Short version, straight to the questions:
I currently have a Core 2 quad 6600 overclocked to 3.2GHz and 8GB of DDR2-800 at stock. It's a bit lacking for modern games.
I would expect to notice quite an improvement in gaming if I went to a core i5 2500K overclocked to whatever I could get and 16GB of DDR3 at whatever I could get. I would expect to see more of an improvement if I went to a core i5 6600K and 16GB of DDR4, especially if I overclocked them, which I would probably do sooner or later. But how much more? There's a big difference in cost between a new i5 6600K and mother and a second hand i5 2500K and motherboard.
More detail:
Background: My old PSU (OCZ StealthXtreme 600W) is starting to rattle when cold or hot, which sounds to me like fan failure is coming. My CPU ([email protected]) and memory (8GB DDR2-800 at stock) isn't entirely up to the job for modern games. I'm noticing it particularly in Fallout 4. My graphics card (Radeon 7950@1GHz GPU 1.4GHz RAM) is adequate for 1920x1080. My case (Antec SLK3000B) isn't very good for working in, won't take a long graphics card (I had to remove drive bays to get the 280mm 7950 in) and probably wouldn't take a tall CPU cooler either.
So I'm looking at getting almost all of a PC, keeping only the graphics card, OS and SSD. My sensible budget for that is ~£500.
The problem is that I'm dithering between different options:
1) New kit, based around an i5 6600K. Probably bought in bits and assembled myself, so I can get the components I want. I tried the Kinetic Z1 configurator here but it doesn't have quite what I want (PSU and CPU cooler, mainly). I'd prefer to have someone else build it, but oh well.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £518.54
(includes shipping: £11.70)
2) New case, PSU, HDD, CPU cooler but wait for an i5 2500K and motherboard on the MM. 16GB of DDR3 is about the same price as 16GB of DDR4, so no problems there. That would save me ~£200, which would buy me a Radeon 480.
3) Just get a new PSU for now and wait to see what happens with Zen. The problem there is that I can't change the PSU in my case without removing the CPU cooler (or the motherboard with the CPU cooler in place) because the only way to get the PSU in/out is along, down and over the motherboard and my CPU cooler blocks that route. So I'd have to essentially disassemble and reassemble my PC just to change the PSU. Fuss and bother. Easier to build a new PC.
I'm open to opinions that might help me make a decision.
I currently have a Core 2 quad 6600 overclocked to 3.2GHz and 8GB of DDR2-800 at stock. It's a bit lacking for modern games.
I would expect to notice quite an improvement in gaming if I went to a core i5 2500K overclocked to whatever I could get and 16GB of DDR3 at whatever I could get. I would expect to see more of an improvement if I went to a core i5 6600K and 16GB of DDR4, especially if I overclocked them, which I would probably do sooner or later. But how much more? There's a big difference in cost between a new i5 6600K and mother and a second hand i5 2500K and motherboard.
More detail:
Background: My old PSU (OCZ StealthXtreme 600W) is starting to rattle when cold or hot, which sounds to me like fan failure is coming. My CPU ([email protected]) and memory (8GB DDR2-800 at stock) isn't entirely up to the job for modern games. I'm noticing it particularly in Fallout 4. My graphics card (Radeon 7950@1GHz GPU 1.4GHz RAM) is adequate for 1920x1080. My case (Antec SLK3000B) isn't very good for working in, won't take a long graphics card (I had to remove drive bays to get the 280mm 7950 in) and probably wouldn't take a tall CPU cooler either.
So I'm looking at getting almost all of a PC, keeping only the graphics card, OS and SSD. My sensible budget for that is ~£500.
The problem is that I'm dithering between different options:
1) New kit, based around an i5 6600K. Probably bought in bits and assembled myself, so I can get the components I want. I tried the Kinetic Z1 configurator here but it doesn't have quite what I want (PSU and CPU cooler, mainly). I'd prefer to have someone else build it, but oh well.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
- 1 x Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply= £44.99
- 1 x Xigmatek Mach III Midi Tower - Black= £32.99
- 1 x Samsung SH-224GB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM M disc compatible= £12.95
- 1 x Team Group Dark 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (TDKED416G3000HC16AD= £53.99
- 1 x Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3 - Intel Core i5 6600K Bundle **£10 Saving**= £291.98
- 1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler= £29.99
- 1 x WD Blue 1TB 7200rpm SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (WD10EZEX)= £39.95
Total: £518.54
(includes shipping: £11.70)
2) New case, PSU, HDD, CPU cooler but wait for an i5 2500K and motherboard on the MM. 16GB of DDR3 is about the same price as 16GB of DDR4, so no problems there. That would save me ~£200, which would buy me a Radeon 480.
3) Just get a new PSU for now and wait to see what happens with Zen. The problem there is that I can't change the PSU in my case without removing the CPU cooler (or the motherboard with the CPU cooler in place) because the only way to get the PSU in/out is along, down and over the motherboard and my CPU cooler blocks that route. So I'd have to essentially disassemble and reassemble my PC just to change the PSU. Fuss and bother. Easier to build a new PC.
I'm open to opinions that might help me make a decision.
