High End Gaming / Streaming PC (1080p, 120+ ingame FPS) Rig

[iyo671]

Hey,

I am currently thinking about replacing my current PC and am wondering about whether there is any value to be taken over from my current one, or if I should simply replace my entire rig.

My current PC:

CPU: i7-3770k
MB: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600 2x4 - 8GB (about 3-4 years old)
GPU: Gainward GTX 570 Phantom (about 2.5 years old)
PSU: OCZ Stealth X Stream 600w (about 5-6 years old)
SSD: None
HDD1: A random Western Digital 1TB (I believe it is a cavior green one, about 4 years old).
HDD2: Another random Seagate drive which is over 6 years old with a terrible performance, taken from my old computer as a backup storage drive.

Some random cheap chassis which bothers me every time I need to work around it (sharp edges and little amount of space among other problems).

The current PC I've upgraded several times in the past from a i5-750 and an ATI GPU (personally I won't be getting another ATI card, had two of those in the past and both had extreme overheating issues within a few months despite cleaning them off dust regularly).
I'm happy with Nvidia, reasonably silent and good temperatures.
Now after all this time my hard drives became pretty weak and I'd also like to add two SSDs, one for my windows 7 and one for games and other important programs worth having on a SSD.

Also I'd like to add a new bigger Storage Drive (3-4TB) which is hopefully future proof and performs nicely.


My current list for my new PC:

CPU: i7-4930k
MB: I am open to suggestions, all the recent (2-3 months timeframe) recommendations I've found through google were either the "Asus x79 Deluxe" or the "Asus Rampage IV Black".
I understand too little about motherboards to decide this on my own.

RAM: Haven't made up my mind yet either, my current considerations are:

1) http://www.alternate.co.uk/Corsair/16GB_Dominator_Platinum_1866MHz/html/product/1015362/?

2) http://www.alternate.co.uk/Corsair/Dominator_Platinum,_16GB_(4x4GB),_DDR3/html/product/1027114/?

3) http://www.alternate.co.uk/Corsair/Dominator_Platinum,_16GB_(4x4GB),_DDR3/html/product/1028830/?

Now my RAM knowledge is too limited to understand why the 1866 RAM is more expensive than the 2133 with 1.65V (assumingly the 1866 have 1.50V?)
Also the third link has 1.50V and is quite a bit more expensive than the 1.65V version.
How important are these volt differences and since the price difference isn't that much, which of these ram kits would fit best into my rig?

SSD 1: Crucial M500 2,5" SSD 120GB - Windows 7 and the few important C: programs.
SSD 2: Crucial M500 2,5" SSD 240GB - Games and other important programs.
Question: Would one (or even two) Samsung EVO SSDs be better than the Crucial? I've read that the Crucial M500 is a smarter choice thanks to its Power Loss Protection. The EVO seems to be faster, so that I am open to suggestions.

Storage Drive: Hoping for recommendations around the 3-4TB size.

ChassiS: The new Corsair Obsidian 750D

Cooler: Corsair Hydra series H110

PSU: Can I take over my current one, are 600w going to be enough? Is it recommended to replace my current as it is quite old by now? If yes, replace it with which one and how much power would be recommended?
80PLUS Gold or 80PLUS Platinum?

GPU: Is it worth replacing my current Gainward GTX 570 Phantom? According to the GPU ranking its current performance is still quite decent, streaming in general affects the CPU much more than the GPU.
Would it be recommended to takeover my current one and replace it with a bigger upgrade (maybe the 800 or 900 series once released?). If it is recommended to upgrade my current GPU, then should I opt for a GTX 770 or a GTX 780. If that is the case, is it recommended to buy two GTX 770s to run in SLI for this rig?

As noted in the topic name itself, this PC is built around providing me with the perfect Streaming-Experience and I wouldn't want to give up on constant 120FPS ingame while streaming in 1080p.
Currently I am unable to reach more than 40-50 FPS while streaming in 720p and not more than 20-25ish while streaming in 1080p.

My current internet provides 50mbit down and 10mbit up, so it is more than enough to stream 1080 lagfree.

Also is there any new known-a-bout incoming hardware which would be worth waiting for? My timeframe is about 2-3 months until I really wish to purchase a new rig. Should there is going to be any better hardware suited for this computer, then it would be awsome if you could let me know about it

My current budget is flexible when it comes down to reaching my goal, so that if it really is necessary for me to spend a bit more for this high-end PC, then that is okay. However if it reasonable to takeover any of my current hardware into my new system (such as the GPU or PSU), then that would be a great thing.


Apologies for this long topic and thanks in advance .


Kind regards,


Iyo

 

[xero99]

You'll need a new PSU, especially if you want to run SLI... You can look on nvidia's website for the PSU requirements for each card. If you're currently getting 25 fps streamng in 1080p then you'll definitely need a new Graphics card to reach your'e target. Btw if you're monitors only 60Hz you won't be able to notice 120 fps as the monitor will only be able to refresh 60 times a second so you'd need 120Hz monitor to display those frame rates

 

[SwiftTone]

I think you can increase the performance vastly by just replacing your GPU with a GTX 780/Ti, get SSDs, and maybe get a new PSU to be safe.

 

[xero99]

I think you can increase the performance vastly by just replacing your GPU with a GTX 780/Ti, get SSDs, and maybe get a new PSU to be safe.

