Building a new PC

[Hoggage_54]

I'm thinking of building a PC from scratch. My current PC is about a year old and I want to make upgrades, so I was thinking of building one in a new tower using new and existing parts.

Anyone ever do this?

[Hazard]

Nerd

[Bio-Active]

I'm thinking of building a PC from scratch. My current PC is about a year old and I want to make upgrades, so I was thinking of building one in a new tower using new and existing parts. Anyone ever do this?

yes why don't you just upgrade your main board processor and hard drive rather then rebuilding the whole thing?

[Hoggage_54]

yes why don't you just upgrade your main board processor and hard drive rather then rebuilding the whole thing?

That's what I'm thinking. I mostly just need a new video card (GTX 745) and possibly more RAM (12GB). I have an i7 4790 @ 3.6 GHz processor so I think that's good.

[Hoggage_54]

Nerd

[Hazard]

http://lifehacker.com/5840963/the-be...r-600-and-1200

[i_SLAM_cougars]

That's the way to go. It's totally easy, and you get what you actually want. Always better than a pre built machine

[Bio-Active]

That's what I'm thinking. I mostly just need a new video card (GTX 745) and possibly more RAM (12GB). I have an i7 4790 @ 3.6 GHz processor so I think that's good.

I am still running nvidia 670 gtx i377 processor with 32 gigs ddr 3 ram.... I think i am just gonna upgrade the video card

[Hazard]

http://rog.asus.com

FTW :-)

[DrewZ]

I've been doing this since i was 12 (22 years now, yikes)

Although it is a lot easier to go buy a prebuilt with preinstalled software, it really isnt hard to build one from scratch.

The only thing a novice might have trouble with is installing the heat sink on your power supply and applying thermal paste properly.

I'm not up to date with the latest and greatest hardware as my computer is a couple years old but there are sites that do hardware reviews that can help guide depending on your needs.

anandtech, tomshardware, and hardocp are the 3 sites I default to when checking components out (CPU's, Motherboards, Motherboard chipsets, Videocards, Harddrives)

Let us know what you decide to do!

[Bio-Active]

Exactly I mean once you get it down it takes longer to install your o/s windows Linux or hackintosh then it does to put the machine together. The hardest part is getting the CPU seated in the socket correctly and applying I pin drop of thermal past in between the CPU and the fan.

[bethdoth]

If you do a bit of research you will find that there really hasn't been many advances in PC hardware in a few years. You have an i7 that is the most recent processor and the motherboard supports it obviously. Are you a gamer and not happy with the video? What operating system are you running? Red Hat linux, windows, centos, etc... is it 64 bit? 12g of RAM will do you no good if running a 32 bit system, it can't use 12g. The biggest upgrade you could do is a solid state hard drive, but then you would have to reinstall the OS and all applications. Lastly I am sure your current motherboard has a slot for the new video card.

[Mr.BB]

^^^ this... SSD drive best upgrade for any system.

Just have understand you need extra drives for the big files, space is limited in ssds.

[Bio-Active]

^^^ this... SSD drive best upgrade for any system. Just have understand you need extra drives for the big files, space is limited in ssds.

I made the move to an ssd and no looking back. Windows boots lightning fast and my Linux partition boots in under 10 seconds from the time I hit the power

[bethdoth]

I guess if I did a bunch of video's or large movie files etc... then just install a second 5tb sata drive. I normally keep my OS separate from everything else anyway and do frequent back ups. Bunch of IT geeks with pocket protectors in here! Gotta keep the porn safe somehow!

[Bio-Active]

I guess if I did a bunch of video's or large movie files etc... then just install a second 5tb sata drive. I normally keep my OS separate from everything else anyway and do frequent back ups. Bunch of IT geeks with pocket protectors in here! Gotta keep the porn safe somehow!

that's what I do too. Install the o/s on the ssd and put data on a big hard drive

[Scabtree]

SSD's are really dropping in price while the size is increasing. I bought a 1 TB ssd for a crazy good price, and it's lightning fast. This is likely one of the best upgrades you can do.

I also upgraded to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 and it's insane... both in performance and price.

[Hoggage_54]

My PCs stats are as follows:

Windows 10 Home (64 bit)
Intel Core i7 4790 @3.6GHz
12GB DDR3 RAM (I think it's DDR3)
GeForce GTX 745
7200RPM SATA 1TB HD

I want my PC to be the ultimate gaming machine.

