Micro-ATX + Intel CPU combo, mid-budget of ~$300.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695
Earlier today, my motherboard and/or processor shorted out when replacing the stock cooler with the Hyper 212 Evo. Since I can't say for certain which is dead and don't have any way of testing them, I figure it best to just seek out an upgrade/replacement of my current mobo+cpu.

Approximate Purchase Date: Not for a few months, simply can't swing it financially, but I'm happy to monitor deals.
Budget Range: USD ~$300 (preferably before rebates); doesn't need to be extreme high-end.
Usage: Primarily gaming and streaming, most intensive titles being PUBG and Rust. Mixture of all the basics too: browsing, streaming movies/shows to my console, etc.
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Motherboard and CPU. Currently have a Corsair CX430 to support them.
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred website for parts: NewEgg.com or Amazon (country of origin: United States); something reputable.
Location: Lewistown, PA, United States
Parts Preferences: Would like to upgrade to an Intel processor, i5 or better.
Overclocking: Perhaps but not necessary. Would prefer something powerful enough to not warrant it.
SLI or Crossfire: Definitely interested but not necessary.
Monitor Resolution: Currently using an Acer P215H Bbd 21.5" Widescreen LCD HD Monitor, which supports a native resolution of 1920x1080.
Other relevant system specs: My GPU is an MSI GeForce GTX 950 2GB DDR3, with G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600. Pair of Kingwin 120mm fans for cooling.
Additional Comments: My current case is a Micro-ATX: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156323

As I mentioned above, the motherboard and CPU dying is forcing me to replace my existing equipment. I might as well take this opportunity to upgrade to something better. It seems my choices are pretty slim for the Micro-ATX design so if that's an issue, feel free to recommend a solid case as well.

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
madmatt30
Honestly , if you even consider spending $148 on a hyper threaded dual core you need your head looking at .
It's an absolute rip-off at that price.

The 7350k according to user bench also beats an i5 7500

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-7350K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-7500/3889vs3648

Which it plainly isnt going to in real world terms
All the 7350k has going for it is raw clock speed


The amd ryzen offers similar IPS to skylake but twice as many threads for the same money.

If you want value for money & future proofing then the ryzen 1400 is what you should be looking at.

Don't just look at raw single core performance now , a lot of current titles still favour that admittedly at the moment but what you've got with an i3...
Sort by date Sort by votes
M04D18

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165
Which is your dead m/b and cpu?
Problem is that your DDR3 ram isnt supported from new motherboards/ cpus .

1) Find the dead part and replace only this with a better/similar one ( maybe 2nd-hand) , then upgrade gpu ( you will see better difference in games) * Depens on which your cpu is

2) Go for a newer technology but you should buy ram too ( not worth with 300$) ( Something like : Pentium g4560, b250 m.b, 16gb ram)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695


Was using an MSI 760GM-P34 and an AMD FX-6300. Motherboard was absolute dookie and the FX-6300 is bare minimum for most newer games, especially PUBG.

For reference, PUBG's minimum recommended requirements for processors is an AMD Ryzen 5-1600 or Intel Core i5-7600K. They also recommend a GTX 1060, which dwarfs my GTX 950, but I'm not in any position to upgrade the 950 too.

I'm not sure what the average price is for mobo+cpu combos but if RAM can fit under budget, so be it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M04D18

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Flare X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($116.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $289.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-06 06:02 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($79.44 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B250M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Flare X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($116.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $262.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-06 06:03 EDT-0400

You cant hit recommended settings ( both processores can run PUBG 1080p medium/high settings but with a 1050ti) with these , but you will be able to play PUBG at 1080p i think . ( For saving more , you can go with 8gb ram but i think you wont since you already have 16gb) . Also try to sell your old Ram :p
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695
Would that Intel processor be able to handle streaming at all? I did a benchmark comparison between my FX-6300 and your recommended Intel chip and evidently the Intel chip is ~23% better but I'm not well versed on the differences between dual-core Intel chips and six core AMD chips. Would I be taking a step back or a marginal step forward?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M04D18

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165
G4560 is a step forward from Fx but for stream you should go with better Ryzen , something like this(above the budget) :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($156.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($128.58 @ OutletPC)
Total: $347.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-06 06:19 EDT-0400
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M04D18

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165


H 110 , h170 , z170 need bios update ti support kaby lake cpus ( G4560 ,g4600 , i 3/5/7 7xxx)
Also you picked an unlocked cpu and this m/d doesnt allows overclock .

I prefer the g4560 over any i3 ( Little performance difference for the price)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695
Any recommended board for the i3-7350K? After looking over benchmarks for this particular processor (and comparing it to the g4560), the 7350K seems the way to go for a solid budget processor (in lieu of spending big on an i5 or better).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695
As with the first board you suggested, the Z270 isn't micro-ATX. My case is micro-ATX and I cannot fit a full-form ATX board in it. I outlined that in my original post.

As for the cooler, that's something else I already addressed in my original post. Hyper 212 Evo.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M04D18

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165
Upvote 0 Downvote
madmatt30

madmatt30

Titan
Ambassador
Jan 1, 2013
24,574
650
91,240
If you go intel you're going to have to replace ram anyway.

At which point you're just 100% better going ryzen as has already been suggested.

The ryzen 3 are better than the intel i3 at a similar pricepoint.
The ryzen 5 are better than the i5's.

Intel at this pricepoint makes no sense whatsoever , you're paying more & getting less.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
madmatt30

madmatt30

Titan
Ambassador
Jan 1, 2013
24,574
650
91,240
Upvote 0 Downvote
Orbit Storm

Orbit Storm

Distinguished
Dec 24, 2014
143
1
18,695
Aside from wanting to avoid AMD entirely due to awful experiences with AMD products, I find it disturbing that the Ryzen 5 is supposed to be on par with the i5 series and yet, according to benchmarks, the i3-7350K outperforms the Ryzen 5 1400 and is cheaper to boot.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-7350K-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-1400/3889vs3922

I feel like I'm being steered in the wrong direction here.

I'm not trying to say that you guys are BS'ing me, but if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on a system upgrade, I want to be well-informed and not do it on blind faith alone.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
madmatt30

madmatt30

Titan
Ambassador
Jan 1, 2013
24,574
650
91,240
Honestly , if you even consider spending $148 on a hyper threaded dual core you need your head looking at .
It's an absolute rip-off at that price.

The 7350k according to user bench also beats an i5 7500

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-7350K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-7500/3889vs3648

Which it plainly isnt going to in real world terms
All the 7350k has going for it is raw clock speed


The amd ryzen offers similar IPS to skylake but twice as many threads for the same money.

If you want value for money & future proofing then the ryzen 1400 is what you should be looking at.

Don't just look at raw single core performance now , a lot of current titles still favour that admittedly at the moment but what you've got with an i3 7350k is a dual core chip with a very high clock speed at an extortionate price.
The ryzen will give you future proofing , a skylake i3 absolutely will not.

The pentium is very nearly as good as an i3 & its only $60!!
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8gKhP6/intel-pentium-g4560-35ghz-dual-core-processor-bx80677g4560

Nobody buys the i3's now unless they've done no research or have been very Ill advised.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom