upgrade or start fresh?

[Tmbryant91]

About 2-3 years ago I built my own computer on a very low budget. Wasn't expecting too much out of it but it's just not cutting it anymore. I want to know if it'll be better for me to just upgrade or build a whole new computer again. My budget would be about $850US. What I'm really looking for is something that I could raid with without having any type of FPS issues.. having increased graphics would be a bonus but raiding w/ good FPS is the main concern.

I'm also looking to replace my case as well.

Graphics Card
Mother Board
Processor
Hard Drive
Memory
Case

[Zazey]

About 2-3 years ago I built my own computer on a very low budget. Wasn't expecting too much out of it but it's just not cutting it anymore. I want to know if it'll be better for me to just upgrade or build a whole new computer again. My budget would be about $850US. What I'm really looking for is something that I could raid with without having any type of FPS issues.. having increased graphics would be a bonus but raiding w/ good FPS is the main concern.

I'm also looking to replace my case as well.

Graphics Card
Mother Board
Processor
Hard Drive
Memory
Case

If all you want is to get better FPS realistically you only need to replace 1-3 things here. Get a new CPU, with your budget you can get a gtx 960 or gtx 970, r9 380 or r9 390. If your PSU is under 500W upgrade that to a 500w+ (with bronze + pins). Add some more ram, upgrade to 8gb or 16gb, if you buy these soon you're going to save the most here during black friday / cyber monday. Your processor is fine, old maybe but shouldn't make an impact on your WoW graphics.

Realistically with an $850 budget you can do 1 of 2 things. A- replace the parts listed above and spend extra on a higher quality GPU R9 390 + or gtx 970 +. Or you can do a full new build with a r9 380 / gtx 960 and keep it under $850 including tax. If this is your option my other thread going on right now I've been taking into account deals and prices and have been constantly updating it with what I plan on purchasing this coming monday. Theres also plenty of the forum experts weighing in on their own builds if you want to take one of theirs, but regardless its a good place to look with the same budget as me.

GL!

[Deleted]

There is some rebates in this if you can handle them then you're golden. Got an ssd only you can use your old hdd for storage:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($49.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.25 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($67.15 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $853.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-27 12:08 EST-0500

[stellvia]

Couple of comments on Kostattoo's picks:
That CPU cooler is now up to $75 and really doesn't look any better than the old standby, Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo for $20. Especially if you get paired fans and run push/pull. He wants a new case, but that NZXT isn't any better than what he already has. Both are flimsy low-end cases. You need to get to like the Antec 900 or Fractal Design Arc Midi or Define cases to have a solid upgrade. Also worth considering if you want to add extra fans to the case then as well. (Arc Midi for example comes with 3, but has room for 4 more)

And because Zazey was way off base it begs mentioning that WoW is a heavily CPU-bottlenecked game. When push comes to shove, defer to the better CPU over GPU when building with an eye towards WoW.

[Deleted]

Just get a new GPU, SSD and if you don't have one a cooler for that 2500k and OC it.

The 2500k is still a good CPU, if overclocked.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($67.15 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $547.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-30 05:02 EST-0500

That is what I would do, and then OC the 2500k to 4,5 Ghz. I think every 2500k should be able to easily reach that. And then save the money not spend for a cpu/mobo/ram upgrade later down the line.

[Deleted]

That CPU cooler is now up to $75 and really doesn't look any better than the old standby, Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo for $20. Especially if you get paired fans and run push/pull. He wants a new case, but that NZXT isn't any better than what he already has. Both are flimsy low-end cases.

You are compairing Dark rock 3 with hyper evo? You judging the cooler by how it looks? They are on a completely different lvl of performance. You may at least want to check things before you post. Same goes with the case. Yes its not the best of cases but its better than what he had and definately a very good buy at 55bucks. The enthoo pro m is also a good buy if he went for an atx mobo.

Those aside, op has probably gone for an i5 6600 with an H170m pro4 mobo and probably thermaltake core v31 since 2days ago.

