Looking to upgrade: advice?

[Kokoa]

Hey all. About two years ago I built a low budget gaming desktop. I had moved up from using a laptop, so at the time it was perfect for me, but now I'm really starting to notice that it needs some new parts.

Relevant information:

Budget - Between $500 and $1000
Location - United States
Parts I want to upgrade - Graphics card, power supply, motherboard, processor, and possibly add more ram

Current build:

Monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009317
Graphics Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161387
CPU Fan/Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835200014
Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157176
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231425
Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103940
Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136697
Power Supply - I don't even know, it was given me by someone who didn't need it

I use my desktop mostly for gaming. I do other basic things like browsing sites and digital art. I want to be able to play WoW and League on full settings without having to worry about lag. Lately I've had to turn my settings down on both games and I still lag badly during groups killing Ordos and in League my game pretty much freezes during all ins. I want the best I can get with my money. I'm just really tired of lag ><

If you need to know anything else about my current build, just let me know.

Also: Since I'm getting a new motherboard, what does that mean for my OS? Will I have to reformat my hard drive and reinstall my OS or what? Never done this before, so not too sure what I'd have to do.

[Skalm]

Hey all. About two years ago I built a low budget gaming desktop. I had moved up from using a laptop, so at the time it was perfect for me, but now I'm really starting to notice that it needs some new parts.

Relevant information:

Budget - Between $500 and $1000
Location - United States
Parts I want to upgrade - Graphics card, power supply, motherboard, processor, and possibly add more ram

I use my desktop mostly for gaming. I do other basic things like browsing sites and digital art. I want to be able to play WoW and League on full settings without having to worry about lag. Lately I've had to turn my settings down on both games and I still lag badly during groups killing Ordos and in League my game pretty much freezes during all ins. I want the best I can get with my money. I'm just really tired of lag ><

If you need to know anything else about my current build, just let me know.

Also: Since I'm getting a new motherboard, what does that mean for my OS? Will I have to reformat my hard drive and reinstall my OS or what? Never done this before, so not too sure what I'd have to do.

Would help if you listed what you already have in your computer. What gfx card, cpu, ram and such.

[Kokoa]

Would help if you listed what you already have in your computer. What gfx card, cpu, ram and such.

Just curious, but why does listing my old graphics card I currently have help anything, if I'm just looking to replace it anyways?

[Skalm]

Because your issue with lag may not be your gfx card, which means you would not need to upgrade it. Thiswould leave you with spending less $ or putting that money towards a better cpu/ram/mobo than if you were to try to buy all of it.

[Kokoa]

Because your issue with lag may not be your gfx card, which means you would not need to upgrade it. Thiswould leave you with spending less $ or putting that money towards a better cpu/ram/mobo than if you were to try to buy all of it.

Added it to my original post.

[Skalm]

Well I would start with the CPU, mainly what brand do you want to go with? I have not had much experience with AMD for quite some time.

Price Breakdown for Intel:

1150 i5: $190-$235
1150 i7: $310-$340
2011 i7: $300-$579 (This Socket has both the 3000 Series and 4000 Series i7 chips, only a couple chips to choose from though)

1150 MoBo: $45-$540
2011 MoBo: $220-$600

Graphics Card: Nvidia or AMD? Prices can range from $150-$1000.

PSU: I would get a 750W+, something like the Corsair ones.

RAM: I would get 8-16GB of 1600MHz RAM. Anything faster is useless unless you are going to Overclock. Otherwise your computer will ramp it down anyway. (You have to tweak a setting in BIOS anyway, to get 1600MHz, with an Intel CPU).

If you go Intel I would go for the 1150 boards/chips. They are much nicer on your budget.

Obviously you would not want to get a $45 MoBo as it would most likely be crap. As far as brand goes I am partial to ASUS. But brand is mostly personal preference.
The Socket 2011 MoBo's also generally overclock easier/better than the 1150's. But this is mostly due to the i7 CPU's that they support (K processors which have unlocked multipliers). And the fact that they are aimed at overclockers/enthusiasts.

I do not know enough about AMD to make any good suggestions for them. Intel does cost more, but I think that the overall performance of Intel is better than AMD.

As far as needing to do anything with your OS you will want to uninstall the Motherboard Chipset and such from Device Manager (and check the option to delete the drivers). Also the stuff that relates to the USB ports and what not.

