Advice on this gaming upgrade?

Avatar Meatloaf · Nov 4, 2013

I expect to buy some new parts by the end of the year. Currently I have a HD 6950 2GB, a Phenom2x4 955 and 4GB DDR3. While this PC can still run any game, I see myself needing to lower my settings with each big release to keep at a decent framerate. I feel the 6950 will still be able to hold its own for at least another year, so I've decided a CPU upgrade would be in my best interest.

After asking around, I've narrowed the parts down to these.

■ For the CPU, I'm looking at the i5-4670. I don't plan on overclocking, it is the same price as a 3570k, and from what I've read a 4670 is the way to go if I'm not going to OC. Link
■ Although I'm not overclocking I thought it best to also get a 212 EVO. I have quite a small room and it heats like an oven when I play games on a hot day. Link
■ As for the motherboard, I didn't really compare many. I went with a Gigabyte H87-D3H because of the $100 price tag and my 2 past Gigabyte boards never had a problem. As I don't really know what to look for in a mobo besides the CPU socket and PCI/memory slots, this is where I'd most appreciate a second opinion. Link
■ I went with 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series for my RAM. Link

I originally set my budget at $600, up to $800 if necessary. But purchasing these parts keeps me well under $500, and that allows me to put some money towards games as well. It also gives me a little more to save for a new GPU such as a 280x and an SSD in a few months.

Any suggestions for parts I should get rather that the ones I selected is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

patrick47018 · Nov 4, 2013

Good CPU choice, good coler choice, Gigabyte is pretty good but look at the ASRock motherboards if you are interested in a quality durable motherboard. G.Skill makes good RAM 1600MHz is the sweet spot. The 280X will be a good choice, the Toxic is the best 280X and I recommend the Samsung 840 EVO for an SSD

rolli59 · Nov 4, 2013

I can not dispute your selections which seams to me is well thought out. Enjoy your upgrades since I am expecting you to see some frame rate boost from the CPU change based on my experience with 955BE and HD7850.

Shwee · Nov 4, 2013

I agree on the decision to keep the HD 6950, while you will have to lower settings, you can't deny that those games still look great on medium or high instead of ultra right?

For the CPU, I'd only recommend going instead for the i5-4570 or the i5-4430 to save a bit more money. While they are clocked a little lower than the i5-4670, they're both still Intel's newest architecture and both quad core. You won't notice a difference in the vast majority of games for years to come. Also, if you happen to be willing to buy in the next 5 hours, you can get them on newegg for $190 and $175 respectively.

The 212 EVO is a nice cooler. Can't go wrong with cooler master, and it's a decent price for someone who doesn't plan on overclocking.

I'm not a fan of Gigabyte myself, and have a very slight preference toward Asus or ASrock, but that mobo still has the correct socket and PCIe 3.0 slot that you need. As you said, you don't plan on overclocking, so there's no reason for a mobo any more expensive than that unless you want to get crossfire or SLI in the future.

Also can't go wrong with G.SKILL.

I can tell you that having an SSD is indeed a nice upgrade, but unless you're playing a game with exceptionally long load times, it doesn't change the gaming experience by a lot. (Assassin's Creed 3 and X3: Albion Prelude are 2 games that I found benefit a lot from an SSD) Still, having a fast computer just feels better. Hope this helped!

Avatar Meatloaf · Nov 4, 2013

Shwee :

I agree on the decision to keep the HD 6950, while you will have to lower settings, you can't deny that those games still look great on medium or high instead of ultra right?

For the CPU, I'd only recommend going instead for the i5-4570 or the i5-4430 to save a bit more money. While they are clocked a little lower than the i5-4670, they're both still Intel's newest architecture and both quad core. You won't notice a difference in the vast majority of games for years to come. Also, if you happen to be willing to buy in the next 5 hours, you can get them on newegg for $190 and $175 respectively.

The 212 EVO is a nice cooler. Can't go wrong with cooler master, and it's a decent price for someone who doesn't plan on overclocking.

I'm not a fan of Gigabyte myself, and have a very slight preference toward Asus or ASrock, but that mobo still has the correct socket and PCIe 3.0 slot that you need. As you said, you don't plan on overclocking, so there's no reason for a mobo any more expensive than that unless you want to get crossfire or SLI in the future.

Also can't go wrong with G.SKILL.

I can tell you that having an SSD is indeed a nice upgrade, but unless you're playing a game with exceptionally long load times, it doesn't change the gaming experience by a lot. (Assassin's Creed 3 and X3: Albion Prelude are 2 games that I found benefit a lot from an SSD) Still, having a fast computer just feels better. Hope this helped!

Going with the 4570 sounds like a good idea. Saving an extra $20 for practically no performance drop in today's games is a smart move. Thanks for the advice, Shwee.

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Advice on this gaming upgrade?

Avatar Meatloaf

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rolli59

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Shwee

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