Thinking of upgrading my system

Andrewc43 · Aug 12, 2015

So my PC is about 3 years old now and I'm thinking of maybe upgrading some parts so I can play some next gen games. I mainly use it for gaming and I'm not sure what I will need to upgrade to up my performance in games. My specs are:

Intel Core i5 2500K 4x 3.30GHz
Mainboard 1155 MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) Z68 (7750-011R)
NVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti Superclocked 1GB GDDR5, 2xDVI
RAM: 8192MB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz NANYA
Hard Disc Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6GB/s
Power Supply Cooler Master GX-Lite Series 600W ATX 2.3
CPU cooler: Standard Cooler Box
Win10 64 bit
120mm FAN Super Silent

I honestly don't know much about PC parts and upgrading so any help is much appreciated. If I left out some info then just ask me. Budget around 300 euro. Hoping to play/mod games such as fallout 4 and hopefully es6 when they come out and others like that.
Might not upgrade for another while though

st2000 · Aug 12, 2015

take new videocard, gtx970/r9 290x prefered.

EarthDog · Aug 12, 2015

New GPU for sure... and an SSD would help overall snappiness of the OS (not FPS in games).

I assume 1080p? Go 970/980 or R9 390x or wait for the Nano.

Arjai · Aug 12, 2015

This^^

After that, get yourself a real CPU cooler. :laugh:

st2000 · Aug 12, 2015

EarthDog said:
980 or R9 390x or wait for the Nano.

300 euros?

Andrewc43 · Aug 12, 2015

Ok GTX 970 sounds good and is upgrading the CPU cooler necessary or not? Oh and also, how long would a gtx 970 last? I'm hoping to not have to upgrade it for a while after.

st2000 · Aug 12, 2015

some games are cpu demanding and you need nice cpu cooler to OC you cpu if there will be some lack of horsepower
ssd will improve your overall px expirience with fast loading in new games
you got good cpu and mobo - why you havent OCed it?
so go for new videocard and check games that you play with some monitoring software - if your cpu will handle the load - no need to OC.
970 will last for at least 1-2 years(not all ultra but high settings)

rtwjunkie · Aug 12, 2015

At 1080p a 970 should be good at least 2 years, to answer your question. If you get a decent cpu cooler and overclock that 2500k it will certainly help minimum frame rates.

peche · Aug 12, 2015

EarthDog said:
New GPU for sure... and an SSD would help overall snappiness of the OS (not FPS in games).

I assume 1080p? Go 970/980 or R9 390x or wait for the Nano.

this !

Andrewc43 said:
Ok GTX 970 sounds good and is upgrading the CPU cooler necessary or not? Oh and also, how long would a gtx 970 last? I'm hoping to not have to upgrade it for a while after.

gtx 970 will last several years, gaming on 1920x1280?

azngreentea01 · Aug 12, 2015

your system would last another 3-4 years, just upgrade the graphic to 970 or 290x, also a cooler for your CPU and SSD.
ALso gaming on 1080p, would still be there for a long time.

Here the compare.

Intel Core i5-4690K @ 3.50GHz VS Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.30GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2284&cmp[]=804

peche · Aug 12, 2015

azngreentea01 said:
ALso gaming on 1080p, would still be there for a long time.

agreed... i will look for a 3ple 1080p setup ... soon!!

Andrewc43 · Aug 13, 2015

peche said:
this !

gtx 970 will last several years, gaming on 1920x1280?

No I've got 2 monitors but neither are 1920x1280. 1 is 1440 x 900 and the other is 1366 x 768.

Jborg · Aug 13, 2015

+1 to upgrading to a GTX 970, cant go wrong with it.

peche · Aug 13, 2015

Andrewc43 said:
No I've got 2 monitors but neither are 1920x1280. 1 is 1440 x 900 and the other is 1366 x 768.

there should be a mid res in common on both ... no worries

Andrewc43 · Aug 21, 2015

Thanks everyone for the fast reply and the great advice

Aquinus · Aug 21, 2015

...and yet no one recommends a 390? I like mine and it seems to keep up well. Probably overkill if the OP doesn't have a 1080p display though.

