How to make smart upgrades for a gaming PC?

[JStringfellow]

I have had my PC a little over a year (Januaryish) but I find myself wanting more and more.
I got a new GPU for Christmas (GTX 970) and a bigger PSU back in October. I want a new case, motherboard, processor, a SSD, and a aftermarket CPU cooler.
I am not sure if these are good things to upgrade, but I want better performance in Arma 3.

My build right now is-
Raidmax Seiran

ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

FX-6300 Stock

Seagate Baracuda 1TB HDD (7200 RPM)

Crucial Ballistic Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 Memory

Asus Strix GTX 970

Corsair CM750M PSU

I do have a few things in mind that I want, but I want to see what you guys say. Thanks for any help. 🙂

 

[ssddx]

well, you have a few options.

you could keep your motherboard and upgrade to a fx8320 which would better be able to keep up with a gtx970 without breaking the bank... though if you want a new motherboard anyways i'd jump on the intel bandwagon if you did and go with an i5 (newest gen) and either a z97 or h97 (depending on if you want overclocking) motherboard.

i'd take a look at the samsung 840 line of ssds. either the 120gb or 250gb are nice depending on your needs.

an aftermarket cpu cooler is always a good idea. generally the lowest you'd want to go is something like the hyper 212 though for more money there are certainly some nicer coolers on the market.

the raidmax seiran is not a cheap case. while there may be better cases sure you're going to take quite a hit by ditching it (looks to be a $100+ case). if you did want something new, i like the 750d myself though its not the only one you can pick.

if you want better performance i'd sink money into parts instead of the case. the lowest cost solution for better performance would be to keep everything the same except upgrade to a fx8320 cpu. the highest performing upgrade would be to get an i5 and new motherboard.

keep in mind a ssd will not affect your gaming performance much (maps will load faster but thats it).

edit: on a side note a cx750 power supply really isnt all that great in terms of reliability (its fair and certainly not bottom of the barrel but not what i'd call "good" either). since you have it and since a single card is not going to really push it too hard you are likely fine but if you intended to SLI in the future or do any crazy overclocking or other things of a demanding nature i'd think about replacing it with a more reliable unit.

 

[JStringfellow]

well, you have a few options.

you could keep your motherboard and upgrade to a fx8320 which would better be able to keep up with a gtx970 without breaking the bank... though if you want a new motherboard anyways i'd jump on the intel bandwagon if you did and go with an i5 (newest gen) and either a z97 or h97 (depending on if you want overclocking) motherboard.

i'd take a look at the samsung 840 line of ssds. either the 120gb or 250gb are nice depending on your needs.

an aftermarket cpu cooler is always a good idea. generally the lowest you'd want to go is something like the hyper 212 though for more money there are certainly some nicer coolers on the market.

the raidmax seiran is not a cheap case. while there may be better cases sure you're going to take quite a hit by ditching it (looks to be a $100+ case). if you did want something new, i like the 750d myself though its not the only one you can pick.

if you want better performance i'd sink money into parts instead of the case. the lowest cost solution for better performance would be to keep everything the same except upgrade to a fx8320 cpu. the highest performing upgrade would be to get an i5 and new motherboard.

keep in mind a ssd will not affect your gaming performance much (maps will load faster but thats it).

edit: on a side note a cx750 power supply really isnt all that great in terms of reliability (its fair and certainly not bottom of the barrel but not what i'd call "good" either). since you have it and since a single card is not going to really push it too hard you are likely fine but if you intended to SLI in the future or do any crazy overclocking or other things of a demanding nature i'd think about replacing it with a more reliable unit.

Honestly, my case pains my eyes and cable management with it isn't very easy to do. I was thinking about an I5, but money is sort of an issue there. I don't know much (or as much as I probably should) about CPUs. So what would really be the performance differance between the two?

Also, my motherboard is this ugly brown color, and though it may sound silly, I do want a nice looking build.

 

[ssddx]

you are free of course to do whatever you want with your money however if you want to get the most from your money i would advise making some good performance upgrades over anything cosmetic. cosmetic upgrades will not get you better performance in games, only solid upgades will and if you do not have much cash to work with this would be the best choice.

cable management is possible even without cable management slots and holes or without space behind motherboard trays. while not the absolute best job that can be done, you can see what i did on a small case with no real management options http://postimg.org/gallery/78slmoca/ which is more practical than pretty.

ugly components? i'd steer away from windowed cases or, if you upgraded to an i5 with another motherboard you can certainly get a black board which would work out well for both you performance wise and be aesthetically pleasing as well.

the i5 is a substantial improvment over the fx6300. while there are benchmarks such as http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=1261 and http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i5_4690-356-vs-amd_fx_6300-218 and other such comparisions to put it simply, the i5 is in a different class of performance. to put it bluntly even the fx8320 which is a higher tier cpu on the amd lineup is only really about i3 performance or a little better. if overclocked it can be similar to an i5 in many tasks but the i5 often wins out still. why? the i5 has stronger cores and many tasks still have better gains from strong cores over more of them. in games it is not uncommon for an i5 to have gains of 10fps with the same gpu compared to a fx8320 in such things like heavy multiplayer (32-64 player) where the cpu can start to bog down. the amd lineup can do a very good job - for the money - but in terms of raw performance intel is where its at right now.

