Upgrading i5 2500k for 1440/144hz gaming

DampCat

DampCat

DampCat

Soldato
Joined
26 Feb 2007
Posts
14,187
Location
Leafy Cheshire
My 2011 machine is starting to show signs of hitting the deck. Regular crashes, stuttering, crashing twitch streams etc. I can no longer watch films/streams on one monitor whilst gaming on another.

Usually whenever I ask for upgrade advice I'm always told to wait for some new release. Unfortunately this time I just want to get going. Currently:

Intel i5-2500k 3.30ghz OC to 4.5ghz
MSI P67A-GD53 Motherboard
4x4gb Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey DDR3 PC3-12800 1600mhz
nVidia Geforce GTX 980Ti 6gb (thanks Day[9]!)
Corsair HX 750 ATX Modular PSU
250gb Kingston SSD
WD Green 2TB Sata
2x Dell S2716DG 144hz GSync
Silverstone FT02B case

Id like a much smaller case if possible. Long gone are the days of the tower dominating the desk. Smaller the better!

Budget wise I'd like around £1000-1200 but I'll push to £1500 if it makes a huge difference.

The 2070 Super seems to be great bang for buck.

I'm fine moving to AMD or Intel, but I'll be sticking with Nvidia as my monitors are both GSync.
 
In all honesty save yourself a few quid by:
- Buying an AMD Ryzen 3600 (6 core, 12 thread)
- A B450 motherboard with good VRMs (look to spend £80-100). I have the B450 Mortar from MSI but still have boot issues due to the BIOS not liking my memory at 3200mhz.
- M2 SSD (they are mentally quick).
- Keep your 980Ti as it is more than capable for gaming on one screen at your res (I game at 3440x1440 on the same card)

I recently went from a 3570k @ 4.4ghz to the Ryzen 3600 and now in games the CPU is at 25-35% load most of the time. Before the upgrade it was 80-100%. I bought the CPU, adaptor kit for my existing cooler, ram and a motherboard for just £360 (£450 once the M2 SSD was added in).

Video cards are appalling value at the moment and the 980Ti is still holding on. Even the 1160ti is slower yet starts at £260.
By all means go for an 8 core CPU if you wish, but price: performance ratio is firmly with the 3600.
 
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Cool, I'm happy to go with the Ryzen 5 3600, its getting recommended a lot. Also the M2 SSD is fine also.

Are there any specifics for the others? I'd need RAM for this new board, but i dont want the same issues you're facing. The Case is a thing im still looking at, and PSUs are very different now to mine so i'd need to do that too?

I'm happy to hold on to the 980, if i feel like i want more i can always just do that after some running in.
 
Your timing couldn’t be better. No ones going to tell you to wait for a new release, when a totally awesome new lineup of cpu’s has just been released :D
 
Rough build to start you off,
3700x 8c/16t, may not be needed right now for games but as consols are supposed to be going 8c/16t it would probably be worth keeping up.
Went with a X570 motherboard, no major reason really, just newer and may get longer lasting support, you could go with a B450 if you wanted to save some money, MSI tomohawk is highly recomended.
16GB 3600mhz ram is the sweetspot.
New good quality modular PSU, 650w will be plenty.
240GB NVMe drive for OS and some applications, you have drives for storage already this would just make windows a bit more responisve, could drop it to save on the budget though.
Case and extra fans i have thrown in as they are what i like, you can swap out to suit yourself.
RTX 2070 Super, shouldnt have a problem driving those screens.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,488.08 (includes shipping: £13.20)​
​
 
DampCat said:
Smaller the better!
Click to expand...
Would you consider a mini-ITX build?

Quick example:
  • 3600
  • Gigabyte x570i
  • 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT memory 3200MHz (Micron E-Die clocks to ~3600MHz)
  • 1TB Kingston NVMe A2000 SSD 5 years warranty(thanks @EsaT) ~£120 - can't link to review as has adverts.
  • Gigabyte Gaming 2070 Super
  • PSU 650W Gold modular - whatever is on weekly special with ~10 year warranty
  • Metallic Gear Neo G mini - Review and another clicky (unfortunately OcUK don't stock this as yet)
  • Extra fan for case
  • Total ~£1350
The case is a place holder but an excellent example of what you can get now in a traditional mini style tower case/format. Note the GPU is mounted vertically near the glass panel (enough room to breathe) and you would need a lower profile air cooler (stock stealth would fit) or if you wanted to make it look particularly funky a Kraken AIO - but would add significantly to your budget, but not required.

Below is a generic Youtube review - but suggest you google a few as lots of different setups with varying internals/looks if interested:


JfcYcfZt.jpg


8ED8fxbt.jpg


Or other case examples - may need to check GPU length with some:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​

You can go smaller again - but some cases double in price, and also the build will be slightly more involved/tricky and component size/choice becomes a factor. Again, why the Neo G stands out as an easy, stylish introduction to mini-itx (if you like that aesthetic).
 
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@Plec

you forgot this one !

