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McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Putting together my upgrade and the budget is in...

$700, firm.

I currently run:

AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE
Coolermaster Hyper 212
8GB (2x4BG) DDR3 1600 Corsair Vengeance RAM
MSI R7870 HAWK GHz Edition
ASRock Extreme3 970 mobo
120GB Samsung SSD boot drive
500GB 7200 RPM hybrid drive for storage
23" HP LCD monitor

I really want a 27" 1440p monitor...that's going to eat up ~$350, or half of the budget.

So, I've got ~$350 more to upgrade CPU, MOBO, GPU, RAM, cooling, or any combination.

I'd like to upgrade my CPU and MOBO to an i5 3570k and z77 motherboard combo, but that'd eat up the rest of my budget completely. I'd even have to go over budget by $30 or so dollars if I chose not to go with the cheapest board.

Another thing that crossed my mind would be upgrading my motherboard, cooling, and adding 8GB more ram; sticking with the Phenom for a little longer...but giving myself some more room to overclock it.

Basically, I wanna get the best bang for my $700.

I'll take any and all advice.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Well, Crossfire is out because you have an x16 slot and x4 slot. But it doesn't make sense to buy a 7950 or 7970 at the moment.

So I'd go for monitor, CPU, mobo, and ram, and plan on upgrading GPUs (either a second 7870, or a single more powerful GPU) later on down the road.

Just a thought: if you get a 27" monitor, stick to a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 one. At 2560x1440, it's difficult to max out games with a single GPU (I sometimes see subpar performance at 1440p, even with a Radeon 7970).

Consider something like this: »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24236103

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

16GB is the max I can use on Win7 64 Home Premium, correct?

One issue is that I don't think I have my product key anymore for Windows. I had it written down as well as a picture of the sticker on my cell. But since TMO packed all my shit up and shipped it off to Okinawa, my cell has been broken and I can't remember if I packed the copy that I wrote down or if I lost it. I'm afraid if I can't recover the key through Microsoft somehow I'll have to buy a new copy of Windows...setting me back $90 or so.

Also, I'll put together a list of items both including and excluding a copy of Win7 and see what you think.
McBrain

McBrain to Krisnatharok

Member

to Krisnatharok
Here's what I've got so far...

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24236103
»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 13157293
»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 19116504
»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20233144

Assuming I can salvage my copy of Windows somehow, this is $8 over budget before shipping, which is acceptable.

If I can't save my copy of Windows, guess I can drop the extra ram and go for a cheaper monitor, like: »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24014300

Here's to hoping I can save Windows.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

Ghastlyone to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
said by McBrain:

16GB is the max I can use on Win7 64 Home Premium, correct?

One issue is that I don't think I have my product key anymore for Windows. I had it written down as well as a picture of the sticker on my cell. But since TMO packed all my shit up and shipped it off to Okinawa, my cell has been broken and I can't remember if I packed the copy that I wrote down or if I lost it. I'm afraid if I can't recover the key through Microsoft somehow I'll have to buy a new copy of Windows...setting me back $90 or so.

Also, I'll put together a list of items both including and excluding a copy of Win7 and see what you think.

You can get your Windows product key by clicking computer, and then system properties. Scroll to the very bottom from there. You'll be logging into your current PC before you rebuild right?

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Yeah, I will be.

I'll be ordering from my current PC in Okinawa, somewhere around the last week of this month. That's a relief to hear. Definitely didn't want to blow money on Windows if I didn't have to.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Learn to Lastpass, and store important keycodes/licenses there.

Raible
join:2008-01-23
Plainfield, IN

Raible to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
Didn't you just build that McBrain? I'm not sure why you're even upgrading. I have almost that exact same set-up and it handles everything just fine. If you have the money and have the bug though.....I get it.

Anyway, here's my two cents worth. If a monitor is on your list, and it sounds like it's near the top, don't skimp on it. It's a piece of hardware that will outlast any stick of RAM, CPU, or GPU. Get the one you really want and get a nice one that you won't regret. Do that first and then do whatever makes sense afterwards with the money that's left.

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Yes, I built it in September, but I planned on upgrading in the near future from day one.

Like you said, I've got the bug, and my little sliver of the tax return will be spent here.

I do want a new monitor, but like Krisnatharok said, if I can't play on 1440p with what I've got without taking a performance loss, then I should look into 1080p. I'll take that...I think 1440p is a little...ambitious...with my setup anyway.