Yeah your current CPU is still good, you coould get a 780ti, new PSU (750w), SSDs and 16gb of ram and you'd see a huge performance boost

 

[iyo671]

Hey, thanks for all the replies so far. I'm currently running two BenQ XL 2420T monitors, which both support the 120hz.
So you truly believe that my drives, ram and a GPU would actually bump my streaming performance towards the steady 120 frames per second?
About the PSU, would you be able to recommend me some good PSUs to choose from?
Would prefer not having to buy a new PSU whenever I need to upgrade further so that it should have enough power to be future proof, even if a future setup becomes a SLI one.

Again, thanks a lot so far .

EDIT: A question about the GPU, would be running two GTX 770 in SLI be a better choice compared to a GTX 780 TI single? The price would be some-what the same, how would the performance be comparing these two set-ups?

 

[xero99]

A 780Ti would hugely boost your FPS and have a much bigger impact than a new CPU
Any 750W PSU from seasonic, xfx or corsair will do the job for one 780Ti however if you plan to SLI another 780Ti in future then you should buy a bigger PSU such as this one which is very good quality
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=5961731&SID=0

Keep in mind two 780Ti's is going to be insanely powerful so unless you need it two 770's would still be very very good

EDIT: Yeah two 770's will beat a single 780TI and be more than sufficient

 

[Beezy]

Isn't Intel coming out with like an 8 core processor in 2014? Wouldn't that be relevant to OPs needs? Idk about socket compatibility but looks like op is willing to get a new mobo too anyway.
Honestly your pc is great right now. Since its a lot of money going into this it may be worth the wait. In the mean time I would overclock the CPU until the new one comes out.

 

[iyo671]

Thanks for all the answers so far, took some time to think about this and came up with an idea on how to handle this situation.
Considering that the common suggestion is, to keep my current CPU and upgrade my GPU instead and also considering the information provided by Beezy (about the new Haswell-E 8 core, mid to late 2014), I thought about the following scenario:

- Pick up a new case which supports watercooling and is therefor futureproof, looking at the Corsair Obsidian 750D at the moment, which not only looks good but also has a great price range comparing it to its big brother, the Obsidian 900D.
- Buy a H110 Corsair Watercooler (if there are better choices, feel free to let me know).
- Get two M500 Crucial SSDs (1x 120gb for Windows and essentials and 1x 240gb for Games and other programs).
- Get a new 3TB Storage Drive (WD Caviar Black for performance or is maybe a Caviar Red or even Blue the better choice?) to replace my faulty drives.
- Pick up another Corsair Vengeance 1600 mhz 2x4GB Kit to bump my rig into a 16GB system.
- Get a new single Gainward GTX 770 Phantom with 4GB instead of 2GB. The price difference is pretty narrow (299 Euro for a 2gb and 329 Euro for a 4gb). Considering that I am running two 1080p Monitors with 120hz, that should be worth the tiny bit of extra amount.

Ok the explanations for this:
Once Intel releases the new 8core Haswell-E (probably a 5930k?) later on during 2014, I can then pickup a new fitting motherboard and that new CPU to actually increase my performance by a bigger margin - should it become necessary/reasonable to do so by that time.
The price range will probably fit into the current Ivy Bridge-E category, so that this should work out.

Considering that the Haswell-E motherboards will support the new upcoming DDR4 Ram, I'll replace my current ram with some solid DDR4 16Gig kit with maybe a 2133mhz tact rate (to be seen).

Upon purchasing those, I should then also look towards replacing my current 600w PSU with a new ~1000w one, till then I believe that my 600w should be barely sufficient.

I can then take over my new 750D Chassis, my new Watercooling Set (again open for recommendations, currently laid my eyes on a Corsair H110) for the new 2011 Haswell-E motherboard and CPU, my new GTX 770 GPU, both of the SSDs and my WD Storage Drive.

My GTX 770 should then last at least until a late GTX 800 version to consider upgrading, or even going towards a GTX 800 SLI mode. If lucky the GTX 770 could last me until an early GTX 900 version to then upgrade properly. (similar to upgrading my current GTX 570 into a GTX 770).

So the real question is now, would doing all of the things mentioned above actually allow me to reach my goal of 120 ingame FPS and 1080p Streaming of current titles?


I am highly grateful for all the help that I have and am receiving .


Thanks as always,

Iyo

 

[xero99]

Sounds like a great idea, you should definately get the case as like you said it's gonna be futureproof and will last a long time anyway. Get the SSDs and HDD as well, as there's not much point waiting. 16GB of ram will help as although gaming only uses up to 8, streaming at the same time will benefit from more. It's a good idea to wait for the new CPUs too, as for what you're doing you'll benefit from 8 cores. Again, it would be a good idea to go for the 4gb card as it will last longer and offer better performance.
Here's a comparison of your current GPU to the 770: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-770-vs-GeForce-GTX-570
With the 770 i don't know If you'll reach 120fps, depends on settings and specific games

 

[iyo671]

Hm I see, thanks for easing up my mind. So a would the double price for a 780 TI (compared to a 770) at this stage still be the better choice?
Would the investment actually bump my FPS into the safe zone? I am generally not too interested in games such as BF4, however I am looking forward towards playing Wildstar and am still playing a lot of League of Legends as we speak.

 

[xero99]

The 770 should be great for games like league of legends and is overall a really great card, doubling the price for one 780ti would not double performance so if were you I'd get a single 770 4GB, then if you ever feel the need to beef up the power then you can slot in a second one at a later date.