New to PC Building - Looking to upgrade my CybertronPC Borg-Q Gaming Desktop

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kennemerm

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Sep 29, 2016
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I am completely new to anything that has to do with upgrading or building gaming PC's. I purchased my Cybertron Borg a couple years ago and now that I'm looking to upgrade, I'm not sure where to start. Here is a link to the computer's specs:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GFG1B1A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I upgraded the GPU last year to the GTX 750ti and have not done any upgrades since. I know the processor is weak and the motherboard is not great. Based on what I've read, I would like to upgrade to the i5-6500 CPU, but I am not sure which motherboard to get with it. And when I do decide on a motherboard, I'm not sure if the rest of my parts will be compatible with the new motherboard. To make this question simpler, I will list out my main questions:

1. What is a strong, but affordable LGA 1151 motherboard to go with my i5-6500? I'm not interested in OC-ing, but would be interested in learning more.

2. Based on the spec's of my current computer, would a new LGA 1151 motherboard even be compatible with the parts to my computer?\

3. I am comfortable with tools, and would feel comfortable taking my time to install these parts myself. But how do I know if my new motherboard would fit in my current casing?

I know it would be much easier for me to just build a new PC, but I am trying to upgrade my current PC to save money. I just can't afford to go for a completely new PC right now. Thanks in advance for your time to answer my questions.
 
Solution
FD2Raptor
First up, your question about compatibility, the PC appears to use an off-the-shelf motherboard (Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3) so it shouldn't introduce any sudden surprise in term of fitting.

And, you'd need DDR4 memory to go with a Skylake system:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $303.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-01 05:56 EDT-0400

Although it...
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FD2Raptor

FD2Raptor

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Mar 5, 2014
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First up, your question about compatibility, the PC appears to use an off-the-shelf motherboard (Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3) so it shouldn't introduce any sudden surprise in term of fitting.

And, you'd need DDR4 memory to go with a Skylake system:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $303.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-01 05:56 EDT-0400

Although it may not fit in color-wise (and blue theme color option is extremely limited for Skylake MB), the B150M Pro4 provide excellent features all round, Intel LAN chip, 6xSATA3, 4xDIMM, 7.1 channel ALC892, 4xUSB3.0 at the back with one header for two more for the case front panel.

There exist the Combo-G line from ASROCK like ASROCK H110M Combo-G ($87.31 @ Amazon) that would allow you to use the latest i5 Skylake alongside the DDR3 of your current AMD build, while still allow the upgrade to DDR4 as an option later on, but they're so overpriced that in the grand scheme, it's just much better to go all in with DDR4 as mentioned above (since Skylake CPU aren't meant to run with standard/performance DDR3 as those operated at much higher voltage 1.5/1.65V or 25%-38% higher than DDR4/DDR3L[the low voltage version]).

 
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Solution
USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
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Mar 16, 2013
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Going to an Intel CPU, you are building most of a new PC.
CPU, RAM, motherboard, probably the PSU.
You will need to fully reinstall the OS, and you may need a whole new license for it.
 
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K

kennemerm

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
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1,510


You know, I never really thought about it that way. This is a good point. I guess I should just say I'm trying to save as much money as possible while keeping things relatively simple. Thanks for your time!
 
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K

kennemerm

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
6
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1,510


Thank you Calvin, your answer was very simple and helpful!
 
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K

kennemerm

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
6
0
1,510


This is exactly what I needed, thank you very much. Like I said before, I'm basically the dummy in "Building Computers for Dummies." The way you have this listed out here really helps me see the process of building a computer. I always knew which parts were needed, but picking the best parts that are all compatible can be very confusing and stressful. Especially when you're upgrading some parts while keeping some parts the same.

I will take your answer and consider my options. Thank you for taking the time to help out!
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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Basically, you're just keeping the case and hard drive(s).
Everything else gets redone, incl the OS install.
 
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