Computer Upgrade Plan

you're puttin a K cpu on a non-Z motherboard that's not wise if you wanna have all the overclocking features like gameboost , etc.

it's okay but now that you're using a non-k cpu again , again you picked a Z motherboard they're compatible but you dont have to pay the extra for a z motherboard , z mobo's are for K cpu's

dont reuse that poor psu either.

not if your wattage doesn'e exceed 500 watts

ok then if you plan to upgrade keep the mobo

1) Zotac sucks - poor cooler. I'd go for Asus Strix or similar

2) CPU cooler - spend a little more for a quieter cooler

3) W10 64-bit new license needed (I'd also sell your ENTIRE PC even if you have to buy a cheap case, cheap HDD etc then reinstall W10 cleanly and sell the entire thing?)

4) i5-8400 is a great CPU, but at that point I'd consider going with an R5-1600 CPU because:

- R5-1600 is slightly slower per core but has hyperthreading
- AM4 is upgradeable later to an 8C/16T ZEN2 CPU should you need it
- AM4 motherboard availability will be far longer (for after-Warranty replacement)
- easier to sell CPU and motherboard later likely

*Having said that, getting an i5-8600K which might clock at 5GHz (with good cooler) has much higher performance per core. Basically if you go i5-8400 then I'd just go AMD Ryzen, but if you decide on the i5-8600K instead that's good.

i5-8400 at best gets 4GHz. The i5-8600K can get 5GHz (25% higher).

Again, the i5-8400 is 6C/6T, whereas the R5-1600 is 6C/12T. So pros and cons with more thread on R5-1600 but SLIGHTLY higher perf per core on i5-8400.

You're going to spend $1500au+ then update the CPU later?

It's maybe 10% to 15% more (depending on CPU cooler you choose) to go for the i5-8600K right away. Personally I'd save up my money for that, maybe buy the GTX1080 now if need be which will still improve a lot of games.

*BTW, I have an i7-3770K @4.4GHz which for most games gives the EXACT same performance as an R5-1600 (though the R5-1600 has 50% more cores/threads but most games don't need them).

I run 2560x1440 for all games using my GTX1080 but the CPU is rarely a bottleneck. The i5-8400 has minimal benefit over the R5-1600 in most games, and even the i5-8600K doesn't matter that much if you run at 2560x1440. It's mainly 1920x1080 (lower resolutions) that the Intel higher core speed helps a lot.

For example: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_ryzen_5_1600_review,19.html

(also for that example and others, I'm running mostly 60FPS anyway but with slightly higher graphics settings. obviously they have a few things disabled or lower setting... so for this Tomb Raider game there's absolutely no CPU bottleneck at 2560x1440, and probably not even 1920x1080 at higher graphic settings.. only one example but again I rarely ever see a need for something like an i5-8600K outside of 1080p fast-paced shooters running 100FPS+ on 144Hz monitors).

AMD Ryzen should see some future optimizations as well since most compilers currently lean towards Intel, and the extra THREADS in the R5-1600 will start getting utilized more as time goes on (only about max of 30% boost).

All things considered I personally would probably go with RYZEN for reasons I already discussed here and above regarding longevity of the AM4 platform.

Having said that, if money was no object I'd get the i7-8700K (6C/12T up to about 5GHz) but otherwise I think an R5-1600 platform is a great starting point, again especially if 2560x1440.

**Also, depending on the MONITOR you own it might be a good idea to avoid spending that on a more expensive CPU + Cooler and put it towards a good GSYNC monitor instead (i.e. 27", IPS, 144Hz+, GSYNC.. ).

In fact, I'd rather have an R5-1600 + GTX1070 instead of an i5-8600K + GTX1080 if the difference was a good GSYNC monitor.

You probably don't care, but I put together some RYZEN components without a CPU cooler as the R5-1600 has one and you can add one later if needed.
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/4JsVzM

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/ttnG3C/acer-monitor-xb271hubmiprz

I love the general SPECS of that, but I personally find the price hard to justify. I'd like to see that closer to 50% of that price.