When building a system that you intend to upgrade in the future you need to consider the components that are easily upgradable and those that are not. The CPU/motherboard architecture are the basic framework on which you will build a system and therefor will be the least likely components that you will generally want to be upgrading in the future. It is there for a good idea to choose the most flexible and performance focused CPU/motherboard combination when starting on planning a PC build like ours. Preferably planning on not changing these components in the whole upgradable lifetime of the system.
It is often possible to upgrade to a faster CPU in the future if it is compatible with your motherboard, but I feel it is often better in the current market to simply build a new PC with the latest CPU/motherboard architecture to take advantage of the newer feature that these systems provide. Since the upgraded CPU will likely not last as long if you demand high performance compared to the newer platform, and may not provide the desired performance even after upgrading.
In the following sections we highlight an example system build and some of the major decisions and reasons that each component was selected.
System Specifications
- CPU - Intel Haswell i7 4790k
- Motherboard - Asrock z97 Extreme6
- GPU - MSI GTX 970
- RAM - G.Skill Ares DDR3 1833 8Gb
- Hard Drive/SSD - Samsung evo 840 500gb
- CPU cooler - Noctua NH-D15
- Case - Fractal Design R5
- PSU - EVGA 750W G2
Selecting Components
CPU
We have selected the i7 4790k (4.0Ghz) which at the time of writing is the fastest processor available with the LGA 1150 architecture. The decision to choose this top tier CPU is primarily because we would like the CPU/motherboard combination to provide the performance we require and last as long as possible before needing to be upgraded or replaced by another system all together. This CPU can also be overclocked if the need arises for additional performance output. Keep in mind that your requirements for CPU performance can dictate your decision as someone looking for less CPU performance in multi-threaded workloads may be happy with the i5 4690(3.5Ghz) as an alternative, which is considered ideal for general work and gaming but does not support hyper-threading (which can offer up to 30% faster performance in curtain workloads such as video editing).
Motherboard
The motherboard we selected for this build is the Asrock z97 Exteme6 motherboard. This was chosen to primarily be compatible with the CPU architecture and to provide upgrade options with current and future mainstream technologies such as SATA Express and M.2 support. It supports overclocking supported CPU's like the 4790k for additional performance when required. It has a PCI Express 16x slot for graphical adapters that will likely continue to take advantage of this technology in the next few years and also supports technologies such as M.2 and NVM Express for SSD's that are planned to be popularised mainstream in the next few years. This allows the system to take advantage of faster SSD's in the future if we plan to replace the current drive or to integrate additional secondary drives. The motherboard also provides SLI support so that in the future additional graphics adapters could be added to improve graphical performance.Note: Other CPU chipset architectures such as x99 and Skylane are not acceptable for this build as x99 is not a mainstream architecture compared to z97 and a premium is added on the price of the system. Also the possibility of upgrading due to component availability is reduced due to it being less mainstream. Skylane introduces new technologies such as ddr4 ram that currently is overpriced when compared to ddr3 ram as well as other components such as CPU and motherboard, without providing large performance advantages for the average system user at the time of writing.
GPU
The GPU selected for our build is the Nvidia GTX 970. The graphics industry sees fast performance improvements annually but for the price point the performance of this video card still cannot be beat even after being on the market for over one year. Currently offering the best value for money/performance. In the future it would be easy to either setup and additional 970 card in SLI when the price of the GPU drops or preferably replace the original card with a brand new equally impressive (in terms of performance per dollar) card in the future.Of course you can choose a more powerful GPU if such as the GTX 980/980Ti if required or a less powerful GPU depending on your need such as a GTX 960 and if you are not interested in any gaming or 3d work then the you can save money and use the integrated graphics that come with the i7 4790k CPU.
