G3258 to upgrade later? Or not? (Long-Winded)

[Viper_FSJ]

It's been at least a half a dozen years or so since I've upgraded anything major in my system, and a currently incoming GTX 970 has set in motion the "what if" questions once again. Normally, I'd like to think that I can put together a pretty solid build plan, and away I go, but I've stared at way too many motherboard and CPU spec sheets already, and it's starting to feel like I'm working myself into circles. So, it's time to seek some help...

 

Current System:

FX-6100 @ 4.38GHz under a 212 EVO on top of an ASUS M5A97 with 16GB(4x4) of 1333MHz cheapo Kingston DDR3 powered by an Antec 650W power supply and finally stuffed inside an HAF 922.

 

Now, I tend to be long winded, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. My reasoning behind upgrading is threefold: I'm concerned my current rig will bottleneck my yet to arrive 970 in certain applications (maybe I'm wrong?), I'd like to future-proof within reason (I know, easier said than done), and finally, it's just time for something new.

 

System usage consists of day-to-day computing, web browsing, a small amount of CAD work, gaming, usually along the lines of GTA V, Fallout 4, Flight Simulators (FSX & X-Plane), and pretty much whatever else happens to subdue my ADHD at the time.

 

I'd like to upgrade gradually, but I'd also like to switch to an Intel based system, which makes the process slightly more difficult, especially considering the current state of the Canadian dollar, although it does seem to be improving daily. I don't necesarilly have a solid budget, but I would like to spread the purchases out as much as possible, and get a solid "bang for the buck" without sacrificing too many features.

 

Finally, onto the plan as it currently stands:

 

Short Term: Pick up a G3258, and Z97 based MoBo (I like the looks of MSI's Z97S Krait Edition), swap the cooler, RAM, and GTX 970 onto the Intel board and stick with my existing case and power supply. Ideally, I'd like to keep the MoBo budget below $200 CAD.  The lower, the better, but I have a short wishlist: M.2, 2-way SLI, USB 3.1, and ideally Black/White, Black/Blue, or Black/Black in color.  The USB 3.1 is more of a stretch goal, and I'm not above using an expansion card in the future if that makes more sense.

 

Mid Term: Upgrade to faster RAM, swap out the 212 for an AIO (H100 or the like). I might consider custom water cooling, but I'm struggling with the cost vs benefit at this point.

 

Long Term: Add a second 970, upgrade CPU, and add an M.2 SSD

 

My thought process being, start with the G3258 because it's a much lighter hit to the wallet right now, over the next 6-12 months, upgrade cooling solution, squeeze every Hz possible out of it, meanwhile saving for something more powerful, knowing that if I trash the G3258, it's not the end of the world financially.

 

To summarize, I guess what I'm asking is, am I on the right track with the Z97 chipset? With the G3258? Am I going to limit my upgrade options by going with an LGA 1150 socket now? Is this a decent plan, or should I just suck it up, save some cash, and upgrade everything all at once in the future?

 

Thanks in advance, any and all advice is much appreciated.

[WoodenMarker]

Bottlenecking is fine as long as you have enough performance for your needs. A G3258 is less versatile than your 6100 with 6 cores. 

Get your new graphics card first and make an actual upgrade with your cpu/motherboard when you need to. 

[Streetguru]

7 minutes ago, Viper_FSJ said:

 

You'd want to jump right to an i5 rather than downgrading your CPU, and running a dual core isn't really going to be advised.
 

The krait motherboards have poor reviews if I remember right, but go skylake man

 

Also you should return the 970 and get a 390 because it'll be faster overall and save you money on an adaptive sync display, and give you pretty decent performance gains in DX12. Wouldn't be worth running 2 GPUs, what's your display set up anyways? would be pointless to run that much GPU hardware for a single 1080p 60hz display.

 

 

faster RAM isn't going to make a difference, do a custom loop when you have a way higher end system. and a PCi-e SSD won't really be worth it.

[aisle9]

I used a Z97 Krait for a while. It's a weak overclocker and the BIOS is a mess. Solid reliable board otherwise.

 

Your FX chip is better than any G3258. I'd drop in the 970 and deal with the bottleneck until you can afford to at least get an i5-4690K or -6600K (if skylake becomes an option). Pentiums are toys and new-build placeholders, not gaming chips.

[Viper_FSJ]

21 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Bottlenecking is fine as long as you have enough performance for your needs. A G3258 is less versatile than your 6100 with 6 cores. 

Get your new graphics card first and make an actual upgrade with your cpu/motherboard when you need to. 

 

6 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I used a Z97 Krait for a while. It's a weak overclocker and the BIOS is a mess. Solid reliable board otherwise.

 

Your FX chip is better than any G3258. I'd drop in the 970 and deal with the bottleneck until you can afford to at least get an i5-4690K or -6600K (if skylake becomes an option). Pentiums are toys and new-build placeholders, not gaming chips.

Consensus seems to be all relatively the same.  My original thought was that the G3258 would be an inexpensive reason to switch things over, a "placeholder" as you put it, but I'm starting to see that I'm probably better off looking in a direction that's at minimum an upgrade from the 6100. Thanks for the quick replies, much appreciated.

[Viper_FSJ]

25 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

The krait motherboards have poor reviews if I remember right, but go skylake man

 

Also you should return the 970 and get a 390 because it'll be faster overall and save you money on an adaptive sync display, and give you pretty decent performance gains in DX12. Wouldn't be worth running 2 GPUs, what's your display set up anyways? would be pointless to run that much GPU hardware for a single 1080p 60hz display.

 

 

faster RAM isn't going to make a difference, do a custom loop when you have a way higher end system. and a PCi-e SSD won't really be worth it.

Haha, a little too late to return the 970 now, but I get what you're saying.  Single 1080p 60Hz for now, but that will change sooner than later. I definitely forgot to mention that in the OP.  All good points, thanks for the advice.  Skylake looks like the consensus.

[Herman Mcpootis]

Get the gtx 970 now, if you have the money an fx 8xxx used should be able to deal with the bottleneck.

[Streetguru]

34 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

Get the gtx 970 now, if you have the money an fx 8xxx used should be able to deal with the bottleneck.

Would be a waste of money to pay for those 2 extra cores

[Noyu]

Isn't GTAV limited to quad-cores?

 

so no, the G3258 is not a choice.

[Herman Mcpootis]

13 minutes ago, Noyu said:

Isn't GTAV limited to quad-cores?

 

so no, the G3258 is not a choice.

No, thats far cry 4, gta 5 can play on dual cores, just not very well.

[Noyu]

34 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

No, thats far cry 4, gta 5 can play on dual cores, just not very well.

ah. noted. but still doesn't help the G3258's case.

 

My take? Don't get the G3258. I have it, and initially planned to stay with it for 1-2 years. But after a few months, I already NEED to upgrade because of The Division. Also (in my case), pairing it with a AMD R9 380, I would get random stutters in some games (especially HotS oh god)