Graphics, CPUs, Power Supply:

[Harley Walter]

The article A GUIDE TO CPUs AND COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS by IntelTurtleFan in Tom'sHardware is one of the best I've read for awhile in my opinion. I'm going to add a GTX 980 Ti and a Acer XB280HK 28" 4K Monitor to my system. I buit it about 2 yrs. ago, it consists of..... MSI MPower Z77, Intel i5 3570K, AMD Sapphire 7950 GC & CX750W Bronze PS. I game, watch movies & tech videos, I just like a good experience on the computer. I'm most likely to be rated as a 3 star techie. I do research before I buy. I just started with computers about 3 years ago, I'm retired and 71. QUESTIONS - 1.) My 750W Bronze Power Supply is 2 yrs. old, What really is the difference between Bronze and Gold, is mine getting old or suspect, dirty & clean power? 2.) I'm thinking of another build but waiting to read and watch reviews on new motherboards and CPUs "SkyLake, etc." DDR 4 stuff, etc., do you think you can ever really future proof? Comments are welcome, both positive and negative, Thanks, Harley

 

[laviniuc]

normally there's little reason to go from bronze to gold - 5-10% better efficiency, however, the cx series from corsair is ... questionable... to say the least, so i would
-get a brand new psu - as good as i can afford, tier1/2 700W+ ( http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html ) - would stay on the new build too.
-keep the cpu&motherboard at least till sky lake gets here (or amd zen, who knows maybe they pull a rabbit out of the hat with it)
-get the monitor (and stays on the new build too)

and take it from there. if it brings the 7950 to its knees i would upgrade the graphics, else the more you wait the faster tech you can get.

 

[cdabc123]

as far as future proof it will be impossible to create a computer that will always be able to play new games with reasonable frame rates. This is because games keep advancing at a significant rate and the hardware continues to advance with the software. however i believe a top of the line pc could currently last over 7 years with reasonable performance so that would be as future proof as you can make it.

 

[MarkW]

The difference is the efficiency.

As far as the Corsair CX series of power supplies, last week, they were lowered to Tier 4. Tier 4 ranks that series as Not suitable for any gaming system. This is due to the high number of 1 to 2 year old units that people are showing up that already have failing capacitors. It had previously been listed as a tier 3 unit, which is still below what we like to see people buy.

I will link that power supply list, so that you can see which power supplies rank where. Not everything out there is included. These are mainly units that have been reviewed in the last few years. In addition to whats on the list, I trust Seasonic power supplies, and they also make all XFX power supplies, so both of those companies power supplies should always be high quality power supplies. We prefer that people buy a tier 1 or tier 2 power supply. You can assume that all Seasonic and XFX are in those two tiers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

No... there is no such thing as future proof. This industry is advancing faster right now than I have ever seen it advance, and I suspect this will continue for another 50 to 100 years. I have been playing around with computers in one form or another since the 1970's, and the pace of change is accelerating.

Doing your own research is about the only way that you can know what is available, and know what is right for you. I would wait for Skylake right now, if you already have a functional system. The announcement will be August 5th, and the Skylake CPU's will require motherboards with a new 1151 socket, new DDR4 memory, and will come with a new chipset. DDR3L memory is also supported, but I think most every company is going to ignore that and go straight to DDR4. Watch the prices on DDR4 though. It is higher priced than DDR3 is.

 

[Skeefers]

1) The 80+ ratings are referring to the efficiency of the PSU, as discussed in this article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

The age of the PSU can affect its efficiency, but one that's 2 years old is probably still doing well unless it has been abused or hit by a power surge.

2) Future proofing is difficult to do with the frequency of new hardware coming to the market, and the increasing requirements for some software. You can build a beast of a system that will be current for 3-5 years, and then overclock it to get a few more years out of it, but inevitably you're going to have to upgrade at some point.

Some components will be viable for longer than others (PSUs, high-end CPUs and motherboards, RAM, data storage devices, displays, input devices), while others need to be replaced more often due to increased software/OS requirements and degradation over time (graphics cards, lower-end CPUs and motherboards). This depends on what you use the system for, of course, as well; if you only do basic web browsing and word processing, then the parts will be viable longer than if you play a lot of games or do graphic design type work. As a heavy gamer, I tend to upgrade my CPU/motherboard/RAM/PSU every 4-5 years, and my graphics cards every 2-3 years. HDDs and SSDs can last for years (sometimes 5-10) as long as you have enough storage space, and your data access speeds are acceptable for your use. Keyboards, mice, and monitors can last for 10+ years as long as they aren't damaged.

Basically, if you take good care of your hardware, it will last for several years, and you can upgrade specific parts as needed instead of buying a complete system each time your PC starts to show its age, but eventually you'll come to a point where you have to replace everything. With the components you have listed, the upgrades you mentioned, and what you say you use it for, you should be good for several years barring some kind of damage occurring.

