Upgrading Gaming Rig, Need your Opinion!

[Mr. J]

Some of you may remember me from last year. I posted a thread about building my first gaming PC before it was lost in the blu-ray.com crash last year. Anyway, I'm looking to upgrade a couple things. This is my current set up, let me know your thoughts.

PC Case: NZXT Apollo
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2
DVD Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB
Hard Drive(s): Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB
Seagate Barracuda 2 TB


Honorable Mentions; 23" Dell IPS LED Monitor (1920 x 1080 resolution), Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Razer Deathadder Infrared Gaming Mouse.

Ok, that is my current set up. Without a doubt I will be buying a new PC Case because I want better cable management and better airflow. So as far as PC cases are concerned, I'm leaning towards either the COOLER MASTER Storm Stryker or the NZXT Phantom.

And I'm also definitely getting another CPU cooler. Either the CORSAIR Hydro Series H80 or the CORSAIR Hydro Series H100 .

So with that being said, I'm definitely getting a new case and a new CPU cooler. And I was thinking of either buying another motherboard and another 570 to SLI (cause I can't SLI with my current motherboard) or just buying a GTX 680 and sticking with my current motherboard. I'm always wanting great graphical power, so I don't know if 2 570's SLI are even more powerful than one 680. So can someone enlighten me?

And for the record, there is nothing wrong with the system, it runs everything but I need better airflow hence the bigger case and liquid cooler, but if I need to upgrade something else, then I might as well do it now.

[Elandyll]

Except that according to all benchmarks I've seen the HD 7870 (following the recent price cuts from AMD) is not only cheaper but also performs slightly better than the 570 ... Why not go ATI?

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

Except that according to all benchmarks I've seen the HD 7870 (following the recent price cuts from AMD) is not only cheaper but also performs slightly better than the 570 ... Why not go ATI?

I'm just more comfortable with NVIDIA and their driver updates. I will admit that I have absolutely no knowledge of ATI cards but I do hear that NVIDIA driver updates are bar none. And I have had zero problems with my GTX card so I figured, why mess up a good thing

[MaCruz]

Oh you fancy HOH!?

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by MaCruz

Oh you fancy HOH!?

[josuv22]

I got the COOLER MASTER Storm Tropper the black version of the Storm Stryker
love that case. Nice and large and plenty of room inside it. Would recommend it


rest of my current build is

mobo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
Ram: Crossair Vengenace 16GB 1600MHz CL10 DDR3
CPU: AMD FX-Series FX-8150 Black Edition 3.2ghz
GPU: Sapphire 11196-02-40G HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI/DVI-I/Dual Mini DP OC
BD:LG BH10LS38.AUAU 10x Internal BD-RW
DVD: LG GH24NS90.AUAA50B 24x SATA Bare Internal DVD Rewriter
Power:Corsair TX850 Enthusiast Series TX 850W ATX/EPS 80 PLUS Bronze
HDD system: OCZ AGT3-25SAT3-120G Agility 3 120GB SATA III 2.5 inch SSD
HDD storage: Western Digital 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM - Caviar Green
Mouse: Razer maba
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Headset: Razer tiamit 7.1

[madlost1]

Consider the Corsair Obsidian 650D for a case the cable management is great and I can personally attest to the fact the Corsair H100 cooler works great in there.

Here's some pics of the build I did last year with the 650D and H100: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=324

[msantaka]

I'd probably spend a bit more for a better CPU (Maybe an i7) because that'll carry you a whole while.

Maybe a 16GB ram because iirc currently Rams are dirt cheap.

Also a SSD would boost your gaming and computing experience a lot. Just bought a OCZ Vector 256 GB and it totally boosted my 4.5 year old PC. Still rocking a Core2Duo E8400 3 Gig. And 256 is a good number for me. My system drive rarely goes over 200 GB.

The dell 23" IPS is awesome.

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by msantaka

I'd probably spend a bit more for a better CPU (Maybe an i7) because that'll carry you a whole while.

Maybe a 16GB ram because iirc currently Rams are dirt cheap.

Also a SSD would boost your gaming and computing experience a lot. Just bought a OCZ Vector 256 GB and it totally boosted my 4.5 year old PC. Still rocking a Core2Duo E8400 3 Gig. And 256 is a good number for me. My system drive rarely goes over 200 GB.

The dell 23" IPS is awesome.

As far as gaming is concerned, the i7 will offer nothing more than the i5. If I did a lot of video editing and photo rendering, I would've bought an i7. But from a gaming standpoint, doesn't offer anything more.

