Advice for upgrading 7yo PC for gaming

fuchsiashockz

fuchsiashockz

fuchsiashockz

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2 Apr 2018
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32
Hi,
I just trying to figure out what to upgrade. I though ram would be a start but then don't want to 'waste' it if I next need to get a new motherboard and cpu.

Budget = best performance for the least money. It's run for 7 years and I tested with Battlefield 1 and it still ran ok. If any minor upgrades equal a few hundred quid then I might be better buying a new pc for £400?

Any advice welcomed.

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z68AP-D3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Display Memory: 3230 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1224 MB
Shared Memory: 2006 MB
Corsair CMPSU-500CX Builder Series 500W Power Supply

Ram
CML4GX3M2A1600C9
Vengeance® Low Profile — 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 9-9-9-24 (2x2gb)
SPD Speed 1333MHz
SPD Voltage 1.5V
Speed Rating PC3-12800 (1600MHz)
Heat Spreader VENGEANCE LP
Package Memory Format DIMM
Performance Profile XMP 1.3
 
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No idea on budget. If I can spend a few hundred to just make a slight difference to gaming then it might not be worth it. I guess that's the question really - how much do I need to spend to make it decent for games or should I get a new one?
 
I would add:

2 new sticks or Corsair that are the same as you have now (New 4gb kit for £35)

A decent cooler like the CM Hyper 212 EVO so you can add a nice but comfortable overclock (£25)

Assuming you don't already have an SSD? Add a new TeamGroup Lite from OcUK (120gb is £38, 240gb is £68)

Graphics card totally depends on your budget, but all of the parts above apart from the memory could be carried forward into your next build, so the graphics card could be too.

I would think about a new PSU if you buying a decent card, your current one must be nearing the end of its life assuming it's an original.

Your CPU should be ok for gaming to be honest, so you probably don't need to upgrade that immediately as long as you up your memory a bit.
 
You won't get a new computer for £400 that would beat an upgraded version of you current computer.

Assuming that you're comfortable with swapping parts over, what I'd suggest is:
1) second hand 2600k + aftermarket cooler to overclock. 4.5ghz is easily doable. 4.7-4.8ghz is normal with decent cooling.
2) second hand ddr3 16gb ram - ideally 2x 8gb sticks, but 4x 4gb sticks will be fine too
3) new graphics card. Something like the gtx 1060. Recommend the 6gb version if possible. The 3gb version is gimped - would ideally avoid. Failing that, can consider a 1050ti. Less capable, but decent for 1080p gaming with medium settings
4) SSD. Makes your computer feel more responsive. Ideally 250ish GB at minimum. But it means you'll need to reinstall windows and games onto the ssd.
5) as bongohunter mentioned, you haven't told us your power supply...may need replacing depending.
 
@fuchsiashockz if your cx500 is the 80 plus bronze version, I'd be tempted to keep it and not replace it.

If it doesn't have an 80 plus bronze rating then could consider getting the evga 450bt. It's £38+postage from ocuk shop
 
fuchsiashockz said:
does it matter if the CL timings match?
Click to expand...
no, it'll just default to the speed of your slowest ram.
am i right in saying you currently have 1x 4gb stick of ram? if so, then consider getting either 1 extra stick (for 8gb - on the cheap) or 3 sticks for the full 16gb ram goodness :)
 
OP states they have CML4GX3M2A1600C9 in first post

This is a 2x2GB Kit

These kits are still available new for £35

Mobo posted in OP has 4 memory slots - so just adding an identical kit to what's in there now will probably be the neatest way to get to 8GB
 
Which CPU cooler do you have? Because overclocking will be a quick way to boost performance. Note that overclocking is never guaranteed.

I'll echo the recommendation of the SSD.

In order, your upgrades should be GPU, RAM, SSD, overclocking. I would suggest starting with a GTX 1060 - it's a big boost from the 1050 Ti - and the RAM, then look at the budget left.
 
I would say your first priority is more memory. At least another 4GB. There is no doubt this will be limiting you for games and applications.
The 560ti is actually not a bad little graphics card so it will be pretty costly to replace. You really need to go to a 1060 to show any huge improvement. The 1050 is only about 60% faster then the 560 but the 1060 is something like 250% faster. I would also check around for compatibility in that some of that generation of motherboard required an BIOS update to work with post series 7 NVIDIA cards.
You could also replace the main HDD with an SSD. This rather gives your PC the feel of a better PC. It only affects load times, so actually it doesn't really do anything important as such, rather it gives you the feel of a much more modern PC.
 
Thanks for all the input.
Looking at my motherboard - Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Rev 1 it looks like I might have a problem with those graphics cards since there isn't a UEFI bios update. Not really even sure what that means but I think those gfx cards will only work on the Rev 2 motherboard.
 
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