Upgrading Intel 6th Gen - CPU & Motherboard

RajaSansi · 8 Nov 2021 at 10:51

I would like to upgrade my 6 year old PC:

Intel Core i5 6600K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI
Corsair 3000mhz Vengeance LPX DDR4 RAM

So its basically a new Intel CPU & Motherboard using my existing RAM.

Any recommendations please within a budget of £300-£400.

I'm new to upgrading and completely confused with the myriad of options available. Thanks all!

Haz123 · 8 Nov 2021 at 11:20

If you are able to wait a few months for the 12400k and B660 motherboards to be released then that will most likely be the best option for all budget systems.

If you cannot wait then an AMD 5600G and B550 will cost around 400. 10400 with B560 mobo is within your budget but the gpu in it is not that much of an upgrade over your Skylake igpu.
With Alderlake having just been released and new AMD cpus in the new year there is likely to be price cuts on current Ryzen chips so keep your eye out for cheap 5600g+ mobo bundles, even if they come with 3600 ram, those APIs get noticeable speed increases from fast ram.

I am assuming you do not have a dedicated gpu and just do office tasks on the pc so how is it not meeting your needs ? IIRC they do not have NVME slots but a faster SSD for your OS may help the system feel snappier. If you do have a dedicated gpu then let us know because it can be reused and changes the options available to yourself.

turbot1984 · 8 Nov 2021 at 11:54

Currently 12600k oem and low end Z690 mobo over your £400 budget. Confusing that we have DDR4/5 and pcie 3/4/5.0 into the mix but i would not buy a DDR4 and pcie 3.0 one for futureproofing reasons, which makes the whole upgrade even more expensive. It really is worth hanging on just at the moment.

jigger · 8 Nov 2021 at 12:24

5600X and B550 board should be easily in budget. A 5800X and A520/B450 might be possible, although you might need to add a HSF.

RajaSansi · 8 Nov 2021 at 13:06

So the upgrade is for Windows 11 and adding Xbox Game Pass games to the PC. Also used for Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom.
I have an existing "GeForce GTX 960 OC" (2048MB GDDR5) that will be upgraded at a later date (when/if prices comes down).
I wish to remain with Intel, is the following combination decent if I cannot wait:
Intel 11600K
Asrock Extreme Z590