Upgrade, Salavage or New build?

stu_pendus2002 · 25 Feb 2016 at 21:40

Greetings Overclockers

My first post in awhile on these forums and its a cry for help from those more knowledgeable than me

So here is the problem - my trusty PC is reaching the age of retirement of 5 years old and as such, i'm looking to do something about it. The problem is, i hate waste and the old boy is still managing to play most games on medium settings which make me reluctant to send it to the glue factory while there is still life left in it.

So options are:
Upgrade - scrap the most dated components and replace a few with new shiny bits
Salvage - Keep a few bits that havent really progressed much and scrap the rest
All new - self explanitory

I'd really appreciate some thoughts on this, if i have to build fresh i'd be looking at something around the £1500 mark but i'd much rather make use of at least some of what i have (easier sell to the wife

)

So my specs are:

Case: Fractal Design R3
Mobo: Asus p8p67
Power Supply: Antec trupower650
CPU: I5 2500k @ 3.30ghz
GFX: Nvidia GTX 680
RAM: 2x 4gb CORSAIR DDR3
SSD : 64gb (cant remember make)
HDD : 500gb seagate

Thats about it. Any advise or ideas would be massively appreciated! :cool:

DaleTheWhale · 25 Feb 2016 at 22:21

Overclock that CPU and get a shiny GPU in there with a nice SSD to get all your games onto, there's life left in that machine.

What monitor do you currently have?

dakaiez · 26 Feb 2016 at 09:44

Honestly having just done a full upgrade myself from a similar setup if your not doing anything computer intensive then get a new GPU. If your streaming, recording, crunching or rendering then upgrade fully.

I've just switched to a 5820k @ 4.5 from a 2500k @ 4.6 and it's really noticeable as I do some of the above. If I wasn't doing that though I'd have just bought a new GPU and id have been fine.

IvanDobskey · 26 Feb 2016 at 10:54

My over clocked 2500k is still more than fast enough for anything I do with my PC.

An ssd and maybe a new GPU (although the 680 is still good for 1080p) are all you need.

dakaiez · 26 Feb 2016 at 11:46

IvanDobskey said:
My over clocked 2500k is still more than fast enough for anything I do with my PC.

An ssd and maybe a new GPU (although the 680 is still good for 1080p) are all you need.

It's only fine at 1080 if you don't mind medium details on the newer games, if you want to play at 60 then it's not that great anymore.

IvanDobskey · 26 Feb 2016 at 11:51

I was using my 680 at 1440p and it was fine for most games on medium / high settings depending on the game.

Only upgraded to a 780 as fps started to tank a bit on Elite Dangerous when going down to planets.

dakaiez · 26 Feb 2016 at 11:57

IvanDobskey said:
I was using my 680 at 1440p and it was fine for most games on medium / high settings depending on the game.

Only upgraded to a 780 as fps started to tank a bit on Elite Dangerous when going down to planets.

No idea my 680 paired with my i5-2500k and it felt lacking at high on anything new at 1080p. My new 5820k and 980ti though eats everything at ultra at 1080 and soon moving to 1440p.

nick_000000 · 26 Feb 2016 at 15:04

Upgrade the graphics card and see if you are happy with the boost in performance, don't think you really need to update the rest of the PC as the specs look fairly solid unless you need more storage and if so just add a larger SSD.

stu_pendus2002 · 26 Feb 2016 at 17:40

Great replies guys, really helpful! Glad to hear i can squeeze a bit more out of it. I was worried that if i only upgrade the GPU i'd hit a bottleneck somewhere else......

ThaReaperGuy said:
What monitor do you currently have?

I have an Asus VG236 so am limited to 1080 gaming at the moment.

So going by the advice, i'll try just upgrading the graphics card and see how i get on!

Thinking the GTX970
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...phics-card-with-free-farcry-pr-gx-352-as.html

Would that be a good choice or should i go for a 980 to future proof it a bit more?

theMilitant · 26 Feb 2016 at 21:29

Overclock the 2500k, purchase a bigger SSD and upgrade your GPU. Keep everything else.

Akagi · 26 Feb 2016 at 21:32

dakaiez said:
It's only fine at 1080 if you don't mind medium details on the newer games, if you want to play at 60 then it's not that great anymore.

I have a 2700K at 4.6GHz currently (usually 5GHz) and I can play new titles at 60FPS+ maxxed out in 4K with a pair of 390's? :confused:

A 2500K at the same speed would be no different, unless the game makes effective use of more than four threads, which few do.

nick_000000 · 29 Feb 2016 at 10:37

stu_pendus2002 said:
Great replies guys, really helpful! Glad to hear i can squeeze a bit more out of it. I was worried that if i only upgrade the GPU i'd hit a bottleneck somewhere else......

I have an Asus VG236 so am limited to 1080 gaming at the moment.

So going by the advice, i'll try just upgrading the graphics card and see how i get on!

Thinking the GTX970
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...phics-card-with-free-farcry-pr-gx-352-as.html

Would that be a good choice or should i go for a 980 to future proof it a bit more?

The 970 is good for your current monitor at 1080P, if you're thinking about upgrading your monitor to one that does more than 60fps or if you go to 1440P or if you are interested in VR then it might be worth looking at going higher than the 970.

If you are currently able to hold on a little while longer with your current setup then it might be worth you waiting a little while longer until the new line of cards from AMD/NVIDIA (Polaris/Pascal) comes out which should be fairly soon. You will get more for your money with those newer cards coming out, I think paying nearly £300 for that Asus 970 might be a bit much considering I paid less than that nearly a year ago for mine.