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £90.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​

no so much as a heat box as Geo Mini



My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,528.13 (includes shipping: £13.20)
​

naturally as plec has mentioned, you'd change the ram and to NVMe as listed . push 3700x as £200 itx board can only be justified with some CORES! as well as lasting a bit longer and clocking higher .

memory swap leaves you under £1500, changing to NVMe brings you bang on £1500

FugYB1M.jpg


aEZbjDy.jpg
 
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Hmmm I would consider Mini ITX, and I DID say smaller the better. It does look though like I'd be spending quite a bit more for similar spec components to make them M-ITX?

I've been looking at the smaller Midi ATX cases, they might be fine tbh.

I might be able to combine all of the above though. I'm probably going to hold on to the 980ti for a bit longer and drop the 2070S in later also
 
DampCat said:
Hmmm I would consider Mini ITX, and I DID say smaller the better. It does look though like I'd be spending quite a bit more for similar spec components to make them M-ITX?
Click to expand...
Depends - if you look at my build and the selective components i picked, if you add in the cost of the 3700X it has price parity with the ATX build above it with same performance/quality components. It's the x570 motherboard that is the price hog...

Admittedly, if you drop to a MSI B450 board you could save ~£100 - but that's about it, unless you were looking at budget cases?

You can get a MSI B450 M-ITX - but it doesn't have the flash back feature so would require a Ryzen boot kit to get it ZEN-2 compatible, but would save you ~£80.

Or the MSI B450 Micro ATX Mortar - should be a MAX version released soon; making it Zen-2 compatible out of the box.
 
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DampCat said:
If I got the 3200 ram you mentioned is it essential to clock it to 3600?
Click to expand...
No, not at all (marginal gains - but i would tighten timings) - but the option is always there in your back pocket - and there's a healthy thread on it if you need guidance.

*See edits above about the MSI B450 Micro ATX Mortar MAX - may suite your need more, if M-ITX gives you pause for thought.
 
Ok so I appreciate the M-ITX idea, but I'm just a little nervous about going too far into realms unknown. I think i'll stick to a small midi tower.

I've tried to take a little from everyone's suggestions above to build a list. It actually comes in way under budget (although no GPU so i guess it doesnt), so would be happy to hypothesize ways to maximise potential, but only if the extra £'s are a worthy difference

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £865.05 (includes shipping: £13.20)​
​
 
ie: i've seenthe Tomahawk recommended a lot but should I just go straight for a x570? Im not 100% sure of the differences. I dont need Wifi or fanciness.
 
DampCat said:
ie: i've seenthe Tomahawk recommended a lot but should I just go straight for a x570? Im not 100% sure of the differences. I dont need Wifi or fanciness.
Click to expand...
If you don't need PCIe 4 (and you don't for your needs) then the savings are better put towards components that will gain you more raw speed/power - or pocketing the difference, and putting towards a future GPU upgrade.

Your build is solid - casting a critical eye over it, the cooler is almost the same price as the CPU and you could get a decent, good looking, air cooler for a third/half of the price (still aesthetically pleasing) and sub in a 3700X (or again pocket the difference). Quality air - less points of failure, performance parity with AIO and arguably quieter.

That said, AIOs are easier to remove/work around and if you're after a certain aesthetic are pleasing to the eye - so makes sense.

If you wanted to save more money the Crucial Ballsitix Sport LT 3200MHZ would fit the brief - but fully understand if you want to get all your components from one place, for ease of trouble shooting.
 
Plec said:
If you don't need PCIe 4 (and you don't for your needs) then the savings are better put towards components that will gain you more raw speed/power - or pocketing the difference, and putting towards a future GPU upgrade.

Your build is solid - casting a critical eye over it, the cooler is almost the same price as the CPU and you could get a decent, good looking, air cooler for a third/half of the price (still aesthetically pleasing) and sub in a 3700X (or again pocket the difference). Quality air - less points of failure, performance parity with AIO and arguably quieter.

That said, AIOs are easier to remove/work around and if you're after a certain aesthetic are pleasing to the eye - so makes sense.

If you wanted to save more money the Crucial Ballsitix Sport LT 3200MHZ would fit the brief - but fully understand if you want to get all your components from one place, for ease of trouble shooting.
Click to expand...


What if i switched out for the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200, and used the change to boost the 3600 to the 3700X?

Edit: Ignore that. The Sport LT is kinda ugly, and its only saving £40 and having to shop elsewhere.

Is the 3700X worth the extra £140? I'll do it if it is, but if it's marginal i'm not worried!
 
DampCat said:
What if i switched out for the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200, and used the change to boost the 3600 to the 3700X?
Click to expand...
I would - if that was the choice. As, mentioned, you could always play with the CBS LT and clock it to ~3600MHz at a later date.

Or you could sell the 980Ti, use the stock cooler, buy the CBS LT memory and sub the 3700X for the 3600 and use the money to fund the below for a big performance boost at 1440p:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​
 
Card looks good but i'm going to be sticking NVidia as I have 2x Gsync monitors, might as well make the most of them.

I think i'll just spend the extra on the 3700X. I can get by with the 980ti for a couple months and then swap it out. Maybe in a sale or something.
 
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