[Hazard]

My PCs stats are as follows: Windows 10 Home (64 bit) Intel Core i7 4790 @3.6GHz 12GB DDR3 RAM (I think it's DDR3) GeForce GTX 745 7200RPM SATA 1TB HD I want my PC to be the ultimate gaming machine.

Model it after an asus.... Liquid cooled and overclock the processor :-)

[Hoggage_54]

Model it after an asus.... Liquid cooled and overclock the processor :-)

Can my PC drink the liquid? It's afraid of needles.

[Hoggage_54]

SSD's are really dropping in price while the size is increasing. I bought a 1 TB ssd for a crazy good price, and it's lightning fast. This is likely one of the best upgrades you can do.

I also upgraded to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 and it's insane... both in performance and price.

I've been reading and the idea I'm getting is that a SSD and better GPU would be the ideal way to go.

[Bio-Active]

I've been reading and the idea I'm getting is that a SSD and better GPU would be the ideal way to go.

i think upgrading your video card and bumping up your ram is all you need

[i_SLAM_cougars]

Well if we're posting up stats here...

Windows 10 Pro (64 bit)
Intel Core i5 760 @2.8ghz
Ram - 16GB DDR3
GE Force GTX 760
7200 RPM SATA 3TB Hard Drive


If you're upgrading your video card you'll probably have to buy a new power source too, but they're pretty inexpensive, and well worth it.

[DrewZ]

I vote video card and ssd hard drive upgrades.
You'll see massive gains quickly and they're permanent

[Splifton]

I'm thinking of building a PC from scratch. My current PC is about a year old and I want to make upgrades, so I was thinking of building one in a new tower using new and existing parts.

Anyone ever do this?

Kind of late, but all I can say is don't waste your time with a Titan X. I got an EVGA Titan X SC and it's great, however it's a convection oven and wattage demolisher. My core and memory frequency is generally underclocked by 100-200mhz 90% of the time to save power and control temperatures. You can get a GTX 980 Ti SLI set up for the price of a Titan X and beat it out in performance. Unless you absolutely need the 12GB of DDR5 VRAM (which I did) then it's not necessary. Or if you game in 3840x2160 resolution. I spend the extra bucks to get an Asus X99 EXTREME motherboard for the ease of upgrading to DDR4 physical RAM later on. Right now I just have 16GB of DDR3 1866Mhz RAM. DDR4 RAM is expensive as hell right now, but I'd rather have in my system 16GB 3100Mhz DDR4 RAM vs. any kind of DDR3 RAM.

I would definitely spend the bucks for a 6th generation Intel CPU vs. the cheaper route of grabbing an I-5 or if you prefer AMD processors then good luck. My Intel i-7 5820K was a little bit of overkill considering it hardly gets above 40%-50% utilization at 50C temperatures. However, bottlenecking at the GPU is much more manageable to fix than the risks with CPU frequency overclocking. Just make sure you get a PSU that's certified for performance utility and has a decent overhead to grow later. I got myself an 800W Cooler Master and I've already ran into available wattage issues due to my Titan X.
Also, not much games are properly utilizing the 6th generation's hyperthreading capabilities, but it will come eventually.

An SSD is a must if you are a heavy gamer as it's quite frequently the subject of allocating space for page file memory. Most of the microstutters and excessive load screen times occur due to the page file memory being on a HDD with subpar writing capabilities. I got myself a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD and a 7200RPM 1TB HDD. A lot of people worry about longevity when it comes to SSD's functionality, but you can find some tests online where the 800 Series SSD's were still writing/reading at a satisfactory rate with around 2 petabytes of total writing history (1 petabyte= 1,000,000 gigabytes). If you have the money then get a PCI-e SSD versus SATA based as their writing/reading capabilities is insane (500-600mb/s read and write vs. 1500-2500mb/s read and write).

Don't go for AMD produced GPU's as most games are catered towards Nvidia's technology. Not to mention Nvidia architecture provides a much higher threshold for future overclocking and can handle some immense operating temperatures. The real decision is getting your wallet destroyed for a hydrocopper design or save your money with an air-cooled build, but deal with additional case fans and possibly some noise. The GTX 980 Ti is probably the most practical card out there as it's power consumption is minimal compared to the Titan X yet it's tied and/or beating the Titan in a few different benchmarks. Most games don't use too much VRAM and if needed can effectively pull on physical RAM. Only a few games (GTA V and Space Engineers) hit almost 10GB of utilized VRAM at 2160P. If you are a modder though then it's easy to get crazy in VRAM use. Fallout 4 measured on my system around 2000-2900mbs VRAM without mods, but it hits close to 4600mbs using 83 modifications and 23 plugins.

