New Build - some questions

helios12

Hey Folks,

So, I'm closing on the six year mark for my current rig and it's starting to show its age. The 4890 died a year ago was was replaced with a 7770 as a stop-gap. Some extra RAM was thrown at it , too. However, it seems like it might just be time to strip it and build anew. MY main monitor is having some issues too. When first turned on the screen goes black and there is a hissing noise. It needs to be let sit before it can be turned on and the screen remains on - so it's a new build plus a new monitor.

Budget: I'd say it tops out at a grand but any cost saving is welcome enough as it's a tight one.

I don't need a new copy of Windows.

I don't need a keyboard or mouse.

Current set-up

CPU: Phenom II x 3 ( 4th core unlocked stable @ 3.2 Ghz so really x4)
Mothboard : MSI 790GX-G65
RAM :12 Gb
GFX Card: Radeon 7770
Case : Coolermaster Haf 932
PSU: Corsair 750 ( is a five year old power unit worth/safe to keep?)
Storage : 250 gb Samsung SSD and various HDD.
Monitors : 22 inch LG M227D / Old 17inch that's used as a secondary.



I was planning on going at something in the region of

CPU: I5 4690k or 4460 ( I'm wondering is the k for future proofing worth the extra ?)
Motherboard : Gigabyte Z97P-D3 ( if the 4690k )
GFX : Asus AMD Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II
Monitor: BenQ RL2455HM LED 24 1920x 1080
Extra Storage : Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm 3.5 Inch

Edit: I'm shopping for a new case ,too. I'll be moving about abit soon and I'm looking at a nice mobile mid sized case that can take an atx baord.

Digital Solitude

You won't be pushing a grand imo, 4460 is plenty good cpu, thats a grand motherboard, same price as your average h97 anyways, gpu is fine. You could put a 1440p monitor in there, make the 290 really shine. That only stands at about 625 without a monitor. Selling old parts could net you another bit, then your own choice on the monitor.
If you stick with 1080p and are tight on budget, R9 280X is about €50 cheaper, does me perfect at 1080p

helios12

Digital Solitude wrote: »

You won't be pushing a grand imo, 4460 is plenty good cpu, thats a grand motherboard, same price as your average h97 anyways, gpu is fine. You could put a 1440p monitor in there, make the 290 really shine. That only stands at about 625 without a monitor. Selling old parts could net you another bit, then your own choice on the monitor.
If you stick with 1080p and are tight on budget, R9 280X is about €50 cheaper, does me perfect at 1080p

Cheers for the reply,

I was looking at the 290 over the 280x as a form of future proofing - doesn't the 290 support a few bits of tech the 280 doesn't? When I price that build
on Hardwareversand / Amazon I keep coming up way higher than 625.

Do you reckon there will be a noticeable gain from a Phenom II to a 4460?

I was cost saving a little with the monitor and thinking the 290 would be put to use at a later stage if I went with something 1440/120hz stylee. I might see if it's possible to push the boat out now.

Digital Solitude

Item|Price
R9290 ASUS DirectCU II 4GD5-DC2OC-OC with MANTLE and Gaming Evolved client, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€€ 283
Intel Core i5-4460 in-a-Box|€€ 184
Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3, LGA 1150, ATX|€€ 81
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb / s|€€ 78
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€628

Using geizhals.de discount site knocks a few quid off.

Genuinely haven't a notion about extra tech or whatever, I know the 290 runs faster but the 280X is still a dramatic upgrade from a 7770. I actually went from an AMD CPU, and a 7770 to 4460, that motherboard and a 280X :eek:

Yeah there'll be a huge gaming difference, most games are only single core, and Intel cores preform better than AMD, so a 3.4Ghz AMD to a 3.2gHz i5 will be a massive jump. I went from a 4.4gHz to the 4460, it was a worthy upgrade.

You could still go the 290 with 1080p over the 280x obviously, the 290 will outpreform it regardless, 1440p was just a suggestion while you were upgrading the monitor

helios12

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Item|Price
R9290 ASUS DirectCU II 4GD5-DC2OC-OC with MANTLE and Gaming Evolved client, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€€ 283
Intel Core i5-4460 in-a-Box|€€ 184
Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3, LGA 1150, ATX|€€ 81
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb / s|€€ 78
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€628

Using geizhals.de discount site knocks a few quid off.

Genuinely haven't a notion about extra tech or whatever, I know the 290 runs faster but the 280X is still a dramatic upgrade from a 7770. I actually went from an AMD CPU, and a 7770 to 4460, that motherboard and a 280X :eek:

Yeah there'll be a huge gaming difference, most games are only single core, and Intel cores preform better than AMD, so a 3.4Ghz AMD to a 3.2gHz i5 will be a massive jump. I went from a 4.4gHz to the 4460, it was a worthy upgrade.

You could still go the 290 with 1080p over the 280x obviously, the 290 will outpreform it regardless, 1440p was just a suggestion while you were upgrading the monitor

Definitely food for thought, I'm having a look at some meatier monitors at the moment. The one thing I'd be wary of is that Seagate drive - I've nothing but bad experiences with them in the past and they seem to have a pretty high failure rate in general.

But yeah, cheers for the input dude. It's much appreciated.