Please check before I buy..

[Stephen Bull]

Have my finger poised over the BUY button to upgrade my system bought 5 years and 2 months ago and never had a days problem with it despite being on 3+ hours every day (6+ on weekends)

Currently:
Inter Q6600 quad Core (Stock cooler)
4gb Ram (max – reason for upgrade)
Nvidia GTX 650ti (introduced 2 months ago), will use in new system.
500w Artic PSU
Zoostorm Case (cheap not sure if airflow is any good for modern conponents)
2 x Sata drives (80gb + 750gb)


Programs I use (in descending order of frequency)
Photoshop CS6
Lightroom 4
Premiere Pro CS6
Cinema 4D R14 (enjoy tinkering with)
Games (occasionally play):COD MW2 , Skyrim2, Dirt2


Going to Purchase
AMD FX8350 (8 cores that will keep me current for hopefully 5+ years, intel to expensive)
Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX (gets good reviews, can handle 32gb)
1 x Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (will add more sticks over coming months)
Corsair H60water cooler (Concerned about CPU heat and installing large air cooler blocking Ram slots on mb)
Corsair Vengeance Series C70 (Military Green….says i’m a man…and I like the flip up switch) - Should be able to use in future upgrades.
OCZ OCZ600MXSP-UK ModXStream Pro 600W ATX Power Supply (Like the idea of Modular PSU. always hated spare cables floating about)

Will add an SSD over the coming months
Not planing on going SLI or Overclocking.

This come in just under my budget of £600
Is there anything I have overlooked or will anything here cause me problems ?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[animal]

you should always try to install your memory as kits, so for you that would mean ideally, you would purchase a 4 x 8 GB set for the 32 GB you are shooting for. However, if you can't afford to go that route, at a minimum you should try and find the money to get at least a 2 x 8 GB kit and buy another identical kit when you can afford it. Even though your RAM might all be manufactured by the same company and have the same specs, you may encounter issues if you try and install your RAM one stick at a time. This isn't always the case, but it does happen, that is why manufacturers sell memory in kits, they have matched them according to their electrical/performance abilities.

edit: also, I would recommend getting a different PSU, one from a quality manufacturer such as Seasonic, XFX, Corsair (except their CX series) or Antec. Additionally, I noticed that you will be using your 650 ti as your GPU. Unless you are planning to SLI in the future, you could probably get away with a slightly smaller PSU, maybe in the 450-550 watt range. See this link for guidance:

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

 

[Zuul]

I agree with the above, buy your ram sticks in pairs of 2 so you have 2 dimms for example if u want 8gb get 2x 4 gb sticks 16gb 2x 8 gb sticks.
also new power supply from a decent and trusted manufacturer is the best choice something like a 600watt psu. the reason for this is that this part is the source that makes everything work, if it's bad quality and it dies it could take something with it. something more expensive.

Also I would look into a new case since your thinking about almost adding new parts everywhere. The zoostorm case looks kinda old and I can see airflow being an issue in it. There's many great cases out there and I agree it can be a mess finding the right case since there are so many options. Just think about what you want for your system, if you want it to be clean of cables and many space for the future get a midtower upto fulltower case.
but if you want it to be quiet and also have good airflow maybe look into the fractal design define R4 case, its a beauty and very silent.

 

[Stephen Bull]

Was looking at the Fractal R4 really love the design, but it has a door which opens on the left hand side and my PC sits on the right hand side. That would annoy me (Although I can't see me having to access the DVD very often), would have loved to have the option to either remove or change the hinge side so went for a case without a door. Might re-think this as that is a rather petty reason not to go for it.

Thanks for the input on the RAM. Thought this might be the case and thought this was the easiest way to come in under £600. Possibly looking at buying 2x8 initially, then 2x8 later on (few months down the line). Don't do massive Video editing so 32gb may be OTT.

PSU. Again, thanks for the headsup about. Guess, if i forget about modular (lived without it so far) so I won't be limiting my options. Looking at the XFX PRO550W P1-550S-XXB9 Power Supply in light of your helpful comments.

 

[animal]

the XFX 550W is a good choice!

and 32 GB memory is probably overkill in your situation, 8-16 GB shoulddo you fine. Best of luck!

 

[Zuul]

yes the door on the R4 can be an annoyance for some people but still you don't really need to open it up it helps with the sound dampening a lot aswell. and about the ram just get 2 sticks of 8 GB then I don't see you going over 16gb of ram for yeaaaars to come.
Excellenet power supply choice aswell.
But if you get these parts it's best to give them a good home maybe make a thread about the case you'd want ask for suggestions, cause there are so many options out there each for other people it's hard to recommend a case just straight off the bat.

 

[Stephen Bull]

Thanks for the advice.

Never heard of XFX or Seasonic (who seem to use the same kit from what i am reading) before. Thanks for the info.

Will stick to 16GB for the time being. At least i can go up to 32GB if need be (Mind you 4GB 5 years ago seemed extravagant). An SSD will be the first purchase .

I think i will go for the R4. Feel rather foolish having been swayed by a flip up switch cover and some green paint......

 

[Zuul]

HEY don't diss corsair they make the most amazing cases 😀 got my obsidian 750D yesterday and it's amazing!!!! I was so happy when I got the system running felt like a completely new pc eventhough the hardware stayed the same. Then again I'm a huge corsair fanboy especially for the obsidian series. Best cases ever in my opinion, expensive though.

 

[Traciatim]

Keep in mind that a 4670K will simply DESTROY a 8350 in Photoshop CS6 and beats it in pretty much every other thing you list.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-4670k-4670-4570-4430_6.html

You may want to rethink that CPU choice.

 

[Stephen Bull]

Thanks everyone for the input. Went for the 8350 in the end.

All built (3hrs) and running perfectly. Did a quick test on Handbrake comparing to my old system, and re-encoding a 1h45min film took 33 mins on my new system whilst my old one took 1 hr 45 minutes. This is all at standard settings, no over-clocking involved

The CPU never gets above 40c when encoding (30 at idle) but the vcore-1 & 2 go up to the 54-57 marks. Is this normal for the vcore temps to be higher than the CPU ?

No problems with crashing or re-booting, so very happy with it. The fanthat came with the H60 is the only thing i can hear when irt is running, but if t is keeping thnks cool then i shouldn't complain.

I have air coming in through the back and out through the front. I moved the 140mm fan from the back to the the front so i have 2 fans blowing air out and one sucking air in through the radiator.

Currently it is sitting on the floor with air all around. Will monitor temps this if I put it in my desk.

Thanks again for all the advise on cases, PSU's etc.