Budget 51-70k Want to upgrade my PC from E-8400 to i5/i7

A

AMITNOIDA

Disciple
My PC is around 7 years old and I want to upgrade the same. Let me first share the config of my present PC

Cabinet - Cooler Master Centurion - 590
PSU - Corsair HX-620
Mother board - Biostar I45
Processor - Intel E-8400 3.0 Ghz
RAM - 2 x 2 GB (forgotten the brand and spec)
GPU - MSI R5770 1 GB GDDR5
HDD - WD Green 1 TB
Keyboard - Logitech K740 illuminated
Mouse - Razer Abyssus
DVD Drive - Moserbaer 20x (giving trouble in opening/closing button)
OS - Windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
UPS - APC Smart PS 1000

If I want to play the games like FIFA 15, Crysis-3, Age of Emopire-III, shall the following config will be able to give excellent performance?

Mother Board - Gigabyte H97 - D3H (Rs. 7500)
Processor - Intel i5 4690 (Rs. 15500)
GPU - MSI GTX-970 (Rs. 27500)
RAM - Corsair Venegeance (4 GB x2) 1600 MHz (Rs. 5500)
SSD - Samsung 840 Evo 120 GB (Rs. 5500)
DVD Drive - No idea of good brand product (need your suggestion pl)
Total cost - Around Rs. 63000
Cabinet, PSU, HDD, UPS, Keyboard, Mouse, OS of my existing PC are planned to be utilised in new PC.

Invite your valuable comments / suggestions on my new PC config. Whether my PSU HX-620 will be able to take load of the new PC? Shall it be advisable to go for i7 instead of i5?
 
Your planned config is good and there is no need for a DVDRW but if you really want then Asus 24B5ST DVDRW is best. Your PSU is more than enough for your config buddy.Keep it. Thanks.
 
Looks good other than the SSD. Pick up an MLC based ssd instead of the TLC samsung evo. If you can stretch a few thousand to the 840 pro, get that.
 
Thanks Bssunil and Chaos for your responses.
Asus 24B5ST DVDRW is selected. I have to check its online availability and its price.

Chaos said:
Looks good other than the SSD. Pick up an MLC based ssd instead of the TLC samsung evo. If you can stretch a few thousand to the 840 pro, get that.
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Regarding SSD, it is true that MLC (Multi Layer Cell) based SSD has better life expectancy and faster read & write speed than TLC (Three Layer Cell) based SSD, but the later is much more dense and cheaper to mass-produce. So EVO is cheaper than Pro by approx. 37% (128 GB Pro : Rs. 8k and 128 GB Evo: Rs. 5.04 k). Whether on day-to-day work one will feel the difference between Pro and Evo by that much?

One item I had forgotten to mention in my first post, that is regarding monitor. I presently have a 22" BenQ monitor and I am very happy for its troublefree performance for last 7 years. But I have a desire to upgrade the monitor to a 27 inch monitor to raise the level of enjoyment of the games. Need your suggestion on monitor model in 27" size category.
 
You should be able to get the 4690K for 15k and get a Z97 board to go with. If you don't plan to over clock at all, then save 4k and get the 4460 instead - its not really gonna make noticable difference.
 
My son is very keen to play WatchDogs in the new PC. He is keen to get an i7-4770k processor, because the WatchDogs developer recommend i7 processor for best performance. Even the PC Games 'Thief' developer also recommends i7 processor.

i7-4770k processor cost is much higher than i5-4690 processor, but whether the future games will come based on i7 processor?

How much more power (TDP) is required for an i7-4770 processor compared to i5-4690 processor? Also, what would be the heating issue for an i7 processor?
 
AMITNOIDA said:
the WatchDogs developer recommend i7 processor for best performance. Even the PC Games 'Thief' developer also recommends i7 processor.
Click to expand...
http://www.techspot.com/review/827-watch-dogs-benchmarks/page5.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/787-thief-benchmarks/page4.html
There does not appear to be any performance difference between an i5 and i7 for these two games atleast. The i7 does have hyper threading though. I would take the sys reqs with a pinch of salt, since they recommended the FX 8350 as well, and you can see how badly that does.
 
The estimated max power requirement of the PC+Monitor works out to approx. 645W (considering 80% efficiency of the PSU).

S/No Component Max Power req (W)
1 CPU (i5-4690k) 88 W
2 Motherboard (MSI Z97 - Game 3) 110 W
3 GPU (Zotac GTX970 Omega) 171 W
4 RAM (2x 8 GB) 8 W
5 Hard Disk (1TB) x 2 20 W
6 SSD 256 GB 3 W
7 DVD-Drive 27 W
8 Sound card (Asus Xonar Essence XT) 18 W
9 2x 200 mm Fan 10 W
10 2x 140 mm Fan 8 W
11 CPU Cooler (Noctua NH-U12PSE2 120 mm) 8 W
12 24" HD LED Monitor 45 W

Total 516 W
PSU Power rating (80% efficiency) 645 W

Will it be advisable to take chance with my existing Corsair HX-620 or to go for a new one of 750 or 850 W PSU?
 
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Your motherboard isn't going to use 110W, where did you get that rating from? The Monitor has it's own PSU, it will not use your HX620.

80% efficiency has nothing to do with power output. However its still good practice to load a PSU upto say 75% of its rated capacity.

All in all, you should still be fine with the HX 620.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Your motherboard isn't going to use 110W, where did you get that rating from? The Monitor has it's own PSU, it will not use your HX620.

80% efficiency has nothing to do with power output. However its still good practice to load a PSU upto say 75% of its rated capacity.

All in all, you should still be fine with the HX 620.
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Thanks Crazy_Eddy for your guidance.

