Recommended upgrade for 2015 budget gaming computer

highttyler

Prominent
Nov 8, 2017
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510
I’m looking for help about how I should upgrade my budget gaming build. I don’t know if I should stick with my H81M-A board and upgrade to i5 4690 + GTX 1060 6GB, or upgrade more other parts so that my parts are new. I bought this computer in 2015. I want my budget to be under $400-$600.

Current componets:

Motherboard: H81M-A

RAM: RipjawsX 2x4 GB

CPU: G3258

GPU: GTX750 Ti

PSU: EVGA 500W M1



 
Solution
anything modern will require this:

1) CPU
2) Motherboard
3) DDR4 memory
4) W10 new license

So that destroys your budget; if it wasn't for the DDR4 memory I might be recommending an R5-1600 (6-core CPU) based build. I'd concentrate on just the CPU and Graphics card.

*Having said that, if you SELL your CPU + motherboard + memory maybe you can raise the budget a bit?

Maybe plan the parts and look for SALES on those parts over the holiday season?

My advice if so would be an R5-1600 build like this:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7XRmYr

I think you can get W10 64-bit via the "assistive" option still (Google) for a free license. It has a watermark I believe but otherwise people are still using it. microsoft did say they are going to STOP...

fredfinks

Honorable
You can get a 1070 for $400.

4690s are selling for ~$140. Same with a i5-6600. Look for both CPU/mobo combos & individual listings
Recommend an i5-6600 with a compatible DDR3 mobo from ebay and a 1070. Doable for your budget of $600

or just the 4690 & 1070. whatever the case your much better off with a 1070. thats going to make the main difference. Night & day diff vs the 750ti
 
anything modern will require this:

1) CPU
2) Motherboard
3) DDR4 memory
4) W10 new license

So that destroys your budget; if it wasn't for the DDR4 memory I might be recommending an R5-1600 (6-core CPU) based build. I'd concentrate on just the CPU and Graphics card.

*Having said that, if you SELL your CPU + motherboard + memory maybe you can raise the budget a bit?

Maybe plan the parts and look for SALES on those parts over the holiday season?

My advice if so would be an R5-1600 build like this:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7XRmYr

I think you can get W10 64-bit via the "assistive" option still (Google) for a free license. It has a watermark I believe but otherwise people are still using it. microsoft did say they are going to STOP that in the near future.

Other:
The reason I recommend getting the above is primarily because a 4C/4T (4-core CPU without hyperthreading) CPU is still going to fall behind ESPECIALLY IN THE FUTURE. A 6C/12T CPU is going to get you a long, long life especially as games become more threaded and utilize the cores/threads better.

Once future compilers optimize better for AMD Ryzen CPU's the R5-1600 may have up to 2x the total processing power as an i5-4690. For now the R5-1600 won't matter for some games, but will do better in others not just in average FPS but may be SMOOTHER depending on what the CPU load is like.
 
Solution
As per above, but for ease of quickly understanding I'm suggesting this for roughly $700USD (as said, may sell parts and/or up the budget):

R5-1600
AM4 motherboard
2x4GB 3000MHz DDR4
GTX1060 6GB

(dual fan on graphics card for lower noise)

If that's an option, should later get an IDENTICAL KIT of DDR4 memory for 16GB total. So make sure the motherboard has x4 DIMM slots.

Note it's best to get 3000 or 3200MHz DDR4 memory and Google carefully which EXACT models are properly working at their rated frequencies. Some are stuck at 2133MHz.
 

fredfinks

Honorable
Photon, a 8700k or 1900x with a 1060 will be worse than a 4690 with a 1070.

To up his gaming right now he can just get a 2nd hand CPU from ebay & a 1070. When he has more $ and/or 4 core has really become obsolete for gaming, then he can get a new CPU/mobo/ram. RAM prices are insane right now.




 


I believe the DDR3 motherboards were said to be a bad idea because newer Intel CPU's that also supported "DDR3" were meant for DDR3L (lower voltage), not normal DDR3.