I just found out today that my unaccompanied baggage has arrived in Okinawa already. Which is awesome, since I don't get there myself until the 15th. So, as soon as I get set up I'll be able to start placing my order.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

1 edit

Ghastlyone to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
I'm kind of torn on doing a monitor upgrade also. At first I wanted a 120hz panel, but the drawback to those are that they aren't IPS. And I also read some reviews with people saying that unless your hardware can produce 80-90FPS consistently, then a 120hz panel is worthless.

Then I was looking at a 1440p model. But, you take a significant performance hit going with that resolution. Unless you've got some SLI/Crossfire setup.

So I've been eyeballing a 24" Dell 1920x1200 IPS model lately. I think they're like $380.00, and they've got excellent reviews.

Actually it's on sale for $320.00 right now... »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24260047

Raible
join:2008-01-23
Plainfield, IN

Raible to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
I got a 27" monitor for Christmas last year and it's sweet tits. I love it. I did some research and got a well reviewed model that performs excellent for gaming, but it's just 1080p.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Can you go beyond just "a 27" monitor?"

Inquiring minds want to know.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

Ghastlyone to Raible

Premium Member

to Raible
said by Raible:

I got a 27" monitor for Christmas last year and it's sweet tits. I love it. I did some research and got a well reviewed model that performs excellent for gaming, but it's just 1080p.

Which one did you get, if you don't mind us asking?

Octavean
MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY

Octavean to McBrain

MVM

to McBrain
I have Asus VE276Q, VE278Q and VK278Q 27" (1920x1080) monitors as well as two Auria EQ276W 2560x1440 monitors.

I would like to point out that 27" 1920x1080 monitors start at about ~$200 USD these days and that is from the likes of Acer and other name brands,.....

That might be a good place to start if you are looking to save some money,....

***edit***

Here you go bro:

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24014300

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24009472

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24009467

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

3 edits

McBrain

Member

The BenQ model looks interesting. This one looks tempting as well: »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 24254093

I don't know much about monitor specs though...

Edit: Here's my updated list:

Previously linked BenQ monitor

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 13157293 (free 8GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 ram)

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 35181032

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 19116504 ($15 off with promo code)

If I can get my tax return before these deals disappear, I can get the monitor, mobo+ram, h100i cooler, and CPU for less than my $700 budget.

One of my biggest questions about this setup is that the 8GB of ram I currently have is Corsair Vengeance, not Crucial...the two different brands have the same specs and the Crucial ram is the same color as my Corsair and is lowpro. Is mixing brands a bad idea for memory? If so, I could drop down to an h60 and get 8GB of Corsair Vengeance and have the sticks of Crucial as backup or something.

Edit #2: Looks like newegg can't ship monitors larger than 19" to fpo addresses, which I'll have in Okinawa...I might have to do some shuffling around on my order to take the monitor out and buy it at the base exchange or something...stupid shipping restrictions.
McBrain

McBrain to Octavean

Member

to Octavean
To give more info about my ram question, it looks like the two brands have the same Cas latency(9), and the same voltage (1.5), as well as both being ddr3 1600...I can't find the timing of the Crucial memory, but the Corsair is 9-9-9-24, I assume the Crucial is the same...that means they should theoretically work together, right?
McBrain

McBrain to Krisnatharok

Member

to Krisnatharok
Ok, I just placed my order on amazon. I chose amazon because they ship to FPO addresses for free...saving me $45 over newegg.

Here's what I just ordered:

Intel i5 3570k

ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard

Corsair H100 Water Cooling System

Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600 Memory (bringing me to 16GB total)

MSI R7870 HAWK GHz Edition TwinFrozr (for CrossFire)

I narrowed my motherboard choices down to the ASUS and the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5-TH, both got awesome reviews and I ultimately chose the ASUS based on looks alone...the all black is sweet, and will go really great with my case/memory/water cooler, which are all matte black.

The GPU will be my second MSI R7870 HAWK, which should give me plenty of oomph for whatever I need. I used the PSU calculator from this site: »www.extreme.outervision. ··· lite.jsp, and it says that my 700w PSU should power this new system and give me ~190w of headroom...let's just hope it's accurate.

Shipping is going to be somewhat of a pain...amazon won't ship the CPU or motherboard to my FPO address, so I am shipping it to the house and having the wife ship it to me via USPS. This isn't too much of an issue, since the graphics card isn't supposed to arrive in Okinawa until ~March 22. It'll take 4 shipments for me to get all 5 items, but they should all be in my grasp by the end of March. I really don't mind waiting, since it'll be kinda like Christmas when I get to open up all the new shit and play geek for the entire weekend.

