Having to upgrade my PC now need advice

[gilljoy]

Hi all,

So it looks like my motherboard is on the fritz, the system is hanging when trying to recognise my SSD, I've tested the SSD in another system and it boots to windows fine so it looks like it the motherboard may be on the way out.

Now I know that Haswell is coming soon but unfortunately I may have to upgrade now to Ivy-bridge.

Can someone recommend me a new build with a max budget of £700.

I already have a Gigabyte 7970 so I don't need either of those. I'd like to fit it into a bitfenix shinobi or a bitfenix prodigy

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I was considering picking up a motherboard for my x58 but it seems like its wasted cash as there as expensive if not more expensive than a z77 mobo.

I'd need recommendations of a case, cpu. mobo, memory and PSU please.

[Willzzz]

What would you prefer the budget to be? £700 is quite a lot when you already have a graphics card and SSD etc.

[Willzzz]

Oh, and why do you think you need a new PSU?

[gilljoy]

If I go for the prodigy ( which I really really like) I'll need a new PSU as its 170mm long and the prodigy can only support 160mm long PSU.

I'deally I'd like everything bar the GPU for less than £700 but thats my max. Also fitting in a new SSD would be nice too but not essential.

Actually I'd also like a good AIO cooler

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is this a new SSD??

What model is the SSD?

Certain X58 motherboards could have compatability issues with some SSDs,due to the third party controller used.

[gilljoy]

Is this a new SSD??

What model is the SSD?

Certain X58 motherboards could have compatability issues with some SSDs,due to the third party controller used.

its a gigabyte x58-usb3 and the ssd is a 64gb m4. It just stoped working all of a sudden, it was working fine on Tuesday night but once I tried to boot on Wednesday morning it just wouldn't get past the ahci detection screen

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

its a gigabyte x58-usb3 and the ssd is a 64gb m4. It just stoped working all of a sudden, it was working fine on Tuesday night but once I tried to boot on Wednesday morning it just wouldn't get past the ahci detection screen

It appears to not have any SATA3.0 ports,so its probably not a controller incompatability issue then.

What model of HD7970 do you have?

Out of interest,you seem to be considering a switch to a mini-ITX system. Do you want to overclock? If so it does,push the price of the motherboard up quite a bit. Something like a Shuttle is also worth considering too in that case.

If you don't mind an mATX based system,this case is worth considering:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...se-Review/1375

[gilljoy]

It appears to not have any SATA3.0 ports,so its probably not a controller incompatability issue then.

What model of HD7970 do you have?

Out of interest,you seem to be considering a switch to a mini-ITX system. Do you want to overclock? If so it does,push the price of the motherboard up quite a bit. Something like a Shuttle is also worth considering too in that case.

If you don't mind an mATX based system,this case is worth considering:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...se-Review/1375

I know theres no 3.0 port but that doesn't explain why it worked fine for over a year and then stopped working all of a sudden

I'm only really considering switching to m-itx simply because I love the prodigy case and I've not found a full atx case that i like as much as the prodigy.

Yes I'm planning on overclocking I've got this selected so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£245.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (£92.39 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (£359.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case (£65.23 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £931.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-28 17:09 GMT+0000)

I need to pick a PSU though and I want to find out if that mobo is good enough.

Edit: I already have the 7970 so thats just there for simplicity sake

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I know theres no 3.0 port but that doesn't explain why it worked fine for over a year and then stopped working all of a sudden

I'm only really considering switching to m-itx simply because I love the prodigy case and I've not found a full atx case that i like as much as the prodigy.

Yes I'm planning on overclocking I've got this selected so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£245.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (£92.39 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (£359.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case (£65.23 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £931.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-28 17:09 GMT+0000)

I need to pick a PSU though and I want to find out if that mobo is good enough.

Edit: I already have the 7970 so thats just there for simplicity sake

The motherboard has a VRM with no cooling,and going from my own experience of using nothing but mini-ITX and Shuttle systems as primary systems,in the last 7 years,I would look at something better,especially in the longterm.

On top of this the cooler is somewhat wasted too especially with the motherboard you have chosen IMHO.

The water coolers also introduce another issue,in that no additional VRM cooling is given,unlike air coolers,so this is why heatsinked VRMs are important in the longterm.

All of these motherboards have VRM cooling:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...paign=products

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007RS71O...hvptwo=&hvqmt=

http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-p8...200&origin=pla

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...b-e692-kr.html

Of the four motherboards,I would go for the ASUS P8Z77-I DELUXE.

If you don't mind the shorter warranty,you can save a few quid with an OEM Core i7 3700K:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...73770koem.html

I have a feeling one of these coolers will be fine too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...plus-am3-3plus

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...m3-fm1-and-fm2

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...m2plus-am3plus

[DanceswithUnix]

Had a similar problem when I suspected an SSD (Sandforce based) to be dead, the SATA cable turned out to be flakey.

[gilljoy]

Had a similar problem when I suspected an SSD (Sandforce based) to be dead, the SATA cable turned out to be flakey.

Already tried with numerous sata cables and different ports, different firmwares etc.

I'm thinking of going for a Full ATX build now but I cant find any cases that look anywhere near as nice as the prodigy