I wish to Upgrade , suggestions would be appreciated.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
V

VanDenTzan

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2013
25
0
18,530
Since my PSU failed I just got the XFX 850 Pro Black Edition and i decided to upgrade my whole build slowly.
Today my NZXT s340 arrived and tomorrow i get 2 extra fans to add.
This is my whole build so far : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zjttd6
My thoughts for the trio combo are the Asus z170 pro to match with the GPU, i5-6600, and some kind of low profile ddr4 4GB x 2.
I still have the stock cooler and I'm not buying a cooler yet since i don't think any decent cooler will fit at the moment with my current motherboard (microAtx) and my current ram (highprofile Vengeance)
I have never bought an after market cooler besides the stock one, since I never overclock and my gaming doesn't require it in my opinion.
So I also decided I dont really need water cooling for the same reasons, plus the pricing difference.
What are your thoughts about my build ?
What would you change or upgrade and why ?
PS: My usage is light gaming (Blizzard games,League of Legends,Steam games)
but having the option to get ultra settings without lag would be nice.
 
If your getting a Z motherboard get a K series CPU, If your just buying a standard i5 6600 the get an H or B series motherboard.

By your PCpartpicker page it looks like your in the states, if so I would look at the newer 7000 series cpu and 200 series motherboards. Ram I would look at G.skill, they seem to have just slightly better timings and are cheaper then corsair (normally)
 
The cheapest upgrade path that would make sense is replacing that i5-3470 with a used i7-3770K, install a Be Quiet! Pure Rock heatsink and overclock that sucker. For about $200 to $225 your system will compete quite well against a far more expensive brand new i7-6700K/7700K build in many tasks. Sure it isn't quite as fast but will put you within 90% FPS for most games. In other tasks it really depends if they software takes advantage of updated or new instruction sets of the latest generation. My i5-3570K @4.2Ghz still does quite well.

Compared against an i5-6600 with 8GB RAM. An i7-3770K upgrade overclocked with your current 16GB RAM will cost less and outperform the i5-6600.

I would seriously consider the OC option. It is quite easy. As long as you keep your VCore under 1.3V you should be safe. I know it looks daunting because of all the options you see in the BIOS. Must of that is fluff you can ignore. All you need to adjust is the VCore manually, disable Turbo Boost and change the multiplier.

Once set up you can probably get $50 for your i5-3470. On that note the i5-3470 + 16GB RAM + Z77 Motherboard + Stock heatsink. Will likely fetch $150-$200.

If you still want to go new and overclocking is not an option. Get an i5-7500 and B250 or H270 chipset motherboard. With any other feature you want. Such as USB 3.1 Gen 2, Optical audio jack, &c. It is a much better value cost/performance wise than either a Z170 or i5-6600.

Besides overclocking. The only reasons to really go with Z270/Z170 is Intel Smart Response Technology and SLI.
 
To be honest I don't wanna spend money on something outdated or used.
I want to have a cool and stable system with no compatibility issues that also looks nice :)
I'm not planning to overclock , but having the option is a positive attribute to have in mind.
i5-7500 looks like a better choice to me since its newer. k or not k version and Z or H or B motherboard is something i have to look into.
By the way how should I give power to my case fans ? Do i need a hub for better cable management ? My current motherboard has only 2 sysfans.
Also what is a good led to get for this case ?
 
You are going to get to a point where there's no slow way to upgrade, and thats right at the mobo/cpu/ram combo. That's going to be an All-in-one shot deal as a newer mobo is incompatible with old ram, old cpu etc. So. You'll not be using 3rd gen cpu, so new mobo, new mobo requires ddr4, new mobo also means new cpu. Go AMD, not Intel.
My suggestion would be the Ryzen R5 1600, comes with a respectable cpu cooler, has the ability to get a decent OC (keeping same cooler). Basically ties an i5 in gaming (especially with oc) and will hold its own against even the i7s since it also has the same 4c/8t count. You could opt for its larger brother, the R7 1700, but won't see as much OC results, but then again, you won't need them as OC 1600 basically equals a stock 1700.
DDR4 is the same, but strongly suggest a 3200 G-skill 2x8Gb, as those ram have by far the best compatability and performance for the Ryzen cpus (at this time).
The budget B350 boards are fine for most ppl, but depending on your tastes and needs, maybe an x370 is an option.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($316.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B350M MORTAR Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $560.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-03 15:06 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.66 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $563.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-03 15:09 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($217.55 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B350M MORTAR Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $461.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-03 15:13 EDT-0400

