Advice wanted over new PC

[RandBlade]

My PC that I built back in 2007 has finally died this week (the graphics card has died and I don't think its economically worth replacing it). As its so long since I built my machine and I'm having to replace it suddenly I'm not sure how best to replace it. Whether there's still much of an advantage in building a machine yourself or not (my last one certainly lasted a while). While selecting a processor seems now to be about as complicated as choosing a car with model names rather than best MHz/GHz wins.

If I go down the route of building a machine there's some parts I think I can salvage:
HDDs - I have a few TB of HDDs so would salvage these and use these for storage of data/downloads etc. I don't have but would like to get an SSD for the Operating System and whichever regularly used files could benefit. Not sure how big an SSD is needed then? This seems an advantage for self-build as most packaged machines seem to come with a new HDD (not SSD) which seems pointless.
Optical Drive - Got a DVD writer, don't think I need a Blu Ray one, can retro fit if ever needed.
Case - not sure if the case can be used with a new more modern Motherboard or if the holes for the screws would be in the wrong position, or if the USB slots at the front would be useless or something else silly. My case is a Cooler Master Cosmos: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/chassi...master-cosmos/
PSU - Power is power right? Its quite a powerful PSU or was then, or have adaptors changed or something.

What I think I will need:
Motherboard (based presumably on CPU socket required), would probably want ~6+ SATA ports for my HDDs etc
Processor - Thinking maybe a good i5 or cheaper i7 but very flexible on this, Not biased for either Intel or AMD
GPU
RAM - Is it worth going for DDR4?

What I'd like to use the machine for:
Modern games (strategy/RPG), internet, accounts software - not FPS games that are more demanding typically. I have a PS4 so not regularly on the PC for games anyway. I'd like to be able to use dual monitors.
Will probably install Win 7 since I have a licence for that, until Win 10 comes out. Don't see any point in buying a Win 8.1 licence.

Budget: Flexible. Probably around £1000 total but don't want to spend unnecessarily on bleeding edge if it doesn't get bang for buck. If it'll only be half the price six months from now its pretty pointless.

PS A lot has changed in the last seven and a half years, I built the PC after getting advice on the specs from the Infogrames Community Chat forum, since then Atari took over and we moved here. I expected the PC to last about three years as standard and it lasted over twice that long; my mobile was basically a Nokia 3210 (or equivalent) and since then had iPhone come and be displaced as king of the phones, I didn't even have a Laptop now we have tablets and wearable tech. The PS3 had just been released, now I have a PS4. I was single then, now married with a baby.

PPS my most modern PC games for comparison are EUIV, Sims 4 and Rome 2 (though I've not played the last one yet).

PPPS I'd like the machine to be as quiet as reasonably possible. I do not want to go the route of water-cooling.

[Khendraja'aro]

If you want it cool and quiet, something like this will be good: Cooler Master Nepton 240M - noise level of 38 dB under load which is very quiet. Will most likely fit into your chassis. Costs about €90. I have a similar (yet older) version of this, the Corsair H60 and am very content with it. It's quiet and quite able to keep the CPU at nearly ambient temperature, with a maximum temperature of ~45 °C under load.

A SSD size of 256 GB is sufficient - I myself have a 128 GB SSD and it's a bit of a hassle sometimes, but still gets the job done. The Samsung 850 Pro costs about 150€ in that size.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K, 4x 3.50GHz, ~ €210€
MoBo: ASRock Z97 Pro4 ~€80
GPU: nVidia GTX 770 €230-300
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport DIMM Kit 8GB, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24 ~€55

That would be mid-range.

Higher specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K, 4x 4.00GHz, ~ €298,39
MoBo: ASRock Z97 Pro4 ~€80
GPU: GeForce GTX 970 €300-360
RAM: G.Skill TridentX DIMM Kit 8GB, DDR3-2400, CL10-12-12-31 ~€75

[RandBlade]

Thanks that's great, will look into that set.

So you wouldn't recommend jumping in with the DDR4? It seems that requires a 99 motherboard and the whole thing becomes really expensive then.

No need to change chassis to install those Mobos?

EDIT: If I'm keeping a DDR3-based system is there any use in salvaging my old DIMMs or would they be useless? IIRC they're DDR3 but a very, very early model. Probably wrong number of pins though as that seems to have changed within the lifetime of DDR3.

[Khendraja'aro]

Change the RAM (but not to DDR4, though!), keep the chassis, the specs for those didn't change much over the last years. The PSU might be okay, depending on the type and amount of connectors it has.

It should have: 1x 20/24-pin, 1x 4/8-pin ATX12V, 2x 6/8-pin PCIe and 6 SATA connectors. The first two are for the motherboard, the PCIe are needed for the GPU. If it doesn't have one of those, you should consider this PSU:

be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM 500W ATX 2.4

Costs about €80.

[RandBlade]

Pretty sure it has all those connectors. May be a dumb question but why 2x PCIe if it only has one GPU?

[Khendraja'aro]

Because the more powerful GPUs need two, due to power requirements.

[RandBlade]

OK browsing my favourite parts suppliers website - www.scan.co.uk - I've built a basket of these to play around with based on your list, any suggestions of changes or if it looks good?

CPU: i5 4690 £164.58 Link (can get it £10 cheaper OEM without heat sink/fan if you think that fan's no good).
Mobo: ASRock Z97 Pro4 £82.80 Link
GPU: GTX970 £269.66 Link (Was only £10 difference on the 770 so figured to go for this).
RAM: 8GB (2x4) Corsair 1600 CAS 9-9-9-24 £65.76 Link (Couldn't find your one and was unsure if I had got this one right).
SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB £79.50 Link

Total £674.10

Any need not to go with the stock CPU heat sink/fan?

Wasn't sure if it was worth going for 16GB RAM?

Would I need any extra miscellaneous bits like cables or thermal gel etc?

[earthJoker]

A SSD size of 256 GB is sufficient - I myself have a 128 GB SSD and it's a bit of a hassle sometimes, but still gets the job done. The Samsung 850 Pro costs about 150€ in that size.

I would actually go for a 500 GB these days.

[RandBlade]

Hmm I think if I start to install games from my Steam library etc then 256 won't go very far, though not sure if that's necessary/helpful.

Found this 512GB one. Any further thoughts?

Oh and with that i5 4690 CPU I wouldn't think I'd need to overclock any time soon would I? So would a replacement CPU be necessary (the current chassis helps keep the machine quiet). Also any thoughts on if I'd need new thermal paste or not or any extra cables or miscellaneous bits and bobs. Probably a new SATA cable for the new SSD if it doesn't come with one, its a Retail package would that normally come with a cable?

[Aimless]

Can you buy a pre-assembled mobo+cpu?

[RandBlade]

Is there a point? Not seen that listed on their website, I'd have thought that would give a higher risk of damage in shipping than buying them in boxes.

[Ominous Gamer]

Hmm I think if I start to install games from my Steam library etc then 256 won't go very far, though not sure if that's necessary/helpful.

I use a 128gb SSD, I was worried at first, by Steam has this amazing feature in that you don't have to download multiple games.

SSD prices have been falling like crazy lately, to the point that 40 cents per gig seems to be normal now for sales. But I'm holding off till I built my next machine, which I plan to be an ITX with M.2 SSD connections.

[RandBlade]

I like to flit from game to game depending upon what takes my fancy. I'd rather not have to wait to redownload 20GB of install files just because I fancy playing Xcom right now. Even on Fibre Broadband that's a pain.

[Timbuk2]

I have a 256GB SSD, but no worries with Steam, I set it to use my normal HDD on a different drive as default.

Oh, and definitely go with 16GB RAM if you're upgrading; costs little extra.

[RandBlade]

There seem to be lots of choices for DDR3, dual triple or quad channel. 208 or 240 pin. I assume I need the 240pin and 208 is for Laptops? Any idea how many channels would suit this motherboard? Found this 2x8GB set would that be the right set to go for?

[Ominous Gamer]

If you're not sure what you're doing, stick to this list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Pro4/?cat=Memory

[Khendraja'aro]

Any need not to go with the stock CPU heat sink/fan?

Yes? The stock heat sinks are usually quite noisy. Don't skimp there.

And there's a reason why I listed the Samsung SSD - it's quite a bit faster and more performant And I didn't list higher capacities as you said that you have additional hard discs available - and it doesn't matter for most games whether they're on an SSD or a hard disc.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/256gb...0k-90k-iops-ma

[RandBlade]

Thanks for all the advice guys, the orders been placed.

[RandBlade]

Got my parts, had to wait til Chloe went to sleep (don't want a baby crawling around while I'm doing this) but got a bit stuck on the first stage of installing the motherboard. The previous motherboard mustn't have been the same ATX as the mounting holes go much wider than the new MB. Trying to find a printable mounting template as I don't want to mess around with the new mobo.

[RandBlade]

Nevermind. The new mobo is approximately the size of an A4 for comparison. My old mobo had 9 pins but was deeper away from the IO ports than the new one. The first six pins are in the exact same position while the last three there's nothing there if that makes sense. So I've screwed it in onto those six screws. There are other holes but they're not scewed in now. Not sure if that is a problem or if six screws will be secure - hope so.

