Upgrading pc. Looking for information and helpful tips.

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darksnake23

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Jul 16, 2012
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This may be a bit longer than I usually fancy but seeing as this issue has bothered me for a bit I figured I'd try to provide as much detail as I can conceive. My CPU is woefully outdated compared to my GPU now and my gaming experience suffers for it. Let's start with specs:
CPU: I5-3570k
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM
MOBO: Gigabyte - GA-Z77X-UP4 TH
RAM: G. Skill 8 GB (2x4gb) FC3-12800CL9-4GBRL
G. Skill 8 GB (2x4gb) FC3-12800CL8-4GBXM
Side note: Any issues running these two separate ram groups? I have seen improvements in fps for some games yet stutter seems more prevalent. I don't know if that is a side effect of other things though.
Storage: Intel - 335 Series 240GB 2.5"
2 x 3 TB WD My books
GPU: EVGA 3 GB 1060
Can't remember which version it is but they all seem pretty similar.
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
PSU: Corsair - Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Right off the bat does anyone notice any issues with this build? I realized I bought the wrong ram when I upgraded to 16 but figured it would be ok.
I'm playing newer games such as Battlefield 5 (Open Beta), Insurgency: Sandstorm, Escape From Tarkov, and even Battlefield 1. All of these ran into FPS issues and major stutter issues on some of the games. I understand 3 out of the 4 games I mentioned are early access/beta and they haven't been optimized the best but I've seen higher power rigs have no issues.
I've been told multiple times that the CPU is currently one of the few bottlenecks. Aside from the ram that would be the first thing I upgraded; However, with my current build, to upgrade my CPU to anything reasonable, I'd have to upgrade the CPU, Mobo, and RAM.
So, here is my response to that:
CPU: I5-8600k
Mobo: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX
RAM: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Everything else will remain the same.

Now, a few questions. Obligatory will everything run smoothly? Will I have any issues with the Evo 212? Will I lose windows? Will games run better without a GPU change? Any other issues you see please point out. Thanks for any future input.

 
Solution
PCDesignerR
One of the best things you can do for yourself where hardware is concerned inside of the case is to use zip-ties versus screws as often as possible and there are many benefits to this. With zip-ties if you are going for a color scheme the ties can work as accents pretty well. Also they are infinitely easier to manage than screws. The more you screw and unscrew and screw and unscrew a part, the more it wears down that part over time. Zip-ties don't have this effect at all. I use them for all of my cable management and for all of the case fan work inside of my case.
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Playing pick-and-mix with RAM can cause all sorts of issues, try running with the fastest 8Gb you have in dual channel mode, but don't forget to cull out as much as possible when gaming, check with Task Manager ( CTRL+ALT+DEL ) then open the startup tab to thin out startup programs.

Current games are getting more demanding of the CPU, but that little i5 shouldn't be too much of a holdup, cheapest upgrade option would be to bag a used i7 of the same vintage, flash the MB BIOS to ensure compatibility and see what happens.
You could also squeeze some extra performance out of the current system by overclocking the CPU, you have the right combination of an unlocked 'K' CPU and a overclock friendly 'Z' series motherboard along with a half decent cooler...Go on, you know you want to. ;)

As for the planned upgrade:
Only get the 'K' CPU and 'Z' MB if you plan to overclock, otherwise the far cheaper i5 8400 with a 'B' or 'H' series MB will get you 95% of the performance for far less cash.
Without the changes above, everything looks OK to me and the Hyper 212 should drop straight in.

You'll be doing major system surgery here, to keep your Windows licence, first link it to a Microsoft account, you can do this through the activation options AFAIK and once done your Windows key/install will transfer into the new system seamlessly.

With what amounts to a all new system-CPU/MB/RAM-it'll be a VERY good idea to fully reinstall Windows and all your software, updating as required, so you have a pristine system with both hardware and software fully updated and patched, although you can reinstall and keep your existing software this option can lead to issues because it holds on to older drivers.
 
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dontlistentome

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Sep 5, 2016
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You'll want more than 4 cores/4 threads for new Battlefield games. Your videocard has 3gb vram, so you'll need to mind which level of game settings you're using.

On the memory, my experience is that mixing ram isn't always a problem, IF you manually adjust the settings for all the ram to the lowest common denominator. Most motherboards and ram will configure themselves, which is handy and convenient. But if you are using 4 sticks, and you've mixed ram, I would forget about auto settings and do it myself. Make sure the timings and voltage is set to what all the sticks can do, not just what the faster sticks can do.

As far as getting rid of the stutters, until you have figured out why that is happening, don't count on an upgrade fixing it. "Just get new parts" isn't a guaranteed solution to every problem.
 
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darksnake23

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I had the current cpu OC'd at one point. I don't think it is anymore though. Also, I don't have a "windows license." With that said would i keep windows installed? as in on boot with the new hardware will i be able to get to desktop? I want to be able to get there and ensure everything is prepared then reinstall through the windows tool. Could you see any issues occur there?
 
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PCDesignerR

PCDesignerR

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Jul 30, 2014
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One of the best things you can do for yourself where hardware is concerned inside of the case is to use zip-ties versus screws as often as possible and there are many benefits to this. With zip-ties if you are going for a color scheme the ties can work as accents pretty well. Also they are infinitely easier to manage than screws. The more you screw and unscrew and screw and unscrew a part, the more it wears down that part over time. Zip-ties don't have this effect at all. I use them for all of my cable management and for all of the case fan work inside of my case.
 
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