I have been considering an SSd though, just don't know which one.

[msantaka]

Originally Posted by Mr. J

As far as gaming is concerned, the i7 will offer nothing more than the i5. If I did a lot of video editing and photo rendering, I would've bought an i7. But from a gaming standpoint, doesn't offer anything more.

I have been considering an SSd though, just don't know which one.

That is true, for now. My point is to spend more a bit on a CPU that will keep your PC a kickass rig 2-3 years to come.

For the SSD, the OCZ Vector is awesome with great pricing.

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by msantaka

That is true, for now. My point is to spend more a bit on a CPU that will keep your PC a kickass rig 2-3 years to come.

For the SSD, the OCZ Vector is awesome with great pricing.

Do you happen to have an SSD? I'm curious to know how to put my current Windows 7 OS on there. It's currently on my Western Digital 1 TB hard drive.

EDIT: Nevermind.....quick google search pulled this up.

And SSD is now on my list of things to get.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by Mr. J

Do you happen to have an SSD? I'm curious to know how to put my current Windows 7 OS on there. It's currently on my Western Digital 1 TB hard drive.

EDIT: Nevermind.....quick google search pulled this up.

And SSD is now on my list of things to get.

you'll get much better performance if you do a complete reinstall of windows on your SSD.. don't worry about taking up a lot of time an install on an SSD is RIDICULOUSLY fast...

and I second the fact that you upgrade to 16 gigs of ram. use 2 eight gig sticks and run them dual channel. you'll thank me later.

[silversnake]

I personally stay away from OCZ as I've either had bad luck or they are just not as reliable as before. They are incredibly fast but I've had 2 die on me so I will not go the OCZ way anymore. I have a Crucial m4 128gb and love it

link

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by silversnake

I personally stay away from OCZ as I've either had bad luck or they are just not as reliable as before. They are incredibly fast but I've had 2 die on me so I will not go the OCZ way anymore. I have a Crucial m4 128gb and love it

link

agreed, OCZ's SSD's are fast but they are rather unstable in comparison. get a Samsung, intel or Crucial. the Crucial's and samsung's use the Marvell controll, much more stable albeit a hare slower. The Intels are the best IMO but a higher price tag

[Mr. J]

Ok, here's my upgrade plan so far.....

PC Case: NZXT Apollo --> COOLER MASTER HAF 932
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 --> CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i
DVD Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB --> CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB
Hard Drive(s): Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB
Seagate Barracuda 2 TB

Those 3 items are going to cost me $344.97. Still debating on a SSD. And if I do buy the SSD, then I will consider my upgrade "done" for the year.

[Leopold BUTTERS]

get a 240gb SSD and throw your OS onto it, you can also use it for some games.

[silversnake]

Originally Posted by Mr. J

Ok, here's my upgrade plan so far.....

PC Case: NZXT Apollo --> COOLER MASTER HAF 932
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 --> CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i
DVD Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB --> CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB
Hard Drive(s): Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB
Seagate Barracuda 2 TB

Those 3 items are going to cost me $344.97. Still debating on a SSD. And if I do buy the SSD, then I will consider my upgrade "done" for the year.

Great case, I have the H80 for my cooling and I have dual of those cards so you're good

Don't debate on the SSD, get it, you won't regret it. Especially for OS and games. If you can afford it go for the 240gb as Butters suggested if not go for the 128gb.

[Leopold BUTTERS]

This is also a great case as well http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Corsair%20650D I have a Radiator mounted on the back and top of the case. Its really nice.

Here is a 240gb ssdhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227808

Here is a 128gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227807

I wouldn't even bother upgrading your memory. 8GB is more than enough for what you need, plus it's good ram.

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

This is also a great case as well http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Corsair%20650D I have a Radiator mounted on the back and top of the case. Its really nice.

Here is a 240gb ssdhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227808

Here is a 128gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227807

I wouldn't even bother upgrading your memory. 8GB is more than enough for what you need, plus it's good ram.

I thought so. I mean all I do is game on it. That was the reason I built it in the first place. But everyone is telling me to get an SSD so I might keep my 8 GB memory and buy and SSD.

[msantaka]

Originally Posted by Mr. J

I thought so. I mean all I do is game on it. That was the reason I built it in the first place. But everyone is telling me to get an SSD so I might keep my 8 GB memory and buy and SSD.

I think that's a good idea. If you have a to choose, getting an SSD than an extra 8 GB of memory would give you a better experience. So it'll be a better investment.

As wormraper said, clean install is better but good luck with the migration