new CPU or GPU first?

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

hi i have a i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz sandy bridge? and a nvidia 545 GPU

was looking at i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core to upgrade which is what i understand to be the maximum CPU my system supports

and the Nvidia 1060 FE as thats the maximum my systems form factor/power supply can handle

question is which first? or should i only do one and not bother with the other?

i mostly play world of warcraft and use a single 24 inch monitor

thanks in advance

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

you should probably do both mate but definitely the gpu first.
Id argue that the 1060 is absolute overkill if all you really play is wow though.

Consider an i5 as a cpu upgrade too - whats your mb model exactly? - you can sometimes grab ivy i5's at bargain prices & theyre still great performers.

FrederikU · Aug 27, 2016

I would recommend upgrading your Motherboard for LGA 1151 or LGA 1150 socket so you can get 4*** or 6*** i intel cores. Keep in mind, if you upgrade to LGA 1151 socket you will need to change your RAM to ddr4 or ddr3l ones. If you play mostly WoW, there is no need to buy very powerful components. i5 4460 for LGA 1150 or i5 6400 will be MORE than enough for wow. For GPU? GTX 1060 3gb is good choice, as far as I know, WoW doesn't use much of the VRAM in GPU so its a VERY good GPU for WoW. God, its an Overkill for wow! Or you can try RX 470. Lower price, good performance.

PS: I think WoW is more CPU sensitive, but your GPU is weak too. Your i3 shouldn't bottleneck rx 470 or gtx 1060 3gb in WoW so I think upgrading your GPU first will be better.

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

its from a old alienware x51 r1 first version not sure the model number of the mother board....X51 R1 Intel H61 LGA1155 Motherboard 8PG26 KM92T 6G6JW??? maybe i know there were two types i have the first older type

why the 1060? all the other known working GPU upgrades are now just as expensive or not availble. i need the blower type GPU's

FrederikU · Aug 27, 2016

William_13 :

It was just a tip. Told you you can get RX 470, or even a RX 460 (It will handle wow on ultra on like 30-40 fps 1080p i think and it will be enough. GTX 750ti isn't a bad choice for wow either.

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

FrederikU :

a quick peek shows they are too big to fit the case, are not listed as known good cards for my machine and cost about the same. in addition i have a asus VG248 monitor and it might not matter but its says Nvidia ready on it so I assume it works best with that type card

FrederikU · Aug 27, 2016

William_13 :

Yes and you need PCI Express 3.0 x16 for them (not sure about gtx 750ti tho) They are good cards, but I dont think they will handle 25m raid on ultra full hd at 60fps. (rx 470 maybe). You can still find and buy smaller ones with only one fan on them, they are half the size of normal-size gpu.
Nvidia ready means it supports 3D nvidia vision (i think).

I think for you, the best one is RX 470. Check requirements for that card (MB and PSU) find smaller ones to fit them in the case. (Remember, there is always a way

)

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

specy says

Motherboard
Manufacturer Alienware
Model 0KM92T (CPU 1)
Version A00
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model Sandy Bridge
Chipset Revision 09
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model H61
Southbridge Revision B3
System Temperature 28 °C
BIOS
Brand Alienware
Version A14
Date 11/4/2013
Voltage
+3.3V 3.264 V
CPU CORE 1.360 V
VIN2 2.240 V
VIN3 1.235 V
+5V 3.405 V
+12V 14.960 V
VIN6 3.296 V
VSB3V 3.296 V
CMOS BATTERY 3.312 V
PCI Data
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage In Use
Data lanes x16
Slot Designation PCIE
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 0

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

Your monitor makes no odds, the nvidia tag is just for nvidia 3d vision.are you actually running the original x51 system here??
If so what power pack are you running ??

The 240w model will struggle with a 1060 & a CPU upgrade in all honesty.
The RX cards are confirmed working on your old board so if you're running a 240w PSU you would be better off with the RX 460 (& a whole lot safer)

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

The main board tab in CPU-z will confirm your actual board model.

FrederikU · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

Problem is that if he wants to play WoW on ultra or high with 60 fps on 1080p, rx 460 is not enough. RX 460 will struggle in 25m raids even on High/medium settings. Or just turn off shadows and AA. That could fix that

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

^ the problem is the x51 is not geared up for high performance cards.
Apart from PSU issues , the case also struggles with airflow badly.

Even with the bigger psu model I would not trust it with a 470 or 480.
With the smaller PSU I wouldn't trust it past a bus powered card or something that at least uses less than 100w.

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

mine came with the 330w

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

Mainboard Model 0KM92T (0x00000187 - 0x0054BE80)

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

Then after all the debate you are probably best off with a 1060 - there's nothing really available with the same performance to power requirement ratio anyway.

I wouldn't buy the founders, there are single fan models which are still blowers & will suit your case OK

The zotac mini, gigabyte mini, evga sc.
All available in 3gb & 6gb (the 3gb will do you if its substantially cheaper)
They'll all be cheaper than the founder a reference cards

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

Your board will take ivy chips, nothing against the 2700k , great chip - carries a huge second hand price tag.
You should be able to grab an i5 ,3350p 3450,3470,3570 a lot lot cheaper.

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

so you are suggesting i get the gpu first then a cpu?

or just get the GPU?

madmatt30 · Aug 27, 2016

GPU first, see if you're happy.
With wow you'll barely see a difference upgrading the CPU.
With other newer aaa titles the difference between an old sandy i3 & a ivy i5 is massive though.
I upgraded from a 2120 to a second hand 3470 dirt cheap.
The old i3 could not cope with stuff like GTA V /farcry 4 /fallout 4 well at all.
The 3470 paired with a 970 runs anything at 60fps+

With a new GPU you may want to broaden your horizons with PC gaming, an ivy i5 will do a good job if you do.

Bought my 3470 for £70, sold the 2120 for £35 - dirt cheap upgrade & well worth it.

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

i do like to play fallout 4 havent had trouble with my current set up though. worried that the fragile nature of the cpu i might ooops and ruin my MB. been thinking about just buying a new machine, wondering maybe save my pennies and just do that instead

William_13 · Aug 27, 2016

madmatt30 :

further research shows only these processor are compatible for whatever reasons according to Dell

I3-2120 3.3GHz

I5-2320 Quad Core, 3.0GHz

I5-3450 Quad Core, 3.10GHz

i7-2600 Quad Core, 3.4GHz

I7-3770 Quad Core,3.4GHz

madmatt30 · Aug 28, 2016

Look around the alienware forums & you'll see people running a 3570/3570k on the same board.

No reason any of the ivy i5's won't work.
Apart from a small change in microcode id & a clock change they're all exactly the same chip.

William_13 · Aug 29, 2016

been looking at by hardware monitor while i have wow running in the back ground shows the average cpu use with everything running the game and chrome and a bunch of stuff is 30% the GPU (545) flucualted from about 55% to 70% with nothing going on. which makes me think yes i need a new GPU and maybe the need for a CPU isnt as much as i once thought

new CPU or GPU first?

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