Looking to upgrade any help is appreciated

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AthleteKenny

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Aug 31, 2016
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Hello I am currently looking to upgrade my desktop. I was thinking either the CPU or gpu. The ones I was thinking about getting was the i7 6700k Skylake one or if I ended up buying a GPU I would want the gtx 1070. The specs I currently have are A10 5800k clocked at 4.2 and GPU is AMD R9 380 4GB sapphire nitro. Any help would be grateful thanks
 
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coozie7
I'd also look at doing the CPU upgrade first, with the A10 you're locked into a pretty poor gaming platform which would severely restrict a GTX1070.
A few points:
Check motherboard specs and prices carefully, more than a few 'H' motherboards are at a similar price to the less well known Z170 parts-The Asrock Z170 K4 for example-and they can offer some nice extra features for the future, even if you don't get a 'K' series CPU and don't plan on overclocking.
Like all the current Intel parts, Skylake likes fast memory, DDR4 3000 or 3200 is a good balance between performance and price but be sure the motherboard can support such fast memory.

If you have an OEM or System Builder license of Windows there's a chance you'll need to purchase...
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asiren

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Aug 31, 2016
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both would be very good upgrades, if I had to choose one then I would choose the i7. I think the 380 can still handle most things and the i7 will allow you to a lot more than the A10. the 1070 is a good upgrade choice on the gpu though but personally I think the 380 is ok and the cpu should be upgraded first. the cpu you intend to buy is a lot more up to date and has much better things in its favor compared to the A10
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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I'd also look at doing the CPU upgrade first, with the A10 you're locked into a pretty poor gaming platform which would severely restrict a GTX1070.
A few points:
Check motherboard specs and prices carefully, more than a few 'H' motherboards are at a similar price to the less well known Z170 parts-The Asrock Z170 K4 for example-and they can offer some nice extra features for the future, even if you don't get a 'K' series CPU and don't plan on overclocking.
Like all the current Intel parts, Skylake likes fast memory, DDR4 3000 or 3200 is a good balance between performance and price but be sure the motherboard can support such fast memory.

If you have an OEM or System Builder license of Windows there's a chance you'll need to purchase another license for the new system, although Microsoft are (or were) quite nice about moving OEM licences over as long as you only install on the one system-if you have issues with activating your existing licence you can call Microsoft and activate over the 'phone. Either way it'll be a smart move to do a full reinstall as part of the upgrade.

Before you carry out the CPU/MB/RAM upgrade, go to the MB makers website and download the latest drivers to a flash drive, do the same for the graphics and monitor drivers, that way you'll not only be able to install them easily, but have the latest available drivers on your shiny new system.

Don't forget to save out those important files/game saves/photos/videos along with your internet favourites collection!
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Re your PM: I this the bundle?
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-z170-gaming-k3-atx-motherboard-intel-i7-6700k-unlocked-cpu-corsair-8gb-vengeance-lpx-ddr4-3

Me, I think it looks OK, and it's a bit cheaper than getting the parts individually.
In the past, I'd have suggested going for an i5 over an i7 for a mainly gaming rig, but times are changing and games, particularly heavy hitters, are taking advantage of the extra threads available so if your credit card can handle the shock, go for the i7.

I'm also well aware that money isn't always easily available, so also consider getting the parts seperately but opting for the i5 6600K, while it's a bit slower than the big i7 it's also <>£100 cheaper and still a VERY fast general purpose CPU.

Final thoughts: If you're using a 60Hz 1080 display and won't change soon, consider the GTX1060 instead of a GTX1070 for the next (future) upgrade. Like the GTX970 before it, it's quickly becoming the defacto standard for 1080 ultra/1440 high gamers that don't need blazingly fast frame rates, only consider moving up from the R9 380 to a GTX1070 is you have a very fast display, or it'll just get strangled down to 60 FPS, a speed the GTX1060 can reach, even at max settings in most games.
 
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