Time to upgrade?

LiamC92

LiamC92

LiamC92

Associate
Joined
7 Oct 2011
Posts
12
Hello. A few years ago now i got recommended a build here and its been great up to now. I've already changed the original PSU + GPU but I think it may be time to upgrade the rest. Here's what I've got at the minute:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
CP-360-IN

Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
MB-364-GI

Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K28GX)
MY-094-KS

BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black

XFX Radeon R9 290 DD 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R9-290A-EDFD)
GX-224-XF

Corsair Builder Series CX 750W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020015-UK)
CA-099-CS

I don't think the PSU + GPU should need changing again for what I want to do, so I'm just looking for a new CPU, MB and Case for certain and can change RAM if it's necessary. Perhaps a cooling unit too if i can still afford it.

Budget is around £500 with wiggle room either way.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Easiest an cheapest thing would be to slap in an i7 2700k and extra ram. Job done .

If you did want new - just spec Intel here, coffeelake i5 now offers you 6 cores over the 4 you currently have

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £510.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)


You'll need a pretty good cooler though, specially if you want to hit over 4.8ghz

Then there's ryzen, which gets you a case- glass case with 4 RGB fans (is a non RGB for £35!!) As well as a cooler to push past 3.7ghz to 3.8/4ghz and again is RGB if you wish . Lot more for your money and is 6 cores 12 threads. Great for games like AC:Origins , BF1 and upcoming tomb raider/metro which full use all cores :D

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £519.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the responses.

mrbazmondo said:
What do you want to do?
It doesn't look too shabby unless you're planning on playing 4K.
Get an SSD if you don't already have one.
Click to expand...

I'm just looking to run some newer games without any problems but I'm not going for 4K. The main issue I have is it's starting to get pretty hot whenever I play stuff, even on low settings and i'd struggle to fit anything else into my current case as its a mess as it is. I do have an SSD already though.

orbitalwalsh said:
Easiest an cheapest thing would be to slap in an i7 2700k and extra ram. Job done .

If you did want new - just spec Intel here, coffeelake i5 now offers you 6 cores over the 4 you currently have

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £510.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)


You'll need a pretty good cooler though, specially if you want to hit over 4.8ghz

Then there's ryzen, which gets you a case- glass case with 4 RGB fans (is a non RGB for £35!!) As well as a cooler to push past 3.7ghz to 3.8/4ghz and again is RGB if you wish . Lot more for your money and is 6 cores 12 threads. Great for games like AC:Origins , BF1 and upcoming tomb raider/metro which full use all cores :D

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £519.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, I'll look into both of these.
 
Honestly, I'd agree that just slapping in a 2700K with a good overclock will give you great results if the aim is just 60fps gameplay. Or a 3770K if the board supports it?

At stock speed a i5-2500K is indeed a big bottleneck now in the CPU heavy games, is it overclocked?

That R9 290 DD runs extremely hot I think.

Overall I don't think you need a new board/cpu/ram from a performance POV yet, just a 2700K or 3770K. Unless you really want to.
 
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