Building a new rig, have one last question

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Gizmo1990

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Oct 19, 2010
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Made a thred last week about this (thank you to the people who replyed, you were a big help) and I think I have it down. I am using my current Hard drive (plus that way I don't need to rebuy my OS), case and DVD drive and I have the rest of the parts down.

I just need some advice about my power supply. I am unsure if I need a new one or if my current PSU can do the job. Even if it has the right amount of power it is a good 3-4 years old and it has been on ALOT so is it worth getting a new one anyway?

Links to the parts I have picked:

http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-intel-z97-gamer-bundle--includes-z97-k--intel-core-i5-4690k---8gb-vengeance-pro-black-memory--9MBT.html

http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-geforce-gtx-970-4gb-pci-express-3-0-directcu-ii-oc-strix-9RXD.html

http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-h80i-hydro-series-extreme-performance-cpu-cooling-8D8S.html

Current PSU
http://www.corsair.com/en/tx-series-tx650-80-plus-bronze-certified-650-watt-high-performance-power-supply

PSU I would replace it with if forced to
http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/cx-series-cx750m-modular-atx-power-supply-750-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-modular-psu

Any and all advice about the build is welcome and Thank you to everyone in advance.

Edit:
Captcha- Don't count on it. If it turns out to be right I am going to freak out.
 

seris

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Oct 14, 2013
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if you want to keep your current hard drive the main thing you need to make sure you do is uninstall all of your current chipset drivers before you install the new ones, but for a power supply you should get a new one if you are concerned about it going out, get a powersupply that meets the requirements of your gfx card and make sure it has at least an 80% rating
 

IndieForever

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Jul 4, 2011
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I can't fault what you've picked at all, in terms of value for performance. With that in mind, I would suggest that, as your PSU has given you several years of sterling service, you stick with it. If it was going to go 'bang', it would have done so already. The only moving part is the fan and the bearings on a quality unit like the Corsair will probably outlast your new PC. Save your money towards a second 970 in SLI and smile smugly knowing you can outgun a Titan!

As for keeping your OS (windows 7?), I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it is highly unlikely that your machine will simply boot from your old hard drive without some serious issues. Not only are there the chipset problems as mentioned by Seris, but Windows also keeps a kind of running tally of what hardware it is running on. If it drastically changes - a new motherboard, CPU and RAM will certainly do the job - it will prompt you to re-authorise it anyway on the basis that it might have been installed on a completely different machine. I have had mixed results with this, and it usually ends up with a phone call to the automated MS line.

You will have a sticker somewhere on your old machine/case with the serial number, so that's not an issue, but you may not have the media to reinstall it if it was OEM. If this is the case, there are some torrents out there that are just a copy of the Win7 DVD for people in your situation, without anything dodgy attached, but finding one might be a bit of a minefield.

To avoid some tricky issues I would recommend a complete re-format and re-installation of your software anyway. Just as a thought, it seems likely that Windows 10 will have a free upgrade path to owners of Win8, although this isn't written in stone yet. 8.1 isn't shockingly bad so it might be worth thinking about; it certainly won't hurt to try to get your existing setup running again but from my experience it will end up...umm... less than optimal :)

You are building a really nice machine with a good upgrade path so I'd suggest you don't cut that last corner right at the end, just to try to keep your current HD. I know it's a faff to reinstall *everything* (sigh), but in this case it would be worth it to make sure you get the best performance with the least hassle.
 

CpT_x_Killsteal

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Jun 21, 2012
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The PSU should be enough to run what you've picked out. Should be fine on that front unless you get a second GPU or overclock like mad. Then again I didn't know there WAS a gtx 900 series, I can't tell for sure what kind of power that'd consume. Corsair is quality though, so it probably won't melt on you. Then again it's up to you how paranoid you are.

As people have said with the Hard Drive, it might take some tinkering to transfer. Maybe. You might get a away with just uninstalling all the old drivers then setting up your new computer with the current ones.

In case you didn't already know, follow the instruction manuals when putting your computer together, a common thing to forget is that you sometimes have to install the drivers from the disc before you insert the parts, so keep that in mind. I'd also recommend guides for putting together your PC, safety tips etc, (Like don't put it together on a carpet, watch out for static, don't use a vacuum cleaner (I totally never did that)).

Edit: If you DO decide to change your HDD, don't go with Seagate, they like to crash and wipe. I'd personally recommend Western Digital Black for gaming.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex
 

direkiller

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Dec 4, 2008
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Windows is going to give you a hissy fit if you switch over the hard drive.
you will most likely end up with a BSOD and have to re-install windows
Provided your old computer will never log on the internet again(which without it's hard drive that is a yes), you can use your current copy of windows if you call in the activation.

So I would transfer important files onto an external if you can
 

IndieForever

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Jul 4, 2011
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direkiller said:
So I would transfer important files onto an external if you can
Yup, sound advice. You don't need a new HD per se but, if you manage to boot from it as it currently stands, go out and buy a lottery ticket because the Force will be with you that day. You will end up re-formatting it so save what you need.

CpT_x_Killsteal said:
Then again I didn't know there WAS a gtx 900 series
Edit: If you DO decide to change your HDD, don't go with Seagate, they like to crash and wipe. I'd personally recommend Western Digital Black for gaming.
The GTX970 is probably the best single option at the moment in terms of value for performance, even with the price drop of the 290 series. SLI them and you have better-than-Titan performance for a fraction of the price.

WD Black - can't fault it and I'd struggle to find anyone who could.
 

Gizmo1990

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Oct 19, 2010
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seris said:
IndieForever said:
CpT_x_Killsteal said:
direkiller said:
IndieForever said:
Thank you all for the replys. You guys have been a big help. Unless I find anything else I want to add (might get a second case fan) I think I will stick with the PSU I have as I have had no problems with it.

With regards to the HD, I have already backed up most of the files I want to keep. All I have on it now is game saves, most of which are on the Steam cloud. Might go and back up my Firefox, don't want to make all my bookmarks again. I have my OEM disc, would it be easier to simply wipe the HD and do a clean install?
 

direkiller

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Dec 4, 2008
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Gizmo1990 said:
seris said:
IndieForever said:
CpT_x_Killsteal said:
direkiller said:
IndieForever said:
Thank you all for the replys. You guys have been a big help. Unless I find anything else I want to add (might get a second case fan) I think I will stick with the PSU I have as I have had no problems with it.

With regards to the HD, I have already backed up most of the files I want to keep. All I have on it now is game saves, most of which are on the Steam cloud. Might go and back up my Firefox, don't want to make all my bookmarks again. I have my OEM disc, would it be easier to simply wipe the HD and do a clean install?
Yes, you will blue screen if you try and boot from windows on that hard drive.

When you start up the computer for the first time simply boot from the disk drive and windows will reformat the drive on the install process anyway so there is no point in reformatting it early.

Also have a phone ready as the internet activation will not work with the change in mobo and processor.