PC Upgrade time..Fellow gamers come inside!

[Madmikeee]

OK with all these new games coming out that I know I will want to play my 8 year old system will likely not cut it anymore. I built it well enough that it allowed me to play New Vegas as well as many other relatively modern games at high with no problem but I am sensing that will not be the case with games like Fallout4 on the horizon.

I have been scrounging around Neweggs barebones kits but nothing is really striking me as a great bang for the buck with these kits only showing 20 bucks worth of savings. ALso there is the ongoing debate over i5 versus i7 on the intel front. I am hearing more and more that the modern I5's are actually BETTER than the i7s for gaming due to lower overhead.

I am wanting to spend no more than 500 bucks if possible. I do NOT need a case, DVD/Bluray and if I remember correctly my existing power supply should be more than enough (ALthough I will have to take a look as I honestly cannot remember what it is right now but I do know I bought it with major futureproofing in mind) So basically a CPU, RAM and MOBO

So what do my fellow geeks recommend? I have a good handle on vid cards but as far as best bang for the buck regarding MOBOS and CPU's I am getting a bit overwhelmed with the options.

[NeedSpeed]

I personally don't think you'd notice much difference between a good I5 and I7. The real difference is going to be your graphics card.

I'm still happy with my I5. I play Dungeons & Dragons Online mostly, so I'm not sure how some of these newer games compare.

The pain is there are like 100 versions of the I5 and another 100 versions of the I7 to choose from. Some I5s are better than I7's and vice versa.

[carlton_fritz]

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money, May 2015

Graphics Card Ranking

[ASTROCREEP]

This is the CPU I have along with an Asus Mobo.
From the article listed above.

Should you miss the temporary price break, we have another option to consider before you pull the trigger: Intel’s Xeon E3-1231v3. Perhaps the most-suggested CPU in our comments thread, the Xeon is a Core i7 equivalent without the HD Graphics engine and a scant 80W TDP. You still get four Hyper-Threaded Haswell cores, though. Enthusiasts will bemoan the locked multiplier, while the lack of on-die graphics means you lose QuickSync as well. But you’ll save $50 compared to the also-locked Core i7-4790.

I wanted a gaming PC that could also do some video editing. It's been working fine for me.

[Madmikeee]

Originally Posted by NeedSpeed

I personally don't think you'd notice much difference between a good I5 and I7. The real difference is going to be your graphics card.

I'm still happy with my I5. I play Dungeons & Dragons Online mostly, so I'm not sure how some of these newer games compare.

The pain is there are like 100 versions of the I5 and another 100 versions of the I7 to choose from. Some I5s are better than I7's and vice versa.

That's my predicament. I am looking and not only are there a ton of each variant but new ones are released seemingly HOURLY...it's giving me a headache. LOL

[NeedSpeed]

Note, if you're not into over clocking, there are usually 2 versions of the chip, one with and one without the ability. You can also save a little on the boards if you're not into all that customization.

When you're looking at chips, bounce them against this site for comparison:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?...#37;40+3.30GHz

I had got the i5-2500K (I think lol) a few years ago.

[Madmikeee]

Originally Posted by NeedSpeed

Note, if you're not into over clocking, there are usually 2 versions of the chip, one with and one without the ability. You can also save a little on the boards if you're not into all that customization.

When you're looking at chips, bounce them against this site for comparison:

PassMark - Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.30GHz - Price performance comparison

I had got the i5-2500K (I think lol) a few years ago.

Not a huge modder when it comes to my hardware. I have been known to do the safe overclocks on the GPU and CPU's just to eek out that little bit extra but not to the point some people do. My gaming is limited now that I am in my 40's and am attempting to be a responsible adult but I do still like being able to sit down and just waste a few hours scouring a wasteland or crawling through some dungeons. Plus I want it to look good, I am not talking having EVERYTHING maxed out visually but I definitely want the experience of running on the higher end so I can really get involved.

My problem is getting the best bang for the buck on a limited budget. There are MANY budget items out there but most are geared towards just your basic day to day computing. I am looking for a mid-high end gaming rig that will last me 5-6 years+ and only need the occasional upgrades. Doing that on a sub $1000.00 budget is getting harder and harder.

[Stangkiller]

Maybe a dumb question, but what about an xbox1 or ps4, they come in under $500 and will play the games you're looking at.

It sounds like your pc is still plenty powerful to do pc stuff on.

[Cybercowboy]

You might want to double check that 8 year old power supply. You need to have the right connectors for the modern graphics cards. Also, after 8 years, most power supplies are going to at least need a new fan and those electrolytic caps may be drying out.

[justlookin]

I spent some time on this site Pick Parts, Build Your PC, Compare and Share - PCPartPicker and just looked at what people were building within the price range I was going to spend. I built my son a pretty decent computer without spending that much.

[Admiral Blue]

I know you do not need some of the things this comes with...I also know I do NOT know about gaming computers. I had my eye on this to upgrade in hopes that MS Flight Sim 10 would run smoothly with all the settings cranked up. It fits the budget, if nothing else...

http://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-Gamer-GUA880-Gaming-Desktop/dp/B00NJG71JA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1427671948&sr=1-1&keywords=gaming+computer

[Madmikeee]

Originally Posted by Stangkiller

Maybe a dumb question, but what about an xbox1 or ps4, they come in under $500 and will play the games you're looking at.

It sounds like your pc is still plenty powerful to do pc stuff on.

I could do that but I HATE using a controller for any FPS style gaming. I ROYALLY SICK at it and I have tried many many times in the past to get used to it with games like HALO and just never got good at it. Since I cannot use a mouse and keyboard with the consoles I have to go with a PC.

Trust me. If I could I would.

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by Madmikeee

I could do that but I HATE using a controller for any FPS style gaming. I ROYALLY SICK at it and I have tried many many times in the past to get used to it with games like HALO and just never got good at it. Since I cannot use a mouse and keyboard with the consoles I have to go with a PC.

Trust me. If I could I would.

Anybody have any experience with this?

Use a Keyboard and Mouse on PS4 & Xbox One! - YouTube

[Cybercowboy]

Also it would be a good idea to replace all your fans with new ones. Not only will it be quieter, but modern motherboards have the variable speed thing built in. You can use a utility that comes with the motherboard to tune the fan speeds individually for the best cooling vs. noise level. My current computer is about 3 years old now and is still whisper quiet. It has at least 8 fans (all full size) and they are running at about 1/3 speed.

[Cybercowboy]

A big mistake people make doing this is setting a must be under $x requirement. Instead, what they should be thinking is "I want to spend as little as possible while at the same time making it last as long as possible, thereby maximizing the cost/year." Spending a little more now to gain much better performance and longevity. For instance, there's no way I'd build any new system that didn't have a SSD boot drive. I'd have no less than 16 GB RAM, and the video card would be at least $150. Quiet fans, a good motherboard, reasonably fast CPU, good CPU heat sink with a quiet fan, quiet fans all around, and a modern power supply that's at least 600W. Monitor, who cares, use what you already have. You can always change that out (or any other peripheral) and as long as the drive is SATA, you can use old HD's in the new system. But a 1 TB HD is pretty dang cheap these days, and you can get the fastest SATA your motherboard supports to match up with that drive. A 300 GB SSD paired with a 1 TB HD would work well.

[Cybercowboy]

And here's a nice link for you.

And stuff that's on sale!

[Madmikeee]

Came up with this

PCPartPicker part list: Intel Core i5-4690K, MSI GeForce GTX 970 - System Build - PCPartPicker
Price breakdown by merchant: Intel Core i5-4690K, MSI GeForce GTX 970 - System Build - Price Breakdown By Merchant - PCPartPicker

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97A GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($339.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $808.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-18 13:03 EDT-0400

[ASTROCREEP]

I believe having 2 4GB of ram will perform better than one 8GB.

I just checked your Mobo specs and it is a Dual Channel Memory board. You will get better performance with 2 4GB DDR3 sticks.

[Madmikeee]

Originally Posted by ASTROCREEP

I believe having 2 4GB of ram will perform better than one 8GB.

I just checked your Mobo specs and it is a Dual Channel Memory board. You will get better performance with 2 4GB DDR3 sticks.

Thanks for pointing that out. I never even thought of that and I actually know better LOL

[Madmikeee]

Originally Posted by Waco

You 100% for sure need a new power supply. Don't risk all of your parts on an old or shoddy one.

I'd pass on the Z97 motherboard (there are non-overclocking boards that are much cheaper), cooler, and K series CPU unless you really want to overclock as well.

But it's pretty

Suggestions? Like I said I have overclocked in the past but I typically stay within the safe realms. From what I am seeing that board is excellent and seems to be pretty future proofed so it would last me a good long time. If I can squeeze 8-10 years out of this build like I did my last one I consider the extra money up front VERY well spent.