My system I got....

Intel i-7 5820K w/ Zalman 9500 CPU Cooler/Heatsink
16GB DDR3 1866Mhz RAM Corsair Vengence
EVGA Titan X SC 12GB DDR5 VRAM
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD
7200RPM 1TB HDD
800W Cooler Master Silent PSU
Asus X99 EXTREME motherboard

I spent close to 3K, but I'm ensured a little bit of future-proof compatibility for next generation games. Don't get a gaming laptop. I forked up the cash for one a while back and it was disappointing even with some impressive specifications and the ability to take advantage of Nvidia's hardware based Dynamic Super Sampling. For the price of a high-end gaming laptop you can get a desktop set up that's complete overkill. The Asus ROG class of laptops was a joke to me.

My gaming laptop specs..

Intel i-7 6700K 4.2Ghz
16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM
7200RPM 1TB HDD
Nvidia GTX 980M SLI 16GB DDR5 VRAM
Intel 4600HD integrated secondary graphics chip..

Before I took the time to create a custom BIOS and vBIOS, I had to deal with constant thermal throttling issues, hardware compatibility issues, and driver errors or crashes. I also got the "Watchdog Memory Bluescreen" so many times from Windows 8.1 being unable to correctly maintain proper memory management. I ended up disabling my page file memory function and let everything blasts the physical RAM.

[Hoggage_54]

I've been deciding whether to get a 960 and an SSD, or a 970 on it's own and stick with my current hard drive. The price for a 960 and SSD is about the same as a 970.

[DrewZ]

Quicker load times if you do the SSD, same load times but more FPS if you go with the better video card.
Maybe it's been discussed but what do you use your PC for that you're looking to improve upon?

[Hoggage_54]

Quicker load times if you do the SSD, same load times but more FPS if you go with the better video card.
Maybe it's been discussed but what do you use your PC for that you're looking to improve upon?

95% gaming, 5% whoring on here.

[DrewZ]

Probably would go for the better video card then.

have a look at these;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0VAPwrnmM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mP0LW0VV-s
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare...960/2577vs3165

Also keep in mind these video cards draw a lot of power, make sure your power supply is sufficient to run your CPU/GPU.

Not having enough power causes issues in itself when you go to game.

[Splifton]

I've been deciding whether to get a 960 and an SSD, or a 970 on it's own and stick with my current hard drive. The price for a 960 and SSD is about the same as a 970.

Do you plan on eventually getting a second GPU for SLI?

[Splifton]

Probably would go for the better video card then.

have a look at these;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0VAPwrnmM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mP0LW0VV-s
UserBenchmark: Nvidia GTX 960 vs 970

Also keep in mind these video cards draw a lot of power, make sure your power supply is sufficient to run your CPU/GPU.

Not having enough power causes issues in itself when you go to game.

THIS!!

99% of the time people have poor functionality with their GPU is due to meeting the minimum TDP for it's specs. On regular gameplay I use between 560W-670W. At 4K it'll peak at the max of 800W.

[Hoggage_54]

My PCs current PSU is 385W, and I have a 550W PSU in my old PC that I will be putting into my current PC when I upgrade.

[Splifton]

My PCs current PSU is 385W, and I have a 550W PSU in my old PC that I will be putting into my current PC when I upgrade.

If you have no plans on overclocking core/memory frequency then I'd feel 550W PSU is sufficient enough though you won't have much overhead for comfort to grow. Keep the I-7 4790K because that'll never reach it's full potential to be honest. If you are a casual gamer that doesn't demand the utmost excellence then save your money and snag a high RPM SATAIII HDD. A 1TB 10K+RPM HDD is about a 1/3rd of the price as a 800 series EVO SSD. You won't be able to realistically tell a difference except with load times when you have a high performance HDD vs SSD.

I'd save up for a 980 Ti. It may sound like a big jump, but next-gen games nowadays demolish GPU's. A 980 Ti is half the price of a Titan X, but outperforms it by 5% in a few benchmarks. Also uses a hell of a lot less wattage. Most of my friends who have 970's inevitably OC the frequencies by a good 10%-15%.

RAM doesn't really matter too much as long as you have 8GB minimum. 12-16GB is plenty and anything over that is pure overkill.

[DrewZ]

My PCs current PSU is 385W, and I have a 550W PSU in my old PC that I will be putting into my current PC when I upgrade.

The 550W should be sufficient, if I were you I'd go with the best video card you can afford.