has an 850 W PSU so it would seem like a downgrade to go lower than that.
9) Optical: blu-ray reader + dvd/cd burner
10) Case: ??? Any suggestions ???
It needs to fit two SSDs, three 3.5" HDDs, and the optical drive. I prefer it big and roomy to compact.
11) Cooling: Lots of fans, but ideally no water cooling
I've never done water cooling so would prefer to avoid it. My current PC has lots of fans, so I don't mind if the new one does too.
12) OS: Windows 10 Home or better
Is there any compelling reason to upgrade to Pro?
And I think that's it! The new computer will sit next to the old one until I have 100% of my apps and games running happily on the new one. I'll probably "hand down" the old one to the kids, although its' still wayyyy too early for me to feel comfortable with that idea!
So what do you think? Do the components I listed complement each other nicely? What sort of motherboard would work best with that setup (keeping in mind I won't be overclocking)? And are there any other things I should be thinking about before I finalise my choices and make an order?
Thanks a ton!!!
First I'll state the reasons for upgrading my 8 year old PC (which is still running great, with a couple exceptions), and then my rough ideas for what I need:
Reasons for upgrading:
1) My CPU (i7 950) is too old to support some recent games (e.g., Assassin's Creed Odyssey appears to require AVX, which my CPU does not support).
2) My boot drive (60GB SSD) is constantly running out of space, forcing me to use symlinks and junctions to move apps to other drives.
3) My OS is Windows 7, which I hear will no longer receive updates at some point next year, so I need to upgraded to a Windows 10 computer for work.
4) (Lesser priority) CPU-intensive apps and games seem sluggish. For example, Photoshop takes a long time to boot (longer than on my newer laptop), Cakewalk Sonar's soft synths can't run at low latency without pops and clicks, and Flight Simulator X never seems smooth enough (which I hear is because of the CPU rather than the GPU).
And that's it. My video card is a GTX 970, which still runs games very well (though not always at max settings). Disk space is okay(except for the boot drive): I have three 3 TB drives plus another 120 GB SSD. RAM is ok but not great (12 GB). And so son. The computer has been very reliable and pleasant to use, and if it weren't for the first 3 reasons I listed above, I wouldn't be upgrading.
Rough idea of requirements:
So here's my rough ideas for a new desktop, based on a couple hours' research:
1) CPU: Intel i7 8700
I prefer Intel because I experienced compatibility issues with AMD in the [distant] past. I prefer i7 to i5 because my current PC is an i7, and anything less would seem like a downgrade. I prefer 8700 to 8700K because I don't intend to overclock.
2) Motherboard: ??? Any suggestions ???
In the past I usually got ASUS or Intel mobos. Are those still solid brands today?
3) RAM: 16 GB or more
Should this be DDR4? And should I care about brand?
4) Video: Geforce GTX 1070
This seems plenty fast for games running at 1080p, and I can always upgrade late. I'll keep my current GTX 970 in the old computer so that it can continue to run decent games (for the kids perhaps)
5) Audio: Onboard initially, external USB audio card later
I already have a Focusrite Scarlett 4x2 USB audio card which I can use on the new PC once I get the music making apps working on it.
6) Boot drive: 500 GB SSD
I'm so tired of running out of disk space on my 60 GB C drive! 500 GB will let me comfortably install all my [non-game] applications to the system drive. What a relief that will be!
7) Other drives: 500 GB SSD, 2 @ 4TB HDD 7200 RPM
The second big SSD will be soft synth libraries, and possibly for disk-intensive games. The two HDDs drives will be for everything else: data, games, backups, etc. I'll also move a third HDD there from my old PC (since it just holds videos)
8) Power supply: 850 W or better
My current PC has an 850 W PSU so it would seem like a downgrade to go lower than that.
9) Optical: blu-ray reader + dvd/cd burner
10) Case: ??? Any suggestions ???
It needs to fit two SSDs, three 3.5" HDDs, and the optical drive. I prefer it big and roomy to compact.
11) Cooling: Lots of fans, but ideally no water cooling
I've never done water cooling so would prefer to avoid it. My current PC has lots of fans, so I don't mind if the new one does too.
12) OS: Windows 10 Home or better
Is there any compelling reason to upgrade to Pro?
And I think that's it! The new computer will sit next to the old one until I have 100% of my apps and games running happily on the new one. I'll probably "hand down" the old one to the kids, although its' still wayyyy too early for me to feel comfortable with that idea!
So what do you think? Do the components I listed complement each other nicely? What sort of motherboard would work best with that setup (keeping in mind I won't be overclocking)? And are there any other things I should be thinking about before I finalise my choices and make an order?
Thanks a ton!!!