Upgrade of existing Gaming PC

• 

  antmcbane on 21/02/2017 - 15:13

  +1

  Most of the components in your current pc are hurting you.

  My advice would be to pick up a second hand i7 haswell or above. Obviously newer the better but you should be able to score a haswell cpu + motherboard for around $350 (you'd be looking at an i7-4770 with a basic motherboard).

  Then scrape your dollars together and check on gumtree/pc parts AU on facebook and get a gtx970 for $200 or so. May be worth looking at AMD offerings. Power consumption of system should remain similar so PSU should be ok.

  If you're only playing games the RAM shouldn't hurt that much. But replacing with 2 8gb sticks instead of 2 4gb sticks will cost less than $100 and can be done later.

  Edit: Just thought I should clarify why. Games are becoming more and more cpu dependent due to average code optimisation (until I upgraded from i5 to an i7, my pc was lagging on de_nuke). i7 will help a lot. Then obviously the most important thing to get is a good graphics card. If you can stretch it to $750 or so you'd be able to pick up a second hand 1070 and an i7 which would give you a gaming monster - when 1080ti gets announced at ces that should push down prices a bit too.

  • 

    airal3rt on 21/02/2017 - 15:28

    +1

    No way, i7 is complete overkill for gaming, i7 handles multithreaded tasks a lot better but provides spectacularly little for games performance. i5 >>>> i7 for gaming performance per dollar. Take the money difference you would spend on an i7 and get an unlocked 'k' version of an i5 and invest it into the graphics card.

    • 

      antmcbane on 21/02/2017 - 15:54

      -2

      Na not anymore sorry. It's only certain games (pretty much just the source engine) but the difference is still there.
      op should be informed with all information available rather than simply the common opinion (admittedly with many benchmarks showing it) being favoured.

      • 

        misu p on 21/02/2017 - 16:06

        +4

        A difference can exist however it is not justified by the difference in price. If you have unlimited funds sure… got for the i7 but on a budget it is much much better to get an i5 + a better GPU with the money. You will get better performance.

      • 

        AliensStoleMyMoney on 21/02/2017 - 16:07

        +1

        you missed the peformance per dollar part while it is true few games utilise a i7s true power its a minimum and the only real benchmarks where you see a significant improvement is professional rubns aka 3dmark etc

  • 

    elusive on 21/02/2017 - 16:41

    my pc was lagging on de_nuke

    Actually, CS:GO is a bit of a special case. More specifically, the Source engine is a bit of a special case. It's a very old engine, by now, and, yes, does tend to be CPU-limited first (along with greatly favouring single-threaded performance, which that AMD CPU absolutely sucked at). But most modern AAA titles will have comparatively heavy GPU usage.

• 

  Wampus on 21/02/2017 - 15:15

  If you're after a budget-conscious approach, I would upgrade your graphics card first, put as much money on that as you can, and maybe a RAM upgrade, like you said. Test the kind of games on it that you want, and if you find the CPU/MB is a bottleneck then throw some money at those as well

• 

  airal3rt on 21/02/2017 - 15:23

  Is your processor able to be overclocked and does your motherboard support overclocking? I'm not familiar with the AMD side of tech but quite a few people buy the unlocked 'k' version of Intel processors and never get around to overclocking which offers a significant performance boost.

  Typically you're going to get a lot more mileage out of your CPU than the GPU if they were both roughly equivalent i.e released within a year or so of each other and both midrange parts. So upgrading the graphics would be a good bet, there's a new AMD card coming out really soon which will cause prices to drop, but given your system is oldish you may be best served by picking up a cheap card from a previous generation like a 380x or a 390 which would offer a performance increase, MSY in Melbourne flogs these cards really cheap on sale occasionally so you can probably find a Sydney equivalent.

• 

  scrimshaw on 21/02/2017 - 15:26

  +2

  First thing you need to upgrade is most likely the GPU. It's from 2014, so already 3 years old, and the Radeon RX480 or GTX 1060 (6GB) is your best bet for proper 1080p gaming.

  As for the processor, upgrading the CPU also means upgrading the motherboard, as well as completely changing from DDR3 to DDR4 memory. This could mean a min. cost of around $300~450 depending on what you buy.

