How should I go about upgrading my PC?

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VinnieGaming

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Mar 3, 2017
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My computer lately has been worse then ever and I have wanted to get it upgraded so I can play games at a higher then low to medium setting without killing my disc I/O or my CPU and get amazing framerate. So with the following setting should I try selling my PC to get a new one or upgrade certain parts of my current one? Also could you(the person trying to help me) try recommending the new parts/computer? Also keep in mind that the RAM never goes above 20% but the disk I/O and CPU struggle. Finally, if anymore info is needed before deciding the best scenario for me then ask for it and ill get back to you here. Thanks :)

GeForce GTX 960
AMD A10-6800k APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics, Socket FM2, 4.40 GHz
15.92 GB RAM
1920 x 1080, 144Hz
Motherboard: ASROCK Fatality FM2A88X+ Killer
 
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FD2Raptor
The idea was to provide a minimal cost solution (to solve the struggling CPU part) and a higher end option (to better match with his 1080p@144hz screen) with some degrees of longer term viability against what's coming so that it won't just be about solving the immediate trouble.

It is a conclusion that I arrived at after looking at OP's PC. For an A10+A88X MB+GTX960+16GB DDR3, ~$400-450 for an upgrade is a lot of cash so they'd need to last a while. And under the environment of Ryzen 3/5 coming to the mainstream market which could resulting in a future movement toward optimization for more cores and threads, I considered the i7k option as the safer bet for longer lasting performance compare to an i5k despite the higher clock rate...
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damiengajda

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Mar 15, 2017
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Graphics card and RAM seem good for what you want. (its 16GB RAM btw) just make sure the RAM is DDR3 and not DDR2

If i was you i'd upgrade the motherboard and CPU.

If you're wanting another AMD CPU have a look at the AMD FX 8350, and if you want to keep the same colour theme have a look at the Gigabyte GA-990X motherboard
 
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FD2Raptor

FD2Raptor

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That's a bad advice since the FX 8350 is socket AM3 while the ASROCK Fatality FM2A88X+ Killer is socket FM2.

@OP: Your best bet at getting good performance is going Intel:

Swapping the MB to the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ($124.99 - $30 rebate + $1.99 Shipping ~~ $96.98 @ Newegg).

Then the CPU to either i5 4460 ($174.69 - $10 promo code + FreeShipping @ SuperBiiz as the value option) or i7 4790k ($339.99 - $30 promo code + FreeShipping @ Jet as the maximize performance option).

The i5 option is much better performance-per-$ choice while the i7k option is so that you'd have the best CPU that Z97 platform has to offer. Both would allow you to continue using your 16GB of DDR3; while any upgrade to newer LGA1151 platform would require extra cost of DDR4 purchase.

You'll want to upgrade to W10 and link your Windows license to your MS account before swapping MB so that your Windows license won't invalidate itself when you change the MB (you're still recommend to reinstall Windows afterward to get rid of old leftover drivers/patches for the old platform).
 
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damiengajda

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"That's a bad advice since the FX 8350 is socket AM3 while the ASROCK Fatality FM2A88X+ Killer is socket FM2."

Thats why i suggested the Gigabyte GA-990X motherboard...,maybe read the full post before saying to ignore the advice?
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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i7 4790k ($339.99 - $30 promo code + FreeShipping @ Jet as the maximize performance option)
Click to expand...

I think telling someone to spend 309.99 + 125$ for Motherboard and use DDR3 ram (total 434$) is better than simply getting
the following 6th Gen system is silly.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($109.00 @ B&H)
Total: $367.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-16 06:36 EDT-0400

or if he want to overclock
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($232.72 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Patriot 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($109.00 @ B&H)
Total: $456.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-16 06:38 EDT-0400
 
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FD2Raptor

FD2Raptor

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@Paladin: Did you forget that the i7 4790k will have a stock cooler (and can be undervolt it if temps were unsatisfactory) as the temporary relief while the i5 7600k won't? And when a good aftermarket cooler is just around $20 - $30 mark, meaning it's still an i7 4790k + aftermarket cooler as necessary for less or about the same as a i5 7600k w/o aftermarket cooler which is mandatory to function.

Also, these recommendations don't happen in a vacuum, the 4790k 4c/8t @ 4Ghz + OC (with aftermarket cooler) will be better positioned (i.e. have longer useful lifetime) against the coming Ryzen5 which frankly would be my premier secondary choice if OP didn't characterize his A10-6800k as "struggling" with the titles that he play. Drop ~$170-190 on the i5 + $60-80 on MB only to have a R5 bring up the mid tier specs well past that in a month make it an investment that may lose value fast (especially if you have to put forward extra cash for RAM replacement as well + facing the possibility of having to upgrade again in a year time when things become more Ryzen (more cores/more threads) optimized). The i7 4790k is listed as a secondary option due to the ridiculous pricing of the i5 4690k ($250 used or nearly $300 new; ppl with Haswel i3 look to upgrade drive the supply and demand rule) and the price of i7 4790 non-k is already too close to its unlocked equivalent.

The extra ~$100 cost to get the same 16GB RAM will always come back to bite you if you go to Skylake/Kabylake platform and resulting in less useful lifetime of the CPU (performance-wise; LGA1151 will have better features support but that doesn't seem to be the main concern here).

If OP can put up with his "struggling" A10 for 3-4weeks more, then ~$200 on Ryzen 5 1600/1500x 6c/12t + ~$100 AB350 MB + $100 16GB DDR4 would be the best performance/features for a ~$400 upgrade.

@damien: The incoming Ryzen5 on April 11th make any recommendation on 8cores FX a bad one, especially if it require change to more than just the CPU itself.
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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Agreed he could wait for R5 Amd cpu, and maybe he should.

But, then why suggest a 4th Gen Intel under the statement "will be better positioned (i.e. have longer useful lifetime) against the coming Ryzen5"
stating it is better than buying a 7th gen CPU for the exact same cost ?

financially I don't understand your argument, (not the AMD one) but telling someone to BUY 4th gen hardware, when he could have 7th Gen hardware for the same price and improvement on power by 20%...

seems to me, that selling an 4th Gen CPU is a better way to convince someone they should of bought an AMD in the first place :)
 
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FD2Raptor

FD2Raptor

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The idea was to provide a minimal cost solution (to solve the struggling CPU part) and a higher end option (to better match with his 1080p@144hz screen) with some degrees of longer term viability against what's coming so that it won't just be about solving the immediate trouble.

It is a conclusion that I arrived at after looking at OP's PC. For an A10+A88X MB+GTX960+16GB DDR3, ~$400-450 for an upgrade is a lot of cash so they'd need to last a while. And under the environment of Ryzen 3/5 coming to the mainstream market which could resulting in a future movement toward optimization for more cores and threads, I considered the i7k option as the safer bet for longer lasting performance compare to an i5k despite the higher clock rate of the latter option.

Another point is feature parity for the MB, mainly the sound card. The FM2A88X+ Killer has the Purity Sound 2 (ALC 1150) and the equivalent from Z270 would further drive the cost up. Now maybe he won't notice the difference between the sound made by an ALC892/887 over an ALC1150/1220 implementation, but I'd prefer to not downgrade his audio (as it is my view that once you're used to good quality audio/visual it becomes more difficult to go back).

I'll admit that the 1st point is purely conjecture and that future gaming, at least in the near term, may very well stay unchanged from the up to 4 cores + high single thread performance that has been the norm for so long; and the 2nd point is totally my subjective opinion.

But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. This discussion is based on US prices and availability, and until OP get back to us with his budget and where is he from, it may not be very useful for him.
 
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