New MoBo, 32K RAM, Mid-line Graphics Card for i7-6700K to use with existing Win 7 SSD, 480W PSU

Airpilot

Commendable
Jul 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
Greetings, Experts:

I want to replace the MoBo, CPU, RAM and possibly the GPU in my 2012 HP Pavilion HPE h8-1360t. The existing HP MoBo and i7-3770 77watt CPU are slowly failing, but the CPU cooling fan and the Win7 Pro 64 bit SSD are fine, and I plan to re-use them in the new system. I will likely also have two non-SSD HD's, all supported by the existing HP 480W PSU, as they are today. If that's too much load, I may drop one of the non-SSD drives, or ask for your advice on a new, larger PSU. There is also a DVD-RW optical drive.

I'm looking at purchasing a i7-6700 or i7-6700K CPU, a compatible MoBo that will retro-fit into the HP tower, will provide USB 3.1 and connections for up to four HD's and two optical drives, and is capable of supporting 64 Gig RAM (although I'll probably start with 32 Gig), and maybe a compatible mid-line GPU. I do a fair amount of video, not much gaming. No plans for SLI.

The present MoBo supports a NVidia GForce GT630 2gig DDR3 GPU - can I re-use that GPU, or should I consider something more modern, compatible and efficient?

I'm open to all suggestions - none of this is cast in stone yet. I'm hoping you experts will help this newbie, thanks.

Airpilot
 
Solution
The H-170 is the Z-170's little brother (or sister?) primarily designed for over-clocking.
However over-clocking on an older 480W probably not tier 1/2 PSU...well I wouldn't recommend it.

If you're getting a new GPU I'd get a new PSU as well
And then it depends on how much you want to spend.
A ~550/600W Seasonic/XFX PSU would be able to support graphic chips of up to 500€..

Keeping your PSU...a 750Ti, maybe a 950 could be possible
If you really wanna keep that PSU I would go with an i7 6700 non K or an i5

You can use the GPU however if you do more than watching videos on YouTube it will seriously hold you back (and definitely not make sense putting next to a high-end CPU)

Skylake CPU come with DDR4 RAM, right now go with G.Skill or Kingston, Corsair atm has worse timings for the same price.

Concerning main boards, an H170 chip should do
Just look for the features you want (like USB3.1 f.e.)
I haven't been able to determine the size of the main board though that's compatible with the case.

But I'd probably buy a new PSU and start from scratch (keeping the HDDs and maybe the case) according to budget
 

Airpilot

Commendable
Jul 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
This is a good start, thanks Isokolon. I think I may replace the GPU - suggestions, anyone?

The present MoBo is an ATX, I believe - housed in a full-sized tower.

What is a H170 chip? Is that the chipset in the MoBo? I've heard good things about the Asus Z-170A - is that a good choice?

Your help is very appreciated.

Airpilot
 
The H-170 is the Z-170's little brother (or sister?) primarily designed for over-clocking.
However over-clocking on an older 480W probably not tier 1/2 PSU...well I wouldn't recommend it.

If you're getting a new GPU I'd get a new PSU as well
And then it depends on how much you want to spend.
A ~550/600W Seasonic/XFX PSU would be able to support graphic chips of up to 500€..

Keeping your PSU...a 750Ti, maybe a 950 could be possible
 
Solution

Airpilot

Commendable
Jul 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
Progress, thanks.

So far, I'm looking at i7-6700 or i7-6700K (the -K seems to be spec'ed higher even if not o/c'ed), at least a 600w PSU, new GPU (any other suggestions?), 4 x 8gig G. Skill RAM, Asus Z-170 MoBo for the -K CPU, or H-170 for the non-K.

I'll be re-using my 256 gig Win7 Pro 64 bit SSD, 2 other 1 Tb HD's and an Optical drive, and existing full sized tower case.

Question about drivers - I assume I'll need to upload them - is there an easy way to identify drivers needed, and upload them? Will software like Megaify's Driver Toolkit do this?
 

Airpilot

Commendable
Jul 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
One other question - my present Win7 Pro o/s is HP OEM - will I run into boot issues when I attempt to run it on a new MoBo with new CPU, GPU, etc.? Would an alternative be to simply replace the dying HP MoBo and CPU with new from HP? While I hate the idea of not moving to Skylake, would that be the better choice?

Thanks again.
 
The Performance between the 6700k and non K is basically the same.if you're not oc'ing the price of a Z170 Board + the extra dough for the K is basically money burning (unless you find a feature on the Z boards that you just can't do without)

Concerning windows....I'm not sure. But I mean a new windows is roughly €100
 

Airpilot

Commendable
Jul 26, 2016
5
0
1,510
Thanks, Isokolon. The reason I'm working to keep my present Win7 SSD is that I want to keep my present application environment, not to save the cost of a new Win7 license. I do not want to start fresh, hence the question about using my existing Win7 Pro SSD with the new MoBo.