Computer upgrade advice

Alexandre Vancomerbeck · May 2, 2013

So, my computer is (really) old and I am looking to upgrade. Mostly using it for gaming and some photo editing.
Current setup:
-Intel core 2 duo E6550 (O/C @2.8mhz)
-4 Gig DDR 2
-P5K - SE Mobo
-Radeon HD 5750

Budget: under $500 if possible

I am currently pretty set on the Intel Core i5-3570K (best price so far $219.99)
As for the rest, I am not really sure, I am thinking of:
-ASRock Z77 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (best price $119.99)
-Team Xtreem 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2666 (PC3 21300) ($99.99) OR Team Xtreem LV 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) ($69.99)
-And a new case: COOLER MASTER Storm Scout ($59.99)
And I was thinking on keeping my Radeon for now (I think it's still fairly decent, right?)
Total: $469.96-499.96 (well, that is under $500 alright

)

Do I need anything else you think? Aftermarket cooler maybe?

zander1983 · May 2, 2013

Change the RAM to 1866Mhz, no need for anything higher than that if you don't OC on high-end OC boards.
Motherboard is good.
You will need an aftermarket cooler if you want to overclock. You can always get one later to save some cash now.
Your 5750 is OK for now, but look at replacing that soon with a 7850+ or 660+

Your budget should cover that.

simon12 · May 2, 2013

I don't see you getting much of a better gaming performance without a better graphics card. something like this but keeping your drives, case and power supply (if its good enough) to get it under $500 would make more sense unless you can upgrade the GPU very soon (even then I suggest wait until you can upgrade it al together.) http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pc-gaming-overclock-build-a-pc,3443.html

Alexandre Vancomerbeck · May 3, 2013

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not sure if a slightly slower RAM would reduce the cost all that much, I am looking at getting Team Xtreem LV 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 for $69.99 and, at least, on newegg, that's one of the cheapest one.
Yeah I can definitely keep my PSU (750W) but not sure about my case, it's rather small. I'll look into a GPU, but I can always upgrade that later if the performance increase isn't what I was looking for. There isn't much of an advantage in buying it at the same time, is there?

zander1983 · May 3, 2013

Minor advantage...later on you can get the same card for a bit cheaper or even the replacement card for the same price.

simon12 · May 3, 2013

If you just get the CPU now the GPU will be a huge bottleneck and will will likely not notice much of a performance increase at all, if in 2 months time you can buy a $200+ graphics card at the same time Haswell will be released and you can get a 5-10% better CPU for the same price on a socket thats not dead and will get a huge performance boost.

zander1983 · May 3, 2013

simon12 :

+1

I forgot about Haswell (socket 1150) coming out within a few months. If you can wait for Haswell, save a few more months and upgrade everything.

Alexandre Vancomerbeck · May 4, 2013

I didnt know about that. I guess I'll just wait for the new CPUs then, I am not in a rush

So... expect a similar question in a few months then

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