Upgrading a couple of components the gaming PC (dual purpose as video editing)

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  Cobalt_ on 26/03/2012 - 14:15

  +2

  It looks like your current system will more than handle any video/photo editing you throw at it. Just admit you're looking for an excuse to upgrade your system for gaming ;)

  Desktop Ivy bridge CPU's are due out sometime next month and will suit current socket 1155 motherboards. These will run cooler and faster than the existing Sandybridge cpu's.

  GTX 680 has just launched and is currently looking to be the current top dog single GPU card, however expect to pay a premium as an early adopter.

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  frankyman on 26/03/2012 - 14:18

  +2

  IMO, your current CPU and mobo are fine, I should know as I have the same ones ;) All you need is to grab a good custom heatsink + fan such as CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ for about $40, and then overclock your CPU. I have mine running at 3.8GHz, but I've seen people get up to 4.2GHz with good chips. A good basic speed to aim for if you don't have much experience is 3.6GHz, as it barely requires any voltage adjustments etc.
  Also, you could look at adding some more RAM, say http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&c…, 8GB is ample for anything you will be doing on the computer,I play all the latest games and it rarely uses more than half.
  My first upgrade for you would be graphics cards, if you are only running one screen and don't need the "latest and greatest", GTX570's have recently dropped significantly in price to about the $300 mark http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42051087-Gainward_GeForce_GTX_57…
  Then, a larger and faster SSD. Any SSD will be significantly faster than even the best HDD, so I recommend checking out for instance one of the Crucial M4 128gb variants that keep getting posted for cheap here on Ozbargain: I did, and it's great! As a side note, something that I just found out the other day: the built in Marvell sata 6gbs controller on our motherboard is a piece of ****, and the standard intel 3gbs ports actually perform better! So this might be one reason you would consider updating your mobo/cpu, the intel 6gbs ports on the new mobos such as http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PR… are much faster! However, you may not even notice the difference in normal usage ;)
  Hopefully my comment has helped, good luck choosing :)
  frankyman

  edit: you should also get a 2TB or larger storage drive for all the edited video, otherwise your SSD will fill up in no time! They seem to be dropping in price again now, and the larger the drive the better it will perform, e.g. a 3TB drive will probably have higher read/write speeds than your Raptor. A SSD + HDD combo is definitely advised.

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  leemako on 26/03/2012 - 15:26

  +1

  Wow, thanks for the tips both - you can tell I havent built a PC for two years and not kept up to date with the hardware. Cobalt - you got me, was just wanting to open the case and tinker - a few extra FPS, cmon! Nice tip with the Ivy bridge CPU's - will keep an eye out for them.

  frankyman, I will definately upgrade to the 8GB then and thanks for reminding me to overclock, I dont think im pushing the cpu at all - have a really nice zalman cooler with a heatsink the size of my fist. I do have a few random TB drives knocking around as well - didnt bother listing everything ;)

  This is the first time a visit to OZBargain has actually saved me money (as in stopping me buying stuff i obviously dont need). Thank you again, see you next time I get the urge to open that case.

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  frankyman on 26/03/2012 - 15:30

  +1

  Haha anytime, PM me if you have any questions about the mobo/CPU etc I'm always willing to share knowledge :)

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  Cobalt_ on 26/03/2012 - 15:43

  Gah! I just re-checked your CPU. It's a socket 1156. You will need a new motherboard to handle any of the current or new upcoming CPU's :(

  The upside is as frankyman suggested you can get a new motherboard with decent native intel SATA3 ports which will give you better data transfer speeds over your SSD.

  Note: The i7-2600K is also a socket 1155 CPU and will not work with your current motherboard

  So if you're going to be getting a new motherboard and CPU, new motherboards will also be released alongside the Ivy bridge CPU's so keep an eye out for the Z77 chipset boards

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  leemako on 26/03/2012 - 15:51

  +1

  ah thats nasty, I did heaps of research before choosing that mobo a well. Thought I was being very clever and future proofing, SATA3 and USB3 were both important factors but i guess it was still early tech back then. Why do they constantly change the sockets, what a ball ache!

  Oh well, gives me fresh reason to just make a whole new mid range gaming system in a few months. That tech is always just a bit out of reach, plus point I guess is two years after the build the machine still packs a punch.

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  Cobalt_ on 26/03/2012 - 15:58

  Yeah Intel threw a bit of curveball there by retiring the 1156 socket very early in the game which would have limited people's future upgrade paths. Hopefully socket 1155 and 2011 are here for the long run

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  ModaMagic on 26/03/2012 - 18:12

  Looks like you got a Marvell controller for your SATA 3 ports, nothing really bad about it besides the limitations it puts on your SSD speeds.
  If you want it for video editing then there is the possibility of taking advantage of Nvidia's CUDA compatible GPU range.
  I would also upgrade the SSD to 128GB because video editing software + plugins may take a toll on your disk space.
  Last but not least I'm going to assume you're recording from the SLR, which should by default record 1080P into .m2ts (Blu-Ray Video format) so I recommend having a 1TB 7200RPM scratch disk which is basically a hard drive you store your media files on.

  • 

    leemako on 26/03/2012 - 19:46

    some good tips there Kamui, thank you. Yes I did see a CUDA compatible graphics card as being a decent upgrade for video editing and yes using the SLR for recording. As .m2ts is a compressed format I was thinking of a CPU upgrade to take advantage of hyper threading, if I learn on the current rig and get my skills up I can earn my upgrades ;)

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  GUYANDSON on 26/03/2012 - 21:47

  just on ivy bridge, the motherboards are due next month, the cpu's are due june as intel are trying to sell off the last of the SB stock.

  If video editing is a priority you're better off upgrading your cpu, the i5 750 is still good for games as they're gpu limited but that isn't the case for video editing.

  • 

    Cobalt_ on 27/03/2012 - 10:51

    Incorrect. It is only the mobile processors that have been delayed till June. Desktop processors are due out in April alongside the motherboards