Returning to gaming, need advice on upgrade/new build please :)

GrumpyCodger · 14 Aug 2017 at 13:50

Hi all,

I have pretty much always built my own rigs but haven't upgraded/rebuilt for years so well out of touch with processors etc. Last time I was in a hurry and got whatever I could lay my hands on, so I currently have:

Asus H87M-Plus Mobo
Intel i5 4670K @ 3.4GHz
8Gb DDR3 Kingston HyperX
120Gb Kingston SSD for OS (happy to keep for now or upgrade to 250Gb)
Radeon 7700 Gfx card (no good for recent games like PUBG)
1TB Seagate HDD for data (happy to keep for now)

I have no particular loyalty to Intel, I just want to get the best bang for my $'s - I've read loads of recent posts in here but can't quite work out the best combo for my needs...

I have just bought a Dell S2817Q Ultra HD 28" monitor (3840 x 2160) which is shared with another PC for work but also love playing PUBG and want to run it with better than 10-40FPS at lowest settings and 1280x960 resolution from my gaming rig!

My budget is going to be starting around the £1k mark so hoping you gurus are going to be able to point me in the right direction - I'm assuming running this monitor at 4k is probably beyond that budget but I may get close to 1440p?!

What I need advice on is:

CPU
Mobo
Memory (16Gb seems to be the norm)
Gfx card
PSU & Case to cope with the above

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Thanks in advance, GC.

ExRayTed · 14 Aug 2017 at 18:34

Hi and welcome to the forums

My thoughts are to keep your existing cpu. The performance gain from either Intel or AMD's latest offerings won't be worth the financial outlay in my opinion. The 4670K is still a good gaming CPU, especially when overclocked. It's a shame you have an H series motherboard, but maybe you could source a Z87 motherboard from somewhere which will both allow you to overclock and to keep your existing RAM. On the subject of RAM, and assuming you find a Z87 motherboard, another 8gb would be advisable, or just go for a 16gb kit to avoid having to try and match the timings with your existing stuff.

So, assuming a ball-park figure of £120 or so for a new motherboard you could afford the below which will easily smash through 1440p gaming:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX318C10FBK2/16)= £119.99
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 1080 ARMOR OC 8192MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card= £488.99
1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 550W Fully Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply - Black= £79.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass Midi Tower Case - Black= £94.99
1 x Alpenfohn Matterhorn Black CPU Cooler - 120mm= £43.99

Total: £841.15
(includes shipping: £13.20)

GrumpyCodger · 15 Aug 2017 at 10:14

Thanks mate - I will see if I can source a new mobo and keep the processor then

Update: Z87's appear to be difficult to get hold of (as you suspected). So, assuming I can't get hold of the motherboard and I have to go for a new rig instead, do your suggestions still hold?

mickyflinn · 15 Aug 2017 at 11:17

You can also use a Z97 motherboad its the same socket type for your cpu.

GrumpyCodger · 15 Aug 2017 at 11:21

Cheers - however, the Z97 seems to be just as hard to get hold of: "End of line" everywhere...

mickyflinn · 15 Aug 2017 at 11:26

ASRock Z97 Anniversary Motherboard is a board i would reccommend.

GrumpyCodger · 15 Aug 2017 at 11:38

mickyflinn, you're a star

Update: (Removed link to *cough* Brazilian competitor)
Cheers

mickyflinn · 15 Aug 2017 at 13:22

Yes m8, but i would advise you to remove the link and name of competitors of Overclcokers as its against the forum rules.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/z97 anniversary/

GrumpyCodger · 15 Aug 2017 at 13:53

Thanks for all your help guys, orders placed - coming tomorrow!!

mistersprinkles · 15 Aug 2017 at 22:09

I have the Z97 anniversary. It's bare bones as they come but it has proven reliable for 3 years for me.

BTW OP you will need a better CPU cooler. Get something like the coolermaster 212 or the Cryorig H7.

I suggest you read the overclocking guide for Haswell over at overclockers.com under the Intel CPU stickes in the Intel CPU forum. No need to join to read the forums AFAIK.

chongker · 16 Aug 2017 at 00:14

If you put all of your budget into a new GPU and appropriate power supply, you'd actually be able to afford a 1080Ti, where you'd actually be scratching playable on a lot of games at 4K 60Hz. Would make for a somewhat imbalanced system with a stock clocked i5 though.

mistersprinkles · 16 Aug 2017 at 02:45

chongker said:
If you put all of your budget into a new GPU and appropriate power supply, you'd actually be able to afford a 1080Ti, where you'd actually be scratching playable on a lot of games at 4K 60Hz. Would make for a somewhat imbalanced system with a stock clocked i5 though.

Exactly. What's the point? Why buy a card if you know you will bottleneck it?

I just wanted to add that, perhaps due to its spartan simplicity, the Z97 Anniversary is the only motherboard I've ever had that hasn't given me a single issue. Makes me want to stick to low end boards 4 lyfe lol. I had a Maximus IV extreme before so it was quite a step down. 1/4 the price lol.