Thoughts on Haswell upgrade?

[nyfirefly11]

I'm upgrading an older system, and I have a few options. For the most part, I do general computing, so I don't need much. On the other hand, every once and a while I'll do photo/video editing (Photoshop, Premier), and gaming with FSX. OC'ing capability isn't as important as quality, stability, performance with the above apps.

Here are the items I already own that I'll keep:
Corsair TX750W
16GB G.skill ripjaws DDR3 1600 (4x4)
EVGA GTX 650 Ti 1GB
Samsung 840 256GB + a few HDDs
Asus Xonar Essence

Here's what I'm looking at with the other hardware:

Case:
NZXT Phantom 410 or 530 (I like the design, good airflow and cable management. I'd prefer to stay away from anything bigger than the 530)

Mobo (I'd rather not spend more than $200, so here are the boards that have the best ratings on NE. They're all fine for me in terms of specs):
Asus Maximus VI Hero
Asus Z87-Pro
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H/4H
ASRock Z87 Extreme 4/5 (but my ASRock mobo just died, and their customer service isn't great)
MSI Z87 GD45/65

CPU (all at MC):
i5 4570 ($159)
i5 4670K ($199)
i7 4770 ($199)
i7 4770K ($279)

Cooler:
Corsair H100i or Noctua DH-14 (the Corsair probably beets Noctua by a few degrees depending on set up, but may be louder, and has more failure points).

Any strong thoughts?

 

[Termie]

Just to be clear, this isn't an upgrade of your 2600K system, correct?

In your situation, at those prices, I'd get the 4770 (are you sure it's $199)? It has plenty of power (and threads) for photo/video editing, and you said overclocking isn't important to you.

I'd actually consider getting an H87 motherboard with that chip and saving yourself a lot of money. None of those Z87 boards have features that you truly need with your intended uses.

The Phantom 530 looks nice, but it's a huge case. Have you considered going with an mATX build? It would work fine with your components.

Last thing - those coolers are serious overkill (and totally unnecessary) for your build. Were you looking at those to improve upon the noise character of the stock cooler, or because you were concerned about temps? With a non-OC's system, temps won't be an issue.

 

[schmuckley]

Other boards to consider:
AsRock z87 OCF,also mATX version
Biostar Hi-Fi z87x 3d
Giga z87x-OC

M6 Gene

^2 of those are the best z87 boards.

 

[RaistlinZ]

4770 since overclocking isn't that important. For the same reason, you shouldn't have to spend $200.00 on a motherboard either.

 

[Sleepingforest]

If you are upgrading your 2600K system, I wouldn't bother with getting anything new other than a graphics card. CPUs haven't improved enough to make an OC'd 2600K obselete. In fact, pretty much all of your build is fine as is, and you won't improve much at all in Photoshop, Premier, or FSX. I'd actually just get more RAM.

As for a cooler, you don't need that strong of one for running at stock, or even a low overclock. An H80i will perform just fine, as will a Noctua U14S, or even a Scythe Katana 4.

 

[mfenn]

In your situation, at those prices, I'd get the 4770 (are you sure it's $199)? It has plenty of power (and threads) for photo/video editing, and you said overclocking isn't important to you.

Indeed. MC is showing it at $250 for me. Not a bad deal for somebody who does video editing and encoding though.

Still, I agree that an upgrade from an i7 2600K to an i7 4770K isn't that great. You're talking about a 20-30% overall improvement.

 

[nyfirefly11]

Ah, sorry, you're right - it's $250 - still not bad though.

I figured the CPU improvement won't be much. It's more that:
1. I have an eATX mobo and full tower case, and I'd like to slim things down at least a little bit
2. The mobo died, and it's going to be 3 weeks to get a new one, because ASRock doesn't cross-ship. IT was only a year old, and I thought I get a new smaller board from a manufacturer with better QC and customer service (which may not exist anymore)
3. If I'm going to buy a new mobo and smaller case, I thought I might as well upgrade to Haswell so it lasts longer, and sell the 2700/old mobo

But I hear what you all are saying

I wouldn't mind spending less than $150 on a mobo, but the reviews on them aren't great (at least the ATX). Not sure I want to go all the way down to mATX.

It definitely sounds like I can a much cheaper cooler though, so that's good!

 

[Sleepingforest]

I figure you don't care too much about budget as long as your money is being well spent, since you haven't mentioned one.

Here are my thoughts: You have to do a person value evaluation. Here's the 2600K at stock versus a 4770 (well, the unoverclocked 4770K). The Haswell chip takes 78.8% of the time of the Sandy Bridge chip. How much is that worth to you? If you live near a Microcenter, then I would go for a i7 4770 combo with a H87 or B85 motherboard, since that's going to be the cheapest option to upgrade. Pretty much any motherboard with 4 DIMM slots is good enough--really high price motherboard tend to have lots of features which do add some degree of value--just nothing that you would use (like a small 60GB SSD. Who needs that when you could get a $60 cheaper motherboard?). On that note, you'll probably want to upgrade to 32GB of RAM if you use Photoshop multiple times a week and it's not at a speed you like while you use it.

You're going to have to look at your hard drives and see if you want to consolidate it all to one. If you got smaller (like, under 1TB hard drives) from 2009/2010, there are somewhat compelling reasons to switch to a single 2 or 3TB HDD (fewer platters, better speeds being the primary two reasons).