Toothless · Aug 21, 2015

I wonder if op can upscale the monitor to hit a different variant of 1080p while keeping quality.

HWTactics · Aug 21, 2015

I would clone that 500GB drive to a 480GB/500GB/512GB SSD using Macrium Reflect Free if you need the entire capacity. They run in the $130-150 range and the improvement over your mechanical drive will be nothing short of astonishing in everyday use.

I'd be worried with the GX Lite 600W PSU running a 290/390(x). Even though 600W is plenty the PSU doesn't have dedicated voltage regulation and is a very primitive model, then there is its age.

I would be more comfortable recommending a 280/380(x), or a GTX 970 as mentioned already.
- You could buy the GTX 970 new, but I would also take a look at EVGA's B Stock GTX 970 with 1-year warranty for $255. These are typically perfectly good like-new cards being tested and re-sold after original owners "traded up" with EVGA's upgrade program.
- There is also an R9 280 on TigerDirect for $160 AR.

This performance summary right here from TPU may be useful in your GPU decision,

So that way you have a few options!

EpicShweetness · Aug 26, 2015

Your Mobo has dos SATA 3 ports, so an SSD would be a definite upgrade. The GPU would be nice to I would say whatever is within budget, like many have been saying the 970 would be a good choice, the GTX 960 if you don't have a $350 budget......
ETC, that's where I would start.

System Name	home-pc
Processor	i7-950
Motherboard	TUF-x58
Cooling	nh-d14
Memory	8GB ram
Video Card(s)	rx-580(4)
Storage	1tv raid, 240 mlc ssd, 1tb for data
Display(s)	32" TV 1080p
Case	-
Audio Device(s)	audigy 2 zs platinum
Power Supply	some chinese expiriment
Software	10

System Name	Bay2- Lowerbay/ HP 3770/T3500-2+T3500-3+T3500-4/ Opti-Con/Orange/White/Grey
Processor	i3 2120's/ i7 3770/ x5670's/ i5 2400/Ryzen 2700/Ryzen 2700/R7 3700x
Motherboard	HP UltraSlim's/ HP mid size/ Dell T3500 workstation's/ Dell 390/B450 AorusM/B450 AorusM/B550 AorusM
Cooling	All stock coolers/Grey has an H-60
Memory	2GB/ 4GB/ 12 GB 3 chan/ 4GB sammy/T-Force 16GB 3200/XPG 16GB 3000/Ballistic 3600 16GB
Video Card(s)	HD2000's/ HD 2000/ 1 MSI GT710,2x MSI R7 240's/ HD4000/ Red Dragon 580/Sapphire 580/Sapphire 580
Storage	?HDD's/ 500 GB-er's/ 500 GB/2.5 Samsung 500GB HDD+WD Black 1TB/ WD Black 500GB M.2/Corsair MP600 M.2
Display(s)	1920x1080/ ViewSonic VX24568 between the rest/1080p TV-Grey
Case	HP 8200 UltraSlim's/ HP 8200 mid tower/Dell T3500's/ Dell 390/SilverStone Kublai KL06/NZXT H510 W x2
Audio Device(s)	Sonic Master/ onboard's/ Beeper's!
Power Supply	19.5 volt bricks/ Dell PSU/ 525W sumptin/ same/Seasonic 750 80+Gold/EVGA 500 80+/Antec 650 80+Gold
Mouse	cheap GigaWire930, CMStorm Havoc + Logitech M510 wireless/iGear usb x2/MX 900 wireless kit 4 Grey
Keyboard	Dynex, 2 no name, SYX and a Logitech. All full sized and USB. MX900 kit for Grey
Software	Mint 18 Sylvia/ Opti-Con Mint KDE/ T3500's on Kubuntu/HP 3770 is Win 10/Win 10 Pro/Win 10 Pro/Win10
Benchmark Scores	World Community Grid is my benchmark!!

