Should I build a new PC now or wait a month or so?

[Polarthief]

I probably won't be, I'm just tired of things feeling clogged up, and I know it's not the HDD at fault. SSD won't make that kind of difference. Sure for boot times of Windows and games it might, but other stuff, nah.

If you guys truly think the 2500k is fine, then I guess I could try to just fix up what I have.

[Mythbredor]

.... Thank for offering nothing of value for like the tenth post in a row. You were seriously suggesting he buy a GTX 960.

Anyone who takes your advice deserves what they get. Enjoy ignore. Youve earned it.

I suggested a 960 if he could not wait for the RX480 to be released and can't afford a 1070/1080 being that their prices are still inflated and will be for awhile. I've been pushing a RX 480 if he could wait.

I probably won't be, I'm just tired of things feeling clogged up, and I know it's not the HDD at fault. SSD won't make that kind of difference. Sure for boot times of Windows and games it might, but other stuff, nah.

If you guys truly think the 2500k is fine, then I guess I could try to just fix up what I have.

I'm thinking your issues stem from an old install of windows. I'm almost 100% sure a 2500k is not your issue.

[Kagthul]

Well, my wife and I must not be normal people. We have 2 identical machines except for one difference. I have an SSD and she does not. There is a noticeable difference between the 2 in both boot times and loading times in certain games. Maybe you can't tell the difference, but when you put the 2 literally side-by-side, both with fresh clean installs of Windows and then a variety of games, I most certainly can see the difference.

Your reading comprehension failed you here, chief. He's saying (correctly) that once everything is loaded there is no appreciable difference. Yes, youll boot up faster. Yes, youll load faster into games with a lot of stuff to load off the HDD. No one (not even he) is denying that. (You can get the fast boot up times and snappy OS response for a 10$ premium by getting an SSHD though. (

It will add precisely zero fps however. It will not make the textures look better. It will not stop pop-in (largely an issue of the engine and RAM limitations). It does not increase performance.

You know what I find funny though, is that you don't have an SSD. Before I got one, I said many of the same things as you. I really did not consider them worth it, but decided to see what all the hype was about anyway. Now I see the light. They are definitely worth it.

My daily driver has a pair of older Samsung EVO's in it (2011 Mac Mini "Server") - yeah, it boots up quick. ABout... 2 seconds quicker than my PC (both booting Win 10) that has an SSHD. I didn't buy these drives, they were in it when i picked it up used. Does the OS respond a little quicker? Sure (and yes, LOTS quicker than if these were the original 4500 rpm drives that normally come in the Server Mini), but is it enough to literally be worth 4.5x the money for 3.5x less space?|

Not for one godforsaken second.

SSDs need to come down in price another 50% to be worth it as a "mandatory". I will never - not ever - sacrifice money to an SSD when there is more performance to be had in the budget.

Now, if you've hit your performance goals 100% and still have leftover budget? Go for it.

But wasting money on an SSD when there is still performance out there (a better GPU, CPU, etc) is lunacy.

- - - Updated - - -

I probably won't be, I'm just tired of things feeling clogged up, and I know it's not the HDD at fault. SSD won't make that kind of difference. Sure for boot times of Windows and games it might, but other stuff, nah.

If you guys truly think the 2500k is fine, then I guess I could try to just fix up what I have.

Like i laid out above, there are pros and cons both ways.

The benefit of going all (mostly) new is that you'd still have your old computer kicking around (and if the iGPU isn't good enough, snag a used GPU on Craigslist for cheap) and your new rig will be much more future proof.

Like i said, with how budgets go, i myself have been in the position of "right now i have X to spend, but if i dont spend it all, it WILL be gone by the time i next have budget to build a computer". I could afford 1200$ (or whatever) right then, but in six months maybe not.

So keep that in mind too.

And if you do decide to keep your old machine but want a "guest" computer...

ChromeBox or ChromeBook man. Cheap, fast, does 90% of what most people want from a computer. Games? Not so much, but neither was your old rig sans GPU.

[Polarthief]

I'm thinking your issues stem from an old install of windows. I'm almost 100% sure a 2500k is not your issue.

