Upgrade or start fresh??

[Sutty279]

Hi Guys,

I’ve had my PC for around 3 years and when I first got it, it was a great mid-range machine. However with the new console generation and more demanding games it is struggling to play them. I am struggling to figure out whether I can upgrade it or whether I should just start from scratch.

My current setup is:

CPU:	AMD Athlon X4 750K OC at 4GHZ
RAM:	8GB DDR3
Graphics card:	Sapphire AMD Radeon R7 250 2GB
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2
Hard Drive:	1TB
Operating System:	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Case:	Unknown
PSU:	Unknown

The new system I am looking at, which costs around £900:

CPU:	Intel Core i5 6500
RAM:	8GB Crucial 3000mhz DDR4 (2x4GB)
Graphics card:	Asus Turboforce GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3
Hard Drive:	Samsung 250GB 750 Evo SSD
Second HDD:	2TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Operating System:	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Case:	Corsair Carbide Spec-01
PSU:	550W Corsair VS

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

-Luke

[WereCat]

I would say that start fresh. Maybe keep that HDD.

[The_Budget_Gamer]

Get a good GPU and top up on ram

[Sutty279]

1 minute ago, WereCat said:

I would say that start fresh. Maybe keep that HDD.

Alright thank you

Do you have any advice for building a machine which is more future proof?

[Yoobsterlol]

4 minutes ago, Sutty279 said:

Hi Guys,

 

I’ve had my PC for around 3 years and when I first got it, it was a great mid-range machine. However with the new console generation and more demanding games it is struggling to play them. I am struggling to figure out whether I can upgrade it or whether I should just start from scratch.

 

My current setup is:

 

CPU:	AMD Athlon X4 750K OC at 4GHZ
RAM:	8GB DDR3
Graphics card:	Sapphire AMD Radeon R7 250 2GB
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2
Hard Drive:	1TB
Operating System:	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Case:	Unknown
PSU:	Unknown

The new system I am looking at, which costs around £900:

 

CPU:	Intel Core i5 6500
RAM:	8GB Crucial 3000mhz DDR4 (2x4GB)
Graphics card:	Asus Turboforce GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3
Hard Drive:	Samsung 250GB 750 Evo SSD
Second HDD:	2TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Operating System:	Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Case:	Corsair Carbide Spec-01
PSU:	550W Corsair VS

 

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

-Luke

 

Fresh start, but scrap that 970, Pascal's out and you can get more performance

 

[Yoobsterlol]

1 minute ago, Yoobsterlol said:

Fresh start, but scrap that 970, Pascal's out and you can get more performance

 

Wait, you're not looking at a pre-built are you? If you are then just get that since you would probably be spending a lot more money for a 1070 pre-built, but if you are building it yourself I would definitely go with a 1070 vs the 970

 

[WereCat]

4 minutes ago, Sutty279 said:

Alright thank you

Do you have any advice for building a machine which is more future proof?

Definitely dont go for that PSU. VS series is prety bad.

 

Go with new CX (they have grey stickers .. the one with green stickers are terrible). Or go with EVGA B2, GS, G2.

And as was mentioned .. dont go with GTX 970, go with RX480 once it comes out or with GTX 1070 if you get enough money.

[roughavoc]

The RX480 comes out in 10 days, wait till then before making a GPU choice.

[Sutty279]

3 minutes ago, Yoobsterlol said:

Wait, you're not looking at a pre-built are you? If you are then just get that since you would probably be spending a lot more money for a 1070 pre-built, but if you are building it yourself I would definitely go with a 1070 vs the 970

 

I was looking at a site called DinoPC, they have pre-built PC's but you can customise and configure them. A friend has used them before and they are really good.

[Yoobsterlol]

1 minute ago, Sutty279 said:

I was looking at a site called DinoPC, they have pre-built PC's but you can customise and configure them. A friend has used them before and they are really good.

Building your own is always better, unless you happen to really like the aesthetics and/or don't have the experience to build your own. Hey, but this coming from a 13 year old so take everything I say with a grain of salt

 

[Sutty279]

2 minutes ago, Yoobsterlol said:

Building your own is always better, unless you happen to really like the aesthetics and/or don't have the experience to build your own. Hey, but this coming from a 13 year old so take everything I say with a grain of salt

 

I have some experience building but its just the effort really, these guys do it all for you and it only costs a small amount more than doing it yourself. Plus you get a 3 year warranty on labour. 

[Yoobsterlol]

2 minutes ago, Sutty279 said:

I have some experience building but its just the effort really, these guys do it all for you and it only costs a small amount more than doing it yourself. Plus you get a 3 year warranty on labour. 

If that's what you want then go for it, I am only 13 after all and what do I know? I haven't even built a pc before(though I have disassembled my laptop a few times before and did stuff with it and also know all the steps for pc building). If you think it's a good deal then you should get it, good luck to you. 

[Sutty279]

2 minutes ago, Yoobsterlol said:

If that's what you want then go for it, I am only 13 after all and what do I know? I haven't even built a pc before(though I have disassembled my laptop a few times before and did stuff with it and also know all the steps for pc building). If you think it's a good deal then you should get it, good luck to you. 

Cheers for the help

[Yoobsterlol]

1 minute ago, Sutty279 said:

Cheers for the help

No problem 

[Thony]

Go for Intel. AMD has a lot to prove. 

[Sir Asvald]

15 minutes ago, Thony said:

Go for Intel. AMD has a lot to prove. 

The AMD build is his current system..

[LabRat]

 I would buy a graphics card before i did anything.

 

find out what the power supply is.... should be a label on it somewhere.

[Brennan Price]

That CPU looks alright but if you wanted to you could upgrade to an 860K, top up on RAM and get something like an R7 370. Then maybe get an SSD instead of a Hard drive. That should keep you up to date. Good luck  

 

Oh, can't forget the PSU if it is something crap...

 

Edit: If you are to get the 860K then you may need to update the bios before hand. 

[Trik'Stari]

Start fresh. That CPU is oooold

[stconquest]

This leaves you 325 pounds for your GPU.  You are looking at three choices for a GPU right now (not used, new units):  The RX 480 launches on the 29th, the GTX 1070 and the GTX 1080.  Don't buy anything else.  A used GTX 980Ti could be an option.

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£166.96 @ More Computers)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£25.98 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£46.49 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  (£49.49 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£74.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case  (£50.38 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£70.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  (£71.90 @ More Computers)
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 2 61.2 CFM  140mm Fan  (£7.99 @ Novatech)  <<Front intake
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 2 61.2 CFM  140mm Fan  (£7.99 @ Novatech)  <<Front intake
Total: £573.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-19 17:44 BST+0100