$500 to upgrade current build

[darthswag]

My current pc is a glorified Dell XPS (Studio XPS 8100 I think). I'm getting into some 3D modeling and graphic design (3DS Max & Adobe Illustrator) but I also want to play modern titles and triple a games with high settings on at 1080p.

I have $500 to spend on this build, where should I start/what should I upgrade first? I live in the US. 

 

current specs:

Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.20GHz

5.00GB  DDR3 RAM

2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (PNY)

223GB SanDisk SDSSDA240G (SSD)

931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-60WN4A0 (SATA)

931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162 (SATA)

my main monitor's resolution is 1920x1080, my secondary's is 1680x1050

 

It would also be nice to get a new case and monitor but if not that's a deal breaker, I understand I have a small budget. No OS/peripherals are needed. 

Thank you.

[DarkBlade2117]

What PSU do you have?

Should have no problem getting a Xeon 1231v3 w/ a H97 and 16GBs of RAM + a RX 480.

[Liquid Cooled Human]

CPU for sure. if you can get it then the i7 6700k but if you can wait then the 7700k, since it's coming out. Obviously you'll need to upgrade you mobo and ram too

[RGProductions]

4 minutes ago, darthswag said:

My current pc is a glorified Dell XPS (Studio XPS 8100 I think). I'm getting into some 3D modeling and graphic design (3DS Max & Adobe Illustrator) but I also want to play modern titles and triple a games with high settings on at 1080p.

I have $500 to spend on this build, where should I start/what should I upgrade first? I live in the US. 

 

current specs:

Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.20GHz

5.00GB  DDR3 RAM

2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (PNY)

223GB SanDisk SDSSDA240G (SSD)

931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-60WN4A0 (SATA)

931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162 (SATA)

my main monitor's resolution is 1920x1080, my secondary's is 1680x1050

 

It would also be nice to get a new case and monitor but if not that's a deal breaker, I understand I have a small budget. No OS/peripherals are needed. 

Thank you.

I would sell all of that, and use the profits to build a used x79 rig.

 

[darthswag]

3 hours ago, DarkBlade2117 said:

What PSU do you have?

Should have no problem getting a Xeon 1231v3 w/ a H97 and 16GBs of RAM + a RX 480.

I have a 500w EVGA powersupply...I don't know the exact name of it.

[DarkBlade2117]

3 hours ago, darthswag said:

I have a 500w EVGA powersupply...I don't know the exact name of it.

99% sure it is the 500w EVGA B1, decent PSU and since you can't OC the Xeon and the RX 480 you'll probably overclock to a minimum, it should be fine.

Thought it could be the 500W W1 which is meh, in that case you can find decent $50 PSUs which should stay in the $500 budget, I believe EVGA has the 750W B2 refurbed for $50, blah blah refurbed, it comes straight from EVGA w/ a 1 year warranty, it'll be better than the W1.

 

[lh99]

4 minutes ago, Liquid Cooled Human said:

CPU for sure. if you can get it then the i7 6700k but if you can wait then the 7700k, since it's coming out. Obviously you'll need to upgrade you mobo and ram too

wouldn´t wait for 7700k after the long delivery bottleneck last year, where st the price of a 6700k rised over the 5820k, it was first at christmas broadly available

 

[DarkBlade2117]

3 hours ago, Liquid Cooled Human said:

CPU for sure. if you can get it then the i7 6700k but if you can wait then the 7700k, since it's coming out. Obviously you'll need to upgrade you mobo and ram too

Good luck finding one for the MSRP and in stock for the first 2 months.

He has a 750Ti and he wants to play modern games at 1080p, if you want a decent experience the 750Ti will subdue at 30-45FPS at medium settings in some games but he can easily find an H97 board, 16GBs of RAM and a Xeon 1231v3 with a RX 480 to stay in his profit margin + a new PSU and maybe a NZXT S340.

EDIT - Rip I thought 1231v3's were cheaper then $240. Would be pushing it for one + RX480 and a H97 board and 16GBs

Actually, he'd probably have to go used on these parts to get within the budget

[007agentHP]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($177.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($54.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $287.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-18 15:55 EDT-0400

grab a rx 480 when they are in stock

[Cracklingice]

Do you already have an unused windows or a retail copy?  The one you're using on your current computer is locked to that motherboard if it came with the computer as it is an OEM license.

 

Anyway, here's a potential idea for you.  Definitely recommend waiting on the 1060 if possible as it will only further drop the price of 9's / outperform the 960.  This is more of a complete evolution than upgrade a part here and there.  It would allow you to sell your old computer almost entirely whole (definitely whole if you get a cheaper hard drive to put the factory disk image on).  No, it's not a great case, but it seems to have decent enough air flow and front panel USB.  The i3 will hold you back a little bit, but so does your budget and perhaps when Kabylake drops, you can find an i5 6500 or maybe even an i7 used cheaply enough to make it worth upgrading.

 

slightly over budget to get 4gb of video ram

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/qdw4qk

 

on budget but only 2gb of video ram

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/dgHmqk

[Quaker]

2 hours ago, darthswag said:

 I'm getting into some 3D modeling and graphic design (3DS Max & Adobe Illustrator)

Since you want to get into 3D modelling, etc, a Skylake i7 plus motherboard and DDR4 RAM would be the place to start. If you don't plan to overclock you can get the i7-6700 and a basic H110, B150, or H170 mobo and basic DDR4-2133 or 2400. That would probably eat up most of the $500.

 

Or, you could get an i5-6500 or 6600 plus motherboard and RAM and perhaps have some left over.