depending on exactly how much money you have to spend would determine your options.

if you only have $100-150, just get a fx8320cpu and cooler. overclock if necessary.
if you have $280-300, get an i5-4690 and h97
if you have $300-330, get an i5-4690k and z97 (if you want to overclock that is) or go h97 with a cooler


if you have over $330, i would go with one of the i5 options above (depending on if you want to oc or not) paired with a cooler and you can push the extra money either towards a ssd ($80-100) if you want the system to feel snappy or a new case if you absolutely cant stand your current one (though its a waste of cash in my opinion).

regardless, you should attempt to get some cash for any components you are not using anymore. while you will not get anywhere near new value you can sell cpu+mobo combos and cases fairly easy if the price is right and the components work. this would help offset the cost of your upgrade. a good rule of thumb is take 15-20% off new price for every 6months of age and start there (though sometimes you need to adjust this number a bit up or down depending on demand of parts).

again, your choice but i think for a limited budget you should focus more on performance than aesthetics. (for the record, some of the h97/z97 boards are black and look rather nice.

 

[JStringfellow]

you are free of course to do whatever you want with your money however if you want to get the most from your money i would advise making some good performance upgrades over anything cosmetic. cosmetic upgrades will not get you better performance in games, only solid upgades will and if you do not have much cash to work with this would be the best choice.

cable management is possible even without cable management slots and holes or without space behind motherboard trays. while not the absolute best job that can be done, you can see what i did on a small case with no real management options http://postimg.org/gallery/78slmoca/ which is more practical than pretty.

ugly components? i'd steer away from windowed cases or, if you upgraded to an i5 with another motherboard you can certainly get a black board which would work out well for both you performance wise and be aesthetically pleasing as well.

the i5 is a substantial improvment over the fx6300. while there are benchmarks such as http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=1261 and http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i5_4690-356-vs-amd_fx_6300-218 and other such comparisions to put it simply, the i5 is in a different class of performance. to put it bluntly even the fx8320 which is a higher tier cpu on the amd lineup is only really about i3 performance or a little better. if overclocked it can be similar to an i5 in many tasks but the i5 often wins out still. why? the i5 has stronger cores and many tasks still have better gains from strong cores over more of them. in games it is not uncommon for an i5 to have gains of 10fps with the same gpu compared to a fx8320 in such things like heavy multiplayer (32-64 player) where the cpu can start to bog down. the amd lineup can do a very good job - for the money - but in terms of raw performance intel is where its at right now.

depending on exactly how much money you have to spend would determine your options.

if you only have $100-150, just get a fx8320cpu and cooler. overclock if necessary.
if you have $280-300, get an i5-4690 and h97
if you have $300-330, get an i5-4690k and z97 (if you want to overclock that is) or go h97 with a cooler


if you have over $330, i would go with one of the i5 options above (depending on if you want to oc or not) paired with a cooler and you can push the extra money either towards a ssd ($80-100) if you want the system to feel snappy or a new case if you absolutely cant stand your current one (though its a waste of cash in my opinion).

regardless, you should attempt to get some cash for any components you are not using anymore. while you will not get anywhere near new value you can sell cpu+mobo combos and cases fairly easy if the price is right and the components work. this would help offset the cost of your upgrade. a good rule of thumb is take 15-20% off new price for every 6months of age and start there (though sometimes you need to adjust this number a bit up or down depending on demand of parts).

again, your choice but i think for a limited budget you should focus more on performance than aesthetics. (for the record, some of the h97/z97 boards are black and look rather nice.

I'm not really looking to upgrade now, but thank you for the advice. What are your specs if you don't mind me asking?
Just trying to branch out into the PC community a bit more. 🙂

 

[ssddx]

Spoiler

Equipment:
case: corsair obsidian 750d
cpu: i7-920 @3.2ghz oc
cooler: hyper 212 evo
mobo: asus rampage iii extreme rog x58
ram: mushkin redline 3x2gb 1600mhz
gpu: asus directcuii gtx770oc
ssd: samsung 840 pro 512gb ssd
hdd: wd caviar black 2tb x2, corsair hx1000,
os: windows 7 pro 64bit
misc: 1x dvd 1x br drives,
screen: 40" sony bravia lcdtv
sound: pioneer vsx-30 receiver
sound: klipsch quintet iv 5.0 speakers
sound: klipsch 450w subwoofer
other: ps3, ps2, xs1300 apc battery backup
headphones: audiotechnica ath-m50s
preferred mouse: 3.5g deathadder
preferred keyboard: ibm model m
gamepad: razer tartarus & ps3 controller via bluetooth

some photos too ... http://goo.gl/zcmFbN

the system is by no means new but it still works great and i do not see myself upgrading for a long time. i typically max out most of the games i play at 1080p with good framerates and it handles all of the other demanding tasks i throw at it well also.

