Looking to upgrade GPU and PSU (maybe CPU as well) and would like some advice

necyht

Honorable
Feb 11, 2013
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10,530
My current build is as follows
GPU: GTX 660
CPU: AMD FX-6350 w/Coolermaster Hyper212 EVO
MOBO: ASUS m5A97 r2.0
PSU: Coolermaster Elite Power 430w
RAM: 8GB 1333 (4x2)
CASE: NZXT SOURCE 210

My bydget is around $450 - 600

I planned to upgrade to a gtx 970, and the EVGA SuperNOVA 750w for better gaming performance on 1080p resolutions (maybe some occasional streaming and video recording as well). I understand the limitations brought on upon by my CPU but I heard that the bottleneck really shouldn't be that much of an issue, is this true? If it is an issue, I could most likely upgrade the CPU to an 8350 but I was also told that I wouldn't really receive a significant boost in gaming performance with that either (is this also true?). I would REALLY like to upgrade to Intel but my budget atm doesn't allow for it so I'll have to stick with AMD for the time being (my performance right now isn't too bad its just that it could be better and I would also really like to be able to stream/record gaming without taking a huge performance loss).

Anyways, what changes could be made? Is my PSU fine or is there a better one for a similar price? Should I overclock my current CPU amd forget the 8350 (I have no experience in overclocking and I am unsure if my MOBO can do it)? Would upgrading to 16 GB of RAM be a nice edition as well?

 
@Necyht, if I were in your position, I would buy the components below, which equals $814.46. Then I would:


* sell FX-6350 on Ebay; for approximately $80 - $90.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_nkw=fx-6350&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

* sell GTX 660 on Ebay; for approximately $80 - $110.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=gtx%20660&_dcat=27386&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

* sell Asus M5A97 r2.0 on Ebay; for approximately $40 - $55.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_nkw=asus%20m5a97&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684


* FYI: You can also sell the 8 GB of DDR RAM and the PSU if you wish.

* GPU: If you're dedicated, you can buy a EVGA b-stock GTX 970 for $249.99 (plus $16.73 s&h). If that is too much trouble then you can simply pick up the cheapest R9 390 listed on NewEgg, and the power supply is sufficient for that wattage as well.

Conclusion: Selling the three items would yield you: $200 - $255. If you subtracted those proceeds from your upgrade cost, then you'd be paying out of pocket a difference of: $560 to $615

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.78 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($0.00)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($266.72)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $814.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-29 01:04 EST-0500
 
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