Upgrade Advice

Comments

• jdnewell Member UncommonPosts: 2,237

  December 2013

  It sounds like you want to upgrade not necessarily Need to upgrade.

  If it were me I would throw an SSD in there and upgrade the GPU. If there was money left over then the RAM. Nothing wrong with the parts you picked just not what I personally would do for upgrading.

  If you looking for the biggest and most noticeable performance increases then SSD and GPU. 16 gb of RAM is nice but not really needed, you could toss in 8gb of "better" RAM and be just fine.

  If you just have the itch to change aesthetics on the PC then its whatever you choose and want it to look like. If your wanting to build a better HTPC then I might drop down a case size from what you linked as well. Thats an ATX case and still overly large for the components you are putting in there.

  If you are interested in SFF HTPC then some of the other guys can help you more than I can. If you just want pure performance upgrades then SSD, GPU and maybe RAM would be your best bet IMO.

  Good luck and merry Xmas.
• dege78 Member Posts: 28

  December 2013

  That’s correct that the upgrade maybe not be entirely necessary. I will be using it as my primary pc once again; I made the mistake of getting an iMac that I have been using as my primary pc for the past 6 months. I figured I would go over the rig to see what may be worth upgrading before putting it back into daily use. I opted for the large HTPC case simply because I like the look though I still wanted to have the option for additional storage and upgrades in the future. I don’t actually use the pc as a home theater pc though. I game, do remote conferences with work as well as schooling on the pc. I don’t expect it to be a bleeding edge gaming pc but I do like something that it quite capable. Thank you for the suggestions. I haven’t paid close attention to computer hardware for a while and I wasn’t sure if the new GPU’s were worth the investment over what I was running. 
• jdnewell Member UncommonPosts: 2,237

  December 2013

  Originally posted by dege78
  That’s correct that the upgrade maybe not be entirely necessary. I will be using it as my primary pc once again; I made the mistake of getting an iMac that I have been using as my primary pc for the past 6 months. I figured I would go over the rig to see what may be worth upgrading before putting it back into daily use. I opted for the large HTPC case simply because I like the look though I still wanted to have the option for additional storage and upgrades in the future. I don’t actually use the pc as a home theater pc though. I game, do remote conferences with work as well as schooling on the pc. I don’t expect it to be a bleeding edge gaming pc but I do like something that it quite capable. Thank you for the suggestions. I haven’t paid close attention to computer hardware for a while and I wasn’t sure if the new GPU’s were worth the investment over what I was running. 

  IMO upgrading to something like a R9 270x or R9 280x would be worth it, depending on your budget and needs. But thats subjective and you will have to decide if its worth the money or not.

  Something like this maybe for around $200

  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125476

  If you want just overall faster response and a quicker PC then an SSD will be very noticeable. Faster boot and load times in games, overall just a faster "feeling" PC if that makes sense.

  I do like the case as well, I was actually looking at that exact case a few days ago myself

  For office work, video conf., school related work, ect. what you have should be more than adequate. For increase in speed / performance get an SSD. I would get an SSD just because at any rate. Once you have one you will never go back to a regular HDD.

  If gaming performance is your goal the SSD & GPU for sure, I would probably throw 8g of quality RAM in there as well but what you have is serviceable I think if not the best.

  Or you could always buy the case, RAM, and SSD and change GPU whenever you feel like upgrading. Just be aware that what you have is a Fermi card and will run hot & use more power. Case should be well ventilated to disperse the extra heat.

   

  Here are a few links you can look at as far as GPUs go for comparison.

  http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

  http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU13/583

  http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/372

  Here is a comparison between a 560ti and a 7870. Didnt see a R9 270x listed. But you can see the performance gains.

  http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/858?vs=857

   
• Quizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,531

  December 2013

  Why do you want a discrete network card?  Is your current ethernet adapter on the motherboard problematic for some reason?
• dege78 Member Posts: 28

  December 2013

  Thanks for the feedback. It looks like I will go ahead with a new GPU as well. Do you have any recommendations for memory? As for the network card, no real reason in particular. I guess I had always believed it was superior to the onboard adapter. 
• Quizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,531

  December 2013

  Originally posted by dege78
  

  Thanks for the feedback. It looks like I will go ahead with a new GPU as well. Do you have any recommendations for memory? As for the network card, no real reason in particular. I guess I had always believed it was superior to the onboard adapter. 

  Look at the reviews.  They go back to 2005.  Given a gigabit ethernet part from 2005 and one from 2011 (your current motherboard), which would you expect to be better?  There's probably no meaningful difference, though if there is, I'd bet on the one you already have being better, mainly because motherboard vendors might not put the same degree of validation into legacy interfaces that have been obsolete for just shy of a decade as they will into the components that they expect end users to actually use.  I'd also bet on the ethernet chip on that discrete card having been used as the chip for integrated ethernet ports on some motherboards.

  If you have some unusual needs, there could be discrete ethernet cards that genuinely are better.  For example, if you're on a LAN that needs massive network bandwidth, you can get 10 Gbps ethernet equipment.  But I can't think of any consumer use for that.

  Wireless networking products can vary wildly in performance.  But they all get completely crushed in just about every metric you can dream up by a simple gigabit ethernet setup as available on even a modern cheap junk motherboard.  Gigabit ethernet has been around for long enough that it works.
• jdnewell Member UncommonPosts: 2,237

  December 2013

  Here is a shellshocker deal on Newegg.  8g for $50

  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313426

  or here is this if you want 1600 instead of 1333

  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313342

  You can always go with a brand you prefer if you have one, like corsair, kingston, ect. But it will cost a little more.
• Quizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,531

  December 2013

  Unless you're regularly using 6 or 7 GB of physical system memory, I don't see any reason to buy more.  8 GB is still a lot, and it's likely that you rarely even use 4 GB.  You can open Task Manager to see how much memory you're actually using.  If you have more than you need, then adding still more doesn't do any good.
• vonryan123 Member UncommonPosts: 516

  December 2013

  CPU is solid (I run the same one)

  GPU is getting dated my 550 ti is hard to keep up with new titles at good frames

  ram is good at 8gig unless you plan to do 3d renders or other hard work on ram stacking. 16 is better but unless you use it 8 is fine.

  case well its a matter of what you like really.

  ssd always a good choice but pricey

   

  In recap I would get a new GPU but I warn here, be sure your other PCI cards will fit with proper air flow. My 550 ti with the same MB, can not "safely" utilize all the PCI slots due to the space and the fact the GPU fans main air flow is right in the back of my 200$ sound card that over heated for this reason. Sounds like your on the right track its more a matter of what you will "use" and what you can afford.

   Also shop around for price newegg is good but tigerdirect and a few others may often have better deals.

   

  Good luck

   

  
• dege78 Member Posts: 28

  December 2013

  Thank you for all the good advice; it’s very much appreciated. It looks like the main upgrades I should be considering are the SSD and a new GPU. I start shopping for new computer parts and I feel like a kid in a candy store, it's easy to get carried away.