System Name	home-pc
Processor	i7-950
Motherboard	TUF-x58
Cooling	nh-d14
Memory	8GB ram
Video Card(s)	rx-580(4)
Storage	1tv raid, 240 mlc ssd, 1tb for data
Display(s)	32" TV 1080p
Case	-
Audio Device(s)	audigy 2 zs platinum
Power Supply	some chinese expiriment
Software	10

System Name	home-pc
Processor	i7-950
Motherboard	TUF-x58
Cooling	nh-d14
Memory	8GB ram
Video Card(s)	rx-580(4)
Storage	1tv raid, 240 mlc ssd, 1tb for data
Display(s)	32" TV 1080p
Case	-
Audio Device(s)	audigy 2 zs platinum
Power Supply	some chinese expiriment
Software	10

System Name	Bayou Phantom
Processor	Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory	2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage	1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic X-850
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

Thinking of upgrading my system

Andrewc43

New Member

st2000

EarthDog

Arjai

st2000

Andrewc43

New Member

st2000

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

azngreentea01

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

Andrewc43

New Member

Jborg

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

Andrewc43

New Member

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!

HWTactics

EpicShweetness

System Name	Athenna
Processor	intel i7 3770 Dellided
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling	Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory	16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s)	GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage	Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s)	22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case	Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s)	On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply	Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse	Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard	Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software	windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores	well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?

System Name	Snizzle
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Motherboard	ROG STRIX X470-F GAMING
Cooling	CORSAIR Hydro Series™ H100i PRO RGB
Memory	CORSAIR VENGEANCE® RGB PRO 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C14 Memory Kit
Video Card(s)	EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC ULTRA GAMING, 11G-P4-2383-KR
Storage	SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 500GB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q
Case	NZXT H500
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 850W
Mouse	SteelSeries Sensei
Keyboard	Ducky DK2108S
Software	Windows 10 Pro

Processor	I5 4690K @ 4.8 Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 7
Cooling	Swiftech H140X
Memory	16GB Crucial BallistiX 1866Mhz
Video Card(s)	GTX 1070 G1 Gaming
Storage	850 PRO 1TB SSD, 840 EVO 500GB SSD, 850 EVO 500GB
Display(s)	Nixeus EDG 27-Inch IPS 1440P, 144HZ 16:9
Case	NZXT H440 Red/Black
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse	G600
Keyboard	G710+
Software	Win 10 64B

System Name	Apollo
Processor	Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard	Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory	64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage	1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External
Display(s)	Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays
Case	MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s)	AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply	96w Power Adapter
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard	Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software	MacOS 12.1

System Name	Veral
Processor	5950x
Motherboard	MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling	Corsair H150i RGB Elite
Memory	4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s)	Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case	Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s)	Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply	Corsair HX850
Mouse	Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard	Corsair K55
VR HMD	HP Reverb G2
Software	Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores	PEBCAK

System Name	$580 Ebay Deal Abomination
Processor	Intel Xeon W3680 (3.33GHz 6-core)
Motherboard	HP Z400
Cooling	92mm exhaust, 92mm intake
Memory	12GB ECC DDR3 (triple channel)
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 760
Storage	2x Crucial M500 240GB (RAID 0)
Display(s)	BenQ XL2720Z
Case	HP Z400
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply	HP Z400 (475W)
Mouse	Razer DeathAdder
Keyboard	Logitech Illuminated

System Name	Queen Bee
Processor	3570k @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard	Gigabyte UD3 Z77
Cooling	Water Loop by EK
Memory	8GB Corsair 1600 DDR3
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 Gaming WaterCooled
Storage	1x Western Digital 500GB Black 1x Intel 20GB 311 SSD
Display(s)	BenQ XL2420G
Case	CoolTek W2
Power Supply	Corsair 650Watt
Software	Windows 7 Pro