Upgrading desktop to a gaming computer

Vince086

So I'm looking to upgrade my desktop to a gaming computer and wanted a second opinion:

There are two things (that I can think off) needed to upgrade the computer:

-A Power supply
There isn't any cable management space in the case so something semi modular would be nice
I'm thinking: Corsair CX Series Modular CX600M, 600W

-A Graphics card
The current case should be long enough to accommodate a long graphics card.
I'm thinking a GTX 770 might do the job? No sure which version/variant.
I play Far cry 3, skyrim, saints row, GTA5(if it comes to PC)

What do you think about those choices?

Current Specs:
i7-3770 Ivy Bridge with stock cooler
8GB DDR3-1600 DIMM
Motherboard: IPMMB-FM Link http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c03132942
Form: uATX
Chipset: Intel Z75
300W PSU (no 6 or 8 pin connectors)

Two 18.5" monitors at 1366x768

Any advice would be appreciated.

bassey

I was in the same boat a few weeks back,

Thread here http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057151442/1/#post89063318

Ended up getting a 450 w psu and an r9 270 graphics card along with a 120gb ssd

Couldn't be happier with those upgrades really, increased the performance of my pc a great deal!

SterlingArcher

Vince086 wrote: »

So I'm looking to upgrade my desktop to a gaming computer and wanted a second opinion:

There are two things (that I can think off) needed to upgrade the computer:

-A Power supply
There isn't any cable management space in the case so something semi modular would be nice
I'm thinking: Corsair CX Series Modular CX600M, 600W

-A Graphics card
The current case should be long enough to accommodate a long graphics card.
I'm thinking a GTX 770 might do the job? No sure which version/variant.
I play Far cry 3, skyrim, saints row, GTA5(if it comes to PC)

What do you think about those choices?

Current Specs:
i7-3770 Ivy Bridge with stock cooler
8GB DDR3-1600 DIMM
Motherboard: IPMMB-FM Link http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c03132942
Form: uATX
Chipset: Intel Z75
300W PSU (no 6 or 8 pin connectors)

Two 18.5" monitors at 1366x768

Any advice would be appreciated.

PSU you suggested is perfect. Could go lower and save 10 euro.500 w will do.

As said ssd

770/ 280x not bad cards just not great value for money but your shout if you have the money why not...

Didn't catch your budget? Where you buying from .

Vince086

bassey wrote: »

I was in the same boat a few weeks back,

Thread here http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057151442/1/#post89063318

Ended up getting a 450 w psu and an r9 270 graphics card along with a 120gb ssd

Couldn't be happier with those upgrades really, increased the performance of my pc a great deal!

Thanks for the link.

Surprised that the 270 ran Farcry 3 at 45FPS with settings at max. Did the frame rate dip during gameplay?

I don't mind playing on medium settings, the thing that annoys me is when the frame rate drops during action.

A lot of people recommend SSDs but that's one thing I'm really not interested in. Yeah I know they are incredibly fast, but they're not worth the inconvenience (personally) of having two storage locations on a computer and I'm perfectly happy waiting a bit longer for things to load.

Vince086

SterlingArcher wrote: »

PSU you suggested is perfect. Could go lower and save 10 euro.500 w will do.

As said ssd

770/ 280x not bad cards just not great value for money but your shout if you have the money why not...

Didn't catch your budget? Where you buying from .

In that case, a 500W PSU it is. Thanks

I've heard the 280x isn't great value at the moment because of cryptocurrency but I though a gtx770 was, in around the 300€ price bracket?

Well budget is about 300€ for the GPU. Though this was appropriate given the games I play and would like it to last for a bit.

Could buy from anywhere really. Can ship to parcel motel if needed.

partyboy690

I'd argue that you should spend a little more and get the better PSU thats 80+ Gold certified, so when you build a new one in the future you can reuse the PSU and the GFX card

Vince086

Did some searching on hardwareversand and amazon.co.uk and didn't see anything that met my requirements. The computer will probably spend more time off than running (work 7 days a week) so bit of a debate on how much of a power savings I will get by going for a gold PSU over bronze.

SterlingArcher

partyboy690 wrote: »

I'd argue that you should spend a little more and get the better PSU thats 80+ Gold certified, so when you build a new one in the future you can reuse the PSU and the GFX card

Parts are becoming more power efficient , cards CPUs everything will use less. Normally people only use gold ratings for 800w really expensive sli/ Crossfire configurations.

770 should run you about 291 for Asusoc model from amazon delivered. (amazon good returns policy) so might be worth the extra in long run.

272 hardwareversand using Geizhals. Without delivery.

yawhat!

Power supply you picked in first post is perfect but could drop to a 500 watt. I'd stick with the 600 Watt though.

Your monitor is also only 720P so any card will really do like the R9 270. No point spending anymore if you don't plan o upgrading the monitor.

Any plans on upgrading the monitor to 1080P?

Vince086

I don't really plan on updating any time soon. Happy enough with 720P (Since I don't have a 1080P screen to compare with)
Just read up on how much resolution effects the GPU, good to know that I don't need as much power at 780P.

Okay, to make it a bit more challenging, I would need a card with 2 DVI ports.
The reasons is I have one screen connected to the DVI-I and the other to the DVI-D port using an active converter. Both screens are VGA only.
Looks like Nvidia meets that requirement on most cards.

SterlingArcher

Vince086 wrote: »

I don't really plan on updating any time soon. Happy enough with 720P (Since I don't have a 1080P screen to compare with)
Just read up on how much resolution effects the GPU, good to know that I don't need as much power at 780P.

Okay, to make it a bit more challenging, I would need a card with 2 DVI ports.
The reasons is I have one screen connected to the DVI-I and the other to the DVI-D port using an active converter. Both screens are VGA only.
Looks like Nvidia meets that requirement on most cards.

Well the Asus model gtx 770, for sure has two dvi ports.

Vince086

It does indeed. It is also one of the top selling GTX770s on hardwareversand so it should be a good choice.

SterlingArcher

Vince086 wrote: »

It does indeed. It is also one of the top selling GTX770s on hardwareversand so it should be a good choice.

Have one , is pretty decent. Quiet/cool Was a gift so can't complain.

Personally I'd get my stuff on amazon. Don't get me wrong I use hwvs but if only two items amazon. The extra price is worth it.

jos22

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Have one , is pretty decent. Quiet/cool Was a gift so can't complain.

Personally I'd get my stuff on amazon. Don't get me wrong I use hwvs but if only two items amazon. The extra price is worth it.

+1 to buying from amzon, Had a GPU needed RMA, one email to amazon A new GPU shipped to me with 2 day delivery and free return slip for the old GPU

Vince086

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Have one , is pretty decent. Quiet/cool Was a gift so can't complain.

Personally I'd get my stuff on amazon. Don't get me wrong I use hwvs but if only two items amazon. The extra price is worth it.

Was tempted to do that. The chances of having something go wrong is small but Amazon are usually good with dealing with it.

The price is nearly identical. Same for PSU. Plus I think those items should qualify for free shipping. No need to deal with bank transfer and all that.

Plus birthday is coming up, almost guaranteed an amazon gift card.

jos22

Vince086 wrote: »

Was tempted to do that. The chances of having something go wrong is small but Amazon are usually good with dealing with it.

The price is nearly identical. Same for PSU. Plus I think those items should qualify for free shipping. No need to deal with bank transfer and all that.

Plus birthday is coming up, almost guaranteed an amazon gift card.

over 25 pound and shipping is Free regardless of weight and size