Advice on upgrading CPU and Motherboard for old desktop.

David Ee · Jun 16, 2015

Hello friends, I recently "inherited" my family's old desktop and would like some advice on what components to upgrade (Don't worry I didn't kill anyone

)

Current setup:
CPU: i7-920 2.66GHz (w/ Hydro Corsair H55 Water cooler)
GPU: AMD Radeon 7870
RAM: 12g HyperX DDR3
MOBO: Gigabyte ex58-ud5 (LGA1366 Socket)
PSU: Thermaltake 650W
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

Budget Range: around 400-600 AUD

System Usaget: Mid-tier gaming. I like to play Arma 3 with my buddies a lot and would like to attain a 60fps average, I don't mind turning all the graphics settings to low if I need to, I'm not a graphics Nazi.

Parts to Upgrade: CPU, Motherboard. Possibly other parts.

Preferred Website for Parts: PC Case Gear

Location: Melbourne, Australia, St Kilda East 3183.

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU. I'm open to suggestions for brands on motherboards and other things.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Why I'm upgrading: Gamer on a budget. I'd like to be able to play most games with reasonable frames on mid-low settings. I like to play ARMA 3, Witcher 3, Viscera Cleanup Detail, Europa Universalis IV. Currently I only get about 30fps on ARMA 3, around 20-30fps on Viscera Cleanup Detail and Witcher 3. If I can play these games on 60fps on at least low settings, I'll be very happy. I suspect my low frames could be attributed to my weak CPU and relatively average GPU.

I'm planning on buying an i7-4790k with a new motherboard to accommodate the LGA1150 socket since my current motherboard only has an LGA1136 socket. I'd like to continue using my Radeon 7870 for a little while longer unless there's going to be a bottleneck or some other issue. I'd like to know if the i7-4790k will be a good purchase for me and if so, which motherboard should I get that can accommodate the LGA1150 socket?

Thank you so much for any replies!

JingLuci · Jun 16, 2015

If you're going to be doing mainly gaming then the i7 4790K will not benefit you in anyway. In fact it's going to hurt your budget since it's a ton more expensive than i5. I'd suggest you going an i5 4690K. This CPU will allow you to OC it if you ever want to. And since the CPU is a LGA 1150, the motherboard I'd suggest would be the MSI Gaming series. http://www.msi.com/product/mb/#?chipset=Intel® Z97 Express&chipset_no=1142 Here's the website for the motherboard. Choose on something that would match your need. Boards provided here are all SLI and Crossfire compatible.

I'm pretty sure the low frame rates are due to GPU and not the CPU. Not that CPU won't affect gaming, but most of the time it's the GPU thats affecting the most. So I'd suggest also get GPU changed. Here's a small comparison. http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-280X-vs-Radeon-HD-7870

Lastly try not to go with 2 different RAM sizes. It's always best to get RAM in Dual kit or Quad kit. But since you're on a budget, you can keep those RAM memory. Just something to keep in mind when you do plan to upgrade.

David Ee · Jun 16, 2015

JingLuci :

Thanks for the reply. You're so right, the i5-4690k looks a lot better for me. Still quad-core with similar clockspeeds and a RAM max that I'll never reach anyway. I'll definitely go with that, thank you.

Do you know of any other motherboards that have an LGA1150 slot that aren't as expensive as the MSI z97 series? The cheapest Z97-MPOWER Motherboard I could find was for $280 (in my area) and I don't think I'll be using many of the features it has such as Crossfire/SLI. I'd still like to overclock my CPU and I also need 6 slots for RAM for hopefully under $200.

Also, all my RAM are the same size. I have 6 RAM slots of 2g each hehe

JingLuci · Jun 16, 2015

David Ee :

JingLuci :

Thanks for the reply. You're so right, the i5-4690k looks a lot better for me. Still quad-core with similar clockspeeds and a RAM max that I'll never reach anyway. I'll definitely go with that, thank you.

Do you know of any other motherboards that have an LGA1150 slot that aren't as expensive as the MSI z97 series? The cheapest Z97-MPOWER Motherboard I could find was for $280 and I don't think I'll be using many of the features it has such as Crossfire/SLI. I'd really just like a cheaper motherboard that can support LGA1150 that doesn't have features I probably won't use and is hopefully below the $200 mark.

Also, all my RAM are the same size. I have 6 RAM slots of 2g each hehe

Erm, I thought you wanted to OC your hardware that's why I showed you the z97 boards but if you want cheaper than go down below. But if you're asking me then the Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard would be a good choice as well. https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a Here's the link. But you have to drop to 8gb of ram since the board only has 4 ram slots.

David Ee · Jun 16, 2015

JingLuci :

David Ee :

Erm, I thought you wanted to OC your hardware that's why I showed you the z97 boards but if you want cheaper than go down below. But if you're asking me then the Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard would be a good choice as well. https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a Here's the link. But you have to drop to 8gb of ram since the board only has 4 ram slots.

It's a shame that I'll have to drop to 8g of RAM but it looks like I'm going to have to anyway if I want a decent motherboard to overclock with. Looks like I'll just compromise and go with one of the MSI z97's. Thanks so much JingLuci!

JingLuci · Jun 16, 2015

David Ee :

JingLuci :

David Ee :

Erm, I thought you wanted to OC your hardware that's why I showed you the z97 boards but if you want cheaper than go down below. But if you're asking me then the Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard would be a good choice as well. https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a Here's the link. But you have to drop to 8gb of ram since the board only has 4 ram slots.

It's a shame that I'll have to drop to 8g of RAM but it looks like I'm going to have to anyway if I want a decent motherboard to overclock with. Looks like I'll just compromise and go with one of the MSI z97's. Thanks so much JingLuci!

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