Help choosing between a processor or graphics card upgrade

[Callan Eckett]

Hey everyone, I am looking into upgrading my system again after a few years but I only have the money for one of two options. My current system is as follows:

• 
  ■ FX 6300 @ 4Ghz - cooled with a corsair H105
  ■ Sapphire R9 290x 4GB
  ■ 8GB DDR3 @ 1866Mhz
  ■ 750W Corsair PSU

I mostly game on this machine, and play a plethora of different genres. However mostly I play either large scale multiplayer games (planetside 2) or single player games (fallout 4). I either want to upgrade to a 6600k along with new motherboard and RAM or swap my (extremely hot & loud) 290x for a GTX 1060. As I mostly play games I am looking to upgrade whatever will give me the highest FPS boost. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[miggtt699]

Hey everyone, I am looking into upgrading my system again after a few years but I only have the money for one of two options. My current system is as follows:

• 
  ■ FX 6300 @ 4Ghz - cooled with a corsair H105
  ■ Sapphire R9 290x 4GB
  ■ 8GB DDR3 @ 1866Mhz
  ■ 750W Corsair PSU

I mostly game on this machine, and play a plethora of different genres. However mostly I play either large scale multiplayer games (planetside 2) or single player games (fallout 4). I either want to upgrade to a 6600k along with new motherboard and RAM or swap my (extremely hot & loud) 290x for a GTX 1060. As I mostly play games I am looking to upgrade whatever will give me the highest FPS boost. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

Definitely the processor, that FX 6300 is most likely limiting your 290X in some games.

 

[Chugalug_]

I have no idea why you got a H105 with a budget CPU, but i'm not going to question it this late down the line.
What is your budget?
A CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade would benefit you the most, as the 290x has great performance.

 

[maxalge]

Hey everyone, I am looking into upgrading my system again after a few years but I only have the money for one of two options. My current system is as follows:

• 
  ■ FX 6300 @ 4Ghz - cooled with a corsair H105
  ■ Sapphire R9 290x 4GB
  ■ 8GB DDR3 @ 1866Mhz
  ■ 750W Corsair PSU

I mostly game on this machine, and play a plethora of different genres. However mostly I play either large scale multiplayer games (planetside 2) or single player games (fallout 4). I either want to upgrade to a 6600k along with new motherboard and RAM or swap my (extremely hot & loud) 290x for a GTX 1060. As I mostly play games I am looking to upgrade whatever will give me the highest FPS boost. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

swapping to a 1060 is a side grade


get the i5, especially since you play online
most such games will see huge gains in fps

 

[Iceman21]

I think upgrading your cpu will give you performance increase. Going for 1060 from r9 290x wont be beneficial in terms of fps gains.

 

[Callan Eckett]

One of my friends was selling a H105 really cheap so I bought it off them. As for budget I have around £400 ($525) but I am in the UK so everything is slightly more expensive.

 

[Chugalug_]

Would you be overclocking?

 

[Chugalug_]

This will be perfect for you.
I've gone for a red and black theme, as it was only 2 pounds more to fit in.
Features a 6600k, a great Z170 board and a cooler which should allow you to overclock heavily and still keep temps cool.
To give you an idea of what you can overclock to, the average stable OC for Skylake i5s/i7s is 4.6GHz or 4.7.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£210.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.40 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-Gaming K3-EU ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£99.95 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£62.92 @ More Computers)
Total: £396.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-26 11:54 BST+0100

 

[Callan Eckett]

CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.40 @ Amazon UK)

Why swap out a H105 for a cheap air cooler though, surely I could acheive better overclocks with it?

 

[Chugalug_]

Oh, right my bad!
Forgot you already had a cooler, just take it out of the list. xD
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£210.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-Gaming K3-EU ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£99.95 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£62.92 @ More Computers)
Total: £372.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-26 12:06 BST+0100

 

[Callan Eckett]

Oh, right my bad!
Forgot you already had a cooler, just take it out of the list. xD
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£210.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-Gaming K3-EU ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£99.95 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£62.92 @ More Computers)
Total: £372.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-26 12:06 BST+0100

Thanks, I'll go with that config but I'll probably change the RAM to all black to stick with my colour scheme.

 

[Chugalug_]

Sure thing.
Enjoy!