# Upgrading computer, what do?



## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

Hi all,

I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on what to replace/upgrade in my current rig. I'm a gamer at heart so that's what it'll be for mostly.

specs:
MSI P55M-GD41 mobo
Intel Core i5-750
AMD Radeon HD6850
Kingston Valueram 4GB DDR3 1066
320GB HDD +160GB HDD
Sharkoon Rush Power 600W

Ram is something I'm definitely going to upgrade to at least 8GB, but I'm not so sure if I should get a new GPU or CPU (and mobo then probably too). All parts are 6 years old, except for the GPU, which is about 4 years old iirc.

Any input is welcome, thanks all


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

I would recommend a CPU, MOBO, RAM, PSU, and possibly a GPU upgrade.

How much are you looking to spend?


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

So basically upgrade everything huh lol. Well the problem is I don't have that much money to spend, my budget is around 250 euros (around 280$). So I kinda have to choose between upgrading my GPU or my CPU/mobo, and from what I've seen the CPU won't be a huge upgrade cause of my budget


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Best you could do if you shop around for the best price is this:

MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I54460 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600 - Newegg.com

Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00 - Newegg.com

Comes out to be $302

That would be a good start until the next round of upgrades.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Except that is a very small upgrade. Better to keep your current motherboard and proc. Boost your memory to the maximum your board supports and spend the rest on graphics.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks to both for the info! I'm not 100% sure yet, but I do think I'll go for the new GPU and RAM, and maybe a SSD if it fits my budget.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

The reason for the CPU/Motherboard upgrade path that I recommended as it gets most of your hardware on a newer platform. You could think about a GTX 750 Ti or something along those lines for a fair price; this is a slight performance boost over what you have now. Or even look at a second $250 budget in a few months and look on eBay for a GTX 960.

With your current PSU, I wouldn't want to recommend a GPU upgrade as a PSU upgrade should follow.

SSDs are nice for speed and functionality, but certainly not required and it doesn't improve any performance on online gaming.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

Hmm I get your point...if I do go down that path, the i5-4460 looks really good. But I was wondering if I can get it to work money-wise, is it worth it going for like the i5-6500? It doesn't seem that much more expensive, and it's a newer gen right? I'm just not sure if it's the better choice and if its better performance for gaming


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

That's another thing to remember, the CPU/Mobo upgrade will be better for daily tasks like browsing the web. Things will be faster in performance and you could look at a Windows 10 upgrade.

The i5-6500 is _better_, yes. However, those parts are more expensive.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

True, if I compare the benchmarks too I have to say I'm impressed. The i5-6500 is only 20 bucks extra for me so I'd say that's totally worth it. And being able to go for DDR4 memory only seems better too as it's not that much more expensive than DDR3 either.

I was looking at motherboards, which are in turn of course also a bit more expensive. I thought about maybe going for a micro ATX board to save some money, can you maybe take a look at this one and tell me if it's a good idea?

https://www.alternate.nl/GIGABYTE/G...moederbord/html/product/1228994?tk=7&lk=17219

(Sorry it's a Dutch link, but I'm guessing it's not a problem)

I thought if I go for 1x 8GB, and maybe upgrade it to 16GB later, only having 2 ram slots shouldn't be a huge issue. And the ATX boards are about 35 bucks more expensive


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

You could do the Skylake CPUs, but I'd rather see the additional money to go for a GPU.

What I posted plus a 550W XFX or SeaSonic PSU and a GTX 960 would leave you golden.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

It's really not that much more...but okay, thanks for the info.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

It's all up to you, I'm just trying to spend your money the most efficient way.

The i5-6500 is a good CPU to grab. As for the motherboard, it will do just fine. Unless you need the extra PCI slots, the smaller form factor will suffice.

I'm not a big fan of running one 8GB stick of memory, but if you have plans on upgrading that too, it will do.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

I get that, I hope I didn't sounds disrespectful there cause I honestly really appreciate the help  I might just go for 2x 4GB sticks, I feel like 16gig is a bit overkill for me, and I agree on running not just one stick. 

Here's the ram just in case.
(https://www.alternate.nl/Kingston-H...rkgeheugen/html/product/1189852?tk=7&lk=13474) 

In the end I'm about 40 bucks over budget, but I feel like it's the right investment in this case, as these parts will probably have to last me a while too. Thanks so much for your help and time!


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

That memory is fine. Post the motherboard and CPU you want to buy and we can give it a look over.

Then in a few months, look at taking a new budget and upgrading the GPU/PSU. A GTX 960 should go down in price when the new series comes out.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

Cool  I did already post the motherboard and I don't think I have to post the CPU as it's the i5-6500?

That is indeed the plan, thanks for the advice!


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Using a micro board is actually a good idea which gives you more room in the case and better air flow but that board is to cheap. I would not go with 2 memory slots and I am not feeling really good about Gigabyte motherboards either just having sent 4 different 970 boards back to Gigabyte either. These days Msi seems to be reliability is at. Can you find this one:
MSI MSI Gaming B150M BAZOOKA LGA 1151 Intel B150 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

Hi Rich, thanks for the advice! I do get your point, and I've actually been very happy with my MSI board too. I did find the mobo you linked, I'm not sure if I can make it work money-wise, but I'm going to try my best. Always better to save up a bit more and buy quality products. Let's hope it works out! Thanks!


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## spitzerone (May 10, 2011)

You didn't mention our operating system. It is my understanding that some versions of windows will only address 4 gb of Ram. So if you put in more than 4 gb and the OS won't address it, you just wasted money. I do know that Windows 10 will address larger amounts of RAM memory. The upgrade to Windows 10 is free right now if you have windows 7 or 8.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

It's not the versions of OS it is any 32 bit Windows can only max out at 4Gb ram whereas 64 bit has way higher limits depending on the motherboard.


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## randomdudew (Oct 11, 2010)

I'm aware of the 32-bit 4GB limit, I recently switched to Windows 7 64-bit because even with my 4GB ram atm it was limited at 3GB in 32-bit. When I upgrade I'll probably be switching to Win 10 64-bit as DirectX 12 is exclusive for it (even though that won't matter till I upgrade my GPU too, but better do the switch right away)


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