Upgrading a 4 Year Old Gaming PC

[Mgatlin]

Hey all, my current PC is nearing the 4 year mark and its specs aren't good enough to play some of the latest games that I'm interested in. I'm looking at upgrading parts based on recommendations, with a focus on CPU/MoBo/GPU at the moment.

Here are my current specs:
CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
MoBo: MSI H61M-E33 (B3) Micro ATX LGA 1155
RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3-1333
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB
HDD: Seagate Barricuda 1TB 3.5” 7200RPM
Case: Rosewill Challenger ATX Mid Tower
Power: Corsair CX 430
Optical: LG GH24LS70 DVD/CD Writer
OS: Windows 10

I would like to keep all of my other components if possible and use what I have as a stepping stone. I'm not on a SUPER tight budget but I'm not looking for anything crazy expensive (under $250-275 for a GPU). The games I'll be looking at wanting to run include Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, Rise of the Tomb Raider. I'd like for it to be very capable for several years down the road. I don't really do video rendering and I've never overclocked a PC before so I'm not sure how willing I would be to do it. Let me know if you need any more information! Thanks

Edit: Country is US. Resolution is 1920 x 1080.

[Deleted]

What would be the entire budget?

You would most likely be looking at CPU/mobo/ram (if picking skylake)/GPU/PSU.

[Artorius]

I'd say to buy an i5 6600/6600K and a R9 390, then you can choose if you want to buy new memory or not. If you do, you buy a ddr4 mobo and ddr4 ram.
If you don't, there are LGA1551 DDR3 mobos. But I don't have models on my mind to recommend.

- - - Updated - - -

What would be the entire budget?

You would most likely be looking at CPU/mobo/ram (if picking skylake)/GPU/PSU.

Also this. Though we can think about something to be used with your PSU in mind.

[Mgatlin]

What would be the entire budget?

You would most likely be looking at CPU/mobo/ram (if picking skylake)/GPU/PSU.

I suppose budget would be under $700. I wasn't sure how many parts I would need to replace so, in my mind, my budget fluctuates based on how many spots I'm looking to upgrade.

[Deleted]

I would probably go for something like this then.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($314.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $823.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-07 13:11 EST-0500

If that is to much.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $718.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-07 13:13 EST-0500

Other option would be to not get the SSD, add that later on. But an SSD is pretty nice to have.

[Mgatlin]

Thanks for taking the time to put these lists together. A couple of questions if you don't mind.
1. How "future proof" are these builds? Do you think the CPU/Video Card will power through games with great settings through the next few years?
2. If I upgrade the Motherboard to what you've listed, do I need to upgrade my RAM as well because the socket types are not similar?
3. Is my current power supply not adequate for the build you've put together?

I'm sure I'll have others but that's all I can think of for now. Thanks again

[Artorius]

Thanks for taking the time to put these lists together. A couple of questions if you don't mind.
1. How "future proof" are these builds? Do you think the CPU/Video Card will power through games with great settings through the next few years?
2. If I upgrade the Motherboard to what you've listed, do I need to upgrade my RAM as well because the socket types are not similar?
3. Is my current power supply not adequate for the build you've put together?

I'm sure I'll have others but that's all I can think of for now. Thanks again

1: At 1080p probably yes. Most likely yes. Almost certainly yes.
2: You can buy a DDR3 Skylake mobo but since you're buying a new one just go with DDR4.
3: It's weak, but it should still work I suppose. The SeaSonic he listed is better.

[Ssateneth]

unless you're getting <30fps in raid, i dont see much of an issue. I built a pc for a friend a few years ago. i3-3220 3.3ghz, 16gb ram (black friday $53 from newegg), radeon 280x, ssd + hard drive. still getting >150fps in open world, >60fps in raid.

the only weak part I see is the GPU. upgrade that and you'll be fine IMO. You won't need anything crazy. Radeon 7970 / 280 / 280x / 380 / 380x will be a fine upgrade, and offer better performance per dollar than the premium nvidia parts demand at the expense of electricity comparable to what a light bulb uses.

