My goodness things have changed! I've done a bit of research, and it seems like now might be a good time to upgrade to the new Coffee Lake processor line. As far as I can tell, I should only need 3 things in order to upgrade my current RIG. Those being CPU, MOBO, and RAM. Below are some commonly asked questions that will help y'all in advising me with my upgrade
Budget
It's a bit complicated, but let's just say for the 3 parts above it will be around $900.
Things I Plan on Doing
I've been toying with the idea of trying out one of the EK Slim series kits. I'm still nervous about water cooling since I've never done it before, but part of me has the itch to at least try. If I weren't to go with the water cooling thing, I'd probably go with a decent AIO or the Noctua NH-D15 Air Cooler. Not sure which one would offer the best bang for my buck.
How Long do I plan on Waiting Before I Upgrade Again?
Well, this last time I waited about 7 or 8 years (only upgrading my GPU and case sometime during that period). I really have the mindset of building a quality RIG that should last a long time and offer the most bang for my buck over the several years I keep it. If I were to give a time-frame now as to when I'd upgrade again, I'd say every 5-7 years.
There are probably more things that y'all would have questions for me on, I just can't think of them right now. Let me know and I'll be sure to get back to you!
CPU IDEAS
As it stands right now, I really like the idea of getting a 6 core Coffee Lake processor. Not sure if going all out and getting the i7 8700k is necessary, but then again, I really want my RIG to last 5-7 years so I'm not sure if settling on an i5 is worth it. I'll let y'all educate me on that.
MOBO IDEAS
I really like the idea of ASUS again. The MOBO I currently have has been a solid performer and hasn't let me down. I also like the new 5 way optimization tool they have out there for software based OC'ing. Right now I'm torn between two MOBOs of their's. The ROG STRIX Z370-E Gaming and the ROG MAXIMUS X HERO (WI-FI AC). From my research, the only discernible differences between the 2 that would end up mattering to me would be that the HERO has special water cooling connectors and a couple extra USB 3.1 connectors on the back. The water cooling piece of things would only come into play if I were to bite the bullet and really try the water cooling thing out. That's not to say right now, but sometime during that 5-7 year time frame that I own this RIG. There may be more differences, but I couldn't really find them.
RAM IDEAS
Honestly, I have no clue here other than I'm looking at DDR4. No idea how much the frequency differences matter when paired with the components above. I could use lots of educating here!
Thanks in advance for the help!
Budget
It's a bit complicated, but let's just say for the 3 parts above it will be around $900.
Things I Plan on Doing
- Gaming
- Music
- Web Browsing
- Nothing extensive like mining or hardcore video editing
I've been toying with the idea of trying out one of the EK Slim series kits. I'm still nervous about water cooling since I've never done it before, but part of me has the itch to at least try. If I weren't to go with the water cooling thing, I'd probably go with a decent AIO or the Noctua NH-D15 Air Cooler. Not sure which one would offer the best bang for my buck.
How Long do I plan on Waiting Before I Upgrade Again?
Well, this last time I waited about 7 or 8 years (only upgrading my GPU and case sometime during that period). I really have the mindset of building a quality RIG that should last a long time and offer the most bang for my buck over the several years I keep it. If I were to give a time-frame now as to when I'd upgrade again, I'd say every 5-7 years.
There are probably more things that y'all would have questions for me on, I just can't think of them right now. Let me know and I'll be sure to get back to you!
CPU IDEAS
As it stands right now, I really like the idea of getting a 6 core Coffee Lake processor. Not sure if going all out and getting the i7 8700k is necessary, but then again, I really want my RIG to last 5-7 years so I'm not sure if settling on an i5 is worth it. I'll let y'all educate me on that.
MOBO IDEAS
I really like the idea of ASUS again. The MOBO I currently have has been a solid performer and hasn't let me down. I also like the new 5 way optimization tool they have out there for software based OC'ing. Right now I'm torn between two MOBOs of their's. The ROG STRIX Z370-E Gaming and the ROG MAXIMUS X HERO (WI-FI AC). From my research, the only discernible differences between the 2 that would end up mattering to me would be that the HERO has special water cooling connectors and a couple extra USB 3.1 connectors on the back. The water cooling piece of things would only come into play if I were to bite the bullet and really try the water cooling thing out. That's not to say right now, but sometime during that 5-7 year time frame that I own this RIG. There may be more differences, but I couldn't really find them.
RAM IDEAS
Honestly, I have no clue here other than I'm looking at DDR4. No idea how much the frequency differences matter when paired with the components above. I could use lots of educating here!
Thanks in advance for the help!