[Khendraja'aro]

It's usually not a problem unless you bought a big-ass cpu fan

[RandBlade]

Actually I went with the default CPU fan rather than buying separate. Problem is it seems to want to just be pushed in with the four pegs in the corner, got one in but can't get the other three. Don't want to force it but it doesn't want to pop down.

[Khendraja'aro]

And to think you told us that you wanted it to be quiet

[RandBlade]

I do but I also didn't want to waste money. The chassis kept the old machine with default fan quiet, since I was keeping the chassis I figured I'd keep the boxed fan.

The fan is installed with 4x "push pins" rather than screws. The pins simply do not want to go down, a lot of people online seem to get the same issue, can't seem to find a solution other than 'push it down'. Don't get why they can't just use screws

EDIT: Fixed it! The pins are supposed to be installed in the locked position and open out when pushed in, some of mine were already locked in the open position. Unlocked all four and pulled them out and got them to the same position and they clicked in very easily.

[RandBlade]

Argh! Finished installing everything (bar the SSD, bought 2.5" without realising it) but it won't turn on. Press the power button and a fan spins once for a fraction of the second and the power light goes blue for that fraction then nothing. It all stops.

[RandBlade]

Sorry for all the treble-posts etc. Update: I'd forgotten to put the 8pin (2x4) 12v PSU connector in (why does a Mobo need two connectors anyway). That didn't fix it though, cleared the CMOS and that did fix it.

Windows now doesn't properly want to boot, which is hardly a shock as its the original HDDs back in so not a clean install on a new HDD. Running startup repair on it now, but getting visuals etc so I'm hoping its just a case of dealing with software from now on rather than hardware.

I'm assuming I'll be able to get some sort of caddy/adaptor to get my 2.5" HDD into a 3.5" one at some point.

EDIT: OK I'm giving up for the night. Touch wood its working, but I'm getting a BSOD error whenever I try to boot my old Windows. Asks on the BSOD if I've installed new hardware recently to disconnect it, hmm where to start . I've reserved a 2.5"-3.5" mounting tray online which I can collect in-store in the morning so I'll install the SSD then and do a clean install of Windows as intended. Fingers crossed that fixes everything.

EDIT 2 fixed it (sort of). Apparently a BSOD after changing Mobo is quite common. Switching a BIOS setting from AHCI drives to IDE allowed the system to boot up, though in 640x480 mode. Once booted dozens of drivers self - installed. I think installing the rest of the drivers will fix everything though I still intend to end up with an SSD OS.

[Timbuk2]

Eeesh what a palava.

This is why I use the likes of PC Specialist UK.

You choose the components you want, they ensure compatibility between all the components, build it, and ship it out, for little or no extra cost to building it yourself.

Still, I spose you do learn quite a bit about it by DIY, I guess.

[Khendraja'aro]

Sorry for all the treble-posts etc. Update: I'd forgotten to put the 8pin (2x4) 12v PSU connector in (why does a Mobo need two connectors anyway). That didn't fix it though, cleared the CMOS and that did fix it.

Windows now doesn't properly want to boot, which is hardly a shock as its the original HDDs back in so not a clean install on a new HDD. Running startup repair on it now, but getting visuals etc so I'm hoping its just a case of dealing with software from now on rather than hardware.

I'm assuming I'll be able to get some sort of caddy/adaptor to get my 2.5" HDD into a 3.5" one at some point.

EDIT: OK I'm giving up for the night. Touch wood its working, but I'm getting a BSOD error whenever I try to boot my old Windows. Asks on the BSOD if I've installed new hardware recently to disconnect it, hmm where to start . I've reserved a 2.5"-3.5" mounting tray online which I can collect in-store in the morning so I'll install the SSD then and do a clean install of Windows as intended. Fingers crossed that fixes everything.

EDIT 2 fixed it (sort of). Apparently a BSOD after changing Mobo is quite common. Switching a BIOS setting from AHCI drives to IDE allowed the system to boot up, though in 640x480 mode. Once booted dozens of drivers self - installed. I think installing the rest of the drivers will fix everything though I still intend to end up with an SSD OS.

Erm, Rand, you don't want IDE-mode. AHCI is kind of important for the performance of your discs. Otherwise you needn't have bothered with upgrading to an SSD.

Yes, it's that much of a performance boost.

[earthJoker]

Often you need to set it to IDE to install the SSD drivers, once you did that you should switch back.

[Khendraja'aro]

SSD drivers? You don't need special drivers for SSDs. That's what the SATA-standard is for. You might need some kind of utility program for non-standard features but drives are plug-and-play.

Otherwise you wouldn't be able to install Windows on SSD drives in the first place.