Note: I put this in the Game Room because it’s about a gaming machine, but mods should feel free to move it elsewhere if appropriate. Thanks!
I need to partially rebuild my gaming computer. I want a new motherboard and power supply, and it seems to me that the best way to maximize my upgrade potential is to buy a barebones system and plug in my extra RAM, hard drive, and video card.
The problem is that I don’t know much about what makes one motherboard or CPU a better deal or how to evaluate a case.
My current machine had one of the earlier i7 processors and could still more or less run anything that I threw at it. I’d like to buy something that’ll continue to do that for at least three years. I’d like the case to be roomy enough that I could add a second video card and Crossfire them at some point down the line - something my current case has a problem with, along with poor cooling.
Anyway, does anybody have any suggestions? Am I right about buying a barebones system, or would I be better off buying stuff piecemeal and putting it all together from step one?
The first thing we need to know is exactly which parts that you’d like to re-use, as specifically as possible, so we know (for instance) what motherboards would be compatible with those particular items.
I’m assuming something in your current computer died, and you’ve confirmed it’s motherboard, power supply, or both? Because otherwise an early i7 would probably keep you going for another few years. You use “had” to describe it, though, which makes me think that it’s time to say a few words for our dear departed brethren…
Well, my power supply blew about a year back and I had it replaced under warrantly. It went out again not too long later (but no longer under warranty, of course), so my suspicion is that the motherboard needs to be replaced. All my parts are well within what the power supply was capable of running.
Here is a review of the machine I bought, though I’ve since upgraded the video card (a mid-range ATI - I don’t recall the exact model) and added more RAM (this stuff).
I would strongly suggest selling the CPU and possibly all that RAM on eBay (or gift if to someone who could use it) in order to build a really nice modern rig that’ll last you a looong time.
I would build it around a current generation “ivory bridge” intel i5 3570k chip + a Z77 chipset - the ASRock Deluxe 4 is a great buy, IMHO, and inexpensive for what you get. You can then swap in your GPU, HD, opticla drive, etc.
That’s about $360 and a powerhouse which you can easily upgrade in 3 years by swapping out an i7/new GPU.
I don’t know what you want to spend, but if you didn’t mind putting down 3 large 5 years ago, I’m guessing $800 or so for a fucking amazing, state of the art motherboard as the base of your system might actually be a very attractive notion.
EVGA has a dual socket (2100) m/b for Xeon processors that will handle up to 4 PCIe-x16 video cards in either SLI or crossfire.
I have the older model SR-2 and the one thing you need to be aware of is the fact that at least the SR-2 uses a unique form factor - HPTX. That means you have a choice of about a half dozen fairly expensive cases . . . or you go with a test bench setup , which is what I did. I don’t know if the SR-x is also HPTX so you’ll have to check, but that will give you all of the overclocking power you need to squeeze every last bit of performance out of your GPUs.