  You have a few options here:

  1. Buy second hand Haswell parts to keep costs down, but you'll have no warranty

  2. Buy new parts, most likely a budget mobo and a Skylake Core i5, and 8gb of DDR4

  3. Wait for AMD to release their new AMD RYZEN processors and see if they have an impact on current prices.

  • 

    fenric on 21/02/2017 - 17:17

    Seconded. Pick up a 480 or 1060 on one of these ebay sales and see how you go. Then in a year or so you can save up and upgrade your CPU/MOBO etc if you feel that it is holding you back.
    An i5 is plenty for gaming when you do upgrade.

  • 

    scrimshaw on 21/02/2017 - 17:54

    forgot to say Ryzen is rumoured to release Mar 2nd

• 

  misu p on 21/02/2017 - 15:59

  +1

  Wait for Ryzen to be launched. Prices might drop when it does.

  If I would upgrade your PC right now I would buys second hands:
  1) i5 4th gen, in this way you could reuse the RAM. approx 140 AUD. An i7 is an overkill for games.
  2) If you get a K processor get a z97 or Z87 MB. Otherwise anything would do. approx 80 AUD
  3) get a AMD RX 470 / 480 ~ max 320 - 340

  All of these should fit in your budget quite ok. You can upgrade the PSU if you need with the money you get after you sell your current components.

  This combo should play all games at 1080p at the max.

  • 

    misu p on 21/02/2017 - 16:02

    If you want the best bang for your buck this should show you a good combo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dichjs9HXTg . Whatever you do DO NOT GET the I3 k version.

  • 

    ozbjunkie on 22/02/2017 - 22:59

    Agree. Best overall update would be Z97, 4690k, with a new GPU either and 480 or Nvidia 960. No need for a new computer.

    May have to stretch the budget $100.

    Keep the ram for now, limited impact in games.

• 

  A1SEO on 21/02/2017 - 15:59

  Would you be interested in buying a used pc? I am in Sydney.

  Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50GHz - http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Proc…
  ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe Motherboard - https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z77V_DELUXE/
  2x8GB Dual-Channel DDR3-1333 G.Skill Ripjaw RAM
  4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (almost 1 year old)
  2GB Powercolor 7850 PCI-E VGA card
  750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM HDD (empty)
  320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM HDD (empty)
  A-Power Mars M2-3025 Black Case
  Thermaltake TT-500NL2NL 500W PSU (almost 1 year old)
  Lite-on Internal SATA Blu-Ray writer
  23" Samsung LED monitor

  • 

    JamPackedJack on 21/02/2017 - 17:06

    Hi no sorry, don't really like buying used parts. Thanks though!

    • 

      ozbjunkie on 22/02/2017 - 23:03

      That's a shame, as I was going to recommend signing up to overclockers Australia forums, waiting 3 months to be allowed access.

      Best prices for parts in Australia and a helpful and a knowledgable community too. Why the aversion to second hand may I ask?

• 

  AliensStoleMyMoney on 21/02/2017 - 16:07

  get a i5 as you are on a budget. 1080p bottleneck with a good i5 is low to non existant
  8bg ram is enough to get through most games but 16gb doesnt hurt but id put this as last to upgrade
  ssds are great (not sure which model you got but they should suffice)
  biggest bottleneck right now is the gpu. as people have mentioned if going new get a 1060/480/ -even a 470 might be fine but 480 is best bet
  overclock the 6300 to a good amount. then down the line upgrade to a i5 (i7 isnt worth it performance per dollar in gaming and at 1080p it wont matter in the very few games that would use a i7 . then do ram last

  this is if going all new parts
  if not look at a gtx 970

• 

  JamPackedJack on 21/02/2017 - 17:11

  Probably left some important information out after comments

  • Would like to buy new parts only
  • From the suggestions I'm leaning towards an I5 + GPU combo (which will also mean upgrading Mobo) could anyone suggest some good combos?
  • Given my GPU is quite old, do you think it's likely I'd need a new PSU?
  • 

    AliensStoleMyMoney on 21/02/2017 - 17:13

    never cheap out on a psu it dies or its dodgey = dead system likely

    what you got now ?
    id go with gpu upgrade first
    with a oc on the cpu :)

  • 

    scrimshaw on 21/02/2017 - 17:21

    suggest some good combos?