If you go Intel, whether you go i5 or i7, I would get the Top Version. It is only a $30 difference between the bottom and top model for each one.

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Here are some options for what you could get.

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130932
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151111
MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131981
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116899

Those come out to ~$815 before tax/shipping. As for RAM, I would get another set of what you have, to bring it up to 8GB, or I would buy a 16GB kit.

[Fluorescent0]

Top end of your budget (considering the monitor suggestion as well):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($35.70 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($90.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $821.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-12 16:33 EST-0500)

Something a little less expensive:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($132.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($90.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($160.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $547.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-12 16:40 EST-0500)

Keep your old case, RAM (first build only), HDD and optical drive. If you could give us the PSU model you could also try and keep that one too. Reinstall your operating system on the SSD, if it gives you any problems just call microsoft and tell them you had to swap motherboard and install fresh and they should reactivate your key.

I'd also consider getting a nicer monitor such as this 23'' one or, if you want to spend a bit less, this 21.5'' one. They're both IPS so they'll have better colors and they're also 1080p instead of 1600x900.

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PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151111

Did you just recommend a 190$ 860W platinum PSU to a system that won't pass 350W at full load? Like, seriously?

[Skalm]

Yes I did suggest a 860W PSU. You get what you pay for when you buy a PSU. You buy a cheap one, the quality will be cheap.

The 860 allows for future upgrades without having to purchase a new PSU. Whether it be a higher end gfx card or a second one for SLI.

Also, I wouldn't touch a Corsair Hydro Cooler with a 10 foot pole. You don't get any better performance than a good Air Fan and you run the risk of it leaking its contents all over your components. Which the contruction on them is very poor. The hoses are attached with a type of heat shrink that allows you to just pull the tubes right off the CPU block. Until they put actual clamps on the hoses I wouldn't touch one.

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Also, a power supply slowly loses its wattage capacity due to capacitor aging. Depending on the usage you can lose up to 20% of the initial wattage after 1 year of use. SO yes, buying a good solid PSU is 100x better than buying a $50 paperweight.

[Kokoa]

@Fluorescent0 What exactly do I need an SSD for? My hard drive is still new ( got it recently ). I'm not entirely sure why I would need an SSD?
And why would I want a new monitor? What would be the difference in upgrading that? I was under the impression mine was perfectly fine o.O
I agree with Skalm about liquid coolers; I wouldn't want to use one. Too many people I know have had them leak.

[Fluorescent0]

Yes I did suggest a 860W PSU. You get what you pay for when you buy a PSU. You buy a cheap one, the quality will be cheap.

The 860 allows for future upgrades without having to purchase a new PSU. Whether it be a higher end gfx card or a second one for SLI.

Also, I wouldn't touch a Corsair Hydro Cooler with a 10 foot pole. You don't get any better performance than a good Air Fan and you run the risk of it leaking its contents all over your components. Which the contruction on them is very poor. The hoses are attached with a type of heat shrink that allows you to just pull the tubes right off the CPU block. Until they put actual clamps on the hoses I wouldn't touch one.

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Also, a power supply slowly loses its wattage capacity due to capacitor aging. Depending on the usage you can lose up to 20% of the initial wattage after 1 year of use. SO yes, buying a good solid PSU is 100x better than buying a $50 paperweight.

And this is why you check for quality instead of throwing money out of the window. A 50$ PSU will do its job perfectly fine as long as it's well made.
Liquid coolers, heh, they come with a full warranty (as in if they leak they cover whatever they killed covered as well), and the occurence of that happening are really slim, but I guess you can keep your opinion if you want. Keep in mind that liquid coolers are often recommended because they're far easier to setup and they take a lot less space and fit in pretty much all cases.

@Fluorescent0 What exactly do I need an SSD for? My hard drive is still new ( got it recently ). I'm not entirely sure why I would need an SSD?
And why would I want a new monitor? What would be the difference in upgrading that? I was under the impression mine was perfectly fine o.O
I agree with Skalm about liquid coolers; I wouldn't want to use one. Too many people I know have had them leak.

An SSD is a huge quality of life improvement, it will dramatically increase loading times of both your operating system and any program you happen to have installed on it.
The difference in upgrading monitors would be a higher resolution and far better colors and viewing angles.
Swap the cooler to an NH-D14, provided your case fits it.

