Upgrading PC a bit, to case or not to case.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 12:43

Currently I'm running an Antec900, and I like it. No problems at all really.

I have a cpu bottleneck, got 2000$ to spend, so gonna put some of that into the PC.

I originally looked at a 980x, but it's not really worth it for gaming, this is pretty much what I'm upgrading:

E8500 Core2duo > i7 950
Asus Rampage Formula mobo > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128423
2gb Corsair dominator ddr2 > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224

And well that's it, other than an h50 or h70 maybe. Now, I've been thinking about it. These parts I'm removing I have another case in the basement I could toss them in... or, I could just grab a new case. Lot of people seem to recommend either Antec1200 or the HAF932. I overclock, and like to run cool, so good airflow is important. However loud airflow is not what I want. I'm partial to the 1200 since I like the 300 and 900 in my house already, but is it going to be too loud? I'm up for something different all together too, and I know the full towers are huge but I'm getting tired of working around the tight spaces in my 900. Cable management is a biggie.

Should I bother getting a case at all? If I get a new case it would almost feel like I'm getting a whole new computer, when all I was doing was upgrading to eliminate my bottleneck. If I get the case, the thought of, well maybe shoulda gotten a new psu, or an SSD, comes into play.

What are your thoughts on thee cases, or any other good recommendations, and should I even bother doing anything more than cpu/mobo/ram?

**Adajer** · 2010-09-03 13:10

Most people recommended the HAF X or 1200 to me. Didn't know people still liked the 932. If you are going with the h50/70 the 1200's two back fans would be nice to install the cooler and still have a rear fan for exhaust. the 1200 would be more spacious and cooler than the 900. Hey, if you got 2k to spend, why not get better performance.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 13:20

I didn't even see the haf X, I'll look that up now.

I thought the same thing at first about better performance, that's why I mentioned the 980x, ssd's, etc, but then the "upgrade" aspect disappears and it's almost a new build. Having the rest of the money to put elsewhere was a thought as well.

edit: guess I originally meant the HAF X I just newegged the wrong case in my OP to compare the 1200 to.

**SaviorSelf** · 2010-09-03 15:52

If you're going to be taking out the mobo, you're pretty much gutting it anyway. I've got the 932 and love it, btw. Worth the $70~ to upgrade to the HAF X? Eh. It's mostly cosmetic, and you could always just replace some of the fans (like the side panel one) to get better cooling on your GPU. If you absolutely need the cooling, maybe I guess, but the HAF932 does fine on its own.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 17:30

Gutting it was what I was thinking too, and if I pick up a new case and PSU, it gives me a really really good backup PC, since I have a 4870X2 card lying in a box in my closet. So I added a psu/case to the build, they are upgrades as well so it falls in place. I think I'm gonna go with the antec1200 over the HAF X, kind of afraid of the HAF side fan not clearing my gtx480... plus, sister has an antec300, I have a 900, I'm happy with both and we have ALOT of dust in the house.

Going to be going for this setup:

CPU+Mobo Combo-15$, Mobo also has a 10% off promo code. Not sure if I want a better mobo or not: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.501338
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224
Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181013
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129043
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139011

mmmm modular. Hope all the cables are long enough, cable management is such a peeve of mine.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 19:35

Ok. changing the mobo and maybe ram. I picked that ram because it's the highest rated 3x 2gb on newegg... but thinking about it, the other motherboards support much higher than ddr3 1600, so since I have the spending room, should I shoot for different ram? maybe 1800 or 2000?

Gonna keep everything else methinks.

So any mobo/ram recommendations?

**Gredival** · 2010-09-03 20:31

I don't think going past DDR 1600 is a really good cost to benefit trade off atm. Prices will be much lower on much better ram before the difference will be appreciable. You probably don't want to do it, but switching to an SSD will give much better benefits for the cost atm than ram upgrades from 1600 to 2000.

And as a HAF 932 owner I can almost guarantee the side fan will clear your card. I just peeked down in my case, I have at least 3 inches of clearance on my 4890. I also have the 750W Corsair PSU and there is ample ability to route behind the motherboard plate for the HAF to keep all the cables clear

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 21:08

I was reading one review that said the HAF X fan and shroud doesn't clear gtx 480's in sli, so I was worried.

The 1600ram and 2000ram's are the same prices.

I still need to find a different motherboard, don't think the one I selected is 1600 compatible (although I think it is, even if it doesn't list it).