Alright so here's what I'm thinking of doing after everyone's comments:

- Case: I'm pretty sure my case is kinda... breaking a bit. Some of the fans have stopped working completely, so I'll be eventually buying a new case.
- MoBo/CPU: Keeping my current MoBo and CPU. Will eventually OC and get a heatsink.
- Storage: My current HDD will be replaced with a new one and an SSD (maybe); the current one will become a new tertiary drive (when I stop being lazy and eventually move everything over). Also, would anyone recommend setting up a RAID (0, 1, or 1+0) because why not, I'll have a ton of extra money for parts?
- GPU/PSU: I'm pretty sure my GPU is RIP so I'll be replacing that eventually in the upcoming month or so (thinking with an RX480 but we'll see). For the time being, I'll just be going with integrated and playing with everything on low since I've basically been doing this with my laptop that has no dedicated graphics card (at least I'm almost positive it doesn't). PSU is also even older and really isn't that expensive (plus I'll probably need a higher wattage one anyways).
- Memory: RAM is at 8GB, so I'll either buy 2x 4GB more of the same or just replacing it entirely with new 2x 8GB sticks.
- Others: OS will obviously be reinstalled on the new drive (Probably Windows 7 because ew 10), already got speakers, keyboard, mouse, monitors, etc, already have a (somewhat working) DVD drive, so I don't think I need anything else.

Anything I forgot or does that seem good?

[Kagthul]

You likely will not need a bigger PSU, actually. Power consumption is going down, not up. Might still be worth getting a new one, as depending on the make and model of your old one, and how old it is, it might be starting to get worn out. You REALLY dont want a PSU to pack it on you when you can replace it with a good EVGA 500B or Seasonic model for ~40$

[Fascinate]

Good plan but i would really consider grabbing windows 10, move forward not backwards : ) WIndows 10 really does run smooth, ive had zero issues with a fresh install, the problems you hear are usually people who did the upgrade thru windows update. If you already have a legit copy of 7 you can just do the upgrade then a fresh install after, that way you dont need to buy a new OS. And like above, PSU is probably fine still.

[Polarthief]

You likely will not need a bigger PSU, actually. Power consumption is going down, not up. Might still be worth getting a new one, as depending on the make and model of your old one, and how old it is, it might be starting to get worn out. You REALLY dont want a PSU to pack it on you when you can replace it with a good EVGA 500B or Seasonic model for ~40$

Really? Hmmm... Idk though, I really don't want to take any chances.

Good plan but i would really consider grabbing windows 10, move forward not backwards : ) WIndows 10 really does run smooth, ive had zero issues with a fresh install, the problems you hear are usually people who did the upgrade thru windows update. If you already have a legit copy of 7 you can just do the upgrade then a fresh install after, that way you dont need to buy a new OS. And like above, PSU is probably fine still.

If/When I do upgrade everything though, I'll need to buy a copy of W10, won't I?

[Fascinate]

Nope not if you keep your motherboard, OS keys are tied to motherboard only.

[Kagthul]

Really? Hmmm... Idk though, I really don't want to take any chances.

Yes, really, power consumption is going down. =P

You can just about any single-GPU, non-HED/X99 system on 500W.

my rig has a Core i7 4790K and an overclocked GTX 970, i dont even pull 300W at the wall, usually, even under stress.

The 1080 i'm about to get will actually be.. about the same. Its only 180W TDP.

- - - Updated - - -

Nope not if you keep your motherboard, OS keys are tied to motherboard only.

He was asking, i think, about when it comes to build a new rig, not upgrading this one. That's the impression i got at least.

At that time, yes, youll need a new WIndows key. Microsoft's angle seems to have changed in that regard. New machine = new license, period. But they define "machine" basically as the motherboard.

[Fascinate]

No he wouldnt need a new copy at all. Ideally you would upgrade to 10 first but its not needed, just write down your windows 7 key and download the windows 10 ISO. If you run into any problems with activation you always got your windows 7 key to show them (and i think there may even be a place now to enter windows 7/8 keys).

[Polarthief]

Alright thanks everyone for your advice, time and patience! Now I guess the only thing I really need to make sure is my PSU isn't faulty before I throw like $500 on a new GPU, storage, and memory.