Upgrade time, opinions?

[Chilinmichal]

What I have now is in the siggy.

Looking at going with:
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo)
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400

Oh, and I already got the CoolerMaster V6 GT cooler!

[OS-Wiz]

Hmmm, you an overclocker? Main purpose of the new system? Given those answers, the mobo, cooler, and memory choices might change.

[Chilinmichal]

I am, as you can see with my current system and siggy. I'm not quite sure I'll be overclocking the new system, since it seems it'll perform a bit better and should use quite a lot less power (which is another key factor here)

[leekirlew]

you keeping the same gfx card? whats your budget ? what use is it for?

[Chilinmichal]

I am keeping the same video card, yes. My budget is about what I picked costs, the old setup is being sold to a friend for his build. The computer is used for just about everything...watching movies, shows, games, music, internet, you name it.

[leekirlew]

From personal experience id throw in an sata 3 SSD also, you guys can pick up good 128GB ones for $90, the best choice ive made, i use mine as a boot drive and its really noticeable how much difference it makes, especially on boot times

[Chilinmichal]

I wouldn't throw in an SSD, and here's why:

I have a WD Velociraptor 600GB 10k rpm drive. It boots Windows just as fast as first generation SSD's, newer ones cost more, not to mention check out the price of a 600GB SSD. A 128GB would never fit the games + Windows + Apps I use, and then the performance benefit would mainly be out the window. SSD's are nothing but really a gimmick unless you use very little and can fit every program/game and your OS on there. Right now I use the SATA-II Controller on my current MB because the way they designed this MB the Marvell SATA-III controller actually is outperformed by the II (Intel). An advantage with the new MB will be that my Velociraptor will be on the SATA-III controller, so it'll be able to burst at full speed (though this will make very little if any difference, but it's nice to know it's able too).

The reason I'm doing this is two fold:
1. Reduce power consumption by a great deal while keeping the computer at current performance standards if not improving (which it most likely will)
2. Newer specification conformity

I honestly am going to see if I can be happy without overclocking. Overclocking the current setup made a visible increase of wattage on my UPS. I don't want my landlord to raise my monthly apartment rate come next year because the electric bill is high. Long Island has some of the most expensive electric in the country.

[leekirlew]

The motherboard you linked is SATA 3 and whilst i appreciate your aim on power, for performance your WD aint getting anywhere near the last gen of SSD's (admittedly not first gen as you stated).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/182?vs=372

As i said, use the ssd as a boot drive and keep you WD as a storage drive, will give you a snappier experience. I normally have windows + the main game im playing on mine (SWTOR for instance)

However if budget is tight, then the components you mentioned are great, i play with my stuff for the occasional bench to see what it can do, but run stock for day to day. With 16gb and an I7 3770k id say you're gonna be laughing, especially at stock, cause the only reason for going 2nd gen i5/i7 is for overclocking and a slight reduction in outlay

[Urbanfox]

Originally Posted by Chilinmichal

What I have now is in the siggy.

Looking at going with:
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo)
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400

Oh, and I already got the CoolerMaster V6 GT cooler!

That CPU is not unlocked. If you are going to OC at all, it's this one or bust: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116501

[Chilinmichal]

Ok, I will go with that CPU instead. I was wondering what the "k" was for. Maybe I will overclock it, who knows...it'll probably still use far less power...

[OS-Wiz]

Well, the best bang for the bucks for you, given you are worried about power consumption and not as interested in OCing as you once were, but still want to have the capability possibly at some point:

Intel Core i5-3570K
$230 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

ASUS P8Z77-V
$195 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131820

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) (memory speed is less important with Sandy and Ivy Bridge processors)
$76 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226305

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
$40 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099

[leekirlew]

Originally Posted by Urbanfox

That CPU is not unlocked. If you are going to OC at all, it's this one or bust: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116501

Ah lol, i wondered why it was down as 3.4ghz lol, thought it was a mistype should have checked the link

[Chilinmichal]

OS Wiz,

Why i5? What are the differences?
That Asus board costs more, and I'm not a big Asus fan
Granted the timings are better, it's slower memory and a lot less.

[leekirlew]

i5 is clocked slightly slower (3.4 vs 3.5) and doesnt have hyper threading and about £70 cheaper

[Urbanfox]

I say keep the Gigabyte board (EXCELLENT OC'er/solid board and cheaper) and pick up some cheap Crucial ram that OC like mad and still have tight timings (Cecil has a thread somewhere for em).

As for i5 vs i7, the i7 has hyper-threading. So, i5 is 4 cores/4 threads, and the i7 is 4C/8T. If you aren't doing heavy video editing, Photoshop, etc, the price isn't worth it. Realistically, even if you did do that stuff, unless it's time sensitive or your job, meh. Stick with i5.

[Chilinmichal]

Dunno, think I'll still go with the i7 quite honestly.

*Update: Got the setup (siggy is updated). Quite impressed...a lot faster and averaging a LOT less power usage (UPS verify, on average 70w or so less at any given time vs old setup)