Upgrade Advice

[Jake3231]

I am looking to keep my PC modern, and I'd appreciate any advice on how to further update my build.  It is an extremely budget oriented PC, and I'd like to stick to parts that are a good value.  I usually use this PC for playing games like GTA V and Garry's Mod.  My current specs are as follows;

 

ASRock H97M Pro4 Motherboard

Intel Core i3 4160

1TB WD HDD @ 7200 RPM

8GB DDR3 Memory

EVGA GTX 750 Ti Superclocked

Corsair CX650M PSU

 

I've considered getting an SSD, but I just feel that the hard drive that I'm using does most things well, and it isn't something I need now.  The case is a fairly sketchy Cooler Master case whose included power supply died after a year and a half.  I may upgrade to the Corsair Carbide 330R. I have also considered the EVGA GTX 1060 FTW, whose lifetime may justify it's cost. Assuming that I have about $150 to spend on upgrades, what's the best thing I could do to keep this PC running well for a long time? Thenks in advance!

 

 

[themctipers]

ssd first, trust me everything will feel much snappier.

after that, go for rx 480

after, find a used i5/i7 thats lga 1150 (don't get a k sku if you dont have z87/97)

[Jake3231]

Just now, themctipers said:

ssd first, trust me everything will feel much snappier.

after that, go for rx 480

after, find a used i5/i7 thats lga 1150 (don't get a k sku if you dont have z87/97)

Thanks!  What if I got a 240-500 GB SSD to store frequently used stuff on, and everything else on the hard drive? Do you think it's worth it to go all out on an 8th generation i5, compatible Z series motherboard, and RAM?

[dizmo]

An SSD would just make the system feel a whole lot nicer. More fluid, significantly faster in every day tasks.

I'd consider the RX 570 for the GPU. They're cheaper and damn near as fast as the RX 480 in a lot of titles.

Then find a used Xeon. They should be cheaper than an i5.

 

Since you're limited cash wise, I'd say GPU first. It'll be the most noticeable if gaming is your main use.

[themctipers]

Just now, Jake3231 said:

Thanks!  What if I got a 240-500 GB SSD to store frequently used stuff on, and everything else on the hard drive? Do you think it's worth it to go all out on an 8th generation i5, compatible Z series motherboard, and RAM?

i would personally go zen, especially if you play gta v much

thing is, you have a 750ti which is pretty weak by todays standards. focus on upgrading ssd, then gpu, then ram, then cpu

you can squeeze gta v + gmod on a 240gb ssd (i have that, and csgo installed on my ssd)

everything else should go on HDD
 

 

[Jake3231]

Just now, dizmo said:

An SSD would just make the system feel a whole lot nicer. More fluid, significantly faster in every day tasks.

I'd consider the RX 570 for the GPU. They're cheaper and damn near as fast as the RX 480 in a lot of titles.

Then find a used Xeon. They should be cheaper than an i5.

 

Since you're limited cash wise, I'd say GPU first. It'll be the most noticeable if gaming is your main use.

Thanks. I do mainly use it for gaming, but I would like for the PC to be generally snappy, powerful, and optimized in the years to come.  Are the AMD 5 series GPUs a better value than a nice 1060?  Is a Xeon good for general computing and moderate gaming? Or at least as good as the i5?

[Jake3231]

2 minutes ago, themctipers said:

i would personally go zen, especially if you play gta v much

thing is, you have a 750ti which is pretty weak by todays standards. focus on upgrading ssd, then gpu, then ram, then cpu

you can squeeze gta v + gmod on a 240gb ssd (i have that, and csgo installed on my ssd)

everything else should go on HDD
 

 

That's good to know!  To be fair the 750 Ti does what I need it to pretty well.  I'm not in an immediate need for an upgrade, I would just like to plan a good upgrade path.  As for RAM, doesn't that require a newer motherboard, at least if I want any new DDR4 module?

[themctipers]

Just now, Jake3231 said:

That's good to know!  To be fair the 750 Ti does what I need it to pretty well.  I'm not in an immediate need for an upgrade, I would just like to plan a good upgrade path.  As for RAM, doesn't that require a newer motherboard, at least if I want any new DDR4 module?

yes, but buying a new motherboard requires a new cpu (your i3 isn't compatible with any existing 100/200 series motherboards) 

as long as you're not getting 1333mhz ram, it should be ok (DDR3!)

[dizmo]

2 minutes ago, Jake3231 said:

Thanks. I do mainly use it for gaming, but I would like for the PC to be generally snappy, powerful, and optimized in the years to come.  Are the AMD 5 series GPUs a better value than a nice 1060?  Is a Xeon good for general computing and moderate gaming? Or at least as good as the i5?

The Xeon is better than the i5, it's basically a locked i7, generally without the iGPU.

I'd grab a cheap SSD. You can get 512GB ones easily on eBay for about $100 new.

I think you'd get more out of an AMD GPU. They're about $60 - $70 less than a 1060. So you could essentially upgrade the video card and SSD for the same price as just the 1060, and get a better overall experience.

[Jake3231]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

The Xeon is better than the i5, it's basically a locked i7, generally without the iGPU.

I'd grab a cheap SSD. You can get 512GB ones easily on eBay for about $100 new.

I think you'd get more out of an AMD GPU. They're about $60 - $70 less than a 1060. So you could essentially upgrade the video card and SSD for the same price as just the 1060, and get a better overall experience.

For the SSD, would a new Crucial MX300 525GB for $110 be a good deal?

[dizmo]

26 minutes ago, Jake3231 said:

For the SSD, would a new Crucial MX300 525GB for $110 be a good deal?

Yeah that's what I'd go for. That or an SU800. I think you get a little more out of the Crucial though. 512GB vs 525GB.

[Jake3231]

30 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Yeah that's what I'd go for. That or an SU800. I think you get a little more out of the Crucial though. 512GB vs 525GB.

Thanks!  My only question after that is backup.  I think I'll get the MX300, but what if I have a few hundred GB out of the 1TB that I want to keep? I have a 4TB USB 3 backup hard drive.  Would it take long to copy about 130GB of data over a USB 3.0 connection?

[Jake3231]

I just ordered a Crucial MX300 525GB for about $20 more than I would've liked to pay.  The other deal that was there was just too good to last for long!  After a clean install of Windows onto the SSD, is there any soft of optimization I can make to help everything run well?

[dizmo]

3 hours ago, Jake3231 said:

Thanks!  My only question after that is backup.  I think I'll get the MX300, but what if I have a few hundred GB out of the 1TB that I want to keep? I have a 4TB USB 3 backup hard drive.  Would it take long to copy about 130GB of data over a USB 3.0 connection?

Nah, not long at all. Maybe half an hour? But really if it's stuff you want to keep why does it matter how long it takes to transfer?

2 hours ago, Jake3231 said:

Also, that really good deal that I mentioned was already taken before I could act on it!  Does anyone know of a quality drive that can be found for a good price?

I'd still go with the MX300. If you check Jet, you can get 15% off your first three items. So it works out to about $125 I think?