RAM
8Gb of quality DDR3 ram from a company like Corsair or G.Skill is selected for our build. When comparing DDR3 ram there is a slight performance increase with increased clock speed in modern systems. Whether this is enough to pay extra is up to the buyer and his needs. 8Gb/ dual stick is fast becoming the standard and is the reason it was chosen for this system. If your system has free slots for ram it is easy to install additional ram in a future upgrade, for example to add an additional 8Gb for a total of 16Gb to our system, although it is preferred to install the same manufacturer and model as the ram previously installed, to reduce any performance and compatibility issue that may arise.CPU cooler
The CPU cooler selected for our system is the Noctua NH-D15 cooler. When selecting the CPU cooler it is generally personal preference over the traditional fan coolers and the newer style water coolers. Generally the original CPU cooler or separately purchased fan coolers provide adequate performance for those not planning to overclock their system and also are less likely to cause serious damage to the system if they fail. Water coolers are preferred for keeping the system cooler for situations such as overclocking but are generally more expensive than fan coolers. The cooler was chosen for this system to provide the lowest noise possible while also providing excellent cooling even compared to more expensive water coolers.
Hard Drive
Really there is no reason not to purchase an SSD as your primary drive over a traditional platter based HDD as the price difference is shrinking at a fast rate and the performance difference of an SSD over a HDD is very noticable especially in modern operating sytems and motherboards, which provide excellent SSD support. Also it saves you having a headache in the future when you want to replace your HDD for an SSD, where transferring of data is required between the two drives.PSU
The easiest way to select the max wattage power supply for your system is to use a service like PcPartPicker. You can simply input all your system components and the max wattage that the system will draw is calculated for you. This gives you a guide to search for a PSU that is within the range of your system. for our system a 600w PSU would be adequate but for future upgrading options such as adding additional graphic cards for SLI and additional hard drives that will draw more power, a 750w PSU (which is the most common next tier higher PSU) would be preferred, hence the 750W PSU unit selected for our system. This PSU was also chosen for it's high quality and relatively quite noise under normal operating conditions.
Case/Fans
When selecting the case for your system it is important to insure that the case supports the size/type of motherboard that you intent to install. In our case the ATX motherboard is compatible with the case we have chosen. Also worth considering is to make sure that other major components such as the CPU cooler and PSU have enough clearance inside the case. Cases are chosen for may reasons such as aesthetics, flexibility, cooling and noise reduction, it is up to the buyer to decide which features they require more and to select a case that best fits their need. The case chosen in our system was the Fractal Design R5 and it was selected primarily for noise reduction and flexibility for future upgrades such as additional SSD drive bays and ability to remove/reposition unused bays inside the case to creating space for additional components .If you are considering overclocking your system in the future or are living in an area where the temperature can get high it is also worth considering installing additional fans for the case/system to help keep the system running as cool as possible, this should help with the longevity of all the components.
Purchasing Components
It is really handy to be able to search for PC components online and compare prices and purchase from sellers that you are comfortable. Luckily it is becoming easier to find many websites that allow you to compare prices of components. These websites can really speed up your researching of components and comparing of prices between different sellers. Some of these websites worth considering include PcPartPicker, StaticICE, eBay and Newegg.Note: It maybe worth importing some components from overseas if they are not available anywhere else or if the price is considerably cheaper, but it is important to consider whether or not the warranty of the component is valid in your region and if the delivery costs end up not saving you any money in the long run. For these reasons it is advised to do your research carefully before purchasing from overseas.
Alright guys and girls in this post we have covered some of the major issues to consider when selecting system components when building a system, which we would like to have the flexibility of upgrading in the future. In Part 2 we will discuss issues to consider when installing/building your own computer system.
Related Resources
sweet spothttp://techreport.com/review/28621/the-tech-report-system-guide-july-2015-edition/2
http://techreport.com/review/28621/the-tech-report-system-guide-july-2015-edition/4
GPU:
http://techreport.com/review/28612/asus-strix-radeon-r9-fury-graphics-card-reviewed/10
http://techreport.com/review/29316/amd-radeon-r9-380x-graphics-card-reviewed/10
SSD:
http://hexus.net/tech/news/storage/88502-contract-price-ssds-fallen-10-per-cent-4-quarters-row/
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/12/ssd-prices-are-plummeting-say-good-bye-to-hard-drives/
PSU:
https://pcpartpicker.com/
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/
Case/Fan:
http://www.ocinside.de/review/fit_for_fan/
Purchasing:
www.staticice.com
www.staticice.com.au
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com.au
www.newegg.com
www.newegg.com/global/au/
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