Now, your PSU seems to be non-modular and 160cm. This is not a deal breaker, but it does make a strictly small case (mITX, some smaller mATX) difficult. One good, small option is the Silverstone TJ08-e, which uses a single large fan. I can personally attest to how quiet and effective it is. It also has room for a couple of HDDs, and a pretty big graphics card. If you don't mind an ATX case, the Phantom 530 is not bad, but it is basically 9"x22"x22", which is a decent size. The Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 and 2 are also worth a look at the mid tower size.

 

[nyfirefly11]

Thanks for the additional info.

I think I'm going with the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 - it's $79 at MC, along with the CM 212 EVO ($29 at MC).

In terms of CPU/mobo bundles at MC, I can only do the i7-4770K or the i5-4670K as a bundle, and I can get (prices incl the CPU):
1. ASRock Z87-Extreme4 ($395/$315)
2. Asus Z87-A ($400/$320)
3. Gigabyte UD4H ($430/$350)
4. Asus Z87 Pro ($435/$355)
5. MSI Z87-G41 ($335/$255)

I could also go with the Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3, which is pretty basic, but seems solid, for $85 from NE

 

[lehtv]

I'd get 4670K + Extreme4

 

[Charlie98]

The Gigabyte B85 board only has 6 internal SATA ports... I don't know how many HDDs you are talking about reusing, along with whatever else you may have. The UD4H you listed (my choice from your list...) has 8 SATA ports.

Sleepingforest also beat me to it... it might be a good time to retire and consolidate some of those older/smaller HDDs.

Personally, given your stated purpose, I don't know why you are going full ATX board and case. You could very easily go with an mATX board in a smaller case like the Fractal Define Mini.

How about:

4670K or 4770K,
GA-Z87MX-D3H mobo, ($325/$405 MC bundle)
Fractal Define Mini case (although the DS2 looks like a very nice case, too.)

 

[nyfirefly11]

I'm tempted by the mATX, but just in case I want to expand more in the future, I'd rather the room

I'd have to go back and see what drives I have in there besides the Samsung, but I'm pretty sure it's an Intel 120GB SDD, 2 WD 2TB Black drives from 2 or 3 years ago, and maybe one WD 500GB Blue.

 

[mfenn]

You can put the 2600K into a new Z77 board, of which there are plenty. I'd say to get an ATX Z77 board like the ASUS Z77-A for $95 AR plus a new case and call it good.

 

[nwo]

Haswell is a trap... Stick with your 2600k, upgrade your GPU, and call it a day!

What is the reason for upgrading from your 2600k anyway? You really won't see a noticeable performance difference to justify the $400-500 you will have to spend on the upgrade. The most you'll get is a 20% performance boost in certain applications which you mentioned you occasionally use.

 

[Headfoot]

Haswell is a trap... Stick with your 2600k, upgrade your GPU, and call it a day!

What is the reason for upgrading from your 2600k anyway? You really won't see a noticeable performance difference to justify the $400-500 you will have to spend on the upgrade. The most you'll get is a 20% performance boost in certain applications which you mentioned you occasionally use.

He already answered that question in the thread.

OP: Make sure you look at MC's monthly catalog to see which motherboards have the combo $40 or $60 off with processor deals available for them

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'm tempted by the mATX, but just in case I want to expand more in the future, I'd rather the room

I'd have to go back and see what drives I have in there besides the Samsung, but I'm pretty sure it's an Intel 120GB SDD, 2 WD 2TB Black drives from 2 or 3 years ago, and maybe one WD 500GB Blue.

Jesus you have a lot of HDD space. Maybe you should think about an NAS, especially if you think you'll need more sapce in the future. I think those WD Blacks should still be under warranty too, so there's zero reason to get rid of them.

I'd personally just replace the 500GB drive with another 2/3TB HDD and build a NAS. It would be pretty cheap too, since you can get away with a very weak processor, a basic case, and a small power supply.

 

[nwo]

He already answered that question in the thread.

OP: Make sure you look at MC's monthly catalog to see which motherboards have the combo $40 or $60 off with processor deals available for them

Ah I see the mobo died... Still, I'd stay away from Haswell since it would be a costly upgrade even if you are able to recover $200-250 tops for your current combo, meaning that you'll end up spending $200 out of pocket on the Haswell upgrade. I'd just get a used z77 for ~$50 or even a brand new one if I were you. Since you have a MC nearby, you can always buy a new mobo for your current build and return it once the replacement arrives

 

[mfenn]

Since you have a MC nearby, you can always buy a new mobo for your current build and return it once the replacement arrives

Or you could, you know, have ethics.

 

[nyfirefly11]

All, thanks so much for all of the suggestions.

I finally decided to upgrade the case to a Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (thanks @Sleepingforest), leave the other components as is, and rebuild when I get the mobo fixed.

In looking at spending $ for Haswell, it seemed, based on all of your suggestions and reviews, that at most, I'd get a 20% bump from an i5 4670 on single-threaded apps, and I could actually go down on certain multi-threaded apps (and I didn't want to spend the $ for the i7).

So, I'll take the new case and wait another year or two to upgrade more components.

Thanks!

 

[nwo]

Or you could, you know, have ethics.

So, I'll take the new case and wait another year or two to upgrade more components.

You made the right decision :thumbsup:

 

[DigDog]

getting within an inch of overclocking - H100, Z87 board, and a $200 haswell - and NOT overclocking to a safe 4.3Ghz, is a crime, at least here on AT.

juz' sayin.

also, what nwo said