 

[Harley Walter]

normally there's little reason to go from bronze to gold - 5-10% better efficiency, however, the cx series from corsair is ... questionable... to say the least, so i would
-get a brand new psu - as good as i can afford, tier1/2 700W+ ( http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html ) - would stay on the new build too.
-keep the cpu&motherboard at least till sky lake gets here (or amd zen, who knows maybe they pull a rabbit out of the hat with it)
-get the monitor (and stays on the new build too)

and take it from there. if it brings the 7950 to its knees i would upgrade the graphics, else the more you wait the faster tech you can get.

 

[Harley Walter]

Thanks for your answer, I actually had my questions answered pretty quick, you were one of the quick answers, I wanted to pick all four as the solution but found out I couldn't, so Thanks Again.

 

[Harley Walter]

as far as future proof it will be impossible to create a computer that will always be able to play new games with reasonable frame rates. This is because games keep advancing at a significant rate and the hardware continues to advance with the software. however i believe a top of the line pc could currently last over 7 years with reasonable performance so that would be as future proof as you can make it.

 

[Harley Walter]

Thanks for your answer, I actually had my questions answered pretty quick, you were one of the quick answers, I wanted to pick all four as the solution but found out I couldn't, so Thanks Again.

 

[Harley Walter]

The difference is the efficiency.

As far as the Corsair CX series of power supplies, last week, they were lowered to Tier 4. Tier 4 ranks that series as Not suitable for any gaming system. This is due to the high number of 1 to 2 year old units that people are showing up that already have failing capacitors. It had previously been listed as a tier 3 unit, which is still below what we like to see people buy.

I will link that power supply list, so that you can see which power supplies rank where. Not everything out there is included. These are mainly units that have been reviewed in the last few years. In addition to whats on the list, I trust Seasonic power supplies, and they also make all XFX power supplies, so both of those companies power supplies should always be high quality power supplies. We prefer that people buy a tier 1 or tier 2 power supply. You can assume that all Seasonic and XFX are in those two tiers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

No... there is no such thing as future proof. This industry is advancing faster right now than I have ever seen it advance, and I suspect this will continue for another 50 to 100 years. I have been playing around with computers in one form or another since the 1970's, and the pace of change is accelerating.

Doing your own research is about the only way that you can know what is available, and know what is right for you. I would wait for Skylake right now, if you already have a functional system. The announcement will be August 5th, and the Skylake CPU's will require motherboards with a new 1151 socket, new DDR4 memory, and will come with a new chipset. DDR3L memory is also supported, but I think most every company is going to ignore that and go straight to DDR4. Watch the prices on DDR4 though. It is higher priced than DDR3 is.

 

[Harley Walter]

Thanks for your answer, I actually had my questions answered pretty quick, you were one of the quick answers, I wanted to pick all four as the solution but found out I couldn't, so Thanks Again.

 

[Harley Walter]

1) The 80+ ratings are referring to the efficiency of the PSU, as discussed in this article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

The age of the PSU can affect its efficiency, but one that's 2 years old is probably still doing well unless it has been abused or hit by a power surge.

2) Future proofing is difficult to do with the frequency of new hardware coming to the market, and the increasing requirements for some software. You can build a beast of a system that will be current for 3-5 years, and then overclock it to get a few more years out of it, but inevitably you're going to have to upgrade at some point.

Some components will be viable for longer than others (PSUs, high-end CPUs and motherboards, RAM, data storage devices, displays, input devices), while others need to be replaced more often due to increased software/OS requirements and degradation over time (graphics cards, lower-end CPUs and motherboards). This depends on what you use the system for, of course, as well; if you only do basic web browsing and word processing, then the parts will be viable longer than if you play a lot of games or do graphic design type work. As a heavy gamer, I tend to upgrade my CPU/motherboard/RAM/PSU every 4-5 years, and my graphics cards every 2-3 years. HDDs and SSDs can last for years (sometimes 5-10) as long as you have enough storage space, and your data access speeds are acceptable for your use. Keyboards, mice, and monitors can last for 10+ years as long as they aren't damaged.

Basically, if you take good care of your hardware, it will last for several years, and you can upgrade specific parts as needed instead of buying a complete system each time your PC starts to show its age, but eventually you'll come to a point where you have to replace everything. With the components you have listed, the upgrades you mentioned, and what you say you use it for, you should be good for several years barring some kind of damage occurring.

 

[Harley Walter]

Thanks for your answer, I actually had my questions answered pretty quick, you were one of the quick answers, I wanted to pick all four as the solution but found out I couldn't, so Thanks Again.