Upgrade Time

[jaysnet]

Hi all, it's been over 5 years since my 1st PC Specialist computer, and it's been fantastic. However, I feel it's time for an upgrade, and to put a quote straight out there for your views, here's one:

Case
GAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z370-P: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

1st Hard Disk
500GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
6TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE

3rd Hard Disk
6TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

COOLING
Extra Case Fans2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

USB Options
2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS

* Is there an option where I could have up to 16 USB ports? I have a USB Hub with 13 ports, and this is fine, just wondered if this could be on the PC instead.... if you know what I mean.

£1,588


I'm looking to play the latest games with high settings, above average frame rate, etc, and for it to be 'future proof' for a number of years. The two 6GB drives are not essential - I just put that in the quote to see the price. Any comments / questions welcome from this fine community! :yes:

 

[Oussebon]

There are much, much better options in terms of performance per £.

What's your budget, and what monitor are you pairing this with?

 

[jaysnet]

Hi Oussebon,

Budget probably £1,500, and monitor is existing Acer S271HL. Thanks, and advise away!

 

[Oussebon]

For that budget, the Vulkan S 01 would be the obvious choice:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/267/

It's a review spec, so the configuration is fixed. However, it carries a discount, I think of about £200.

Less storage, ofc, but it has faster RAM, a faster CPU, a much more powerful GPU, a better motherboard, a better PSU, etc. You can add more storage to a system yourself down the line and potentially even borrow some from your old system, whereas replacing components like the above is expensive and often more hassle.

The Pro HDDs are also massively expensive and not close to being worth it for most people's needs.

 

[polycrac]

A new review build has popped up, the Vulcan X. A little over budget, but it does look like an extremely good value build: https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/...list-vulcan-x-i7-8700k-1080-ti-system-review/

An overclocked I8700 and a 1080ti for that price is great (though you may want to sell on the sshd and replace it with a larger hdd).

Currently not available to buy but, as I've recently seen( ) this is probably only temporary and it should be back soon.

 

[jaysnet]

Thanks again.

I looked at the Vulkan S 01 as well, looks very attractive, but would I be able to add my existing 120GB SSD and 2 x WDC 1TB Drives to it also?

Cheers!

 

[Oussebon]

The motherboard has enough Sata ports. The case only takes:

Internal Drive Bays 2 x 3.5"
2 x 2.5"
(or 4 x 2.5 ")

so you'd only be able to fit the SSD (into one of the 2 vacant 2.5" bays) and 1 of the HDDs. Since it comes with an HDD of its own.

 

[jaysnet]

Ok thanks, so in that case, could I not request the main HDD be larger? Or is the config fixed so I cannot change a thing?

 

[Oussebon]

It's fixed so they probably wouldn't let you change the storage. They might go for adding a 2nd HDD.

The spec is about £1700's worth of stuff: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/KmHNNct9pK/

You could also get and fit your own extra HDD down the line. 3TB ones are maybe £70, 4Tb ~£90, etc, which would still be cheaper than manually configuring a similar spec.

If you need lots of storage for things like movies NAS storage options may be preferable anyway.

 

[jaysnet]

Hmm, sounds good.

Thanks again for your advice, as always, much appreciated. :yes:

 

[jaysnet]

Ok, so got the Vulkan S 01 (thanks for the recommendation!), and so far very pleased - a detailed report will follow in due course.

My next task is fitting my old 120GB to this new system. I love the 'drive plates' on the case, but my issue is what power lead to use. I can't see a spare anywhere, so I'm after advice on which one to get - and exactly where to plug it in. My old SSD is:

120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

I've connected the SATA cable to the MB no problem, but cannot for the life of me figure where my old power lead can go into. Please could anyone advise on my next step?

To make things even more interesting, I've got a 3TB 3.5" Seagate coming tomorrow. I see there is a spare bay for the drive, but again, will I be struggling for power - or more to the point, where to plug it in?

Apologies for being a bit vague, this is my 1st attempt at a minor upgrade.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Oussebon]

The 3.5" bays are above the CPU cooler. You can put your SSD in one of those with an adapter, or install it around the back of the motherboard.

The power supply is modular, which means not all the cables are permanently attached. The spare sata power cables for the PSU will be in the 'welcome pack' box that shipped with the system.

 

[jaysnet]

All done! I couldn't see where to plug into the PSU at first, finally spotted it.

Thanks again for all your advice, you've gotten me a right beast here!