Tips on new PC parts & additional media PC.

[Negata]

Hey guys, I haven't followed any hardware development in years so I need some advice before placing an order on a new PC. My current specs:

K9A2 NEO2 Motherboard (MSI AM2+ AMD770 DDR2 SATA2 GLAN ATX)
AMD PHENOM 8650 TRIPLE-CORE 95 AM2+
4GB mem (2GB 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC CL6 DIMM)
MSI GeForce 460GTX
ACE Streamer ATX case.

TL;DR:
Budget: 500-1000€. Needz better PC, GFX not extremely essential.

:?:

Now, I don't play a lot and when I do it's usually none of the newest titles so I'm almost satisfied with the GFX card. However I'd like to get some more out of DayZ standalone which runs at around 15fps when configured properly, but I'm not sure if it's more of a CPU or GPU issue.

Memory. My biggest problem at the moment is insufficient memory for my activities so I'll go at least 8GB, preferably 16 to make sure (should allow me to get rid of dual-booting and just run the other OS in a virtualbox 24/7 very comfortably). So is it better to go say 4x4 kit or does it matter if it's 2x8 (or 1x16, dunno if they make those in a reasonably price range anyway)?

Then the CPU, I have no clue if it's better to go Intel of AMD here. I'm looking for best value for money, maybe slightly leaning towards power vs cheap. In addition, anything to say about related motherboards? In-built WLAN might be a plus but not a factor.

Casing, power & cooling. I have no idea what's a sufficient PSU but not overkill. Atm I have a 500W. And then one of the biggest points: in all selections I'm willing to pay a little extra to get a more quiet system, however I don't want to assemble/maintain anything by myself so it shouldn't go overboard with complexity - I could, but I just want to avoid the hassle. Can buy a new case if it's essential for the noise level.

Everything else: You can leave SDD's, DVD's, peripherals etc out of consideration and budget. Anything else that goes into the PC case I need recommendations for.

--

Target #2 :
Since I'll be left over with probably all my old parts save for hard disks (and case/PSU perhaps?) plus my current mobo is a micro-ATX, I'd love to recycle these into a smaller media PC to attach to a TV. Case is rather important here and connectivity via HDMI (with sound, does it route through GFX card?). I'll probably buy a WLAN stick for this as well.


My budget for this all is around 500-1000€ meaning I want to get it for a reasonable price and not pay hundreds extra for negligible benefits, but I'll happily go into the higher range for good reasons. Focus is on the upgrade of my PC but getting a sweet media center out of spare parts would be awesome.

 

[Monolith]

Hey guys, I haven't followed any hardware development in years so I need some advice before placing an order on a new PC. My current specs:

K9A2 NEO2 Motherboard (MSI AM2+ AMD770 DDR2 SATA2 GLAN ATX)
AMD PHENOM 8650 TRIPLE-CORE 95 AM2+
4GB mem (2GB 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC CL6 DIMM)
MSI GeForce 460GTX
ACE Streamer ATX case.

TL;DR:
Budget: 500-1000€. Needz better PC, GFX not extremely essential.

:?:

Now, I don't play a lot and when I do it's usually none of the newest titles so I'm almost satisfied with the GFX card. However I'd like to get some more out of DayZ standalone which runs at around 15fps when configured properly, but I'm not sure if it's more of a CPU or GPU issue.

Memory. My biggest problem at the moment is insufficient memory for my activities so I'll go at least 8GB, preferably 16 to make sure (should allow me to get rid of dual-booting and just run the other OS in a virtualbox 24/7 very comfortably). So is it better to go say 4x4 kit or does it matter if it's 2x8 (or 1x16, dunno if they make those in a reasonably price range anyway)?

Then the CPU, I have no clue if it's better to go Intel of AMD here. I'm looking for best value for money, maybe slightly leaning towards power vs cheap. In addition, anything to say about related motherboards? In-built WLAN might be a plus but not a factor.

Casing, power & cooling. I have no idea what's a sufficient PSU but not overkill. Atm I have a 500W. And then one of the biggest points: in all selections I'm willing to pay a little extra to get a more quiet system, however I don't want to assemble/maintain anything by myself so it shouldn't go overboard with complexity - I could, but I just want to avoid the hassle. Can buy a new case if it's essential for the noise level.

Everything else: You can leave SDD's, DVD's, peripherals etc out of consideration and budget. Anything else that goes into the PC case I need recommendations for.

--

Here's a good build from a store in Finland...didn't know where you were buying from but prices should be comparable at other stores. This is custom build that you will have to put together but it is super easy once you get past the fear of actually doing it....

Case:

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Motherboard:

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Processor:

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RAM:

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GPU:

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PSU:

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Total: 593€

This is a strong PC that will last for a long time. Plenty of RAM for what you want to do and that GPU will blow your current one out of the water.

Target #2 :
Since I'll be left over with probably all my old parts save for hard disks (and case/PSU perhaps?) plus my current mobo is a micro-ATX, I'd love to recycle these into a smaller media PC to attach to a TV. Case is rather important here and connectivity via HDMI (with sound, does it route through GFX card?). I'll probably buy a WLAN stick for this as well.

As for the Multimedia computer...if everything works on the computer now..I would simply throw all the parts into a good looking case...like this:

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and then purchase a multimedia PC controller with a remote. The motherboard you have now has 7.1 surround on it already and the rest of the specs are good for playing HD videos....

And yes..HDMI carries the sound if just hooking it up to the TV...but your motherboard also offers 7.1 connections in the back so if you ever buy a surround sound system for the TV you can hook it up through those.

Total cost of both projects: 632€ plus 50-100€ for the remote....732€. If you do not want to build it yourself...buy the parts and take them to your local computer shop...they will probably charge you 100€ to put it all together.

Money to spare

 

[Negata]

@Monolith thanks for the build. I was actually considering buying one of Jimm's pre-built packages before and they do have an assembly service so it's all good. Any ideas about the noise level in the build? At the moment I think it's the CPU fan actually that makes the most noise so it's probably a casing thing then?

Just thinking of the new specs makes me drool.

 

[Monolith]

Well if you want to ensure a quiet computer it's as simple as water cooling your CPU....I have mine water cooled and 6 after market fans running and it doesn't make even as much as a peep...not a single noise at all...seriously..I'm trying to express how quiet this thing is here.....like really really....ok I'll stop lol

Since your not going to be doing any overclocking a simple single fan watercooling system would work perfect...

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It's completely a sealed system so you don't have to worry about evaporation or leaks...mine isn't even as nice as that Corsair I just linked and has been running for 2 years so far with no problems...