I've been reading this afternoon a bit more...
In my build above, is my mobo going to create any issues when I opt to OC the CPU?
from what I remember Z97's are for overclocking the H were the ones that couldn't. I try to buy the popular Mobo so there are lots of OC guides for it, makes it easier and less guess work.
I can't find much in the way of reviews or user experience with overclocking using that motherboard, but it should be fine for something like 4.5GHz.
It is possible to optimize the cost of that build and go for a slightly more expensive motherboard like a Gigabyte. I looked around and you should be able to save $40 by going with cheaper but still good alternatives for case, graphics card, RAM, and power supply. That $40 could go towards a higher end motherboard.
I'll post an actual build for you later.
My GPU, 6950 2GB, is slowly dying. Overheating and it's throttling my games. I plan on buying a beefy card next year but right now I want to buy a decent card to replace it. Looking at spending about $150 but would prefer if it was something that outperforms my 6950 which of course shouldn't be hard at all.
Thank you.
In that price range, you could get a GTX 760 or an R9 270X. They're close in performance and price, and both are a decent upgrade over your 6950.
That said.. are you sure it's dying? If it's overheating, that could mean an issue with the GPU cooler. Perhaps it needs some dust cleaning. Buying a card now to just upgrade again next year seems wasteful.. if you're OK with the current performance level of your 6950, you can get a GTX 750 Ti that is roughly comparable to your 6950 for just a bit over $100.
Hey GAF: Good deal?
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 - $58.99 on Newegg ($27 off)
Or am I better off waiting for a really good deal on 16GB? I'm not in a particular rush, but this deal sounded pretty good and I don't think I really need 16GB. (I'm currently running 8GB of 1600 ram, but it's in a 4x2GB array which kind of leaves no room for upgrade in the future)
Unless you're doing heavy media production, you will likely never need more than 8GB of RAM. Even if you fill up all of the slots, it's not a big deal if you won't need to expand in the future. Check your RAM usage, if you hit 80% frequently, then that could be a need for more RAM.
If you do want to upgrade, then there's 8GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 for $55. Replacing two of your existing sticks with that will yield 12GB of RAM total.
If you're interested in just replacing all of it and shelling out even more for a 2 x 8GB set for 16GB, then there's Team Elite Plus DDR3-1600 for $115, which is a bit more expensive price per GB compared to that 8GB kit.
Or get two of these Team Dark DDR3-1600 1 x 8GB kits for $57 each, $104 total.
I'd have suggested 16GB Team Vulcan DDR3-1600 for $110, but that's out of stock.