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Hi Everyone!

recently I have been thinking of building a new gaming rig at some point this year but I'm not sure if I should go through with it or keep my current build for another year or so?
My main reasons for wanting a new build is because I feel like having a fresh new start with a new computer as my current one is around 3-4 years old now, and has been upgraded over those years.
I'm also a bit undecided because I'm not sure if building a new rig at this point will give any noticeable performance rise compared to my current computer's specs when playing games, like BioShock Infinite for example.
I'm not interested in overclocking or in dual card solutions, I just want a straight forward new gaming PC to use.

Here are the specs for my current PC:
Nvidia EVGA GTX 570 1.25GB GDDR5
Intel Core i5 2500 3.30GHz
Corsair 4X2GB 1333MHz DDR3
Gigabyte PH67-UD3-B3 Motherboard
Seagate 500GB 2.5 inch SHDD
500GB 7200RPM HDD
OCZ 800Watts PSU
NZXT Mid Tower Case

And here are the specs I have my eye on for my new build:
Nvidia EVGA GTX 760 ACX COOLING 2GB GDDR5
Intel Core i5 4670K 3.40GHz
Corsair 1X8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Gigabyte H87M-HD3 Motherbaord
Western Digital 1TB 3.5 inch HDD
Corsair 600Watts PSU
Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 MicroATX Case

The only component I plan on keeping is the 500GB SHDD as a back-up drive, but besides that it will be a completely new build.
I'm open to criticism and advise on the new build but should I build it or keep my current build for longer?
Any help would be appreciated!

Zodaic123 wrote:

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the Tech Report!

If you're not encountering problems with the games or other applications that you're running now, I'll suggest that you could wait until the second half of this year before making your major upgrade. Your Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor still performs pretty well compared to newer Ivy Bridge or Haswell CPUs. Intel hasn't been offering much performance improvement in recent processor design cycles. Next-generation Broadwell processors won't arrive on the desktop for another 10 to 12 months.

On the graphics side, your GeForce GTX570 may be due for replacement, but graphics card prices have been inflated by 35 to 50% for the past two months because of the litecoin money laundering bubble. Newegg is currently gouging customers for up to $600 to buy a Radeon R9-290 graphics card with a $400 MSRP. Next-generation 20nm manufacturing technology from TSMC will allow better/faster/cheaper GPUs to appear in the second half of this year.

The one upgrade that I believe that you should consider immediately is to move your operating system to an SSD. A 240 GB unit is large enough for your OS and most-used programs. Everything else can go on a 2+ TB hard-drive.

1) Everything JAE said.
2) FYI, pairing an Intel "K" (unlocked) processor like the i5-4670K with an "H-series" mobo like H87 or the like will prevent you from being able to overclock.
3) Your GTX 570 is roughly equivalent to the GTX 660 in this graph for comparison. (those results are at 1440p resolution) Nothing wrong with that performance tier, I have a GTX 660 in my gaming rig (see sig) and I'm perfectly happy with it @ 1080p.

Thanks JustAnEngineer!
So would it be worth waiting for the new GPU architecture to come out later this year before looking to purchase a new GPU?
And I've just had a look at some SDDs; is the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB a good one to get, along with the WD 1TB HDD for back-up storage?
And is getting the MicroATX case a good choice? I would prefer to have a smaller case for easier management but is a new Mid Tower better?

DPete27 wrote:

2) FYI, pairing an Intel "K" (unlocked) processor like the i5-4670K with an "H-series" mobo like H87 or the like will prevent you from being able to overclock.
3) Your GTX 570 is roughly equivalent to the GTX 660 in this graph for comparison. (those results are at 1440p resolution) Nothing wrong with that performance tier, I have a GTX 660 in my gaming rig (see sig) and I'm perfectly happy with it @ 1080p.

Cheers for the info!
I game at a resolution of 1920x1080 so would the GTX 760 give much of a difference compared to the GTX 570 at that resolution?

Why would you buy a puny 1.0 TB hard-drive? $120 -15 code "EMCPWHG228" would get you a 3.0 TB 7200 rpm drive.

Just keep your existing rig, upgrade your GPU, get a 240gb or higher SSD, and call it a day.

Upgrading from a 2500 to 4670k makes no sense and you will not see any increase in game performance, just a decrease in your bank account.

