Upgrade advice for my aging core i5 2500k build

[balanceballs]

Hi

 

Can I have some advice on upgrading please? I have a budget of about £600 and live in the UK. This is my current spec:

 

Intel I5 2500k @ 4ghz

ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Gen 3

8GB DDR3 (G.Skill Ripjawz) RAM

Corsair T750W PSU

Sapphire Nitro RX480 (8GB)

Various HDDs and SSDs

ASuS Xonar DG Sound card

NZXT S340 case

 

Monitor: I will be using a 1080p,144hz (BenQ XL2411) monitor for now but possibly upgrading to 1440p at some point.

 

The PC will mostly be used for playing games like:

• BF1
• Assassins Creed Origins
• Far Cry 5
• FIFA
• GTAV (Single player)
• Forza 7 & Horizon 3
• F1 2018
• Dirt Rally

 

In the future:

• BFV
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Forza Horizon 4
• Assassins Creed Odyssey

 

I am upgrading as my current spec is starting to show its age and struggle, particularly in newer games like Far Cry and Assassins Creed Odyssey. BF1 is just about playable.

 

I think I would prefer to stick with Intel for my CPU and was considering something like a core i5-8600K 3.6GHz, some DDR4 and a Z370 Motherboard of some description. I can upgrade the GPU later on I guess - I think this is the best bang for my buck but let me know if I am wrong!

 

Key points for me are:

 

1. No peripherals are required.
2. Is my PSU up to the job?
3. Which (air) cooler would be recommended for the newer Intel CPUs? I've got a Hyper 212 EVO at the moment
4. Does RAM speed matter much? I can get it much cheaper if it's got a slower clock speed (like 2400mhz vs 3000mhz or whatever)
5. If I'm upgrading GPU, will I create a bottleneck or will it be overkill at 1080p? I would definitely like to go 1440p+ at some point but that's not for a while.
6. Do newer motherboards have decent onboard sound? I had to buy a sound card with this one due to interference but it does take up a slot that I could use for a better network card instead. My current onboard network card drops out a lot for no reason.
7. How long do I hold out for the new intel chips in hope of a price drop? Mid October? I know it's hard to predict.

Sorry for the wall of text but I wanted to give you enough information! Thanks for looking

 

[Derrk]

most motherboards have onboard soundcard.

750w psu will still be plenty

if you go with intel, ram speed won't matter as much. with ryzen, ram speed impacts performance much more. 

Not sure when intel prices will drop/not sure about air coolers either. People are going to say noctua though,,, so i guess noctua.

 

I'd recommend wait/saving up to get an 8700k. that plus a mobo right now is slightly above $500 with a good bundle. Adding ram will add another ~75-200 depending on whether you want an 8 or 16gb kit. If you get an 8700k, you won't really have to worry about bottlenecks when upgrading gpu.

 

games like assassins creed really love extra cores. I think far cry 5 does as well. 6 cores hyperthread >>> 4 cores single thread.

 

 

My own upgrade was to ryzen 2700x, which i think is slightly cheaper than an 8700k upgrade, except i spent a pretty penny on fast ram. 8700k will perform better in games, especially at 1080p. If you go up to 1440 or 4k, there will be much less of frame difference in games

 

 

EDIT: welcome to the forum!

[Jenshiye]

Honestly, that looks fine to me. Only if you have spare slots, would I upgrade that to 16GB RAM with a matching module.
1920x1080 is the most compatible display resolution at the moment for the majority of games and will probably give you the best FPS results.

If you absolutely feel you must upgrade your machine, then RAM + graphics card will probably give you the best results:

https://www.ebuyer.com/820106
(Example since you haven't specified your current MHz) - https://www.ebuyer.com/389197

Since the Vega 64 draws about 275W, then your power supply should be sufficient and is probably overkill for your machine now.

 

(Then your next saving stint could be toward a VR kit if you want to go that way).

P.S. Generally, clock speed is still more important for gaming than core/thread count within reason, e.g. Quad core 4.2GHz > Octo core 3.1GHz

[Firewrath9]

7 minutes ago, Jenshiye said:

P.S. Generally, clock speed is still more important for gaming than core/thread count within reason, e.g. Quad core 4.2GHz > Octo core 3.1GHz

there are slow quad cores with high freq, its IPC * Clockspeed. For example, both ryzen and intel have similar boost speeds (4.2 GHZ), but intel beats amd in games.

 

OP:

PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lhn8f8
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lhn8f8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  (£225.18 @ PC World Business) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (£39.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£142.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £544.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-18 21:53 BST+0100

sell your old cpu, ram etc. then save up until you can get a better GPU.

[Jenshiye]

17 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

 but Intel beats AMD in games.

As long as cost is not a factor. mid-range, I think you can get more bang for your buck with AMD, however, no point in the OP changing motherboard, that would void the value of going with AMD.

[balanceballs]

1 hour ago, Firewrath9 said:

there are slow quad cores with high freq, its IPC * Clockspeed. For example, both ryzen and intel have similar boost speeds (4.2 GHZ), but intel beats amd in games.

 

OP:

PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lhn8f8
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lhn8f8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  (£225.18 @ PC World Business) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (£39.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£142.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £544.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-18 21:53 BST+0100

sell your old cpu, ram etc. then save up until you can get a better GPU.

That's interesting, when I did my own PC Part picker I ended up with nearly identical parts. Except I had an ASUS Motherboard!

[balanceballs]

2 hours ago, Jenshiye said:

Honestly, that looks fine to me. Only if you have spare slots, would I upgrade that to 16GB RAM with a matching module.
1920x1080 is the most compatible display resolution at the moment for the majority of games and will probably give you the best FPS results.

If you absolutely feel you must upgrade your machine, then RAM + graphics card will probably give you the best results:

https://www.ebuyer.com/820106
(Example since you haven't specified your current MHz) - https://www.ebuyer.com/389197

Since the Vega 64 draws about 275W, then your power supply should be sufficient and is probably overkill for your machine now.

 

(Then your next saving stint could be toward a VR kit if you want to go that way).

P.S. Generally, clock speed is still more important for gaming than core/thread count within reason, e.g. Quad core 4.2GHz > Octo core 3.1GHz

My current spec looks fine or my upgrade plans look fine? My current RAM is 1600mhz btw. I can't see my i5 lasting much longer really!

 

I've given AMD graphics cards a fair shot but I still want to go back to NVIDIA at some point as they have better image quality and I just find the whole experience better. Therefore, I won't be investing in another AMD card at any point.

 

I definitely want 16gb of ram. I (occasionally) run a few VMs to test stuff and always run out of RAM. Plus some games are definitely pushing it in terms of their RAM usage.

[Krosis]

If you do consider an AMD CPU, it would look something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor  (£280.19 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£99.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC)
Total: £516.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 00:12 BST+0100

 

An Intel build at your budget would look something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£303.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U9S 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler  (£52.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£99.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC)
Total: £593.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 00:16 BST+0100

[Jenshiye]

https://www.ebuyer.com/gaming/pc-builder

[balanceballs]

7 hours ago, Krosis said:

If you do consider an AMD CPU, it would look something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor  (£280.19 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£99.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC)
Total: £516.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 00:12 BST+0100

 

An Intel build at your budget would look something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£303.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U9S 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler  (£52.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£99.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£136.79 @ Aria PC)
Total: £593.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 00:16 BST+0100

Thanks, that looks pretty good. I think the i7 would last longer than the i5