Upgrade advice

[genericusername]

So, I have been wanting to upgrade my PC for some time, especially since its aging (2-1/2 years for most components!). My current rig is a FX 8350 with a stock cooler hooked up to a mediocre Gigabyte 970a-DS3P mobo that doesn't really support overclocking, a 2GB MSI Overclocked GTX 960, a single stick of G-Skill Aegis 8GB DDR3 ram (also mediocre, but not really an issue), a standard 1TB hard drive (no SSD) and a really mediocre CoolerMax 700b PSU. There are several reasons I want to upgrade soon. Firstly, my motherboard mysteriously shorted out the other day at the same time the power socket to my room stopped working, which I had to get fixed ASAP so I could finish my college essay. The socket to my room  worked after I went and flipped the breakers to my room, and I got my PC fixed, but I still don't know what caused it. So, I kinda want to replace my mediocre PSU and mobo with something super reliable and of good efficiency and quality so that this won't happen again (CPU and GPU take a backseat to these two). The second reason I want to upgrade is Black Friday is coming up, and a college student like my wants to save whatever money he can.

 

My other problem is that I want to "future-proof" my whole rig, so I am conflicted between just getting a new AMD mobo and using my old 8350 and spending the extra money on an Intel Mobo and CPU (like an i5 6500), since the 8350 isn't the most powerful CPU and nobody really knows anything about the new Zen CPUs yet, which will probably be too expensive for me anyway.

 

As for budget, I don't really want to spend more than $250 USD on the Mobo and PSU combined, although I can fork over some more money for a new Intel CPU if I need to (although i can hopefully save some $$$ on black Friday/Cyber Monday).

 

Also, I don't use this rig for anything more than school work and gaming, and I don't do video processing or photoshop or anything. I typically play games like Battefield, Total war, GTA, Fallout, Rainbow Six, etc. at 1080p.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[MANIDY inc]

just so i get this right is $250 all you can spend on this upgrade?

[Xreldo]

Better GPU like 1060

[rn8686]

Go for a 470 and try to save for a new PSU, that one isnt reliable (Like many CM PSUs). 

[genericusername]

7 hours ago, MANIDY inc said:

just so i get this right is $250 all you can spend on this upgrade?

I don't want to spend more than $250 between the motherboard and PSU. I can spend some more on an intel CPU if I decide that is a better idea

[Castdeath97]

 

18 hours ago, genericusername said:

I don't want to spend more than $250 between the motherboard and PSU. I can spend some more on an intel CPU if I decide that is a better idea

Well you can:

1) Get a skylake CPU, motherboard, DDR4 RAM and a new PSU (the CXM is a good choice). This is the most expensive, but the best performance of all.

2) Get a haswell CPU, motherboard, use the RAM you have and get a new PSU. This is a bit less expensive, but performs a bit less.

3) Stick with your CPU by only getting a new board (something decent, 990FX) and a new PSU. This is the cheapest option, but by the time you get a new GPU like a 1070 or 1060, the FX 8350 will hold you back.

 

It's up to you really, if you need partlists just ask me.

 

[genericusername]

15 hours ago, Castdeath97 said:

 

Well you can:

1) Get a skylake CPU, motherboard, DDR4 RAM and a new PSU (the CXM is a good choice). This is the most expensive, but the best performance of all.

2) Get a haswell CPU, motherboard, use the RAM you have and get a new PSU. This is a bit less expensive, but performs a bit less.

3) Stick with your CPU by only getting a new board (something decent, 990FX) and a new PSU. This is the cheapest option, but by the time you get a new GPU like a 1070 or 1060, the FX 8350 will hold you back.

 

It's up to you really, if you need partlists just ask me.

 

I will take a look around come Cyber Monday/Black Friday. If I can find a good deal on an i5 6500 or something like that with a decent motherboard, I will probably go for it. I already ordered a new CPU fan and PSU, so at least I have that taken care of for the time being.

Also, what kind of motherboard would you pair with something like an i5 6500? And is there anything specific I need to know about RAM?

[Castdeath97]

7 hours ago, genericusername said:

I will take a look around come Cyber Monday/Black Friday. If I can find a good deal on an i5 6500 or something like that with a decent motherboard, I will probably go for it. I already ordered a new CPU fan and PSU, so at least I have that taken care of for the time being.

Also, what kind of motherboard would you pair with something like an i5 6500? And is there anything specific I need to know about RAM?

RAM needs to be DDR4 and for the motherboard a decent B150 board with 4 RAM slots will do good.