Hello,
I am seeking to upgrade my current PC (build 2010) into something capable of running some of the next upcoming games (namely Star Citizen) and lasting a while for all my other uses too; my current rig fullfills all my non-gaming needs albeit a little slowly when rendering so its mainly a gaming upgrade.
At the same time I am looking to downsize the current PC, and all components that I will not incorporate into the new build, into a tiny compact mini-ITX build that I would use as a guest/travel desktop PC.
I have browsed and done my research and come up with the following key components, could you advise whether there may be better options (or outright incompatibilities I have missed) for my wallet without having to compromise on valuable performance for a long-lasting system?
Project time-frame
Between 4 months and up to 1 year from now. Currently finishing degree and will consider this once I have a job and income.
Budget
About £1000 +/- 2-300 if worth it for the new rig. I am not one to want to throw money in the wind but I do like to invest into my build to make it last, but I will happily avoid overkill. The secondary compact PC would be something I would assemble over time finding the best price buys later on with no great hurry.
What I use my computer for:
Work, art (digital painting in photoshop), some video editing, now and then rendering models and graphics 3Ds Max, gaming.
My Location
London UK
Current components:
Case: ThermalTake Element G + some average fans
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E PRO
CPU: Core i7 860 (LGA1156)
RAM: Memory G-Skill Ripjaw 2x2GB 1600MHz CL7
PSU: Antec TruePower 750W Modular 80 plus Bronze rating
GPU: MSI R5870 Lightning
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B
HDD: 2 mediocre 1x500GB and 1x400GB
SSD: Samsung 250GB 830 SSD SATA
New system "wishlist" thus far
Case: yet to be found, I am looking for something low profile with good cable and space management, I prefer a mid tower and I may recycle my current ThermalTake Element G one for now.
Mobo: X97 chipset so far considered Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO (£165)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£265)
RAM: 16GB high bandwidth so considered G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (£121)
PSU: recycle Antec TruePower 750W Modular 80 plus Bronze rating
GPU: 1xGTX 980, I am more partial to nVidia cards vs AMD. I do not wish to SLI. (£449)
Cooler: recycle Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B
SSD+HDD: recycle all previous drives may add a 1TB drive.
---------------------------------------------------
Current total (£1002 + cost of case)
Key: items in this colour are recycled
Overclock Yes
SLI: No
New compact system
The idea is to have a mini ITX system:
Case: Lian-Li PC-TU200A or B.
CPU: Recycled Core i7 860 (LGA1156)
Mobo: mini ITX, considered: Zotac H55ITX-C-E or Intel DH57JG (huge variation in price I have found them for ~£60)
PSU: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified considered as it is fully modular and slim. (£79)
RAM: recycled Memory G-Skill Ripjaw 2x2GB 1600MHz CL7, though I may want to upgrade to 2x4GB (~£54)
GPU: recycled MSI R5870 Lightning unless there are slight upgrades for not too much (less than £100).
Cooler: unsure about dimension wrt case and such, would use the stock from i7 860 as I still have it.
SSD/HDD: 1xSamsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" SSD and 1xHitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM (~£190)
---------------------------------------------------
Total: £383
OS Already have Win 7 for them
Notes My end desire is to have a silent new system that can run at decently low idle temps with motherboard that can control fan speeds as soon as I request power from it. Case wise I am still looking but would prefer a Mid Tower that is very minimalistic and equipped or equippable with dust filters, preferably not black or white. I would appreciate suggestions on what I could look out for as a better more cost effective option for both rigs though I would like to compromise least on the new rig.
I appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
TL;DR would these rigs work for my use or are there components that would be overkill and I could easily save on?
I am seeking to upgrade my current PC (build 2010) into something capable of running some of the next upcoming games (namely Star Citizen) and lasting a while for all my other uses too; my current rig fullfills all my non-gaming needs albeit a little slowly when rendering so its mainly a gaming upgrade.
At the same time I am looking to downsize the current PC, and all components that I will not incorporate into the new build, into a tiny compact mini-ITX build that I would use as a guest/travel desktop PC.
I have browsed and done my research and come up with the following key components, could you advise whether there may be better options (or outright incompatibilities I have missed) for my wallet without having to compromise on valuable performance for a long-lasting system?
Project time-frame
Between 4 months and up to 1 year from now. Currently finishing degree and will consider this once I have a job and income.
Budget
About £1000 +/- 2-300 if worth it for the new rig. I am not one to want to throw money in the wind but I do like to invest into my build to make it last, but I will happily avoid overkill. The secondary compact PC would be something I would assemble over time finding the best price buys later on with no great hurry.
What I use my computer for:
Work, art (digital painting in photoshop), some video editing, now and then rendering models and graphics 3Ds Max, gaming.
My Location
London UK
Current components:
Case: ThermalTake Element G + some average fans
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E PRO
CPU: Core i7 860 (LGA1156)
RAM: Memory G-Skill Ripjaw 2x2GB 1600MHz CL7
PSU: Antec TruePower 750W Modular 80 plus Bronze rating
GPU: MSI R5870 Lightning
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B
HDD: 2 mediocre 1x500GB and 1x400GB
SSD: Samsung 250GB 830 SSD SATA
New system "wishlist" thus far
Case: yet to be found, I am looking for something low profile with good cable and space management, I prefer a mid tower and I may recycle my current ThermalTake Element G one for now.
Mobo: X97 chipset so far considered Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO (£165)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£265)
RAM: 16GB high bandwidth so considered G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (£121)
PSU: recycle Antec TruePower 750W Modular 80 plus Bronze rating
GPU: 1xGTX 980, I am more partial to nVidia cards vs AMD. I do not wish to SLI. (£449)
Cooler: recycle Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B
SSD+HDD: recycle all previous drives may add a 1TB drive.
---------------------------------------------------
Current total (£1002 + cost of case)
Key: items in this colour are recycled
Overclock Yes
SLI: No
New compact system
The idea is to have a mini ITX system:
Case: Lian-Li PC-TU200A or B.
CPU: Recycled Core i7 860 (LGA1156)
Mobo: mini ITX, considered: Zotac H55ITX-C-E or Intel DH57JG (huge variation in price I have found them for ~£60)
PSU: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified considered as it is fully modular and slim. (£79)
RAM: recycled Memory G-Skill Ripjaw 2x2GB 1600MHz CL7, though I may want to upgrade to 2x4GB (~£54)
GPU: recycled MSI R5870 Lightning unless there are slight upgrades for not too much (less than £100).
Cooler: unsure about dimension wrt case and such, would use the stock from i7 860 as I still have it.
SSD/HDD: 1xSamsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" SSD and 1xHitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM (~£190)
---------------------------------------------------
Total: £383
OS Already have Win 7 for them
Notes My end desire is to have a silent new system that can run at decently low idle temps with motherboard that can control fan speeds as soon as I request power from it. Case wise I am still looking but would prefer a Mid Tower that is very minimalistic and equipped or equippable with dust filters, preferably not black or white. I would appreciate suggestions on what I could look out for as a better more cost effective option for both rigs though I would like to compromise least on the new rig.
I appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
TL;DR would these rigs work for my use or are there components that would be overkill and I could easily save on?