Looking for an upgrade: Any advice?

[Drakodan]

So I bought a setup from PCS a few years ago, and I think it's about time for an upgrade. Here is what I am currently running on:

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X2 550 (3.10GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Memory (RAM)
2GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (1 x 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5750 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

I doubt I need to provide the rest of the specs, because as you can see, it's not exactly high-end. Now I'm looking to get a slightly beefier system in the next few months, one that is also somewhat future-proof. I don't have a lot of money yet, but after saving up from my new job I'd definitely like to invest in a new system.

Intended use for PC: Gaming, multimedia, video editing, streaming

Here is the spec that I just threw together, any advice is welcome:

Case
SHARKOON BD28 GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z97M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Corsair H55 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Price is just under £900, budget is not concrete yet as I'm not looking to buy immediately. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[keynes]

Gigabyte hd3 motherboard, 1600mhz ram, caviar black as the main drive since it is faster, I would also drop the h55 for the triple copper heatpipe cpu cooler and push for a better gpu like the gtx 770 or r9-280x

 

[Drakodan]

Thanks for your advice, I just have a couple of questions:

If you could explain more of the technical aspects of your suggestions, that would be nice. I compared the motherboards and whilst it's nice to know that the one you suggested is cheaper, so I will therefore get it, what exactly is 'different' about it? I took a quick look at the specs and it seemed to mostly be a matter of the slots available, notably the RAM slots, can you shed any more light on the matter?

The suggestion to drop to 1666MHz RAM is noted, but again I do wonder why. I read some of the other threads and gathered that 2133MHz is more tailored towards intensive multitasking? It may be likely that I am doing some of that in between playing games, streaming, editing stuff and my general habit of keeping more stuff open than I strictly need, so since the price difference is only a matter of a few pounds, an explanation for this would be appreciated.

No complaints on the Caviar HDD suggestion. It's a little more expensive, but it is also faster.

Suggestion taken on dropping the h55 liquid cooler, I assume I don't strictly need it since I'm not overclocking or anything.

The GPU is the big one though. I considered what you said about investing in the 770 instead and consulted some benchmarking pages, and whilst it does seem to be a good deal more powerful, it's also unavailable from what I can tell. It doesn't appear in the dropdown menu for Graphics Cards when making my build. The Geforce 700 series goes from 720 up to 760, then goes straight to Titan.

 

[Cadwah]

You could fit the 970 into that build... only £7 over budget.

Case
SHARKOON BD28 GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte H81M-D2V: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £907.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/ytmBmdqVrG/

In response to your questions,

The difference in motherboards is basically what you said, more slots for future upgrades. The motherboards themselves have very little effect on gaming/task performance. For instance the Micro-ATX I chose above is the cheapest on the configurator but as you are not overclocking and you don't need extra slots as everything will fit on the board.

You won't get that speed out of your RAM unless you overclock your CPU, 1600 would suffice, however I agree for a few extra £'s it's not critical.

Yep, no need for liquid cooling unless you are going for a major overclock

Ignore the 770, get the 970 and enjoy frolicking around in your beautifully rendered games

 

[Drakodan]

Thanks for the advice, I also can't help but notice that there's an ~£80 difference on the same specifications depending on if it's configured through the Home/Office section or the Core i7 Extreme section. Again, why is this? I can't see any immediate differences considering the system contains the same parts.

 

[keynes]

Thanks for the advice, I also can't help but notice that there's an ~£80 difference on the same specifications depending on if it's configured through the Home/Office section or the Core i7 Extreme section. Again, why is this? I can't see any immediate differences considering the system contains the same parts.

Different motherboard, different psu

 

[Drakodan]

I've made some alterations as well as not being as conservative with my projected budget, and have now come up with this, which amounts to £1,016:

Case
SHARKOON BD28 GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte H81M-D2V: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler


I've also noted that I can make the same spec, just with a different motherboard instead, Gigabyte Z97-HD3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, and that comes out at £1,097. Given this difference, is there much point in going for the second option? I realise that a better motherboard means more flexibility in the future and that the configurator also allows for things such as extra case fans, but when I tried that just to see what it would say, it said that extra case fans were not compatible with my chosen case anyway.

 

[keynes]

I would go with a better case rather than adding additional fans, the motherboard in your last spec is a micro ATX board with fewer expansion slots than the gigabyte hd3. The 750 w psu seems a lot considering you can't add an additional gtx 970.

 

[Drakodan]

I guess case discussion is also a thing then, yeah. I'm quite taken with the Sharkoon case that I've selected, love green LEDs, but I also realise that aesthetics is completely secondary to function, and that performance should be my main priority, so by all means if you want to convince me that investing in a different case is worth it, then I'm all-ears. It seems satisfactory to me though, the dimensions say that it isn't exactly small. Not one of the biggest either, sure, but enough for what I'm after surely.

The PSU is more a case of just wanting more than enough extra. This now-awful machine that I'm currently on has a 600W.

 

[keynes]

650 w PSU will be plenty for any additions and corsair PSUs are very reliable. The coolermaster 690 in my view would be a better case, you can always replace the standard fans to green led.