Best upgrade from a i3-2100 without going overkill

[Crakila]

Hey guys. 

 

I have had this build for about 2 and a half years now, and my next upgrade is probably going to be the CPU.

 

Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge

ASUS P8H61-M LX2 1155 Board

Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6670

128GB Samsung 830 SSD

1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD

2TB Toshiba/Hitachi DT01 HDD

 

My plan is to go with a 3570 (non-k since my board can't do OverClocking and wont be needing it)

 

I play games on it, but I don't max out all graphics. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

[cjeffcoatjr]

i5 3570, and a Radeon 7870. How much do you have to spend?

 

Didn't read the next upgrade part, indicating you will upgrade one item. Get a 7850 or a 650Ti Boost (2GB Flavor), and maybe more RAM depending on how much you have. Your CPU is fine. 

[KamiKatze]

A 3570 non-K would be your best option, as it doesn't require a new MoBo and you won't OC it.

 

Your GPU should be a bigger bottleneck though. A 270X or something along those lines would be a major improvement.

[cjeffcoatjr]

-deleted-

[Cacao]

It depends on how much you're willing to spend, but pretty much any i5 would give you quite a substantial performance boost. Also make sure to remember that you'll probably need to update your bios before you get the new CPU (if you want to get a 3570), so it will work with the ivy bridge architecture. If you need help doing that or have any other questions, please let us know!

 

-Intel Response Squad member

[Sarcasm]

Unless you're playing ARMA, you need a new GPU. Despite what people like @TheSLSAMG will tell you, i3s are perfectly fine for gaming with a good card.

[WoodenMarker]

What do you use your system for? Budget?

[DJ46]

I myself think 3570 is a stupid option. There is 3470 and models like that and they are way cheaper with the same performance. Since you have a discrete GPU, you may go for a 3350P which doesn't have an iGPU.

[Crakila]

A 3570 non-K would be your best option, as it doesn't require a new MoBo and you won't OC it.

 

Your GPU should be a bigger bottleneck though. A 270X or something along those lines would be a major improvement.

 

Funnily enough, I had thought of putting a 270X in here. I will consider that. Thanks

 

It depends on how much you're willing to spend, but pretty much any i5 would give you quite a substantial performance boost. Also make sure to remember that you'll probably need to update your bios before you get the new CPU (if you want to get a 3570), so it will work with the ivy bridge architecture. If you need help doing that or have any other questions, please let is know!

 

-Intel Response Squad member

 

Time/Money is not a big issue here...It's more, how long could I last without upgrading again.

 

Unless you're playing ARMA, you need a new GPU. Despite what people like @TheSLSAMG will tell you, i3s are perfectly fine for gaming with a good card.

 

No, I don't play ARMA. I play Final Fantasy XIV and CSGO...Maybe a bit of CoD: Ghosts here and there. As I said above to O15, I could look into getting a 270X or similar. Thank you.

 

What do you use your system for? Budget?

 

Other than gaming, I would use it for entertainment (Music, Videos etc) and I do some web development on it. I don't mind waiting and saving money...so budget is not a issue. Thank you

[Sarcasm]

I don't mind waiting and saving money...so budget is not a issue. Thank you

If you can't give a budget or very small timeframe to "save up", there's no point in planning a build.

[Meladath]

Funnily enough, I had thought of putting a 270X in here. I will consider that. Thanks

 

 

Time/Money is not a big issue here...It's more, how long could I last without upgrading again.

 

 

No, I don't play ARMA. I play Final Fantasy XIV and CSGO...Maybe a bit of CoD: Ghosts here and there. As I said above to O15, I could look into getting a 270X or similar. Thank you.

 

 

Other than gaming, I would use it for entertainment (Music, Videos etc) and I do some web development on it. I don't mind waiting and saving money...so budget is not a issue. Thank you

 

If you don't wish to buy a new motherboard:

A 3470. It is cheaper than 3570 for almost same performance, if you don't plan on overclocking then a 3570K is pointless

A 270. Yes, not a 270X since you can just OC a 270 to the same clocks as the X and it works fine saving you some cash, watch linus' video on it.

