Is this a good upgrade plan?

C

conrad.haupt

New member
Ok, my computer isn't that good so it's mostly a new computer. I have gotten a list of components that I want, I just need to know if they will work together etc... I have 4Gb of ddr3 1333 RAM. I also have HDDs and a case etc...

There are notes that say what I looked at when checking if the components are compatible but I don't know if that is true etc...

CPU:
Intel i5 2500k 3.30GHz, Socket 1155, 6MB L3, 2.0Gb/s DMI Interface
-I looked at the socket number which matches the motherboard
-I also searched and apparently CPUs come with a fan unless specified, so I didn't order another fan

Motherboard:
Asus P8Z68-V PRO IZ68 Motherboard w/A8 + G + LK + FWa + USB3 + SATA6 RAID + HDMI + DVI + BLUETOOTH
http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=81_689&products_id=59551
-the motherboard, from what I could see in the image, could handle my RAM (amount wise)
-it has PCIe which the GFX Card is
-it takes DDR3 1333 which is the type of RAM my computer currently has
-it also, apparently, has the right socket for the CPU (1155)

GFX Card:
ASUS NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX560 TI DIRECTCU II, 1GB DDR5, 256-BIT, PCI EXPRESS 2.0 / D-SUB , DVI-I , HDMI
-The GFX Card is PCIe and so it should work with the motherboard
-Is it a good GFX Card and will it run games on high for a while?
-This is the biggest confusion for me :P

PSU:
900W ATX Power Supply Huntkey Modular (X7-900)
-I was told that a "huntkey" is good but I don't know if 900W is the right amount for this upgrade


The parts that I am going to keep from my current computer are:

2Gb Ram stick DDR3 1333 SAMSUNG X2

1Tb Raid HDD X1
750Gb HDD X1
-The HDDs are not IDE, they are SATA

The case, which is the one my computer came with. (180 (W) x 440 (D) x 352 (H) mm (with bezel)

Stuff I will not be using, converting to a server :D:

ATI RADEON HD 5450

Acer Branded Motherboard

Intel i5 750 @ 2.67GHz


If anyone wants to see more about my current configuration:
http://static.acer.com/up/Resource/Acer/Desktop/Veriton%20M%20Series/Docs/20110330/vtM490.pdf


All I need to know is if this upgrade is worth it and if the stuff is compatible. This is my first build and a bit confusing :P
 
A 900W PSU is overkill for those components. Will future proof you a bit, but still overkill. Rest of system specs not bad, should handle most games at high graphic settings. The K version of that cpu is overclocking, so if you not gonna overclock, you can settle for the non-K version, save a few Rands. DDR3 Ram is also very cheap now, so getting more won't hurt the pocket too much and you'll be able to run two at dual channel instead of only one at single channel.
 
I would suggest getting a 600 watt power supply as 900w is overkill as mentioned above. More RAM is definitely needed, you should at least get 4GB's.

Are you sorted for a case or are you using your existing case for the upgrade?
 
Nah not really, you need 4GB's though. So that's fine, or if possible upgrade the RAM to 1600Mhz or higher. I'd rather have faster RAM than lots of cheaper RAM. Of course, if you play Minecraft with a high resolution texture pack, you may want to look at more than 4GB's. But that's the only game I have come across that is RAM hungry. Running a 512 resolution texture pack is also not needed and a little excessive.

For the case, I'd suggest something like the CM Elite 311 -link
 
I'd like to butt in with a ram question. Should 8 Gig matched pair (2x 4gb 1600 ddr3) be enough for now or should I go with 16?
 
Pr⊕phet said:
I'd like to butt in with a ram question. Should 8 Gig matched pair (2x 4gb 1600 ddr3) be enough for now or should I go with 16?
Click to expand...

8Gigs is fine. Of course it depends on what you primarily do with your PC, but it should be fine. I often find that I don't utilise a third of my RAM. As I said earlier, Minecraft is the only app that chows the RAM, and that's with a texture pack and a Java RAM utilization exception set.
 
XeroS1x said:
8Gigs is fine. Of course it depends on what you primarily do with your PC, but it should be fine. I often find that I don't utilise a third of my RAM. As I said earlier, Minecraft is the only app that chows the RAM, and that's with a texture pack and a Java RAM utilization exception set.
Click to expand...

Thanks. For rendering box, gaming as well as VMs.

To OP
sorry for hijacking/butting in.
 
Pr⊕phet said:
Thanks. For rendering box, gaming as well as VMs.

To OP
sorry for hijacking/butting in.
Click to expand...

Should be good. Mostly CPU intensive apps you are using then.
conrad.haupt said:
Thanks, I do play Minecraft :P but not on 512x512... If my other games can play on 4Gb of RAM then that's awesome
biggrin.gif
Click to expand...
Yup, should be good then.
 
Each VM will be allocated a portion of RAM. So the more ram the more VM's you can run. Oh and you can run VMs on ramdrives... or basically completely from ram which makes them really fast :D

@OP, more than 4gb is a reasonable amount and like most guys have said you probably will never have a problem with that. Maybe try for better ram though?

Unlike a previous poster, I would suggest getting the K version of the i5 whether you intend to OC or not. The price difference is minimal and the ease of OCing these days is amazing.

PSU, i am not a fan of Huntkey. And with powersupplies there is no such thing as overkill, just overbudget for what is necessary. Having a psu that is only just enough is a bad idea, they degrade overtime and any underpowering can cause ripples.

Also, psu's are rated inconsistently. The most power hungry items use 12v, yet the rating is usually for the 3v and 5v as well. What you really want to look at is the amperage on the 12v. 48A is usually a good value for single card systems.

Good luck with the purchase :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top