What to upgrade/change?

ste91 · 1 Jul 2017 at 08:57

Itching to do some upgrades, ideally I'd like to be able to change a few things and then not touch anything for atleast 3 years or so.

Current spec is an i5-6500 with Corsair H50 AIO, Gigabyte Gaming K3 Z170, 8GB 2600Mhz RAM, 650w PSU, and there was an R9 390 but that's been RMA'd and I'll either end up with an RX580 or a refund.

I'm thinking of changing the CPU to a 6600k as I've already got a decent cooler and Z170 motherboard so can easily overclock it.
Swapping the 8GB 2600Mhz RAM for 16GB 3000Mhz

GPU I'm not too sure about, if I get sent an RX580 it's very tempting to just sell it while prices are really high and then buy something else once they return to normal.

I'd really like to do a watercooling loop as well which I know is a bit pointless on something like a 580/1060 where you could spend the extra on a 1070, but it's something I want to try.

Also looking for advise on what sort of monitor to go for, I mainly play FPS, RPG, and strategy games, I'm not sure if I want to stretch to a 1440@144Hz because then I'd need a more expensive GPU, so would settle for either 1080@144Hz or 1440@60Hz, just can't decide which one would suit me more.

KNiVES · 1 Jul 2017 at 09:34

A 6500k to a 6600k would be an enormous waste of money, they are basically identical processors. If you're going to upgrade a 6500k it needs to be at least to an i7 to be worth it.

If you're successful with the RMA and you get an RX580 I wouldn't change a thing. You could sell it on (since mining is back in fashion again) and get a better GPU. It would pay for a 1070 which would meet your 1440p144 needs.

AlphaDawg · 1 Jul 2017 at 11:24

Is there even a 6500K? lol. However a i5- 6500 to a i7-6700k would be much better.

ste91 · 1 Jul 2017 at 11:41

Not that I'm aware of lol, 6500 to 6600k/6700k is what I was thinking, although I'd assume it's better to spend more towards the GPU and settle for a 6600k rather than the extra on a 6700k, I think an overclocked 6600k will probably be fine for gaming for a couple of years atleast.

heartburnron · 2 Jul 2017 at 11:53

ste91 said:
Not that I'm aware of lol, 6500 to 6600k/6700k is what I was thinking, although I'd assume it's better to spend more towards the GPU and settle for a 6600k rather than the extra on a 6700k, I think an overclocked 6600k will probably be fine for gaming for a couple of years atleast.

As Knives said, going from an i5 to an i5, even one that is unlocked, isn't going to give you a significant return on investment. Even upgrading to the i7 6700K isn't going to be huge in terms of gaming - I upgraded from an i5 6600K to an i7 6700K and it's only a few FPS improvement for most games. I knew it was a bit of a waste of money when I did it, but I just wanted to have an i7. So unless you just want to have an i7, your money would be better invested in your monitor or GPU.

ste91 · 2 Jul 2017 at 18:24

heartburnron said:
As Knives said, going from an i5 to an i5, even one that is unlocked, isn't going to give you a significant return on investment. Even upgrading to the i7 6700K isn't going to be huge in terms of gaming - I upgraded from an i5 6600K to an i7 6700K and it's only a few FPS improvement for most games. I knew it was a bit of a waste of money when I did it, but I just wanted to have an i7. So unless you just want to have an i7, your money would be better invested in your monitor or GPU.

I'll leave it as it is for now then, and maybe in a few years if it needs upgrading I can find a cheap 2nd hand i7-6700k. I could overclock my 6500 if I wanted to via BCLK as my motherboard is still unlocked unlike some.

I've had confirmation from OC that I'll be getting an XFX 8GB RX580 (1386Mhz). So will probably keep that and go for a 1080p@144hz or 1440p@60Hz monitor.