OR a 280X

 

For the GPU it depends how much power you want

I believe these would be the best value for money parts you could buy.

[KamiKatze]

snip

 

 

If i was you I'd first grab a graphics card around the 270X price spectrum with as many bundled games as you can get. Then see if you need a new CPU but i think not, i mean it's just a dual core but it's reasonably clocked.

[Crakila]

If you can't give a budget or very small timeframe to "save up", there's no point in planning a build.

 

What I meant was, I am not going to be purchasing parts today, it probably will be after Christmas, but as time goes on, I am (obviously) getting more money but I don't want to go all out on a completely new build because I don't need a super-mega-elite build (if you know what I mean)

 

If you don't wish to buy a new motherboard:

A 3470. It is cheaper than 3570 for almost same performance, if you don't plan on overclocking then a 3570K is pointless

A 270. Yes, not a 270X since you can just OC a 270 to the same clocks as the X and it works fine saving you some cash, watch linus' video on it.

OR a 280X

 

For the GPU it depends how much power you want

I believe these would be the best value for money parts you could buy.

 

Defiantly some good points here. 3470 and 270 seems like a great combo for this. Thanks

 

If i was you I'd first grab a graphics card around the 270X price spectrum with as many bundled games as you can get. Then see if you need a new CPU but i think not, i mean it's just a dual core but it's reasonably clocked.

I think I might go down this path. Get new Video Card and then a CPU if needed.

--

Great help from everyone. Thank you very much.

[Sarcasm]

 

What I meant was, I am not going to be purchasing parts today, it probably will be after Christmas, but as time goes on, I am (obviously) getting more money but I don't want to go all out on a completely new build because I don't need a super-mega-elite build (if you know what I mean)

Then any build that you plan right now is almost always invalid, unless you have insider information to deals that we don't know about.

[bamerx98]

Grab a 3570k or non-k, and grab a R9 270 non-X because the 270x is a slightly higher clocked card but not worth the extra money, that should be a good upgrade 

[TheSLSAMG]

Unless you're playing ARMA, you need a new GPU. Despite what people like @TheSLSAMG will tell you, i3s are perfectly fine for gaming with a good card.

Well, I mean Clarkdale i3s. They're aincent. Modern i3s are fine, in fact I am going to build a Steambox with an i3 4130.

[-rascal-]

I'd upgrade both the CPU and GPU (maybe motherboard too)...BUT...

 

I'm 99.999999% sure the graphics card is holding you back in games right now. The HD 6670 was never meant for higher-end "gaming." It was designed to be a mainstream "all-arounder" graphics card. Affordable and low power draw card.

 

Grab a new graphics card first. See what is the difference in performance. If you are still not satisfied, then get a new processor (and motherboard).

 

You can always transfer your graphics card into a new system -even if you decide to go for a different socket CPU down the road

(i.e. you decide to for LGA 1150 Haswell instead of LGA 1155 Ivy-Bridge).

[Crakila]

Thanks everyone for your help. I will now look to get a new Graphics Card which is probably going to be a R9 270!

[voaz]

An Intel i5 4670k is a beast of a processor, and also partially future proof

[WoodenMarker]

What I meant was, I am not going to be purchasing parts today, it probably will be after Christmas, but as time goes on, I am (obviously) getting more money but I don't want to go all out on a completely new build because I don't need a super-mega-elite build (if you know what I mean)

 

Defiantly some good points here. 3470 and 270 seems like a great combo for this. Thanks

Christmas is a while from now. Parts and prices change frequently, Plan later--2-3 days before you buy at most.

 

You should probably spend less money on the cpu and more on the gpu for better performance.

Btw, if you don't tell us your budget, we'll have little idea of what you can actually get and some might start suggesting some very ridiculous builds.