How to improve my gaming rig?

[Mastersaofan]

I currently have

i5-2400
8GB RAM
GTX 1060 6GB
2560x1080p reso
700w thermaltake lite
1TB HDD


I have a few questions regarding the upgrade path I would like to take


note: getting older intel chips and boards (aside from 4th gen) is impossible for me.
I live in asia and the market for that would be hard as hell. On top of that, the chances of getting a banged up board and chip is high.



Path 1 - full skylake

Im willing to save up (will take me a month and a half) for this upgrade.

Sure, you might ask if this is the case then why not just follow this path? I'd like to save money for one, also I would like to get it soon as possible. My work leave is coming up and it's the only time I get to enjoy what I've worked really hard for.


i5-6600k
MSI Z170A G43 Plus
Seasonic 650w
120 GB SSD
16GB RAM
Deepcool Captain 120mm AIO cooler

At the moment, the games I am playing are ROTR (can't get steady 60fps outdoors even with overclock so I guess upgrading GPU would solve this?)

Witcher 3 - Happy with the settings I have .Ultra/high HW(off) - 40s-60fps mostly 60fps.

and planning to get GTA V as well.

Overall, I just want steady 60fps.


Path 2 - Just upgrading the GPU (1070)

This wont cost me as much as the skylake upgrade but I afraid ill get bottle-necked by my old rig.
Will I be able to max out these games?


Path 3 - AMD build

Yes, yes. I have asked this question before in this forum and people strongly advised me to not go this path but if anyone new might see this...hoping they would have a different opinion. Not looking for a huge improvement, saving money is also a priority and I just want to get a steady fps of 60.

AMD FX-8320
16GB RAM
MSI 970
Seasonic 650w
Deepcool Captain 120mm AIO cooler
120 GB SSD


I want to start overclocking my CPU as well.
and maybe dabble in some video editing.

My Budget would be around $650-$700 max.

Thank you.

 

[Tradesman1]

Well think of it, new AMD CPU, new mobo, new CPU cooler, prob new DRAM as I'd guess you are running 1066/1333....then you'll prob be shopping for something better in less than a year.... Question will be do you want to invest a few hundred bucks now so you can then invest even more hundreds this time next year - or invest the hundreds now and still be happy in 2-3 years? There are those that build new basically about every year (I do since I've got a systems business), but most people would like to get at least a few years out of a rig if building new and be able to expand and upgrade

Thanks buddy. I can't really argue with what you just said anymore, there is really just no point for going for AMD. I'd save money yea, but you are right. I'd be unsatisfied with it sooner than later which will make me want to upgrade again thus spending money that I should have just done in the first place.



I'f im going for skylake might as well go big.

Im eyeing this mobo Z170-A ASUS
Do you think this will fit in my phanteks p400 regarding the rear fan? planning to place the AIO radiator back there.
or should I just stick to the MSI Z170A G43 Plus.

And yea, ill go for the i5-6600k

_______________

Great mobo (have done a number of builds on the A (their Pro Gaming is right there at the same price point basically also) and will be fine with the Phantek case. Should be fine 😉

 

[Mastersaofan]

The fx8350 is about half as powerful as the 6700k, maybe a little less but at less than half the price and it's still going to become a dinosaur when the 16/32 core chips launch so are you going to wait with your current rig, or spend $600 on a mobo/cpu to last you the same amount of time as a $300 combo. I opt for amd, even if my cpu isn't nearly as fast as the new 6700k's nothing actually requires that much power. It will be a few years until we see games that require it and by then 64core cpu's will be reality. Go amd, it's not as fast as your neighbors ferrari but it doesn't cost as much either and the reality is no single threading app is worth the double price.

My motherboard died recently, I had the option to upgrade but I bought a better mobo for the 8350 instead. I know intels shiny new chip is fast, what I'm saying is it's not worth it, unless you're addicted to new tech and have to upgrade every chance you get.

Also, both the ps4 and the xbox one use 8core amd chips.

Would zen require a new motherboard? Also, are you saying that the new AMD chips and mobo's will only cost $300-ish?

 

[Mastersaofan]

Well think of it, new AMD CPU, new mobo, new CPU cooler, prob new DRAM as I'd guess you are running 1066/1333....then you'll prob be shopping for something better in less than a year.... Question will be do you want to invest a few hundred bucks now so you can then invest even more hundreds this time next year - or invest the hundreds now and still be happy in 2-3 years? There are those that build new basically about every year (I do since I've got a systems business), but most people would like to get at least a few years out of a rig if building new and be able to expand and upgrade

Thanks buddy. I can't really argue with what you just said anymore, there is really just no point for going for AMD. I'd save money yea, but you are right. I'd be unsatisfied with it sooner than later which will make me want to upgrade again thus spending money that I should have just done in the first place.



I'f im going for skylake might as well go big.

Im eyeing this mobo Z170-A ASUS
Do you think this will fit in my phanteks p400 regarding the rear fan? planning to place the AIO radiator back there.
or should I just stick to the MSI Z170A G43 Plus.

And yea, ill go for the i5-6600k

_______________

Great mobo (have done a number of builds on the A (their Pro Gaming is right there at the same price point basically also) and will be fine with the Phantek case. Should be fine 😉

Because I have noticed that this board has a very big IO thingy shield so I was worried it would not let me use a radiator at the rear as my exhaust for this case.

Thanks for clearing that up!