Upgrade motherboard or processor

Chris_30

Reputable
Sep 30, 2015
10
0
4,510
Should I upgrade my motherboard or just my processor? Looking to have a machine good enough to stream (i.e. on twitch.tv) and play graphic intensive games.

Here is my current setup (sorry if it contains some irrelevant info):

3.30 gigahertz Intel Core i5-2500K
256 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
6144 kilobyte tertiary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (4 total)
Not hyper-threaded

GPU: GeForce GTX 770

Installed memory (RAM): 8.00 GB

Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P8P67 PRO Rev 1.xx
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc.
 
Solution


This is...

aces19

Reputable
Aug 27, 2015
816
0
5,360


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-24 21:44 EST-0500

Pretty simple mobo. If you want a better one there are many other options.
 

Chris_30

Reputable
Sep 30, 2015
10
0
4,510


What if I wanted to go a little higher end on both of those?

I am tryiing to stream and play which I am told is very CPU intensive
 

aces19

Reputable
Aug 27, 2015
816
0
5,360


This is probably the least you can spend without sacrificing performance/mobo features, but getting an i7 processor. If you really feel the need to, go for a 6700k.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $444.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 15:17 EST-0500
 
Solution

barto

Expert
Ambassador


It's older sure. Bad. Not at all. Would an i7 perform better for streaming, absolutely. But Sandy Bridge CPU are still pretty decent.

Upfront notes. First upgrading the motherboard may require a new Windows key that you would have to purchase. Then you would have to reinstall Windows over again.

Have you thought about buying an i7 that your CPU can already support. With a BIOS update you could probably support a 3770k.