Budget CPU Advice

[Deleted]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new CPU + Mobo as my 3.2 gHz i3 just isnt up to scratch and was wondering what you guys thought was a good choice. I currently run a MSI GTX 960 4096MB as my GPU and I'm looking to spend £200-250.

I've been looking at the Intel i5 4590 and the 4690k but they both run up a high price (for me at least, as a student). I'm an avid gamer with not a lot to spend. I do however want to be able to run games on high-max settings with 40+ fps.

I was looking at the AMD Athlon X4 860K, it's not the most amazing piece of kit but it seems to run well for most people and I was wondering what your opinions are on it.
Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Athlon-Q.../dp/B00MU00IOQ

I was looking at: the AMD FX-8320 and the AMD FX6300 Black Edition as well, both seem to be great processors.

Any other recommendations? I want to be able to play games smoothly and currently my major bottleneck is my processor.

[Lathais]

Need some more info. What games specifically are you trying to play. What generation is that i3?

Also, DO NOT GET THOSE AMD CPUs. If your i3 is close to current gen, it will run circles around those CPUs in CPU bound games and won't matter in GPU bound games. Seriously, a ~$60 intel Pentium G3258 runs circles around those chips in single core performance, which is what matters for gaming.

[Deleted]

Okay thanks.

The CPU I'm running at the moment is an i3 550.

I mainly play games like Counter Strike and World of Warcraft at the moment, but I want to be able to play Fallout 4, GTA 5 and new titles on high settings without it bottlenecking.

I also do 3D Modelling and a lot of Games Design stuff, and am also going to be creating animations for my university work.

[Lightwysh]

Your i3 should be fine, I would look more towards a new Mobo, more ram and a beefier GPU. Can you overclock your current cpu?

[Deleted]

If you want to play newer games like those on high settings without bottlenecking you're not really looking for a budget CPU, likewise with animations and the like.

True, I think saying I'm after a budget CPU is a bit of a lie really haha.

Your i3 should be fine, I would look more towards a new Mobo, more ram and a beefier GPU. Can you overclock your current cpu?

Okay, advice taken. I'm currently sat at 8 gigs of RAM though and I only recently (about 6 months ago) upgrading from an old 270 card to the 960, so getting a beefier GPU is probably out of the question haha.

The issue I seem to run into a lot of the time is frame rate issues. Even when raiding on WoW I dont get a very stable framerate and I usually take a huge knock when large raid-wide abilities are used. I assumed this was to do with the CPU as I thought the 960 was a pretty solid card.

I'm not sure if I can overlock my current CPU, never really done it. I have a liquid cooled heatsink so I see no reason why I cant if the CPU is capable.

[Lightwysh]

True, I think saying I'm after a budget CPU is a bit of a lie really haha.



Okay, advice taken. I'm currently sat at 8 gigs of RAM though and I only recently (about 6 months ago) upgrading from an old 270 card to the 960, so getting a beefier GPU is probably out of the question haha.

The issue I seem to run into a lot of the time is frame rate issues. Even when raiding on WoW I dont get a very stable framerate and I usually take a huge knock when large raid-wide abilities are used. I assumed this was to do with the CPU as I thought the 960 was a pretty solid card.

Your setup is honestly not bad.

Going to an AMD would probably hurt you more than help.

Wait until you can get a 4690k or even make the jump to 6600k.

Maybe see about overclocking your current CPU and run the piss out of it until you can afford a new one.

[Deleted]

Your setup is honestly not bad.

Going to an AMD would probably hurt you more than help.

Wait until you can get a 4690k or even make the jump to 6600k.

Maybe see about overclocking your current CPU and run the piss out of it until you can afford a new one.

Okay thanks.

I might change my motherboard and heatsink as it currently doesn't actually fit in my case. I have to have the side off because of the size of heatsink's connector to the fan so I think that needs to go. If it's not that bad a rig I'll look into getting as new heatsink and/or mobo and then overclock my current CPU.

If I do change motherboard/heatsink do you have any recommendations for brands or models?

[Rokom]

Your setup is honestly not bad.

Going to an AMD would probably hurt you more than help.

Wait until you can get a 4690k or even make the jump to 6600k.

Maybe see about overclocking your current CPU and run the piss out of it until you can afford a new one.

The 550 is locked, so it isn't overclockable.

Otherwise I agree though. I would suggest getting a 4690k, a Z97 MoBo, a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo, and then overclocking. I don't recommend the 6600k atm, since your budget is a concern, the motherboards are more expensive, and you'd then also need to replace your RAM.

[Lightwysh]

Okay thanks.

I might change my motherboard and heatsink as it currently doesn't actually fit in my case. I have to have the side off because of the size of heatsink's connector to the fan so I think that needs to go. If it's not that bad a rig I'll look into getting as new heatsink and/or mobo and then overclock my current CPU.

