Wanting help upgrading a four-year-old system.

[TooOldForThis]

Hey folks!

So, second-time poster looking for a bit of advice on upgrading my desktop system.

I built it around January 2011 with the intention of using it as a mid-range gaming system. At the time, my main concern was playing World of Warcraft and the computer has performed admirably. I recently started looking for a laptop for my wife and in doing so have reacquired the bug for playing with hardware.

So, following the template in the stickies and without further ado:


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month or two. Having just bought a laptop, I'd ideally wait a bit before more expanses, but there is money available now for the right components.

Budget Range: I can spend maybe €200 - €300 at the moment plus maybe an additional €200 - €300 for each month I wait.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, browsing the internet, Netflix/movies, listening to music, eventually photo editing.

Are you buying a monitor: No. I own a Samsung P2450H and love it.

Parts to Upgrade: Any and all. My current system is as follows:

- Asus P8P67 PRO Intel P67 Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz
- Asus GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5
- Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 2000MHz Dual-Channel Kit
- Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (I don't know if this is 5400rpm or 7200rpm)
- LiteOn IHAS324-32 24x DVD±RW ReWriter SATA
- Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W Power Supply
- Cooler Master HAF 932 Case

I also own a Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler, though I never installed it.

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I like Overclockers without really having a reason for it. I'm not bound to a particular website, though - I'll take anything reliable, cheap and willing to post to Ireland!

Location: Cork City, Republic of Ireland.

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia, Samsung, Corsair, Crucial, Cooler Master. Again, though, I'm not bound by brand - I'm more concerned about compatibility, performance and price.

Overclocking: I would love to overclock my system. It's why I bought the A50 cooler. Somehow it just never happened, but I'm absolutely up for it.

SLI or Crossfire: If my motherboard and PSU can support it, absolutely yes.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I value quietness in my system and I'm not a fan of bling and shiny lights. My gaming focus at the moment is World of Warcraft, though I'm also keen to get into Skyrim, Diablo 3 and to have the option of playing more demanding recent titles. I mentioned an interest in photo editing, but that will wait until I've more fully realised my interest in actual photography, so isn't a major priority.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I got bitten by the hardware bug while researching for my wife's laptop. I feel a need to tinker. Also, I'm finding that I occasionally get FPS problems in WoW or what feels like a system lag when I alt-tab between windows. FPS issues only last a short time and normally only after I alt-tab back into the game - it feels like the computer is maybe having to reallocate resources into the programme from elsewhere.

Edit: I should clarify that I'm looking for what would be the simplest and cheapest way to get the maximum upgrade into my system. My thoughts at the moment are that upgrading the RAM and installing an SSD will probably be my best options.

Unless I'm missing something else obvious that I could upgrade, I could really use advice specifically around those areas.

 

[Cristi72]

Hello,

Go for an 128GB/256GB SSD, the system will be much snappier.

Go for an GTX750Ti or, if you wait a few weeks, for an GTX960, your gaming will be so much better (of course, an GTX970 will be ideal, but it is out of your budget).

Go for another 4GB RAM kit (or an 8GB kit, if you cannot find the same 4GB kit as yours).

The A50 cooler will be better than the stock cooler, but for overclocking go for at least a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.

 

[TooOldForThis]

Hello,

Go for an 128GB/256GB SSD, the system will be much snappier.

Go for an GTX750Ti or, if you wait a few weeks, for an GTX960, your gaming will be so much better (of course, an GTX970 will be ideal, but it is out of your budget).

Go for another 4GB RAM kit (or an 8GB kit, if you cannot find the same 4GB kit as yours).

The A50 cooler will be better than the stock cooler, but for overclocking go for at least a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.

Awesome, thank you so much for the response! The stuff you've said pretty much matches with what I was expecting. I do have some further questions that I'm hoping you can answer?

I've had a look at my system as it is currently and I'm pretty majorly surprised to discover that, of my 500GB drive, 78% of it is apparently free. I was looking into SSDs and particularly at the Crucial MX100 series. Is it actually worth just getting a 512GB SSD from there and completely replacing my current HDD? Evidently I have little enough actual stuff to put on it at the moment. I could keep the current HDD for file storage/music/photos/videos/whatever further down the line. Also, I'm wondering whether the single 512GB drive makes more sense than getting two separate 256GB drives, as the latter would let me spread the cost over a couple of purchases. What would you think?

