Upgrade Advice

[jackbauer123]

Hi all, I've had a lot of great help from this forum over the last couple of years getting a PC assembled that has helped me enjoy gaming a lot more but I'm starting to think about upgrading the machine as newer games are arriving. I'm also thinking a SSD is possibly going to be a good purchase to make too.

I was hoping to get some advice on what people thought would be the best options on which bits to prioritise. If I remember rightly the motherboard in particular was a bit of a compromise when I first started putting it together so perhaps that will need replacing first.

Here's my current spec:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
ATI Radeon 7950 HD 800MHz 3GB PCI-E HDMI Windforce 3X OC
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM
Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler

I haven't really thought too much about a budget but around £300-£400 would probably be the area I was looking at initially. Any advice or suggestions on where to start would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[altrewin]

Honestly your rig is still very strong today. I'd say if you haven't already OC your 2500K, you should be able to get around 4.5Ghz on that cooler. Same goes for the GPU if you find it's struggling in some games, get a minor OC on it as it has a great cooler. The only upgrades I'd say you really need are an SSD and possibly more storage space if you find yourself running out:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
Total : £149.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 

[P4Clock]

There is nothing on the list that i would rush to upgrade, all will play game for some time yet.

if i was you and i had £400, i would get a nice 240gb ssd. and £300 on beer and games

SSD and GFX.
SSD and Motherboard(to over clock CPU)
CPU and Motherboard(new gen but not really needed)

on payday my money going on an evo
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-168-SA&groupid=1657&catid=2101&subcat=2393

 

[dacads]

If you're happy then go with SSD then maybe graphics card next year when new ones will be out

 

[jackbauer123]

That's very reassuring! Thanks for all of the advice, I was convinced that I was going to see "Replace that motherboard asap" as I have always assumed it just wasn't very good. I also thought the CPU might be ready to be replaced but I'm not complaining.

I guess it's time to take the plunge on a SSD!

 

[mightymouse]

Definitely +1 for ssd and trust me you'd be surprised

 

[Fallen god]

New case maybe, along with the SSD.