Upgrades Advice Please!

My trusty rig is getting old and I'm looking for something that will last me a long time.

My current spec has lasted me for about a year and a half, although most of the parts were released long before that - E8200, EVGA 790i Ultra, GTX 260. So overall it's probably around 2 and a half years old.

Basically looking for something which will last me as long as possible without being overly expensive. A decent upgrade path would be nice just in case - I've been thinking that the i5/P55 route is tempting due to SLI/Crossfire support but not sure how long it'd last given the speed of development of technology!

Budget is £800, tops.

So here's what I need and what I've considered:

Case: Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W or Lian Li PC-B25FW. Given that I am an 18-year-old gork, I am highly susceptible to gimmicks and such, so the Fortress is the one I have fallen in love with (sideways mobo tray, seriously pretty, etc!) although the B25 looks a fantastic case. If anyone can convince me otherwise - case thread linkeh. Another note is that the Fortress has the mobo mounted on the "wrong" side - how I currently have my PC because of the position it's in.

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz. I am a compulsive overclocker (unless it's gonna do some damage) and have heard this CPU goes to 4GHz pretty easily.

Mobo: Asus P7P55D

GPU: Asus 5850 or 5870. I game at 1920x1200.

I already have 4GB of Corsair XMS3 1333MHz running at about 1500MHz with 2GB of Super Talent 1600MHz in my system. They're both at 1.65V and 100% stable so I assume they'd work fine in a P55 board? My current board is an EVGA 790i Ultra.

OCUK currently have 4GB of OCZ Reaper 1600MHz C6 RAM going for £100 and I'm tempted but if my current stuff will do the job then there's not much point. I've also heard, and experienced, OCZ's lack of compatibility with Asus boards in the past... not sure if that has changed...

Also have hard drives and a PSU. However, the PSU is a crappy, cheap one - exactly the same make as one Daemonicium had that blew up... It's unbranded, but its 700W of power haven't failed me yet for around 3 years. Would that be a wise upgrade, or unnecessary?

Budget can be increased for RAM and PSU if need be, but if avoidable then it'd be much better.

Been thinking way too hard about this all and not getting anywhere, so its over to you guys. I just want the best value for money parts that will last me a few years until I start having to tone down the graphics settings

Finally.. umm... sorry for the ridiculously long post!

Thanks!

in short... (and only my opinion)

dont bother with sli/crossfire, in sli's case its double the cash for only about 25% performance increase
dont spend silly money on a case, all it does is hold everything but try to get one with decent ventillation
dont cheap out on a psu, buy a good branded one (but not hyper, they blow very quickly)
buy the 5850 and save yourself a bunch of cash, it'll run everything you need it to for a couple of years

i dont overclock anything any more so i wont give you any of my thoughts on processors to be clocked

PSU tech has come a long way lately although the EU has forced companies to focus on efficiency so they now run very cool and near silent but most drop below atx spec on a rail or two when they are run near 100% so its much more important to run your psu at around 40-70% its rated speed.

on the case front it's personal but i went antec twelve hundred as it's massive & the best air cooled case bar none. but if you want to water cool with anything close to ease then look elsewhere. and some people moan about noise but i've had my fans on their lowest setting throughout summer with no heat issues and they only get noisy when they are on full.

Thanks guys. I know spending that much on a case can seem a waste of money, but I'm treating myself as my exams are now over It's down to opinion I guess - personally I don't mind spending that much for the quality.

I managed to get a brand new, sealed i7 860 for just £149 on eBay this morning - had to act quickly to get it so I didn't have much thinking time but I'm happy with the choice! So it's the P55 route for me.

I'll probably get the 5850 unless I capture a very "cheap" 5870 soon.

As for the PSU - I'll stay away from Hiper, but what are the best makes to go for? Corsair have a newer modular range which is just about affordable, but I really have no idea what's good and what's not. Looking to keep it under £100 and I guess I'll need at least 620W; Is this worth the price tag? http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-...-Certification

My Hiper has done me proud for the last 4-5 years, though i do get worried the way you lot go on about them. :/

Originally Posted by NickyBoyJunior

As for the PSU - I'll stay away from Hiper, but what are the best makes to go for? Corsair have a newer modular range which is just about affordable, but I really have no idea what's good and what's not. Looking to keep it under £100 and I guess I'll need at least 620W; Is this worth the price tag? http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-...-Certification

Originally Posted by BullyBeef

My Hiper has done me proud for the last 4-5 years, though i do get worried the way you lot go on about them. :/

Hiper went bust a few years ago so there aren't too many about. They were the budget end of the good PSU's and to be fair they did it well. i had two of their PSU's, one for 2-3 years which was then sold and one that i had for 6+ years which gave up the ghost a few months back. I was pleased with what i bought.

Seasonic are one of the best although their rebranded corsair/xfx psu's seem to be slightly better reviewed. all the other brands in the same price bracket are of similar quality/performance.

CustomPC (magazine) has a fairly large PSU round up in this months issue which is pretty in depth. buy it or have a flick next time your in tesco/asda.

Cheers, I'll have a look in CustomPC. Just one thing - are you saying that all Corsair and XFX psu's are actually Seasonics with different labels on them? That really surprised me. So really they're all pretty much the same thing, except you pay a lot more money for certain ones that have a certain company's sticker on them?

yes and no. yes seasonic make them and some are pretty much identical but others differ slightly were the company asks for it to perform a certain way or have a different spec. like max amp on the 12v rail(s), case cooling/ design, economy / performance bias or dual processor support- things like that. so don't think a 600w corsair will be exactly the same as an XFX or a seasonic, well just don't insist they are EXACTLY the same as they are different- just.

Well, i know i've been down this road a fair few times and it has always come to nowt, kids or house or car or wife have always cropped up infront of me perting with some cash for a new PC. Well, this time i think it's a go, my old 939 is on it's last legs as is my Asus A8N-SLi. This is what i'm considering...


Let me know what u think. About the PC obviously, not about the wife & kids .LoL

i'd ditch the coolIT in favour of a air cooler (fenrir or similair) as that coolit is ok but i think it works better on intel sockets if i remember correctly. I'd go for a i5 760 @ £166 and a motherboard from gigabyte which one depends on how much money/tinkering you want to do. i know the 760 is "only a quady" but in most situations its raster than the AMD 6 shooter.