The motherboard / ram choices weren't the cheapest possible, but are about midrange priced, look cool, and work very well without being shorted too much on options. So prices can go either way.
 


A proper hub would be nice. As your motherboard can still control the speed. While power is deliver via SATA Power or 4-Pin Molex.
https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-System-Cables-Black-CPF04/dp/B00VNW556I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493843826&sr=8-1&keywords=case+fan+hub

 
Much depends on the actual buss used by the fan headers but mainly, if you get decent quality fans, that run @ 0.2Amps, with a couple of 3-way splitters you could easily run 3x intake and 3x exhaust fans, one splitter to each. Hubs are nice to have for liquid coolers using push/pull with 4x fans as generally they are powered from the psu, not from the header itself, so fan wattage is no longer an issue, just total watts, which is usually 30w (about 2.5A) per hub. Technically this is enough power to push @ 12 decent fans, all controlled by a single pwm header. Analog fans (3pin) tend not to be as efficient and can easily reach 0.5A each, so it's pushing your luck to have even 2 fans per header as most headers supposedly are good for 1A, but anything over @ 0.8A could cause mobo damage. Add up the fan power needs before undertaking anything more than 1 fan per header, don't go past 0.8A
 
Ok I have decided to go with the Asus Strix H270F Gaming motherboard since I don't wish to get into overclocking and now I'm deciding about Ram and CPU.
About CPU im between these options :
i5-6600
i5-7400
i5-7500
i5-7600
I know that obviously the i5-7600 is better but does it really matter? Will i even notice the difference?
All i need is a stable system without fails or compatibility issues.
Now about RAM I don't really know what i need yet but I think some low profile would always be good just in case i ever get a cpu cooler.
From what I have heard, since I don't overclock, I don't need an aftermarket cooler.
So I guess 2x4gb ddr4 2400 will be more than enough ? ( looking for a budget solution )
 
Normally I'd say it doesn't matter. The difference between the i5-7500 and 7600 is too minor to bother with. However, the i5-7600 is only $10 more right now through PCPartpicker.com. You may as well get it.

As for the i5-7400. The difference is too great to be worth so little savings.

Edit: No, you don't need an aftermarket cooler in most situations. Although a good aftermarket cooler will be significantly quieter.
 
The price difference here is 30 euros per model though. So 7400 to 7600 is 60 euros difference thats why i mention them all.
About the cooler i heard that kaby and/or skylake cpu's come with a better stock cooler than the previous versions. Anyhow no rush about the cooler ill check the stock one first and then decide. The question was about picking a ram that doesnt interfere with any cpu cooler.
 
If you aren't going to overclock at all, I'd be looking at a cheaper board that still has all the functionality you want/need and an i7. While the i5-7500 or better is decent, (the 7400 and below are on the slow side of a lazy dog), the ability of HT can make up a decent amount of fps in games that really benefit from the multiple thread count. This is getting more important as games progress and become more intensive. Even CS:GO is working on an 8 thread compatible update, simply to take advantage of the cores used by the i7s and Ryzen cpus.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (€207.84 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX H270F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€145.66 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €353.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-05 17:52 CEST+0200

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor (€319.13 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B250-PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€98.23 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €417.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-05 17:58 CEST+0200
 


In which case the i5-7500 is the best buy. 7400 to 7500 is worth 30 euros, 7500 to 7600 is not worth it. That 30 euro would be far better put to use in moving from 8GB to 16GB RAM. The rest to be offset by switching from Z270 to the Asus Strix H270F.

While most games aren't hindered by 8GB. A few are.

