New Ivy Bridge Build and PSU question ( upgrading from AMD )

[Orlean]

Hello, I've somewhat decided to pull the trigger on upgrading the rest of my components, just recently upgraded to a 7870 and Samsung 830 SSD few reasons for the upgrade, one being I was playing BF3 and the CPU usage is between 90%-99 specially on 64 player maps with GPU usage at 60-70% with inconsistent FPS it runs fairly smooth but I feel like it could play smoother. Secondly upgrading DDR2 memory to 8 GB(have 4gb) is just too expensive, I'm also pretty sure my Phenom 9950 BE is bottle-necking me.

I have a family member able to pick me up a 3570k at Microcenter up north and ship it to me which is still cheaper than getting it from Newegg or other online retailers. Hate to jump ship from AMD to Intel but for the few extra dollars the performance cant be beat. Another thing is from what I read the LGA 1155 socket is basically dead in regards to more upgrades since Haswell is suppose to be a new socket. If someone can maybe talk me out of getting a Ivy bridge and maybe waiting for Haswell next year granted the rest of my components hold out that long I would consider that.


This is what I'm looking at getting:
i5 3570k
Asus Z77 Sabertooth
Gskil Sniper Low voltage series 8Gb DDR3 1600
CM Hyper 212 Evo


Question regarding the PSU is that its going on 4 years old in a few month haven't had any problems with it, granted it is a quality one but would it be wise to reuse the one I have now with fullboat hardware upgrade ? its still under warranty for 2 more years. I didn't factor in having to maybe buy a new PSU.

This is the PSU I have : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009


Any opinions and insight appreciated!

Orlean

 

[amuffin]

I would actually go with Sandy, this is because you are a gamer.

 

[Raiddinn]

PSU should be fine.

It is the motherboards that kill you when upgrading to Ivy Bridge. I would suggest avoiding Ivy Bridge for that reason alone.

You could get an i5-2400 and a h61 motherboard for about half of 3570k + z77 motherboard and still be 90% of the way there and still be at like 3x the processing power of your current AMD 9950.

The rest you could save for Haswell in case you want that. It may not be all that people hope for it to be and it would suck to wait all that time and have it turn out like Bulldozer or something.

Anyway, if people are having problems now, I usually suggest getting something sensible now to address it rather than hoping and praying about awesome things being invented in the future.

 

[Orlean]

I would actually go with Sandy, this is because you are a gamer.

Why go with Sandy ? The only downside to IB from what I'm able to gather is heat when overclocking. I'm not looking to get record high overclocks so that doesn't matter to me, I was just looking to get a mild OC. Other than that I don't see any downside going with the newer 3rd Generation tech.

 

[InvalidError]

Your new config is most likely lower-power than your old one so if you never had any power problems with your old PSU, it should have no problem with your new config for the foreseeable future, even more so if it is still under warranty.

Once the warranty is over, you might want to open it to check if any caps show signs of leaking or deforming just in case. The first functional sign of a PSU going bad due to caps is almost always spontaneous rebooting typically caused by over-voltage on a supply rail triggering crowbar protection circuitry somewhere.

Replacing caps is a simple procedure that costs only a few bucks in parts and can breathe several more years into an old PSU. Of course, you need to know how to choose replacement capacitors and how to solder for PSU restoration to be a viable option.

 

[Raiddinn]

Why go with Sandy ? The only downside to IB from what I'm able to gather is heat when overclocking. I'm not looking to get record high overclocks so that doesn't matter to me, I was just looking to get a mild OC. Other than that I don't see any downside going with the newer 3rd Generation tech.

Per me, the biggest downside of going with IB is motherboard prices.

If you try to get a z68 or older board you could run into problems that caused the AMD FX processors to flop in the marketplace and if you go with Z77 then you have to pay $150 more for your motherboard than if you go with SB.

 

[InvalidError]

Per me, the biggest downside of going with IB is motherboard prices.

z77 boards start around $110, not that bad... most z68 motherboards are more expensive than that.

 

[StormlessWolf]

Z77 boards have not been out that long and even sooner for the IB processors themselves. As Raiddinn had suggested, go with the SB as they're proven warriors for one and run cooool as a mother. IMO, its always better to go a generation younger...plus, don't skimp on the motherboard either which way! An i5-2500k IS A BEAST!

 

[Orlean]

Your new config is most likely lower-power than your old one so if you never had any power problems with your old PSU, it should have no problem with your new config for the foreseeable future, even more so if it is still under warranty.

Once the warranty is over, you might want to open it to check if any caps show signs of leaking or deforming just in case. The first functional sign of a PSU going bad due to caps is almost always spontaneous rebooting typically caused by over-voltage on a supply rail triggering crowbar protection circuitry somewhere.

Replacing caps is a simple procedure that costs only a few bucks in parts and can breathe several more years into an old PSU. Of course, you need to know how to choose replacement capacitors and how to solder for PSU restoration to be a viable option.

Thanks for the replies!


Well it being a electrical component and prone to failure I wouldn't want it to decide to go out on me and damage components in the process that's what I was most concerned about. At the point of 5 years use and out of warranty I think I would retire it keeping it as a spare and just buying a new one. But if it ever came to it I would be able to pick out the right replacement parts and solder it in my self.

PSU should be fine.

It is the motherboards that kill you when upgrading to Ivy Bridge. I would suggest avoiding Ivy Bridge for that reason alone.

You could get an i5-2400 and a h61 motherboard for about half of 3570k + z77 motherboard and still be 90% of the way there and still be at like 3x the processing power of your current AMD 9950.

The rest you could save for Haswell in case you want that. It may not be all that people hope for it to be and it would suck to wait all that time and have it turn out like Bulldozer or something.

Anyway, if people are having problems now, I usually suggest getting something sensible now to address it rather than hoping and praying about awesome things being invented in the future.

Yeah a $240 motherboard is kinda expensive - but I paid $190 for the one I'm using now 4 years ago. The thing is I don't mind spending the money on a higher tier/good quality product. The i5-2400 and h61 would be considered a budget build right ? Despite spending roughly half the money rather than going with Ivy+Z77 then down the road possibly in a year upgrading to Haswell if its worthy to me doesn't make much sense. I would personally rather spend it now for it to last me another 4-5 years.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

go with the 2500k and a Z68 gen3 mobo.
ivy isnt in a sense better than sandy.
as far as your PSU, if no issues exist no reason to upgrade unless you want a dual gpu setup that takes more power than it supplies.

 

[StormlessWolf]

On another note, the 3570K is not worth the money...get the 3550 if ya gonna absolutely get ab IB. and ASUS's P8Z77-V is a awesome motherboard...so that alone frees up some dough.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

On another note, the 3570K is not worth the money...get the 3550 if ya gonna absolutely get ab IB. and ASUS's P8Z77-V is a awesome motherboard...so that alone frees up some dough.

Umm if he must go ivy then the.micro center deal with the3570 k is.the.must get deal.
An unlocked processor is far better than locked and.the.3570k is the followup to the 2500k.

 

[Orlean]

Figured I would update my thread, after thinking about it hard I finally pulled the trigger and made the jump to Intel. MicroCenter had a good deal having a extra $50 savings with the purchase of the 3570k ($190) so I was able to get the Z77 Sabertooth for $190 which is a really good deal. Now I just have to order the 8 GB Gskill Sniper memory and CM Hyper 212 Evo from newegg.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Grats on the upgrade you will be ve ry happy