PC Upgrade #1 [$700-$800]

Computer Forum New Build / Upgrade Advice
1

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]I will be getting an upgrade at the end of this year. I have got the parts picked out, I just need some your opinion and recommendations.[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Just to give you an idea, here are some things I use my PC for:[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Coding[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Gaming - Minecraft, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, GTA IV, Space Marines[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Screen recording[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Converting videos[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Downloading[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Video streaming[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Current parts:[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Mobo: Abit KN8 SLI[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]RAM: 2GB (DDR)[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]HDD: 500GB[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]GFX Card: ATI Raedon HD 4870[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Case: ?[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]PSU: ?[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Optical Disk Drive: Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-111D ATA Device[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Upgrade:[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3PB3[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]RAM: G.Skill RipjawX 8GB[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]GFX: eVGA GTX 560[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]PSU: Corsair TX650 v 2.92[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]I’ve used Excel to calculate the total prices and I got the total of $697.98.[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]1. What do you guys think on the parts I’ve chosen? Do you have any recommendations?[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]2. What brand do you prefer for the above parts?[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]3. I plan to overclock my i5, should I stick with the stock CPU cooler or buy a different one?[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE]

2

looks good, i would recomend a aftermarket cpu cooler if you plan on more than a minor OC. I’ve always had good experiences with the coolermaster hyper 212

3

What do you mean by aftermarket and how much would a “minor” overclock be?
I plan to overclock from 3.3GHz to 3.7GHz. Is there any point overclocking to, say, 3.6GHz?

4

aftermarket = 3rd party, e.g. anything that’s not stock; look at this random 3rd party cooler. It will be twice as good as the stock (my i5-750 w/ stock went at 41C when idle, but w/ a cheap (~34$) CPU cooler it now hovers around 25C when idle and I have quite a crammed case with minimum airflow ).

but overall it looks very decent. I would change the nvidia to a ati equivalent or higher like the 6950 2gb and unlock it to be 6970 though. Terribly huge bang for the buck.

Also, I’m a little concerned for the PSU. It doesn’t look like a 80+ rated one and you should go higher so that later you can slip in another video card or a different, but faster one.

5

Thank you edijs for the great suggestions. I just have a few questions to ask you if you don’t mind?
Just curious, why do you say I should change from nVidia to ATI?
I posted this on another forum and one guy told me I should go with the 650W if I wasn’t going to add another/replace my GFX card and the 750W if I was. So what should I get?

6
  • ATI has by far the best price/performance ratio.
  • As for the PSU - exactly what the other guy said: if you don’t plan on upgrading, then stick with the 650W, but a stronger one would be much more beneficial as changing the gfx card is the most usual upgrade to make (I had a hd5770 which required like a 500W PSU, but I bought a 700W 80+ rated PSU and when I changed to a HD6950, there were no problems regarding power)
7

aftermarket is anything that is not stock OEM. and what i concider to be a minor overclock on that cpu is anything less than 4 ghz.

8

All Corsair PSU’s are 80+ certified, infact the majority of them are 80+ gold.

9

I’ll be sticking with the 650W.

10

Oh okay that’s good then, I don’t have to spend anymore money since I’m in the $800 range and planning to get an additional internal HDD as well.