1. #1

    Upgrade PC or New rig?

    So just as the topic states, I'm debating about either upgrading my current PC with new parts, or just buying a new rig.
    My budget for a new rig would be about $2000 CAD, but ofc upgrading would cost me much less, and I would def prefer less!

    Current rig has:


    Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
    System Model: Z68X-UD3H-B3
    Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.6GHz
    Memory: 8192MB RAM

    Card name: AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
    Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Chip type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x6719)
    DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)


    ---------------
    Things I am looking at are:

    i7 6 core,
    Liquid cooling
    Nvidia 980
    ---------------

    If I am just upgrading, I would also need a new sound device and wireless networking card (forgot to buy one with the original build, like thats important right? /face)


    Honestly the rig runs anything I need it for right now, but its old and I want something new that will last another 5+ years, possibly VR ready.

    Hopefully thats enough info there, thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    If you were to upgrade the CPU to Skylake you'd likely only see about a 15% increase in performance. You'd need a CPU/Motherboard/RAM for that upgrade, so quite a bit for just 10-15%.

    I would not upgrade GPU at this time. The next gen is coming out this year and it is supposed to be a large leap in performance.

    If it runs everything fine right now then leave it be. Upgrade your GPU later this year when the new ones come out.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Ashcroft View Post
    Hopefully thats enough info there, thanks in advance.
    You haven't even told us what you use your computer for.
    If all you do on it is play WoW there's hardly a point in upgrading. An i7 won't net you any performance whatsoever in that game.
    Upgrade your GPU when Pascal comes out later this year, the leap from a 6900 Series will be enormous.

  4. #4
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    17,222
    It's nice to have 'new stuff' but the 2500K with a decent overclock is still a bangin CPU. The slightly older i5-7xx or 6xx are about the range of upgrade time, but that 2500K can last you well into 2017 or 2018. I intend to have my 3570K, which is only one gen newer last me another good 3 years at least.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  5. #5
    I'd just upgrade the graphics card if you're lacking performance now. Pascal and Polaris GPUs will be out later in the year, but frankly, I'll be surprised to see more than 20% performance improvement, at a price that far exceeds that. If you're looking for 4K gaming it might be worth holding out, but your old card is unlikely to become obsolete overnight so you could still sell it and get a decent chunk of money back. 970 and R9 390 are supposedly better value than the 980 (and if your target is 1080p/60fps probably the best bet) but your money, your choice.

    CPUs haven't had a major leap since the 2500K. Skylake is nice, but it's definitely an incremental upgrade rather than something that will double your framerates (outside odd edge cases that are more to do with DDR4 than CPU power).

    If you have extra money to spend and don't have a solid state drive, they're nice too. 500GB EVO 850 can be had pretty cheap these days.

  6. #6
    I would not go for a 6-core CPU yet. You will still get better gaming performance on a 4-core processor. Paying alot extra for a 6 core processor to play wow is not needed as wow doesnt use 6-cores.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •