Looking to upgrade my PC. Help!

[Man]

Budget for upgrades: $400


I've had a gaming pc built 3 years ago, and the parts were pretty up to date at the time. I do a lot of video editing, playing League of Legends and Skyrim and always have a lot of tabs open. That's basically what I use the computer for.


CPU: i5 2500k 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz turbo) LGA 95w
Motherboard: MSI P67A-C43
Memory: 16bg Corsair Vengeance
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W 12V
Hard Drive: 1TB 5400rpm (not sure what brand)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi (Mid Tower)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
GPU: XFX ATI Radeon 6850 1gb

So, those are my specs. What is in need of upgrading? I'm looking for a new GPU, small case!!! (going off to college, need a small compact case to fit everything) and a new motherboard to bring it all together.

For the motherboard, I need something that is upgrade compatible for newer intel CPU's.

Anyways, thanks guys/gals!

[Arbiter]

You can't get a new motherboard compatible with newer intel CPUs without also having to replace your current one. You can either keep the 1155 socket and at best upgrade to ivy bridge, or upgrade both the mobo and CPU to 1150 socket and upgrade to Haswell. The second option will honestly cost you most of that $400 so a new GPU is out of the question in order for the CPU to be worth upgrading.

Depending on your definition of small and compact, you're probably still going to need to change out the mobo to something smaller if you want to fit it in something extremely compact. I'd start to consider what's more important to you right now.

[Man]

You can't get a new motherboard compatible with newer intel CPUs without also having to replace your current one. You can either keep the 1155 socket and at best upgrade to ivy bridge, or upgrade both the mobo and CPU to 1150 socket and upgrade to Haswell. The second option will honestly cost you most of that $400 so a new GPU is out of the question in order for the CPU to be worth upgrading.

Depending on your definition of small and compact, you're probably still going to need to change out the mobo to something smaller if you want to fit it in something extremely compact. I'd start to consider what's more important to you right now.

What do suggest I do? I can raise my budget, but I would love to keep the CPU. That CPU isn't compatible with newer mobo's?

[teddytous]

The only reason to get a new MB really would be to get a new CPU in practice, because if you upgrade your MB now by the time you go back to upgrade the CPU there maybe a new socket/build out again. So if you wanna keep the CPU atm, just get a decent GFX card and a cheap case and do MB/CPU on the next trip round together so you can match em up.

My 2 cents.

[Man]

The only reason to get a new MB really would be to get a new CPU in practice, because if you upgrade your MB now by the time you go back to upgrade the CPU there maybe a new socket/build out again. So if you wanna keep the CPU atm, just get a decent GFX card and a cheap case and do MB/CPU on the next trip round together so you can match em up.

My 2 cents.

I'm looking to downsize by getting a smaller case, so wouldn't I have to get a new motherboard?

[IRunSoFarAway]

What do suggest I do? I can raise my budget, but I would love to keep the CPU. That CPU isn't compatible with newer mobo's?

New motherboards are LGA 1150, your CPU fits LGA 1155, so if you want to keep it, your only options are ones that are LGA 1155. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=-1&isNodeId=1 All of which are probably somewhere around 1 or 2 years old, so they'd be old, but not as old as your current mobo.

I'm looking to downsize by getting a smaller case, so wouldn't I have to get a new motherboard?

What are you looking for? A box case? Whatever it is, if it's meant to be a generic desktop computer, it'll fit.

But no, just because you're switching cases, doesn't mean you NEED a new motherboard, you can easily just unscrew your current one and move it on over.

[Man]

New motherboards are LGA 1150, your CPU fits LGA 1155, so if you want to keep it, your only options are ones that are LGA 1155. All of which are probably somewhere around 1 or 2 years old, so they'd be old, but not as old as your current mobo.



What are you looking for? A box case? Whatever it is, if it's meant to be a generic desktop computer, it'll fit.

But no, just because you're switching cases, doesn't mean you NEED a new motherboard, you can easily just unscrew your current one and move it on over.

Can you recommend any small (mini) motherboards that are LGA 1155? And also a small compact case that would fit a normal sized GPU? A box case or something very small with good airflow. Will my current motherboard fit in mini cases?

And are all the newer GPU's still compatible with the LGA 1155 motherboards?

[Zumber]

I would recomend to get an SSD drive 120gb or 128gb and change the GPU with something newer. The SSD alone would make the pc a lot faster if u use it for editing and stuff like that , the loading screens in games will be eliminated too :P . Keep it like this for 1-2 years or even more .Your CPU is one of the top on the line , u can overclock it to 4.2+GHZ even with that coolermaster evo. U dont need more than that for now . After 2 years maybe u can give some money to replace mobo and CPU together . Make sure u get a PCIx3 GPU (most of them are backwards compadible PCIx2 anyway) so u dont need to change it after 2 years . Your ram is fine PSU is up to the task for even a gtx780 and that EVO is heck off a good cooler , re-apply thermal paste to it and its good as new.