I spent a grand total of $864 on these 5 items, and I got free shipping...The wife upped my tax return allowance to $900, so I actually came in under budget.

I'll post some pics of the build since I plan on holding out until I have all of the parts to start.

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

Blockgorilla

Member

on a computer build, if you don't go over by 10-15 dollars your doing it wrong.

**and shipping never counts
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212

Member

What if you go over $200?

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain to Blockgorilla

Member

to Blockgorilla
Well, initially my budget was $700, then $800, and finally the wife decided on $900...I was at $864 before the budget increase, so I reckon I went over by $65. If you're logic is sound, I must be doing it all kinds of right.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212

Member

Spend the extra $36 on 4 good(quiet but strong) fans for the h100.

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

I've got a couple of these sitting in a box gathering dust.

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 35213002

Fuckers sound like jet engines though...I have to determine where I'm going to mount the H100 on my Rosewill Thor v2 before I decide exactly what to do with the fans though.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

Ghastlyone to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
I'd like to go with an H100 cooler, but my case has all 140mm fans. The cooler only attaches to 120mm fans, or so I've read.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok to me1212

Premium Member

to me1212
said by me1212:

Spend the extra $36 on 4 good(quiet but strong) fans for the h100.

I have Yate Loons (available at FrozenCPU.com) on my H100. I only can manage two in my HAF922 case, but it's possible the Thor V2 can take 4.

Gordo74
Premium Member
join:2003-10-28
Pittsburgh, PA

Gordo74 to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
Double
Gordo74

1 edit

Gordo74 to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
I personally would have skipped the H100 cooler, put a nice quiet fan on the 212, and threw the extra money into the 1440p monitor. 2 7870's would have driven it just fine.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212 to Ghastlyone

Member

to Ghastlyone
Get the cracken x60, it uses 140mm fans and is also a dual rad.

Venom14
join:2011-10-21
Augusta, GA

Venom14 to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
said by McBrain:

Ok, I just placed my order on amazon. I chose amazon because they ship to FPO addresses for free...saving me $45 over newegg.
Here's what I just ordered:
Intel i5 3570k
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
Corsair H100 Water Cooling System
Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600 Memory (bringing me to 16GB total)
MSI R7870 HAWK GHz Edition TwinFrozr (for CrossFire)

/jealous. I couldn't spare any money this year from my tax return. Apparently doing burnouts infront of a Sherrif's deputy on a public road, and a major thorough-fare at that, at 6pm is a bad idea. And expensive. No more drifting around median dividers for me. "But officer, my foot slipped off the clutch, I was just holding on for dear life!"

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

I got lucky this year...the wife had a spot in her heart for me since I just PCS'ed to Okinawa unaccompanied.

All my parts shipped, and should be to me in Okinawa by the end of the first week in March.

Like I said, I'm really stoked about this monstrous overhaul and more than ready to post pictures of the build.

Does anyone have any creative suggestions for the H100 mounting in my Thor v2? I really wouldn't mind an outside mount of the radiator but I don't have the parts on hand right now, making it pretty tough for me to brainstorm a creative solution. And searching for build pics on the web is a crapshoot...half the pics I get are of other cases.

Anyone with experience with this cooler have any suggestions on an alternative to mounting in the top of the case?
McBrain

McBrain to Venom14

Member

to Venom14
So the old rig just got here and low and behold the damn thing won't boot.

It seems a lot like the problem I had back in the fall where the HDMI signal wasn't getting from the GPU to the monitor.

I'm pretty pissed, because I want to play some games. I can't seem to find any solution online to the problem other than "RMA the card", which is am impossibility for me since I'm fairly positive MSI won't ship anything to me at my FPO address.

At this point I'm just hoping it's a motherboard or GPU problem, since pretty much the only part I don't have a replacement ordered for is the PSU.

I've tried everything I can think of to fix this problem...reseated the card, moved it to the other PCIe slot, flipped the dual BIOS switch on the card...everything I can think of and none of it has worked. I don't have any other PCs I can plug parts into to pinpont the problem.

The lone upside to this is that TMO just delivered my PC today, and I have 75 days to file a claim if anything is lost or damaged. I'm pretty sure I'll be filing one for my rig. All I know is that it worked the day before they took it and now it doesn't.