Besides an SSD (otw), what one thing would you upgrade here for more performance?

[claggs]

Still can't post a link to my pcpartpicker build:

I have an SSD on the way so, besides that what would be the best upgrade for me to squeeze out some more performance?

CPU:Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core
Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA1155 AMD CrossFireX W/HDMI,DVI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-Z77-D3H
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Monitor: Acer V223WEJbd 22.0"

[Deleted]

depends on what you want to do ... playing alot of wow --> new CPU / cpu fan (and get a K-version that can be overclocked) ... playing alot of GPU demanding games: new gpu

the rest of your system seems pretty fine. there's nothing significant you can do with ram, also the PSU should be sufficient enough for your upgrades.

[Deleted]

How come you got an i3 with a Z77 board? I would expect to have an i5k in there for overclocking. Also gpu needs some boost, i'd reckon R9 270X upwards.

[BicycleMafioso]

GPU is the first priority, CPU if you play modern multi-threaded games like BF4 but is fine otherwise.
Why µATX board and ATX case?

[claggs]

GPU is the first priority, CPU if you play modern multi-threaded games like BF4 but is fine otherwise.
Why µATX board and ATX case?

Sorry the board isn't micro atx, looks like I imported the wrong one into pcpartpicker. It's actually:
Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA1155 AMD CrossFireX W/HDMI,DVI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-Z77-D3H

For a CPU/GPU upgrade what do you think of these?

Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770K
EVGA GeForce GTX770 SuperClocked with EVGA ACX Cooler, 2GB GDDR5 256bit, DL DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI, DP, SLI Ready Graphics Cards (02G-P4-2774-KR)

For what it's worth, I've been doing (in compatibility mode) on pcpartpicker to find the items with highest rating.

- - - Updated - - -

How come you got an i3 with a Z77 board? I would expect to have an i5k in there for overclocking. Also gpu needs some boost, i'd reckon R9 270X upwards.

To be honest, basically I had quite gaming on computers and only had a macbook at the time when diablo 3 came out. So I pretty much went to the latest "build of the month" post here and used that as a guideline to build something. Didn't really do a whole lot of research prior.

[Synze]

It should be noted (for other readers, who are considering new parts) that an SSD won't improve gameplay performance. It will help with load screens, however.

[zolok2.0]

Definitely the processor before the HDD, that thing you have a terrible these days. Just look at the benchmarks



EDIT: I'd go with an i5 over an i7 for gaming, i7 is a waste of money as its unable to be fully utilized by games so it's overkill

[BicycleMafioso]

Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I73770K
EVGA GeForce GTX770 SuperClocked with EVGA ACX Cooler, 2GB GDDR5 256bit, DL DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI, DP, SLI Ready Graphics Cards (02G-P4-2774-KR)

An i7 won't give you more performance over an i5. I would rather get the i5 so I could either
A) invest in a CPU cooler to overclock the CPU, which while having little impact on games, would be far more impactful than i5->i7
B) invest more in the GPU.

EDIT: I'd go with an i5 over an i7 for gaming, i7 is a waste of money as its unable to be fully utilized by games so it's overkill

The i3 2100T, which isn't the same as the OP has, is a lower clocked, lower-TDP edition. Since it's also going against a Haswell-CPU, the benchmark is further irrelevant.
The i3 2100 is not that far behind the i5 3570K, and most of that is due to clock speed. Cores rarely matter.

[claggs]

Ok so if I were to pick a new CPU, which model would be best? It seems just highest clock speed isn't the indicator. I see a few i5K on the list that appear compatible:
2500K
2550K
3570K

[Disconnected]

Ok so if I were to pick a new CPU, which model would be best? It seems just highest clock speed isn't the indicator. I see a few i5K on the list that appear compatible:
2500K
2550K
3570K

Out of those 3, your best bet is the 3570K. Both the 2500K and 2550K are now 2 (3?) generations ago and while they are still good CPUs, they are likely to be overpriced right now.

