Help with upgrading my Gaming Build $500 budget

BrodieP123

Commendable
Mar 5, 2016
1
0
1,510
Approximate Purchase Date: within a week (the sooner the better)

Budget Range: (e.g.: 400-500) After Rebates and shipping
System Usage: Gaming

Monitor already bought: AOC - 27" Widescreen Flat-Panel IPS LED HD

Parts to Upgrade: Graphics card, processor, and possibly motherboard. Current power supply: Coolmax CU-700B Power Supply - 700W

Do I need to buy OS: No (Running Win 7 64bit)
(I was given the OS with the motherboard i have though)
Current Motherboard:Gigabyte M68MT-S2
Current Processor: AMD FX-6100 Six-core
Current Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6870

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon

Location: California, United States

Parts Preferences: Intel Core i5-4690k Processor, NVIDIA GTX 970

Overclocking: Maybe (never done before)

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe(if in budget)

My Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Basically, I would like to have a more powerful graphics card, but i understand with my current build I would need to upgrade my other parts around it. Ideally I would like this to ALL be done below $500. Thank you for reading and your responses in advance.

Why I am upgrading: Games incompatible with current graphics card or run on too low settings. For example, I would love to be able to run Grand Theft Auto V on maxed graphics.

Where my preference on parts came from-http://newbcomputerbuild.com/game-specific-build/gta-v-gaming-pc-builds/
(The maxed build)
 
Solution
First things first. Coolmax makes terrible power supplies. It needs to be first on your list to upgrade. You don't have a big enough budget for a 4690K w/ motherboard and GTX 970. Not even close. Especially since you have to buy a new power supply. This assumes you have DDR3 memory you will be reusing. If you have a OEM version of windows it will not be reusable since it is tied to the motherboard. Here's what you can get for $500-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double...
First things first. Coolmax makes terrible power supplies. It needs to be first on your list to upgrade. You don't have a big enough budget for a 4690K w/ motherboard and GTX 970. Not even close. Especially since you have to buy a new power supply. This assumes you have DDR3 memory you will be reusing. If you have a OEM version of windows it will not be reusable since it is tied to the motherboard. Here's what you can get for $500-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $499.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-05 20:27 EST-0500

 
Solution