    When you are just running at stock clocks (not overclocking), motherboards don't make much difference. They contribute to like 1~2 percent performance difference, and nobody really reviews low end motherboards in great depth.

    To put it another way, if you take two different motherboard models but use exactly the same components on them (including the same RAM), performance would be almost identical.

    Basically, just buy whatever mobo. I would buy a full ATX motherboard rather than a mATX, if you want extra IO ports and PCIE slots.

    as for the CPU, most people are buying a Core i5-7500 ($280) or i5-6500 ($280). They both cost the same… but obviously the smart choice is to buy the 7th gen Kaby lake chip (but notice the newer Kaby Lake motherboards cost more)

    • 

      JamPackedJack on 21/02/2017 - 17:29

      Thanks heaps guys esspecially clarifying MOBO - quick question - does ATX fit in mATX case. Would it be worthwhile buying a new case with PSU? One of the silent models because I hate the whining lol

      • 

        scrimshaw on 21/02/2017 - 17:33

        does ATX fit in mATX case

        Typically no, please look closely at the motherboards specification on the vendor webpage. it tells you what fits.

        be worthwhile buying a new case with PSU?

        For a high end model, I recommend checking out Antec High Current Gamer series (Antec HCG). The HCG has a "M" series for modular cables, a nice feature.

        For a budget model that's good and cheap check Silverstone Strider essential

        Please don't buy a case that INCLUDES a free power supply. They are typically corner-cutting models which are probably not any better than what you're using now.
        You can buy any case you want… they are a personal preference but look specifically for a case with convenient features like a washable / removable dust filter for easy cleaning.

      • 

        AliensStoleMyMoney on 21/02/2017 - 17:50

        @scrimshaw:

        shawly your joking ;)

• 

  Axelstrife on 21/02/2017 - 17:47

  GPU RX 480

  ^buy this first

  CPU -I5 7400
  Motherboard - something compatible with kabylake
  Ram - DDR4
  PSU -If your current one isn't good enough.

  ^buy those when you get the rest of the money.

  your hard drives and ssds and case is probably all that you can use if you want upgrade to a current I5

  I upgraded over a year ago from a FX 6300 myself to a I5 6400

• 

  tebbybabes on 21/02/2017 - 18:43

  I run a FX 6300 myself, also circa 2014. Still going strong and absolutely no complaints.

  Changing out my 6850 to the GTX 1060 a week ago was the ticket for me. I've been able to reach high on everything I've thrown at it. (mostly old stuff though… I'm not sure if I have a current title installed to throw at it)

  Best $340 upgrade I've ever made.

  Bit of food for thought.

• 

  Diji1 on 21/02/2017 - 18:54

  As usual people are recommending you upgrade the CPU, RAM and motherboard which is dumb if all you care about is gaming. Literally spending money on nothing to do with improving gaming.

  Buy a GTX 1070 such as this for $515 https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/293460

  Now we're going to hear howls of that's too much for 1920x1080 - as though higher framerates are just not something to aim for - and suggest you spend it on Kaby Lake and GPU which will do 1920x1080 at 60FPS without AA.

  • 

    ozbjunkie on 22/02/2017 - 23:20

    I agree with you if his current CPU is not an issue with games… Not sure which games he means to play - if Arma then yeah watch the CPU, if other fps then it depends.

    Op might need to check if a 1070 will fit in his mini tower, but he says he has lost the drive bays which is a help actually.

    Op says medium - high settings, but I agree a 1070 will get him to ultra and keep him there longer than any other purchase.

    In the mean time, Op, turn your res down to 720 and your 270 card will do OK in all games.

• 

  alvian on 23/02/2017 - 01:57

  +1

  Ryzen US prices revealed: 1700 $329, 1700X $399, 1800X $499. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTu7ryfKO5E

  • 

    windrunner on 24/02/2017 - 12:08

    Can't wait for Ryzen 5 on Q2:)