[Kokoa]

I think I'll wait on an SSD c:
I may look into a new monitor. A friend may purchase my current one off me, so I feel better knowing it wouldn't be collecting dust :b

[Fluorescent0]

I think I'll wait on an SSD c:
I may look into a new monitor. A friend may purchase my current one off me, so I feel better knowing it wouldn't be collecting dust :b

I'd still recommend a fresh OS install nonetheless, to avoid any potential issues.

[Kokoa]

I'd still recommend a fresh OS install nonetheless, to avoid any potential issues.

Yeah that may be unavoidable, unfortunately. I hate reinstalling games ><

[Deleted]

Hey all. About two years ago I built a low budget gaming desktop. I had moved up from using a laptop, so at the time it was perfect for me, but now I'm really starting to notice that it needs some new parts.

*snip*

I use my desktop mostly for gaming. I do other basic things like browsing sites and digital art. I want to be able to play WoW and League on full settings without having to worry about lag. Lately I've had to turn my settings down on both games and I still lag badly during groups killing Ordos and in League my game pretty much freezes during all ins. I want the best I can get with my money. I'm just really tired of lag ><

*more snip*

If you are concerned with lag (as in delayed response) you should check your ISP as well. However, since I think you are referring to low fps, I have to say that even with a $1000,- pc, you will not be able to do Ordos with a full raid at a playable framerate on ultra. There is just simply too much shit going on, and it will choke. However, it wont be as bad as 5 fps. My pc is made up of similar parts, except a generation younger, and I find that in 99% of the fights my fps is more than fine (40-60) on high. That 1% where you fight in a cramped space with 40 people however will still choke your pc.

On the bright side, it runs LoL at max settings without a prob

[Skalm]

He is right about an SSD. It will be a very noticeable difference in load time from what you experience now.

As far as a PSU goes, if you do not want one that will support future SLI/High End cards you can get a Seasonic 550W for ~$75. Seasonic is about the best brand you can get for a PSU. They make a good majority of Corsair PSU's, they also make PSU's for XFX and other companies. This is a link to the specifics on the PSU http://www.seasonicusa.com/S12G.htm

[Kokoa]

If you are concerned with lag (as in delayed response) you should check your ISP as well. However, since I think you are referring to low fps, I have to say that even with a $1000,- pc, you will not be able to do Ordos with a full raid at a playable framerate on ultra. There is just simply too much shit going on, and it will choke. However, it wont be as bad as 5 fps. My pc is made up of similar parts, except a generation younger, and I find that in 99% of the fights my fps is more than fine (40-60) on high. That 1% where you fight in a cramped space with 40 people however will still choke your pc.

On the bright side, it runs LoL at max settings without a prob

It is fps I'm having a problem with. I know I probably won't avoid lag on ultra on Ordos, but the lag is suuuper bad. Like it pretty much makes my game freeze up on lowest settings and I wanna fix that as best I can. My fps is always pretty low even on min settings :c

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He is right about an SSD. It will be a very noticeable difference in load time from what you experience now.

As far as a PSU goes, if you do not want one that will support future SLI/High End cards you can get a Seasonic 550W for ~$75. Seasonic is about the best brand you can get for a PSU. They make a good majority of Corsair PSU's, they also make PSU's for XFX and other companies. This is a link to the specifics on the PSU http://www.seasonicusa.com/S12G.htm

Yeah, I get that it'd be a nice step up, but I'm just gonna hold off on getting one for now (:

[Skalm]

It is fps I'm having a problem with. I know I probably won't avoid lag on ultra on Ordos, but the lag is suuuper bad. Like it pretty much makes my game freeze up on lowest settings and I wanna fix that as best I can. My fps is always pretty low even on min settings :c

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Yeah, I get that it'd be a nice step up, but I'm just gonna hold off on getting one for now (:

Yeah, they are pricey for their capacity. If you end up having extra left in your budget, it would be a good upgrade.

As far as gaming goes though, the only time you would see a difference when playing, such as playing WoW, is the loading screens. The SSD won't affect how your game runs while doing stuff much. It may increase the load speed of stuff around you slightly (such as characters/grass/trees and such). But a lot of that loading is handled by your RAM as it puts all that stuff into memory when you are playing. Now if you were doing something where you were constantly loading stuff from your hard drive (some sort of a production machine) then I would definitely say it is a must, but for gaming its more of an 'cherry on the icing on your cake'.