[stellvia]

They are functionally a very similar design. The DR3 has 6 thinner pipes and slightly larger radiator area vs. 4 thicker ones for the 212. The DR3 is also all aluminum, whereas the 212 is copper which has better heat transfer. You can then also do the push/pull to capitalize on that. It also supports PWM so you don't need the thing going full blast 24/7 if its idling, and the bulky size can interfere with RAM slots on some boards. So basically it's close to a wash, which is backed up by the fact that it was a popular cooler for OC into the 4.7ghz range even when the 2500K was new. I just hope if he does do that OC that he's not burning out his CPU in short order, as its already almost 5 years old.

More importantly, at that $75 pricepoint you can even find deals for something like a Corsair H100 and clear up a lot of the center of your case for airflow.

Can't comment on Phanteks really as I've not heard of them before, but the pictures on Newegg at least looked good. Certainly better than the flimsy faux-bling NZXT ones.

[Deleted]

They are functionally a very similar design. The DR3 has 6 thinner pipes and slightly larger radiator area vs. 4 thicker ones for the 212. The DR3 is also all aluminum, whereas the 212 is copper which has better heat transfer. You can then also do the push/pull to capitalize on that. It also supports PWM so you don't need the thing going full blast 24/7 if its idling, and the bulky size can interfere with RAM slots on some boards. So basically it's close to a wash, which is backed up by the fact that it was a popular cooler for OC into the 4.7ghz range even when the 2500K was new. I just hope if he does do that OC that he's not burning out his CPU in short order, as its already almost 5 years old.

More importantly, at that $75 pricepoint you can even find deals for something like a Corsair H100 and clear up a lot of the center of your case for airflow.

First off DR3 is 60bucks atm! It also features 2x6 heat pipes of copper lining and aluminum caps. You should know that copper is better at conducting air but aluminium is better to dissipate/spreads heat faster, thus why all fins are like that. Secondly it has close performance to corsair H100. How can you even compare it with your visual observations vs benchmarks showing otherwise is beyond me. You posts on several threads show your lack of knowledge. I would suggest educate yourself better.
Its one thing having a different opinion about something and another claiming stuff than have been proven otherwise.

[stellvia]

So 3x the price for a temp difference of 2 degrees idle and under load. As per the benchmarks. And more interestingly: The H100 is a little less than 2 degrees better at idle on the benchmark than the DR3, and close to 6 degrees better under load. So one is a large difference and the other isn't despite being a greater differential?

We have a difference in opinion clearly, so let's bury the hatchet before we derail the thread further.

[Warrax]

1. Overlock that 2500k to 4.5ghz by buying a good CPU cooler, you don't need a new CPU if you can overclock that one, trust me.
2. That GPU definitely need an upgrade, GeForce 970/980 or 390/390x would do great.
3. 4GB of RAM is rather low, you could upgrade to 8GB.
4. Get an SSD for Windows/apps/most played games.

BTW higher end CPU-cooler are only good for top-end overclocks that require out-of-spec voltage to be stable, otherwise the Hyper212 is pretty good.

[Kagthul]

So 3x the price for a temp difference of 2 degrees idle and under load. As per the benchmarks. And more interestingly: The H100 is a little less than 2 degrees better at idle on the benchmark than the DR3, and close to 6 degrees better under load. So one is a large difference and the other isn't despite being a greater differential?

We have a difference in opinion clearly, so let's bury the hatchet before we derail the thread further.

The H100 is also loud as hell (unless you drop another ~50$ on replacement Noctua or beQuiet! Fans to replace he loud fans they use on the rad) as is the EVO, compared to that beQuiet cooler.

Sound is important to a lot of people. I suggest the EVO a lot as a basic cooler (and use the in the rigs we build for tournament/casual machines for tournaments and game rooms), but id never use one for my personal rig. They sound like jet engines under load. Give me a good Noctua, beQuiet!, or Zalman any day.