Not to add another wrinkle to your plans. Have you considered AMD Ryzen? The Ryzen 5 1600 cost about the same as an i5.

Based on the benchmarks I have seen with a GPU like yours. In the here and now you won’t see much difference. In some games the Ryzen does better in others the i5 does. What is telling are games like Ashes of Singularity (extremeley CPU intensive/multi-threaded). Which perform better on the Ryzen. The Ryzen will likely have a longer use life as it has six cores, can run twelve threads simultaneously and allows overclocking. In raw performance each core is fairly close in processing power to the i5 per Ghz.

In older games, those that don’t use more than four threads or are poorly optimized for multiprocessing. The i5 will perform better. Many of those games will get extraordinarily high frame rates with either CPU anyways.

So, if you just care about what you’ll get out of games now. Get the i5-7500. If you want room for expansion in the future, have processor which can handle 8+ threads or have other background tasks running. Get the Ryzen.
 
Latest update is that i bought the Cryorig H7 CPU cooler, and now im betweed 2 options for a CPU and Motherboard upgrade.
1. i5-7600 and the Asus ROG Strix H270F Gaming
2. Ryzen 5 1600 and the Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming
I have zero experience with AMD builds so im gonna need help deciding if going to an AMD system is gonna be good or not.
What i like mostly is to have a stable build without having to worry about overclocking or tweaking etc.
In the near future i also plan on buying the M.2 Samsung 960 nvme drive for my OS.
And lastly about the RAM 2400 to 3200Mhz is not a noticeable difference in gaming, but if the price is not a big deal i would go for the higher speed, but will it be good or even complatible with either of those choices i have selected ? (Looking into the Corsair Vengeance LPX)
 
For Intel cpu's 2400 to 3200 will not be noticeable, you are correct. That doesn't apply to Ryzen, which with a decent OC, can show upto @20% performance gain, which is huge in pc terms.
And I would now suggest the 8400, since it's available now, it's 6 cores vrs the 4 of the older generation Intel.
 
Actually the i5-8400 sounds like a good idea! But what about the motherboard? Choices are very few.. What do you suggest? I like to have plenty of usb 3 ports, good on board sound and good lan adapter as well as the option of booting from an M. 2 nvme drive...
 
I'd shop around, not knowing your budget, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday is right around the corner, so there'll be deals on many things. But I'd definitely spring for a Z370 and you might be able to get a combo deal, the Z boards have the best built in audio, the most headers, the best m.2 availability, especially for NVMe/pcie SSDs. It'll also have OC ability should you decide to go for a better cpu like an 8600k or even an i7K version later. There's also aesthetics, things like colors of the board and RGB etc. So it's kinda hard to really pick one or two boards when really your options are wide open.
 


Higher end built in audio carries quite a premium with the current Z370 boards. As those boards are loaded with other features. The ASRock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming K6 is the closest match to your criteria.

For USB it has six USB 3.1 ports and three USB 3.1 headers. The USB 3.1 ports are a mixture of Gen1 and Gen2. There is a specialized USB 3.1 Fatal1ty mouse port (it is more responsive for a gaming mouse). Each header supports two USB 3.1 Gen1 ports. Which you can connect to your cases front panel, buy additional rear slot connectors or front bay adapters.

As for audio. It features a Realtek ALC1220 chipset with Purity Sound 4 and Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 3. It has gold plated rear audio ports and an optical audio output. It appears to be using Nichicon Gold series caps. If it is like the previous gen Z270 K6 motherboard. They will have added a Texas Instruments NE5532. As far as built in audio goes. It should be quite good. Nothing like a high end dedicated sound card. Unless you are real audiophile with a premium HiFi stereo system. I doubt you'll notice the difference.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/9pZ2FT/asrock-fatal1ty-z370-gaming-k6-atx-lga1151-motherboard-fatal1ty-z370-gaming-k6
 
Since my GPU is the asus GeForce DUAL-GTX 1060 6gb i was looking at the asus prime z370-A to match with the gpu. It doesn't say about m.2 nvme. And though it supports ddr4 4000(oc) the i5-8400 says max ddr4 at 2666... That means i have to get 2666? Or can it be overclocked?
 


That limit is a stock limit. Although the CPU cannot be overclocked. When using a Z370 chipset. Higher speed RAM works up to whatever the motherboard supports. This Techspot review uses DDR4 3200 RAM.
https://www.techspot.com/review/1502-intel-core-i5-8400/

The ASUS Prime Z370-A has an M.2 slot. I think all current Z370 have an M.2 slot. It also has the Realtek ALC1220 chipset and Nichicon caps. Although not as many USB 3.1 ports or headers as the ASRock. Not much difference between the boards. They are both good.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11860/z370-motherboards-asus-asrock-ecs-evga-biostar-msi-gigabyte/8
 
The (OC) means a couple of things. It can mean that to get those speeds might require a small measure of cpu OC in order to boost the memory controller (on die) enough to maintain stability at rated ram clocks. It can also mean that since ddr4 is stock value at 2133/2400/2666MHz (depending on cpu) you'll need to enable OC of the ram, either by manual or XMP settings on bios to get rated speeds. Either is correct, and often both need implementation to get the higher than stock rated speeds.
With a locked cpu you could try using (OC) rated ram, but there's no guarantee you'll get stability using it maxed, you might need to use a lower rated xmp profile like 3200 or even the cpu rated 2666MHz for best stability/performance.
 
Ok so the shop I'm looking at has available :
1. Crucial Ballistix Elite BALL 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz
2. HyperX DDR4 Predator 8GB 3000MHz
3. HyperX DDR4 Predator 16GB 2666MHz
4. HyperX DDR4 Fury 16GB 2666MHz
Order is from cheap > expensive.
I'm planning on getting 16GB, but what is ideal, 2x8GB or 1x16GB ?
Are those listed compatible with my whole system ?
I know higher frequency is better, but do I need it ?
If yes, why ? Will it still be stable ?
 


2x8GB is ideal. RAM speed makes little difference. As the chipset is 2,666Mhz. That's the number I'd shoot for.If it's like $10 more I'd go for 3000/3200. For the tiny boost. $10 is nothing. That's like a 6-pack of good beer or lunch at a diner. Otherwise I'd get whatever is the cheapest.

Also Crucial (Micron) is one of the few brands which manufacturers RAM. Most are rebranded. I buy Crucial memory whenever the price is close.
 
It's always better to run with 2x sticks, whether it's 2x4Gb or 2x8Gb or even 2x16Gb. There's a couple of reasons for this. First being the redundancy factor. Ram can and does die on occasion, but it's extremely rare that 2x sticks will die at the same time. In fact I've only ever seen it once personally in 30 odd years. So if 1x stick does go bunk, you still have the ability to test, run windows etc. 8Gb is a standard recommended minimum, there's not much that can't be done (normal users & gamers) on 8Gb, 16Gb being the next size up in a kit and for normal users & gamers there's really nothing that can't be done with 16Gb. So for new builds 16Gb is the usual recommendation if possible. It saves time and hassle later.

Second is performance. A single stick will only run in single channel. Basically all 16Gb shares the bandwidth of what that 1x stick can supply. With 2x sticks, the 16Gb gets to share the combined bandwidth of both sticks. This usually leads to @20% rough performance gains, especially in large file transfers this is important.

Number 1 rule of buying ram is get what you want, when you want it. If you want 16Gb, get 16Gb, don't get 8Gb now with plans to get more later. There's also only 1 guarantee about buying additional ram, there are no guarantees. Ram bought in a kit is factory tested for compliance and compatibility. Both sticks will work with each other. Buying separate sticks, you get no guarantee at all. You can literally swap out 10 or more sticks and still not get both to work, even if the sticks are identical, came off the same peg, at the same store, one right after the other.

So my advice, get the full 16Gb, in 1 kit, not 2x8Gb separate packets. For you that'd be option #3, the Kingston HyperX Predator 2666MHz 16Gb (2x8Gb)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom