Upgrading Current Build - Advice Needed

Max_Xman

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Nov 29, 2012
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I've been debating on upgrading my current PC build, so that it could run this year's biggest games (Metal Gear, Fallout 4, Far Cry, etc) on the highest settings with the resolution of 1920x1080. My current build is about 3 years old and I would like to re-use anything that I can from it, but at the same gain the best performance.

Here is my current build:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-7TE500BW)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost 2GB DDR5
Case: NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Monitor: ASUS VG248QE
Keyboard: G110
Mouse: Logitech G9X

Thanks in advance for all the advice and help.
 
Solution


Damn dude, $1000? You could build a whole pc that's better than your current one at this point, that's a great budget for an upgrade! Considering your build, I would say that you might be better off going with a whole new processor. The whole problem with that is you'd have to replace the motherboard and the RAM. That's within budget, but it's a tough decision because you could get a gtx 980ti and an fx 8350, and you'd still have enough money left over to get a...

cleanshot911

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Oct 28, 2014
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First thing is first, what is your budget for this upgrade? Or are you just looking to know what you should upgrade next in the future, rather than upgrade now?
 

Max_Xman

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Nov 29, 2012
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My budget will be $1,000 - but the actual upgrade will most likely be done around Black Friday. I'm just trying to get an idea if I can stay AMD given my current motherboard or am I better off going with Intel for the CPU - whatever will give me the best bang for the buck.
 

cleanshot911

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Oct 28, 2014
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Damn dude, $1000? You could build a whole pc that's better than your current one at this point, that's a great budget for an upgrade! Considering your build, I would say that you might be better off going with a whole new processor. The whole problem with that is you'd have to replace the motherboard and the RAM. That's within budget, but it's a tough decision because you could get a gtx 980ti and an fx 8350, and you'd still have enough money left over to get a few terabytes of storage and another 8gb of RAM. However, I'm concerned that even that processor would become a bottleneck for you eventually. Granted the fx 8350 and the gtx 980ti would be fine I suppose, but you'd need to upgrade your processor and your mobo and ram before you could upgrade your gpu again. Granted you wouldn't have to upgrade your gpu for about three to five years, but still, I think it's smart to get a nice processor and mobo and whatnot now, get a better gpu, and then you can continue to upgrade your gpu, or stick with it for a few years before it becomes obselete. So I would suggest the parts below for an upgrade. If you got these parts, you wouldn't need to upgrade anything in your build for another 3 years at least, except for maybe needing to get a $50 hard drive for more storage somewhere down the line. You could probably event tough it out for longer if you wanted to, but I'd suggest upgrading the gpu after 3 years or so, and then the cpu and whatnot after 5 years or so. Usually I don't upgrade i7s since they don't do better in games at all in comparison to i5s, but I can't be sure as to how developers will implement hyperthreading in their games 5 years from now, so if you want something that will last you longer, an i7 is a safer budget, and considering your budget, it seems reasonable to get one, as they only other thing you could get is more storage, or an ever-so slightly better gpu. I'm suggesting you get a new psu too because your current psu could not run this gpu easily. Also because your psu is fairly low quality. It's fine for a budget rig, but not for a quality build. Antec's HCG-M line is well trusted and reviewed, so I'd suggest these parts. What do you think? Any more questions?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CK796h
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CK796h/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($309.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $989.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-11 22:49 EDT-0400
 
Solution

Max_Xman

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Nov 29, 2012
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Thanks for all the advice so far. My only current concern is about the PC case right now. When I built my PC back in 2012 I picked a case that I thought looked cool, but looking back at it now wasn't very future-proof. I'm wondering if there are going to be any issues with airflow if I decide to go with the Radeon R9 390. Also in regard to the GPU - what would compare to this one from the Nvidia side price and performance-wise?
 

cleanshot911

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You can grab a better case if you like, don't be too concerned about it, cases are mostly aesthetic. Unless you picked a super shitty one, which I don't think you did, you should be alright for a little while longer. Can always get a good one for $50 later on. And an r9 390 is a little better than the gtx 970 at resolutions higher than 1080p, while being on par with it at 1080p.