*I'm not an nvidia / amd fanboy. I use both manufacturers' parts, depending on the budget. My PC has nvidia in it, but only because there's thousands of dollars worth of equipment in it.

[Deleted]

Another option

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($86.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $734.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-09 02:59 EST-0500

[Mgatlin]

I'm looking at making some purchases here with Black Friday/Cyber Monday right around the corner. Really looking at the i5-6600 and wanting to pair it with an R9 390. Is there a good pairing I could put together that would work with the rest of the options that have been selected?

Also, really wanting try and make use of my current power supply unless it's a liability for my PC. Otherwise, I would go ahead and upgrade that too for the suggested piece. Thanks!

[Deleted]

The quality of the power supply you got is bad. That aside it can't handle an R9 390. You also have to up your budget a bit for that unless you drop the ssd.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($48.65 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $744.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-27 04:08 EST-0500

[Mgatlin]

Okay, I can look at upgrading the PSU to something more appropriate (like the one you've suggested). Especially since the 390 sucks up more power.

Do you have a comparable option for a 2x4GB Memory instead of the single stick?
And is it possible to continue to use my current case instead of upgrading?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-challenger

I know the 390 is significantly bigger than my current card, but I'd like to reuse the case if possible.
Thanks!

[Deleted]

Sure you can if you don't mind micro board at atx case. Just check how long gpu's your case can support cause i can't find any info about it. Check the asus gpu - 300mm if it fits basically.

[stellvia]

Most of those newer boards support DDR3 and DDR4 memory, so you don't really have to get better RAM right now. There really isn't that big of a difference still AFAIK in PC performance. Granted, $48 is a reasonable price, but if it only has 2 memory slots, I wouldn't max that out with 8gb as eventually 16gb might be nicer to have. (Fallout 4 for example runs up to 3gb+ ram usage even before mods)

I googled up info that says your Rosewill case will fit any card up to 11" in length, so it should be fine as well. The PSU as they said is a tad low, especially as its a low-end efficiency one and not Gold or Plat rated efficiency so their recommendation for that is good. 650W is good and not overkill. (Some ppl pick like 850-1000w psu which are just overkill)

I would roll the savings of keeping the DDR3 memory into buying an M.2 SSD instead of that Evo honestly. For $100 it's only 128gb, but you get 2000mb/sec instead of 500mb/sec reads then. Or if you really wanted to go balls to the wall, the new 256gb NVMe SSDs utilize that new interface that replaces AHCI to improve responsiveness even more, but it's $200. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA2W03JY5026
In that situation, just make sure you have a motherboard with an M.2 slot on it of course.

[Kagthul]

Most of those newer boards support DDR3 and DDR4

no, they dont. The DIMMs arent even the same size.

There are skylake boards that support DDR3-L, but NOT traditional DDR3. you cant just throw existing DDR3 DIMMs i to one of those boards, theyll damage the IMC, unless you have some really great RAM that can tolerate being massively undervolted.

[TyrianFC]

Wait for Nvidia Pascal range, which looks to be a mighty generational leap in graphics card power and should be first half of next year released.

[stellvia]

Wait for Nvidia Pascal range, which looks to be a mighty generational leap in graphics card power and should be first half of next year released.

There is always something better half a year/year away.

[TyrianFC]

There is always something better half a year/year away.

Common sense please. Theres a difference between 'something better in 6 months' to 'on the edge of a huge generational jump - the likes of which havent been seen in many years now'

[stellvia]

You expect him to wait *half a year* when the standard GPU upgrade cycle is like 2 years? The 970 was already 30% better than the 770 and less power consumption. And what if that card is delayed? June is a long ways away.

Not to mention Intel also claimed Skylake was "the greatest technological leap in the last 10 years" and were touting like 30-35% increases and benches of the actual thing put it at about 10-15%

[Ghâzh]

I would roll the savings of keeping the DDR3 memory into buying an M.2 SSD instead of that Evo honestly. For $100 it's only 128gb, but you get 2000mb/sec instead of 500mb/sec reads then.

Why? So your benchmark shows 2000 instead of 500?