I think Intel suggested the following:
1.35V is fine
1.5V may or may not kill your CPU
1.65V will kill your CPU

As per my own comments, if the budget is problematic then an i5-4690 + GTX1060 6GB/GTX1070 is worth considering.

I would rather see a focus on switching to a newer platform if possible, AND a focus on a CPU that should last a long time. The AM4 socket should also hang around for quite a while so replacing a failed MOTHERBOARD will be far easier in the future.

What happens if there are NO motherboards in a year or two for your Intel setup?
 

fredfinks

Honorable
Youre right that the 6600 & mobo was a silly option.

Just trying to up the GPU as much as possible. Even if its for 6 months, flog the 4690 back on ebay once is done its job.

Gernerally mobos are DOA or last for long time. If youre out of warranty find a 2nd hand one on ebay if you want to stay with your CPU.
If only you saw what i saw regarding frequency of RMAed AMD mobos (regardless of brand) you wouldnt be recommending AMD platform. One can see more AMD CPU(!) failures in a month than a lifetime of intel.




 

boju

Titan
Ambassador
Decent gpu upgrade from 750ti will cost you 1/4 to close to half your budget, gtx1050ti/1060.

Upgrading gpu comes upgrading cpu too otherwise bottleneck. Getting a 4770, 4770k or 4790, 4790k would be a big upgrade from your current cpu. Update your bios first with your current cpu. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2456330/4790k-compatible-asus-h81m.html

If you don't like 2nd hand or cant get new 4th gen cpu at a reasonable price, Amd Ryzen build Photon suggested is a good option too. Search budget Ryzen builds there are plenty guys here have put together at very close to your budget.
 
Fredfinks,
(having weird issue with quoting so just doing it this way)

First, your "i7-8700K" comment is only partly true. Every game is different in how much CPU it needs, and a 4C/4T CPU like the i5-4690 is going to have difficulties in some games in terms of game SMOOTHNESS or just becoming a bottleneck.

Is the i5-4690 + GTX1070 the best bang-for-buck right NOW. For the next YEAR?

Arguably YES but even then it depends on the games played. Some MMO games, or specific strategy games similar to AotS are very demanding on the CPU.

The game devs tell me they intend to utilize CPU's more as time goes on for tasks like AI etc, and the main thing holding them back is the game engines being better threaded but that's now starting to change with DX12 and Vulkan.

One game dev said to expect even an 8C/16T CPU might be totally utilized for some games.

This will NOT happen over night of course, but I think spending a little MORE for something like a 6C/12T R5-1600 to get 5+ years out of the core system (with later DDR4 and Graphics Card updates).

The GTX1070 can increase the FPS by roughly 30% over a GTX1060 6GB assuming minimal to no CPU bottlenecking. What ties into that is the fact that most games don't look much different on both cards really, assuming you've tweaked the settings to say 60FPS or so.

The visual fidelity rapidly diminishes because the core game is tweaked for weaker systems, and increasing settings can be relatively taxing with arguably minimal gain graphically.

Here's a good video on that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnluU-pV6cU

So there really is NOT a wrong answer, just a difference in strategy. Mine is to concentrate on a CPU that will last longer, with a motherboard socket that will hang around longer. I feel that he would likely want to upgrade the CPU later anyway so my advice is spend a little more NOW and get a long life out of the core system.

DDR4 memory will also be cheaper than DDR3 memory too, especially later as DDR3 phases out more.

Other:
As for the last part I can't comment about AM4 motherboard returns though I suspect much of that is returning working motherboards because the DDR4 memory isn't achieving the rated frequency as well as some issues that have been since fixed with BIOS updates.

So probably mostly a fixable FIRMWARE issue rather than a manufacturing issue.

Finally, as I may have said I think replacing his HASWELL socket motherboard will be very difficult in a year or two. Heck, the CPU may be hard to sell too if there ends up a surplus of them once motherboards are unattainable even on EBay.

So that's part of the reason I suggest switching to AM4.

(You can also get an M.2 SSD for most or all AM4 motherboards as well which may be a good purchase later on, but certainly not now due to budget)