Put the money you were going to spend on the new rig towards a 120/144 Hz monitor if you primarily play FPS games or if you value precise colour accuracy over gameplay fluidity, pick up a Korean 27-30" 1440p IPS.

No point is buying a new PSU, case, hard drives, etc. Honestly, the only thing I'd change about your current rig is grabbing a 240-256GB SSD and a potential GPU upgrade (something like a EVGA B-Stock GTX770 for instance: http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8 ). Your CPU is not a bottleneck, 8GB of RAM if games are your most demanding applications.

Thanks for the help guys! Following everyone's advice i'll put the money towards an SSD and a better graphics card.
I'll also likely get a new case anyways as my current one is quite old and doesn't have things like USB 3, etc. any recommendations?

Zodaic123 wrote:

And I've just had a look at some SDDs; is the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB a good one to get

The 840 EVO is a very popular SSD, and competitively priced to boot. Can't go wrong with that. Wait for a sale though.

The Kingston V300 240GB has been the most affordable 240GB as of late. Frequently goes on sale for $130. It may not be quite as fast as the 840 EVO (and other recently released SSDs) on paper/benchmarks, but ANY [SATA3-era] SSD will run circles around a mechanical hdd.

Zodaic123 wrote:

I'll also likely get a new case anyways as my current one is quite old and doesn't have things like USB 3, etc. any recommendations?

What's your budget? Since your mobo is ATX, you'll need to get an ATX-size case.

Wow, everyone else totally beat me to it. So I'll just add to the consensus:

- Most all of the parts you want to "upgrade" will be a side-grade.
- If you can help it, never use one RAM stick at a time. When in matched sets of two or four, they operate at double the speed.
- Your GPU is good for games on high at 1080p, I would suspect. If you want ultra settings or more than 1080p, upgrade your GPU.
- Seriously, get an SSD. They're amazing. a 240-256 GB drive is fantastic for holding Windows, your programs, and multiple games at a time. Keep everything else on a spinning hard drive.
- Samsung 240 EVO made compromises to make it fantastic for light workloads (consumers) that hurt it a bit for heavy workloads (rendering?). So if you're a normal user playing games, playing music, and going online, you get a fantastically fast SSD for really cheap. I've installed them on three machines at work, and they're all running great.

Welcome to Tech Report! Check out the podcast if you haven't yet. They're always great!

DPete27 wrote:

What's your budget? Since your mobo is ATX, you'll need to get an ATX-size case.

Yeah currently I have a mid tower ATX from NZXT. In terms of price anything below £100 ($165) will do. I have found this case though (£64.66 where I live):
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-M ... ir+carbide

Milo Burke wrote:

Seriously, get an SSD. They're amazing. a 240-256 GB drive is fantastic for holding Windows, your programs, and multiple games at a time. Keep everything else on a spinning hard drive.

Thanks for the feedback!
I've always seemed to avoid SSDs in the past because of how expensive they were and their lack of storage,
but i'll try to buy one as soon as possible if it will give me a big performance boost

Zodaic123 wrote:

Thanks JustAnEngineer!
So would it be worth waiting for the new GPU architecture to come out later this year before looking to purchase a new GPU?
And I've just had a look at some SDDs; is the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB a good one to get, along with the WD 1TB HDD for back-up storage?
And is getting the MicroATX case a good choice? I would prefer to have a smaller case for easier management but is a new Mid Tower better?

I bought a Samsung EVO 250GB last night... I'll post back to see if I see an improvement (I currently have a 120GB Crucial M5 that was getting too tight on space)

Not necessarily wait for the new GPU architecture but wait for the supply to catch up with the demand (or the bit/lite coin bubbles to burst) an the current high end generation cards will drop to a resonable amount.

Zodaic123 wrote:

DPete27 wrote:

What's your budget? Since your mobo is ATX, you'll need to get an ATX-size case.

Yeah currently I have a mid tower ATX from NZXT. In terms of price anything below £100 ($165) will do. I have found this case though (£64.66 where I live):
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-M ... ir+carbide

I have the 400R and I have been very happy with it for the last few years.

If you just need to add some USB ports to your existing case, that's pretty easy to do.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =FL-011-AK
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =CA-076-AK

If you do replace your GeForce GTX570, you should make a bigger performance jump than just getting the GeForce GTX760. That GeForce GTX770 that slowriot recommended would be a better choice.

Yeah I was just having a look at some of the more powerful cards. I've also had a look at a few benchmarks and the GTX760 does have increased performance but not by much. I'm thinking of going for this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeForce-Gr ... NSRICRJNH9

I also just realized that my current motherboard doesn't support USB3.0, so any USB3.0 ports would be limited to USB2.0 speeds. However it does support PCIe3.0.

Zodaic123 wrote:

I just realized that my current motherboard doesn't support USB3.0.

This problem is also easily surmounted.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4-port-s ... -4x-usb-30

Thank you JustAnEngineer! I guess you learn something new every day!

Any more ideas/suggestions from people would be appreciated!

I recommend sitting on what you have for now at least until new graphics silicon arrives. A new GPU might help, maybe, but I doubt you'd notice at 1080p as the 570 is already a very capable card.

If your PSU is very old or not 80 plus and you have the urge to spend money now, upgrading to an 80plus gold PSU would save you some money over time in lower electric bills. And be sure to get one that's correctly sized, a huge PSU in a low draw system is very inefficient.

NovusBogus

Yes I was thinking about changing my power supply.
My current one is about 4 years old, and I've heard that PSUs have more of a chance of failing after 4-5 years.
I'll probably either go for the case or the psu first.

Looking at the PSUs, with my current build should I go for a 650w gold or 750w gold?

Your existing power supply is more than adequate. I wouldn't mess with it until you're ready to upgrade something else, too.

Ok i'll leave the PSU alone for now. I have the money at the moment to get the new case, along with the usb 3 adapter.
Is it worth getting an extra case fan for the side? Since the case only has two pre-mounted fans, and there are seven mount locations for 120/140mm fans.

If one of your objections to your existing case was its size, would you prefer the Corsair Carbide 200R vs. the larger 300R?
http://www.corsair.com/us/pc-cases/carb ... -case.html

If you liked the Fractal Design Arc Mini r2 micro-ATX case for your new build, would you like the Arc Midi r2 ATX case?
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/prod ... rc-midi-r2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Ks1Wif317Q

Just to chime in on JAE's recommendation, I am a very happy Arc Midi v2 owner. Fit GTX 670 SLI and custom water loop. Top mounted 240mm radiator and room to spare in the front if I want to add another 240mm. Lots of room for HDD/SSD, and option to remove a lot of HDD trays if you don't really need them to free up more room in front. Can also move an HDD tray in the middle position between the PSU and front of case. Lots of nice options to tweak your rig.

Nice deep cable routing area behind the mobo, good airflow. Love it and would recommend to others.

Thanks for the help! The Corsair Cascade 200R does seem to appeal to me more, plus it gives me more to spend on some extra cooling.

I have a question about RAM though. Does 1600MHz RAM have any noticeable performance difference compared to 1333MHz?

I know some people will say it doesn't matter much, but I wouldn't go any lower than 1600 CL9.

Keep the system but upgrade the video card, HDD and SSD, add 8 more GBs of RAM and potentially replace the PSU if you find out it's not good any more when you install the new parts.

RAM is pretty overpriced these days, although there are deals that can be found here and there that aren't too awful compared to ~1 year and a bit ago. I wouldn't go over 8gb unless there was a legitimate need to do so. Get 2 4Gb sticks and get another 2 in a year if / when price goes down.

Zodaic123 wrote:

Thanks for the help! The Corsair Cascade 200R does seem to appeal to me more, plus it gives me more to spend on some extra cooling.

I have a question about RAM though. Does 1600MHz RAM have any noticeable performance difference compared to 1333MHz?

If you're buying new RAM it makes sense to go with 1600mHZ, but there is no reason to swap out functioning 1333mHZ RAM for 1600mhz RAM.

If you're determined to spend your money on something then upgrade your monitor (but if you go up to 2560x1440 you will also need to upgrade the GPU) or get some better speakers/headphones.

Like almost everyone else has said, get a good SSD and upgrade your video card. Maybe even a 512GB SSD if you have lots of games.

I'm waiting for this guy to be available.
http://www.kitguru.net/components/ssd-d ... sd-review/

Have you considered a sound card? If you're building a gaming/media machine (or just upgrading your current rig), it's a worthwhile investment. I upgraded with a cheap Xonar card recently, and I'm glad I did!