Upgrading PC

[ZachBlank]

Budget (including currency): %500 USD

Country: NC

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Looking to play new performance games with high frames

Other details 

• MOBO: Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero/Whetstone
• RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V series 16GB
• Processor: Intel i7-6700k, water cooled
• GPU: MSI GTX 1060 6GB
• Storage: M.2, HDD, & SSD
• Monitor: Acer XF240H 24" 1920x1080p 144hz

Keep in mind that this build is over 5 years old and looking to upgrade.

[RONOTHAN##]

What you probably should upgrade is the GPU, but getting a GPU for ~$500 USD is next to impossible in this market. You can try for a 3060 or a 6600(XT), but I wouldn't hold your breath on getting one. 

[ebprince the computer nerd]

18 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

What you probably should upgrade is the GPU, but getting a GPU for ~$500 USD is next to impossible in this market. You can try for a 3060 or a 6600(XT), but I wouldn't hold your breath on getting one. 

i would say to flip the gpu for $150/200 and then buy a gpu with the $650-700 you have now

[Forleb]

16 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

What you probably should upgrade is the GPU, but getting a GPU for ~$500 USD is next to impossible in this market. You can try for a 3060 or a 6600(XT), but I wouldn't hold your breath on getting one. 

A 1660 Super for $500 is very doable, and while it isn't a stellar upgrade it definitely beats a 1060.

 

@ZachBlankIf you live close enough to a Micro Center you're willing to drive to, 3060s can be found for $500. If that isn't the case, I'd suggest waiting for a bit longer, as it looks like stock is trying to catch up finally in places that aren't scalping everything to the bone.

[Forleb]

2 minutes ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

i would say to flip the gpu for $150/200 and then buy a gpu with the $650-700 you have now

At this stage you could land a 6600 XT or maybe a 3060 Ti depending on the Micro Center situation @ZachBlank

[OfficialTechSpace]

Love how everyone is talking about the availabity of graphics cards and failing to mention that with a 6700K a CPU upgrade would yield an equally large difference anyways 

 

12600K > 6700K

+67% x265 encoding

+61% x264 encoding

+200% 7-Zip compression

+20%-95% 1080p gaming performance (varying by title)

 

[https://youtu.be/tMX4tLK5m9Y]

[Jonathan Lee]

You are pretty much at upgrade everything point. If you upgrade CPU, GPU will be holding you back quite a bit. If you upgrade GPU, CPU will hold it back for newer games.

 

I would recommend upgrading CPU/motherboard first, then keep an eye for a good GPU deal.

 

Here's some combos to consider:

 

Intel:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($299.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $519.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-22 16:01 EST-0500

 

AMD:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($338.78 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $488.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-22 16:02 EST-0500

 

You can use your existing ram still