Re: RAM, what's the ideal way to upgrade it? If I get an 8GB kit (is that 2x4GB?), can I just stick the two new sticks in alongside the two existing sticks? Would that give me a total of 12GB RAM? I mean, obviously there would be 12GB of RAM attached to the system, but would I be able to access/use it all? If I get a new 8GB kit, do I need to match any of the specs to the existing 4GB kit? I have memories of RAM having some sort of speed value attached to it, or something? I also just read that running four sticks can put a lot of strain on the system - am I better just replacing the 4GB kit entirely with something bigger?

(By the way, sorry if these are stupid questions. Best to think of me as knowing essentially nothing!)

So far as the GPU is concerned, are we expecting the GTX960 to outperform the GTX750Ti? Will they both be compatible with my motherboard? The GTX750Ti seems to be about $100 cheaper than anticipated costs for the GTX960 - will the newer GPU be worth the price difference?

Again, thanks for taking the time to help me out with answers. I get angsty when I don't fully understand what's going on!

 

[Cristi72]

Usually, the sweet spot between endurance and speed is the 250/256 GB capacity; however, for the actual prices, I would go for an 128GB Samsung 840 PRO or an 250GB Samsung EVO and use the HDD for storage (for the price difference between 250 GB SSD and 500 GB SSD you could buy a 2TB WD Black HDD or a 3TB WD Green HDD, if you need more storage space). For more infos about SSDs, check this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html

I was talking of an 8 GB RAM kit to use instead your actual 4 GB kit, in the case you cannot find another 4GB identical kit. You could use an 4GB and an 8GB kit together, but they could be incompatible (I couldn't find an 8GB 2000 MHz Corsair kit, only 1866 MHz, 2133 MHz, 2400 MHz).

There should be no compatibility problems with your motherboard, as the PCI-e 3.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-e 2.0 motherboards. GTX750Ti can give you a nice gaming experience at 1920x1080, but it could be not enough for the next-gen games which will require DX12. Right now, the sweet spot for 1920x1080 is GTX760 (or GTX770, for ULTRA details); the upcoming GTX960 should have the performance of an 770 at the prices close to an 760, but until release there are only rumours about that (it is mainly an educated guess, based on the fact that GTX970 has 780-like performance at 770-like prices).

 

[TooOldForThis]

Usually, the sweet spot between endurance and speed is the 250/256 GB capacity; however, for the actual prices, I would go for an 128GB Samsung 840 PRO or an 250GB Samsung EVO and use the HDD for storage (for the price difference between 250 GB SSD and 500 GB SSD you could buy a 2TB WD Black HDD or a 3TB WD Green HDD, if you need more storage space). For more infos about SSDs, check this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html

I was talking of an 8 GB RAM kit to use instead your actual 4 GB kit, in the case you cannot find another 4GB identical kit. You could use an 4GB and an 8GB kit together, but they could be incompatible (I couldn't find an 8GB 2000 MHz Corsair kit, only 1866 MHz, 2133 MHz, 2400 MHz).

There should be no compatibility problems with your motherboard, as the PCI-e 3.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-e 2.0 motherboards. GTX750Ti can give you a nice gaming experience at 1920x1080, but it could be not enough for the next-gen games which will require DX12. Right now, the sweet spot for 1920x1080 is GTX760 (or GTX770, for ULTRA details); the upcoming GTX960 should have the performance of an 770 at the prices close to an 760, but until release there are only rumours about that (it is mainly an educated guess, based on the fact that GTX970 has 780-like performance at 770-like prices).

Wonderful, thanks again. I'm sorted for the RAM and GPU - I'll replace my existing RAM with 8GB and wait for the GTX960 being released before I see what's what.

I'm still unsure about the SSD, though. I recently found this (clicky!).

For £60 more than the 250GB version, surely that has to be worth looking at?

 

[Cristi72]

I'm still unsure about the SSD, though. I recently found this (clicky!).

For £60 more than the 250GB version, surely that has to be worth looking at?

Whoaa, what a bargain! I would go for it in a heartbeat!