[Man]

I would recomend to get an SSD drive 120gb or 128gb and change the GPU with something newer. The SSD alone would make the pc a lot faster if u use it for editing and stuff like that , the loading screens in games will be eliminated too :P . Keep it like this for 1-2 years or even more .Your CPU is one of the top on the line , u can overclock it to 4.2+GHZ even with that coolermaster evo. U dont need more than that for now . After 2 years maybe u can give some money to replace mobo and CPU together . Make sure u get a PCIx3 GPU (most of them are backwards compadible PCIx2 anyway) so u dont need to change it after 2 years . Your ram is fine PSU is up to the task for even a gtx780 and that EVO is heck off a good cooler , re-apply thermal paste to it and its good as new.

Can you recommend any small compact cases any a newer GPU that can handle most games? Do I need a smaller mobo to fit a smaller case? I have a mid tower now..

[IRunSoFarAway]

Can you recommend any small (mini) motherboards that are LGA 1155? And also a small compact case that would fit a normal sized GPU? A box case or something very small with good airflow. Will my current motherboard fit in mini cases?

And are all the newer GPU's still compatible with the LGA 1155 motherboards?

Here are some quick examples, there may be better out there, but I don't use one, so I can't personally suggest anything.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811345016
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-027-_-Product
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-878-_-Product
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-367-_-Product

As for the motherboard fitting, no, not in ones that are for Mini-ITX/ATX specifically. As for the GPU, compatibility-wise, you should be fine. Look up each case, you can see how everything fits in there.

[Eroginous]

Budget for upgrades: $400


I've had a gaming pc built 3 years ago, and the parts were pretty up to date at the time. I do a lot of video editing, playing League of Legends and Skyrim and always have a lot of tabs open. That's basically what I use the computer for.


CPU: i5 2500k 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz turbo) LGA 95w
Motherboard: MSI P67A-C43
Memory: 16bg Corsair Vengeance
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W 12V
Hard Drive: 1TB 5400rpm (not sure what brand)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi (Mid Tower)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
GPU: XFX ATI Radeon 6850 1gb

So, those are my specs. What is in need of upgrading? I'm looking for a new GPU, small case!!! (going off to college, need a small compact case to fit everything) and a new motherboard to bring it all together.

For the motherboard, I need something that is upgrade compatible for newer intel CPU's.

Anyways, thanks guys/gals!

To be perfectly honest, your CPU/Ram/Mobo is fine. You're not going to see a huge difference in performance in CPU/Mobo without spending considerably more than $400 and you'll end up replacing a lot of your PC at that point. You could take that $400 and invest in a new GPU and a better cooler (though your current cooler is fine if you just want to use your CPU as it is), if you want to try overclocking and pushing that CPU above the turbo limits.

GPU is honestly going to be the biggest upgrade you can make at this point. You can get a GTX 770 for $300 (on sale right now) and have some money left over for other things. Maybe an all in one water block if you want to try OCing that board/CPU.

Otherwise, I'd just go with the GPU upgrade and pocket some of that money for a rainy day.

[Man]

To be perfectly honest, your CPU/Ram/Mobo is fine. You're not going to see a huge difference in performance in CPU/Mobo without spending considerably more than $400 and you'll end up replacing a lot of your PC at that point. You could take that $400 and invest in a new GPU and a better cooler (though your current cooler is fine if you just want to use your CPU as it is), if you want to try overclocking and pushing that CPU above the turbo limits.

GPU is honestly going to be the biggest upgrade you can make at this point. You can get a GTX 770 for $300 (on sale right now) and have some money left over for other things. Maybe an all in one water block if you want to try OCing that board/CPU.

Otherwise, I'd just go with the GPU upgrade and pocket some of that money for a rainy day.

I would also like to downsize my case as well (so it fits on top of a desk and not take up much room). Can you reccommend any cases without having to upgrade my motherboard to a smaller size?

[IRunSoFarAway]

I would also like to downsize my case as well (so it fits on top of a desk and not take up much room). Can you reccommend any cases without having to upgrade my motherboard to a smaller size?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144234
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811204037

[Man]

will those cases fit my mobo?

[Eroginous]

will those cases fit my mobo?

Yes, they are made for full sized PC components, meant to be used as a living room PC in place of what's becoming the living room PC standard (mini ITX). The only real difference between those cases is the horizontal orientation of the case. They're going to be pretty big still.

As far as downsizing, it's not really going to happen without going ITX form factor, which you would need to buy a new Motherboard for, and some of the higher end graphics cards aren't going to fit all ITX cases (though there are some that will). Again, that option will require you to spend more money and likely replace most of your PC.

If your living situation at school really doesn't afford much space for a full sized computer, you can always try to find a desk that has a PC cabinet so you can store your PC out of the way and still have a full sized PC.

Something like this.

Edit: Here's a picture of the ITX form factor that can support a full sized video card. It's about the size of a shoebox.

Here's a sample of what it might cost you to slim down to a mini ITX with a GTX 770.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B7JCFT

It's a little over your budget of $400, but it's not completely unreasonable. You can reuse your ram, but you might not be able to use all of it since that ITX board can only hold 2 sticks. If you have 8gb sticks, you can use all your existing ram, but if you have anything smaller, you'll have to choose between having less than 16gb or buying new ram.

It also might be tough to fit a 3.5" hard drive into an ITX, you might be short on space, though you can always just put it where the DVD drive would be if you're not using one of those. That, and with a GTX 770, you have to be mindful of temps in such a cramped space. The 212 evo cooler won't fit into an ITX, so I went with the Gemini.