--

if you hover over someone's avatar it will display their build info if they filled out their TH profile with this info. sometimes other people post the info in their signatures.

 

[JStringfellow]

Spoiler

Equipment:
case: corsair obsidian 750d
cpu: i7-920 @3.2ghz oc
cooler: hyper 212 evo
mobo: asus rampage iii extreme rog x58
ram: mushkin redline 3x2gb 1600mhz
gpu: asus directcuii gtx770oc
ssd: samsung 840 pro 512gb ssd
hdd: wd caviar black 2tb x2, corsair hx1000,
os: windows 7 pro 64bit
misc: 1x dvd 1x br drives,
screen: 40" sony bravia lcdtv
sound: pioneer vsx-30 receiver
sound: klipsch quintet iv 5.0 speakers
sound: klipsch 450w subwoofer
other: ps3, ps2, xs1300 apc battery backup
headphones: audiotechnica ath-m50s
preferred mouse: 3.5g deathadder
preferred keyboard: ibm model m
gamepad: razer tartarus & ps3 controller via bluetooth

some photos too ... http://goo.gl/zcmFbN

the system is by no means new but it still works great and i do not see myself upgrading for a long time. i typically max out most of the games i play at 1080p with good framerates and it handles all of the other demanding tasks i throw at it well also.

--

if you hover over someone's avatar it will display their build info if they filled out their TH profile with this info. sometimes other people post the info in their signatures.

Back on the topic of CPU and Motherboards, how much do suggest paying for a motherboard. Mobos for intel range in price and I have no clue about what I am getting for how much I pay. I do think I want to go the I5 route... Mostly because I have heard good things about them, and I know for sure it will exceed my expectations.

 

[ssddx]

depends on what you're looking for in a board.
-are there special features you need?
-do you plan on overclocking?
-do you plan on having more than 1 gpu?
-are you willing to pay more for a higher quality brand?

what i recommend:
if you want to oc but never want to sli.... the asus z97-p is $110ish
if you want to oc and want to sli.... the asus z97-a is $130ish
if you do not want to oc or sli.... the asus h97-pro is $100ish
(personally i like asus, but you can certainly use other brands as well if you prefer)

yes, there certainly are better boards on the market but unless you have a need for them or the features they have then they are not worth the cash. since you appear to be on a low budget i just threw out some budget conscious choices above.

if you really were on a really small budget, arock offers alot for the money:
if you want to oc but never want to sli.... the arock z97 pro4 is $102ish
if you do not want to oc or sli.... the asrock h97 anniversary is $72ish

as for chips, i'd pick up the i5-4690k if you wanted to oc or the i5-4690 if you did not. the price difference typically is not large.

------------------------

generally for most i5 based builds i suggest about $100-140ish range which lets you have your choice of upper brand general use (non-enthusiast) boards. for people on a really tight budget i would say $80-100 at minimum for a board but going with a better brand is suggested.

upgrading mobo+cpu to intel typically costs about $300-350 or about $280 for budget options.
the bare minimum would be $250ish which includes a lower end i5 paired with a cheapo board (which i wouldnt do given the tiny price savings, but thats your choice)

 

[JStringfellow]

depends on what you're looking for in a board.
-are there special features you need?
-do you plan on overclocking?
-do you plan on having more than 1 gpu?
-are you willing to pay more for a higher quality brand?

what i recommend:
if you want to oc but never want to sli.... the asus z97-p is $110ish
if you want to oc and want to sli.... the asus z97-a is $130ish
if you do not want to oc or sli.... the asus h97-pro is $100ish
(personally i like asus, but you can certainly use other brands as well if you prefer)

yes, there certainly are better boards on the market but unless you have a need for them or the features they have then they are not worth the cash. since you appear to be on a low budget i just threw out some budget conscious choices above.

if you really were on a really small budget, arock offers alot for the money:
if you want to oc but never want to sli.... the arock z97 pro4 is $102ish
if you do not want to oc or sli.... the asrock h97 anniversary is $72ish

as for chips, i'd pick up the i5-4690k if you wanted to oc or the i5-4690 if you did not. the price difference typically is not large.

------------------------

generally for most i5 based builds i suggest about $100-140ish range which lets you have your choice of upper brand general use (non-enthusiast) boards. for people on a really tight budget i would say $80-100 at minimum for a board but going with a better brand is suggested.

upgrading mobo+cpu to intel typically costs about $300-350 or about $280 for budget options.
the bare minimum would be $250ish which includes a lower end i5 paired with a cheapo board (which i wouldnt do given the tiny price savings, but thats your choice)

Gotcha, I will look around and get an idea of what I want.

 

[yimmi]

For gaming fx6300 is more than enough buy a better cooler and i would add an ssd,also you could upgrade to 8320 but why i have the same and a friend of mine has the 6300 and he enjoys the same experience in gaming,the benchmarks are relative intel are way better because they perform better to single core but i wouldnt upgrade because there is no reason for it.If you want better experience in games buy better gpu and add ssd it will upgrade your pc in almost everything