If I do change motherboard/heatsink do you have any recommendations for brands or models?

The motherboards still available for your chip are all more expensive than modern Mobos. Like $200-300 expensive. Its actually a waste at that point.

The 550 is locked, so it isn't overclockable.

Otherwise I agree though. I would suggest getting a 4690k, a Z97 MoBo, a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo, and then overclocking. I don't recommend the 6600k atm, since your budget is a concern, the motherboards are more expensive, and you'd then also need to replace your RAM.

I would wait until you can get the 4690k and z97 mobo mentioned here. Looking about $300ish total. The hyper 212(which I have) is nice but you can getaway with the stock cooler until you decide you need to OC.

[Evildeffy]

Actually here's the following:

The Intel Core i3 550 is NOT a locked CPU to overclock, it's just more difficult as it requires base clock changes as well as synching the base clock with RAM speed.
They are basically tied in the system (old skool).

When it comes to performance it's only upside vs. Sandy Bridge and higher is the fact it can be overclocked (albeit annoyingly)

However when it comes to WoW... The i3 550 is likely equal to the AMD CPUs you mentioned (FX-6300/8300).. for newer games there's no contest the AMD CPUs are better and the Athlon X4 860K is even faster then either of the FX series CPUs clock of clock (quite noticably) but lesser cores etc.

However ... you have 2 options, considering you're playing WoW I will keep it to Intel CPUs:
Option 1: Find a 2nd hand upgrade kit that has a Sandy Bridge build (like 2500K, P67/Z68/Z77 Mobo and 8GB of RAM) .. plenty of those here in NL that fit your budget
Option 2: Save more money and go for a new kit.

Option 1 gets you quite a noticeable boost immediately and cheap even though it's not the newest.
Option 2 gets you the best upgrade but costs quite a large chunk of cash.

There's always the "DON'T EVER GO FOR 2ND HAND" naysayers ... but there are plenty of well maintained gems out there for good money that will kick ass for cheap and will keep you going for a while... However it is always different for every country but in the Netherlands the 2nd hand market is blooming and if you know where to look very much trustworthy.

Hell if push comes to shove and you want that I can assist you with it.
Ignore the Dutch language but here's an example: Clicky Clicky for £ 184,-

Note for the people above: Buyer is in the UK, i.e. prices aren't comparable to the U.S.

[Deleted]

There's always the "DON'T EVER GO FOR 2ND HAND" naysayers ... but there are plenty of well maintained gems out there for good money that will kick ass for cheap and will keep you going for a while... However it is always different for every country but in the Netherlands the 2nd hand market is blooming and if you know where to look very much trustworthy.
[/b]

How does an upgrade kit work? I've never used one. Also the link you sent me, is that person selling the Mobo, CPU and RAM for the £184~?

[Evildeffy]

How does an upgrade kit work? I've never used one. Also the link you sent me, is that person selling the Mobo, CPU and RAM for the £184~?

They simply call it an upgrade kit, it's just a set of components that you have to build into your case yourself.

And yes, though that specific person's kit has been "reserved" so a likely buyer has been found, the entire kit of CPU/Mobo and 16GB of RAM was for a net worth of £ 184,- which is about € 250,- like you see in the link.

There are newer kits etc. availible which are of course more expensive but in general lots of gems that drop by.
That set I linked was 1 of those gems.

[Deleted]

They simply call it an upgrade kit, it's just a set of components that you have to build into your case yourself.

And yes, though that specific person's kit has been "reserved" so a likely buyer has been found, the entire kit of CPU/Mobo and 16GB of RAM was for a net worth of £ 184,- which is about € 250,- like you see in the link.

There are newer kits etc. availible which are of course more expensive but in general lots of gems that drop by.
That set I linked was 1 of those gems.

Ah okay I understand. Yeah the one you linked is a really good price, shame someone has it reserved!

[Evildeffy]

As I stated...

If you are interested in a cheap workhorse upgrade check what kind of 2nd hand market is availible in the UK.
Though from my experience it's rather... crap to say the least.

If you are interested in a cheap workhorse upgrade from the Netherlands (shipping isn't that expensive) have a look through this list for kits:
Tweakers.net 2nd hand upgrade kits
Just so you know most prices are ask prices, negotiation is almost always possible.

Abbreviations/words you should know:
N.O.T.K = Still to be determined with possible buyer
Ruilen = Trade
Gereserveerd = Reserved
Verkocht = Sold

I'm sure if you want to go that route I can assist you in some way... just blast me a PM.

[Vash The Stampede]

Like others have said your i3 is just fine. Getting a newer i3 won't do you much. The 860K is for ultra low cost systems and really wouldn't be an upgrade for your system. The 8320 is better but not really worth all the trouble. The only reason to seek an upgrade is because some future games might reject the i3 since it's a dual core. For now I'd just chill and not spend any more. I wouldn't deal with a new board or heatsink.