Trevnor's Gaming Rig Update

Discussion in 'Computer Building and Components' started by Trevnor, Dec 27, 2015.

  1. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Hey Folks. I'm looking to upgrade my computer rig soon. Currently its:
    Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    System Manufacturer: MSI
    System Model: MS-7752
    MotherBoard: MSI Z77A-G45
    Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570K CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.4GHz @ 3.7 GHz OC
    Memory: 8192MB RAM
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
    Power Supply: Antec 750w
    Hard Drives: 120GB SSD + 1TB HHD
    Case: Antec Eleven Hundred V2

    What I'm looking for:
    A case that's sealed and filtered. Dust filters for each intake, etc., or barring that, keeps things really cool.
    Good cooling for the processor
    Possibly a new Processor/Mobo - If a new processor, at least possible to Overclock
    Going to get the Graphics Card up to GTX 970 Or a 980 TI. Have to see how much money I get/discount I receive.
    Upping the RAM to 12 or 16, probably 16 GB

    Current estimated budget = $1000.00 CDN. This is a planned build for sometime next month.
    My goal is to be able to play Star Citizen with reasonable FPS(minus the performance drops 'cause Alpha)
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2015
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  2. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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  3. MostlyHarmless

    MostlyHarmless Master of Recruits Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    I went with a closed loop watercooler for my current desktop from thermaltake, I would definitely go the same route again.

    Is that case filtered?
     
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  4. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Yeah, you can see it on the front on shot. Filters sit in front of the intakes on the front. I've got a dust cover that's about the right size to cover the top when not in use.
     
  5. Moro Ibex

    Moro Ibex Moderator Hirdman

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    yeah it is filtered, they just have them pulled in the pics so the lights look all purdy
     
  6. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    I'm kinda thinking i7 of some sort. i7 4790k is sorta nice price point. But should I just go for a all our i7 6700k on a brand new MSI board? 16GM of DDR4 RAM?
     
  7. SheepHugger

    SheepHugger Well Liked Viking

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    This.

    [​IMG]
    h110i, dumping CPU heat directly outside case instead of letting the heat cause secondary heating in other components and build up slowly reducing overall cooling efficiency.

    And if you wanna be pro you can buy another one for the graphics card!
    [​IMG]


    As for cards, I'd like a 980 TI myself but I'm doing just fine with my 970, running everything full spec. Then again I'm limited to 1920x1080 because when I play I usually play through TV which doesn't support higher res. I've got one HDMI cable pulled inside a wall colored cabling thing to TV.

    Star Citizen runs on 4670 i5, 970 and 16gt of 1600mhz ram flawlessly at all times when I tried it. I'm still waiting Oculus to come out early '16 so I cannot comment how well it runs on that but Oculus will have only 2160x1200 total resolution (1080x1200 per eye) as opposed to 1920x1080 of DK2, so there should be only minimal stress increase - most people already use higher resolutions anyway so it should run just fine.

    Though I didn't test any of the FPS modules yet with it but I would assume they will work just perfectly. But you're never wrong getting the more powerful option either! Just, it won't likely be a disaster if you end up with 970.
     
  8. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    I think I'm going to stay away from Liquid cooling for the time being. But all other suggestions welcome. I think I/m going to go with that Antec case though
     
  9. Skwisgaar

    Skwisgaar XO Thrall

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    I can highly recommend a closed-loop liquid cooler. Made a huge difference in my system temps.

    Personally, I would stick with an i5 series for gaming. If you're doing more resource-intensive stuff like 3D modeling or maybe some of your work-related testing at home then the i7 might be a better choice but for basic gaming the i5 should be plenty. I should be getting my Skylake setup on Tuesday so if you're not ordering things right away I'll let you know how it works for me. I got the locked CPU with that ASRock Mobo and CPU overclocking software so I'll report how it goes.
     
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  10. Derak Darksun

    Derak Darksun Well Liked Thrall

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    I also strongly support one of the pre-fab closed-loop water coolers. I've had an original spec Corsair H100 since 2011 and it has worked flawlessly. The case has been transported many times to lan parties and between college apartments and home. It requires no maintenance or special management at all; you just fix the heatsink to your cpu socket like a normal air cooler and the radiator is designed to screw into top or rear case fan slots.
     
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  11. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Yes please. This won't be ordered until late January in all likelyhood. I am a fan of MSI though, so I might just get a MSI board again.
     
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  12. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    But, the only reasoning I was having for the i7, was for Star Citizen(if it uses hyperthreading or not), and possibly for work related stuff.
     
  13. Skwisgaar

    Skwisgaar XO Thrall

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    EDIT - INCORRECT INFO

    Your current mobo has the 1155 socket which only works with the older Sandy Bridge architecture from what I can tell. Whether you upgrade to Haswell/Devil's Canyon (1150 socket) or Skylake (1151 socket) either way you'll have to get a new mobo. Z97 chipset is the way to go for the 1150, Z170 is the new chipset for the 1151 Skylake architecture.

    Something else, Z170 mobos are set up to take advantage of new DDR4 Ram.
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2015
  14. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Yep, I was aware of that. Well, at least that I'll need to change out the Mobo if I do a processor upgrade.
     
  15. Skwisgaar

    Skwisgaar XO Thrall

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    What you might try first would be bumping the RAM and GPU then seeing what you get. I think that will make a pretty dramatic change for your gaming needs at least. I don't know what kind of system requirements your work will need so I can't make any recommendations on that front but RAM and GPU are something you'd probably do anyway. That way at least you'll know if you've got a bottleneck in your CPU/mobo or not before you spend the money.
     
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  16. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Yeah, first on the list was the RAM/GPU upgrade, and probably the case too.
     
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  17. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Okay... so possible revision here. Because the new GPU's are dropping at the end of this year, I might just do a temporary update to my GPU and RAM for the time being. So GTX 970, and two sticks of 8GB RAM. I also need a PCI-E Wi-FI card. Any good suggestions?
     
  18. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Question for you peeps. If I pick up the case I want Antec v1200, should I mount any closed-loop liquid cooler for the processor to the outside of the case on the rear fan slots? Or just replace those fans with the radiator?
     
  19. Trevnor

    Trevnor Tokin' Canadian Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Other school of thought is to just go aftermarket air cooler.
     
  20. MostlyHarmless

    MostlyHarmless Master of Recruits Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    You could mount the radiator with the fans on the case to have pushers and pullers but you might have space issues. I had to mount my radiator to the outside of the case and run the water block and lines through a small fan hole since my case predates serious cooling solutions. I'm a fan of the self-contained water cooling solutions, my radiator became packed with heavy dust from a place I was staying but the Temps stayed nice and safe until I found it when I went to move last month.