Looking to upgrade my computer and or build a new one

[Omniclenser]

Following the provided format:

Budget: ~$500-$1000
Resolution: Not entirely sure it matters, I want to go into streaming.
Games / Settings Desired: Highest.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): I like to use SonyVegas and AE to make videos, but that's on occasion.
Country: US.
Parts that can be reused: See below.
Do you need an OS? No.
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? No.

My current specs:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0
Hard Drive: Western Digital Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB
Memory: Dual 8GB DDR3 RAM
GPU: NVIDIA GeFroce GTX 560
Power Supply: Relatively certain I have a 750 watt power supply.

I should also be good for a case.


I don't own an SSD, although I've been considering getting one since I game a lot as it is. I just really want a setup that will work well with streaming. My internet is well beyond what is expected for streaming. If I'm missing anything, please let me know, I'm interested in learning about this for future purposes.

[Lathais]

Your budget is too wide. $500 can build you a rig that will play games on medium to high. $1000 can get you Ultra.

As for an SSD, I usually do not recommend them on budgets under $1k. It's hard to justify as it provides no FPS bonus or gaming performance or anything other then reducing load times.

This is closer to the top end, but will do exactly what you want. An i7 would be better for streaming, but the i5 will get the job done.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($222.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $943.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-10 21:04 EDT-0400

[Omniclenser]

Your budget is too wide. $500 can build you a rig that will play games on medium to high. $1000 can get you Ultra.

Hey!

Thanks for the response. I left the budget relatively open due to my uncertainty with what can be moved over from my current build. I feel like some of the parts excluding my video card are still relatively good.

Looking at the benchmark website for CPUs, I thought I noted that my current CPU is better than the suggested i5 you listed. Are Intel chips just all around better for streaming in comparison to what I have?

The things I was looking at the most for suggestions was my video card and or my hard drive. I can't find the specifics of my current hard drive, and I don't know how much it would effect performance.

Looking forward to more suggestions!

[Lathais]

Yeah, sorry, brainfart I guess, did not look at parts to be reused.

Well, depending on the game you are streaming, the intel could be better. Namely WoW/MMOs in general. If you want to do that you should go for the i7 and recycle other parts. It's not that the i7 is better for streaming, it's just better for the game, since it's primary thread runs on a single core and intels individual cores are stronger. Running the game better is better for streaming.

You could likely do well with what you have though. Get a good cooler, like the NH-D15 and OC it, get a GTX970, maybe a new PSU depending on what you have,and maybe increase your RAM to 16GB and should be good.

[Nessira]

Hey,

Looking at several benchmarks, the intel i5-4690k does perform better than the AMD FX-8350 in most gaming related benchmarks. Going into streaming, the usual recommendation is for an i5-4690k for 720p and a i7-4790k for 1080p. I'm not particularly sure how well an AMD-FX8350 would fare.

Going into specific recommendations, the parts Lathais recommended would definitely be more than enough to do the job. For streaming specific - I'd recommend the MSI Z97-Gaming 5 for the motherboard instead though - there's a tieup with MSI and Xsplit for a free 6 month premium subscription.

Cheers

[Lathais]

there's a tieup with MSI and Xsplit for a free 6 month premium subscription.

Too bad XSplit sucks. I mean, sure, it's a little easier to get set-up and running the first time but OBS does a much better job with far less resources and is entirely free. It's pretty much the go to software for streaming right now. Also, with an nVidia GPU you can use Shadowplay.

[Nellah]

Too bad XSplit sucks. I mean, sure, it's a little easier to get set-up and running the first time but OBS does a much better job with far less resources and is entirely free. It's pretty much the go to software for streaming right now. Also, with an nVidia GPU you can use Shadowplay.

OBS also supports QuickSync encoding if you have an Intel CPU and a motherboard that supports onboard GPU multi-monitor, which (though I haven't tested it myself yet) should nearly eliminate any CPU overhead, making the i7 superfluous for that particular streaming program.

[Lathais]

OBS also supports QuickSync encoding if you have an Intel CPU and a motherboard that supports onboard GPU multi-monitor, which (though I haven't tested it myself yet) should nearly eliminate any CPU overhead, making the i7 superfluous for that particular streaming program.

Yes, but my point was not to go for the lower quality MSI board just for free XSplit as XSplit sucks compared to OBS and Shadowplay.

[Nellah]

And I was supporting that point by providing more benefits of OBS.