[Synze]

As per the CPU discussion: an i7 is fine, if you 1) can afford it and still get a decent GPU; and 2) think it's feasible ($$ wise and how well you take care of your computer... wise) that you will use your computer for 5+ years. The game bottleneck atm is GPU by far, so ppl. saying to buy an i5 and invest in a better GPU aren't wrong, at least in the short term. That makes sense. However, a few years down the road, the i5 WILL not "be overkill" anymore, and will need to be upgraded. If you aren't playing ridiculous graphics games atm (i.e., mostly just WoW), and don't need a really good GPU now, I'd buy the i7, a suitable GPU for your needs, and then 3 or 4 years down the road, just replace the GPU, or add more if you have more slots (but to do this, the GPU you buy now should ideally be pretty good).

Just different options.

[BicycleMafioso]

The i7 is not frowned upon for being "overkill", in the regard that it "provides more power than necessary", but in the context of "the only feature it provides over the other model is one that is now and will likely be virtually superfluous if the direction the gaming industry is heading keeps true".
And I do not think a ~~$100 price premium is worth that, from a gaming perspective. The situation is unlikely to change much, since games will probably continue to not be so optimised for multi-threading that less threads will suffer, given the industry wide player-base on a whole.

The same could not be said for LGA1155 vs LGA2011, since there would be a potential real performance difference, but still not worth the price premium. In my opinion.

[claggs]

As per the CPU discussion: an i7 is fine, if you 1) can afford it and still get a decent GPU; and 2) think it's feasible ($$ wise and how well you take care of your computer... wise) that you will use your computer for 5+ years. The game bottleneck atm is GPU by far, so ppl. saying to buy an i5 and invest in a better GPU aren't wrong, at least in the short term. That makes sense. However, a few years down the road, the i5 WILL not "be overkill" anymore, and will need to be upgraded. If you aren't playing ridiculous graphics games atm (i.e., mostly just WoW), and don't need a really good GPU now, I'd buy the i7, a suitable GPU for your needs, and then 3 or 4 years down the road, just replace the GPU, or add more if you have more slots (but to do this, the GPU you buy now should ideally be pretty good).




Just different options.

Ok. So right now it seems the 3570K is the way to go? Money isn't really an issue so if a few more bucks I could get something that wouldn't be replaced for years I could, but I don't want to spend money I don't need to.

[Faithh]

Ok. So right now it seems the 3570K is the way to go? Money isn't really an issue so if a few more bucks I could get something that wouldn't be replaced for years I could, but I don't want to spend money I don't need to.

Like you said you don't want to spend more money for the same exact performance.

[Deleted]

I'd consider waiting for Broadwell to be released on the CPU side, which would mean getting a Z97 motherboard as your key upgrade. In addition, I would consider waiting for the end fo the year for the AMD Pirate Islands/NVidia Maxwell GPUs, as the 6870 is getting a little low-end. If you upgrade either of these, I would look at potentially changing your power-supply, too, depending on age.

[mercutiouk]

Any I5 "k" processor you can find would probably be a pretty decent upgrade. Have a hunt around some of the tech sites with members trading boards, stuff often cheaper than the likes of ebay and better looked after (hexus and OcUK being 2 of the better ones in UK, not sure what will work best for you).

Take look around for a reconditioned corsair AIO water cooler too. Assuming your case has space to fit one they'll generally be quite a cheap upgrade and allow you to push the clock on whatever chip you buy.

The graphics card you have is... getting a little long in the tooth now but I'd think processor would give a general lift, then graphics, then consider SSD's/etc. SSD's are more a "quality of life" upgrade, they have no real impact on FPS.

You COULD consider a cheap Z97 board and the pentium 20th anniversary K series chip. You could get that and a decent AIO cooler. You'll open up quite a lot of upgrade options with Broadwell on the horizon. The G3258 (Pentium 20th Anniversary) chip can be clocked to stock I5 2500K kind of levels so will hold it's own for a while (for such a cheap chip).

[skitszo]

skylark and LGA1151 is coming in 2016. will start a new motherboard generation. broadwell is just a die shrink so more efficient energy wise.

why do poeple keep quoting AMD? they are energy hogs usually. and unless you use amd as an APU platform i wouldn't bother with AMD.... If amd could get the APU to run well with a GPU maby there's room for discussion but from what i've read they are having problems with that.