The power cons. of Motherboard of 110w was derived based on one review of this MB with i7-4770k proccy to consume around 198 W with o/c upto 4.4 GHz (although I have forgotten the site name). That's why I had derived Mobo power at 110 W (i.e. 198 w - CPU power of 88W). I may be wrong.

Yes, you are very correct - The Monitor wattage should not be included in PSU load as the monitor is going to be connected directly to UPS.
So, my immediate expenditure towards a new PSU is saved and HX-620 can be put to use in my new PC.

Thanks again.
 
AMITNOIDA said:
The power cons. of Motherboard of 110w was derived based on one review of this MB with i7-4770k proccy to consume around 198 W with o/c upto 4.4 GHz (although I have forgotten the site name). That's why I had derived Mobo power at 110 W (i.e. 198 w - CPU power of 88W). I may be wrong.
Click to expand...

That 198W is ate by Proccy ONLY when overclocked.
 
AMITNOIDA said:
The power cons. of Motherboard of 110w was derived based on one review of this MB with i7-4770k proccy to consume around 198 W with o/c upto 4.4 GHz (although I have forgotten the site name). That's why I had derived Mobo power at 110 W (i.e. 198 w - CPU power of 88W). I may be wrong.
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That would be the combined load of the entire test system, and it could be measured at the wall too. Unless we look at the test setup, it's hard to say.
 
vyral_143 said:
That 198W is ate by Proccy ONLY when overclocked.
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That doesn't seem true. The overclocking may increase the frequency by say 30% and the dynamic power requirement of proccy is supposed to increase by the same margin. The proccy power comprises of static power and dynamic power. So the total power increase will be even by lower margin. So, power increase of proccy from 88W to 198 W is not feasible.

Crazy_Eddy said:
That would be the combined load of the entire test system, and it could be measured at the wall too. Unless we look at the test setup, it's hard to say.
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I agree with you. The power might be measured at the wall for the test system.
So bottom line is I am going to use my HX-620 in my new PC.

Now I have a problem w.r.t. PC Case -
I have CM Centurion CM-590 PC Case. But with ATX motherboard, GTX-970 GPU and CPU cooler etc. this case will be very challenging. So I have to upgrade my PC Case. The options are :

1) Mid Tower
2) Full Tower

I find Cooler Master cases are easily available at Nehru Place (SMC is the dealer and they stock nicely). Corsair makes nicer looking case but I have to find a dealer in Nehru place. Purchasing PC Case online from Theitdepot or Primeabgb may not be a good idea as it may get damaged/broken during transhipment. What is the experience of the Forum members, may pl share. It would be nice, if somebody share the name of Corsair PC Case dealer at Delhi.

The models I am thinking are : CM HAF XM, CM Storm Trooper (very big size), Corsair 750D, Corsair 760T, Corsair 500R. Any other brand and model may be suggested. I am not going to use water cooling and will use air cooling only. The Case should be quiet and render good cooling of CPU, GPU and HDD. LED On-off switch and Fan control is welcome.
 
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I am slightly confused w.r.t. Motherboard.

The processor is more or less decided i5-4690k and like to purchase a Z97 based mother board. I have desire to try Overclocking but has no plan for SLI.
Based on the RMA at Delhi, reliability, ease of BIOS and performance which company motherboard will be advisable? Asus, Gigabyte or MSI?
 
AMITNOIDA said:
I am slightly confused w.r.t. Motherboard.

The processor is more or less decided i5-4690k and like to purchase a Z97 based mother board. I have desire to try Overclocking but has no plan for SLI.
Based on the RMA at Delhi, reliability, ease of BIOS and performance which company motherboard will be advisable? Asus, Gigabyte or MSI?
Click to expand...

RMA & Reliability wise Both Asus & Gigabyte Are Great MSI is a Little slow in the service department .
If you are Going to try overclocking then UEFI BIOS from Asus is the best .

Regards
Jerry James
 
Thanks JJ for your pointer.

I think there are various parameters worth considering while selecting a Mobo:
1) Overclocking
2) Audio quality (I am very particular about it)
3) Thermal performance
4) M.2, SATA -Express connectivity ( I have plan for SSD as primary drive)
5) Power consumption
6) Internet performance
7) RMA & Reliability
8) Aesthetics of the Board (This is an important criteria - at least to me)

The Audio quality of a PC is an important factor to me. I have a 2 channel Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card with JVC orthodynamic headphone and I listen plenty of music by playing the FLAC files using Foober. It is a pure 2 channel card and I like it very much - earlier using with Sennheiser HD-595 Audiophile headphone, which was awesome.

But gaming audio is multichannel 5.1 or 7.1 and my 2 channel Asus soundcard may not be the best for it. In that case, how one can get 2 channel music using dedicated soundcard for music and multichannel 5.1 / 7.1 sound while gaming using onboard audio or another 5.1 sound card ? Is it possible to use 2 sound cards? What should be the best set up?

Sorry for my ignorance, and yes my question may be stupid.
 
AMITNOIDA said:
2) Audio quality (I am very particular about it)
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A cheap Xonar DX for 1.5k will easily outperform any onboard audio. It's a 7.1 channel sound card too.

AMITNOIDA said:
1) Overclocking
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AMITNOIDA said:
3) Thermal performance
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Down to VRM performance. In which case, this huge database might be helpful : http://sinhardware.com/index.php/vrm-list

AMITNOIDA said:
4) M.2, SATA -Express connectivity ( I have plan for SSD as primary drive)
Click to expand...
Which M2 SSD do you plan to get which is outperforming SATA 3 specs?

AMITNOIDA said:
5) Power consumption
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Power consumption differences between boards will be trivial, since the bulk of the power is consumed by the Intel chipset and those are the same between boards.

AMITNOIDA said:
6) Internet performance
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Down to ISP, router, modem.
 
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