Top choices for ASUS Maximus VII Ranger include premium parts and high-quality components.
Top choices for ASUS Maximus VII Ranger include premium parts and high-quality components.
I own a computer I purchased around 2014. Its specs include an i7-4790k processor at 4ghz, a GTX 970 graphics card with two units, a 250gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD, 16gb DDR3 RAM, and a well-designed case with water cooling. While it was quite solid back then, it has now become somewhat outdated. I’m planning an upgrade without much effort but don’t have the time to build everything from scratch. I’m curious if anyone knows how to modify these components or if upgrading is only possible by replacing parts one by one. I’ve searched online, but the results haven’t been very helpful. Appreciate any advice you can offer.
The board looks quite old with no ideas for improvement—surprising indeed. Luckily, I discovered that over the past few years I’ve been using GTX 970s in SLI improperly. Now Shadow of the Tomb Raider loads properly, which was the main reason I considered upgrading.
I’ll make this thread updated since I spotted some helpful old discussions here. After checking online, I realized the i7-4790k is actually the best choice for this board. There’s nothing better available, it’s the top option for the LGA 1150 socket on the board, so I won’t be changing it.
I discovered I could upgrade my SSD to an M.2 form factor since there’s room on the board. It needs an M-Key and must use a PCIE interface, so be cautious when buying SATA M.2 drives—they won’t fit. After acquiring Crystal Mark, I tested my Samsung SSD and its sequential read/write was about 350 MB/s. I then bought a WD Blue 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD from eBuyer for £104, which is now £127. It seems to be increasing in price. Crystal Mark still provided a reading of 850 MB/s on this older board—more than double the Samsung’s speed. The M.2 card offers nearly four times the storage, while the Samsung only has 250 GB and occupies little space. I’m not concerned about that since my setup can handle it comfortably. This upgrade looks promising. It required some research to switch the BIOS from PCIE to M.2 mode, but once done, the drive recognized immediately, initialized correctly, and is functioning perfectly.