Not sure if I want to spend 200$ on an 80gb SSD... I can get windows maybe WoW on there, ffxiv too if I'm lucky + apps. I'm pretty happy with my current 150gb 10k rpm + 640gb 7200rpm storage setup.

***Neogearzx*** · 2010-09-03 21:42

if i didnt know any better this looks like the my build ;o ...lol
guess i picked decent enough parts... they all just came in the mail so ill build it tomorrow and let ya know how i like the board and all.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-03 22:22

Well it's almost the best parts available so if you went with that of course it'll look similar. As mentioned I originally had a 980x in the build. Hopefully won't regret my best opportunity to pick one up.

You went with same board and ram?

***Neogearzx*** · 2010-09-03 22:35

This is what i ordered and will be building tomorrow:
Prices might have changed since i ordered the parts

AZZA Solano 1000 CSAZ-1000 Full Tower Case (Black) @ Amazon.com ( $99.99 )
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Corsair Hydro Series H70 High Performance CPU Cooler CWCH70 @ Amazon.com ( $102.96 )
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @ Newegg.com ( $59.99 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W Modular Power Supply @ Newegg ( $159.99 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139011

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Memory @ Newegg ( $194.99 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224

Viewsonic VX2239WM 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Wide 16:9 1920x1080 Full HD Monitor @ Amazon.com ( $177.99 )
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard @ Newegg.com ( $209.99 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128423

EVGA 012-P3-1470-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card @ Newegg.com ($319.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130550

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM @ Newegg.com ( $99.99 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754

Intel Core i7 930 @ Micro Center ( $199.99 )

Total: $1625.90

**denizenl** · 2010-09-03 23:24

One recommendation for case I like to recommend that I dont see people posting here often is the Silverstone FT02 case. While a tad more expensive than most cases, it is superbly built. With 90 degree rotation of motherboard and 3 180mm intake fans on bottom, air goes from bottom of case and straight up and out the top of the case. With foam padding all around the inside of the case, it's really really quiet. I have my 930 oc'd to 4ghz with ambients at 26C, my idle temps are mid 30s and on full loads barely breaks 70. Only gripe I have with the case is there's only about a half inch wide space behind the mobo for cable management.

**Adajer** · 2010-09-04 13:39

I just heard intel will be releasing the i7 990X 3.46ghz 6core in Q1 2011 for $999. So I wouldn't get the 980X now. I was trying to decide between 950 and 980. I will get the 950 and wait on the 990.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-04 15:33

Yeah I'm sticking with the 950, don't think I'll get much more out of games through the extreme versions. Out of other processes sure, but not when I strictly game on the machine.

I've narrowed it down to 4 motherboards, not sure which to get yet. Definitely want a mobo with usb 3.0, which all of these have. None of them have 5eggs, which is why it's hard to choose. Basically need a board capable of SLI for my GTX 480, and that OC's well. I have a Rampage Formula now, so I'm partial to that one, however only 1 review...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...^13-188-065-TS

Everyone but the rampage is available as a combo with the 950, anywhere from 15-35$ off.

Still have this ram selected http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145224

**Adajer** · 2010-09-04 16:15

I am also looking at the formula. I would get the extreme but I keep seeing people having problems with the chipset heatsinks. The extreme, formula, and big bang xpower are the only ones I am looking at, I want a board with space between GPUs when I SLI.

I like the formula's chipset cooling more than the extreme's. I am not sure if the prolimatech megahalems or the nh-d14 will clear them though. SLI in the extreme would have the bottom card high enough to exhaust out of a lower expansion slot, not sure if that would make a difference in temps or not. I don't really need all the extra fancy stuff on the extreme.

The Xpower looks ok but some reviews say the SLI bridges are faulty/cheap.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-04 16:18

I won't spend more than 300 on one, even that is a lot. But the more I look at the lower priced ones with USB3.0 I back away. They have some open box ones of these boards too...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131642R

You know you want to lol. Like mentioned I'm partial to the formula since I have the first one. SLI being too close isn't a big issue for me, I'll be on water when I get my 2nd 480.

**Adajer** · 2010-09-04 16:36

have you thought about going 2560x1600?

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-04 16:43

I have but hard to justify the 1200$

I'm running 2x 26inch monitors now, 1900x1200 each.

**nitsuj** · 2010-09-04 20:46

I really like my Antec P193 if you don't need a ton of space. If I upgraded, I'd get the Corsair 800D but that thing is a monster.

**Boyiee** · 2010-09-04 22:23

Think I'm gonna go with the antec1200 and the rampage mobo. Guess that build is now final.

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