Looking to upgrade my gaming PC.

[TehDiamondPig]

I want to upgrade my gaming PC to run games at 60+ fps! 😀
Right now I have:
RAM: 16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 803MHz
CPU: AMD FX-4300
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. GA-78LMT-USB3
I was thinking of getting an i7 from intel but I'm not sure it would fit my motherboard! Any suggestions on what I can get to make my games run smoothly? I don't think I need to worry about my graphics card or RAM though ...

 

[ben001]

That won't help you to fulfill your desired thoughts if you're going play games at 720/1080p resolution. You can place a budget so that we can help you to make your thoughts right.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

That won't help you to fulfill your desired thoughts if you're going play games at 720/1080p resolution. You can place a budget so that we can help you to make your thoughts right.

I would say about £1000. That's how much I would save anyway. I already have over £200 towards it. I just want my games to run well. I can run some good games like Gmod, tf2, Minecraft etc.

 

[LookItsRain]

For 60 fps 1080p on any game today
i5 4690k on a z97mobo
r9 390 or gtx 970

That would be hilariously overkill for your games though.

I would suggest, upgrade your gpu to a r9 380 and do a mild overclock on your 4300.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

For 60 fps 1080p on any game today
i5 4690k on a z97mobo
r9 390 or gtx 970

That would be hilariously overkill for your games though.

I would suggest, upgrade your gpu to a r9 380 and do a mild overclock on your 4300.

Well, I also want to play games like magicka, Call of Juarez, gunslinger, Hitman absolution, CS:GO and chivalry.
Also, can you please explain what those parts are to me just to be sure? Oh, and do you think getting an i7 would be better?

 

[LookItsRain]

For 60 fps 1080p on any game today
i5 4690k on a z97mobo
r9 390 or gtx 970

That would be hilariously overkill for your games though.

I would suggest, upgrade your gpu to a r9 380 and do a mild overclock on your 4300.

Well, I also want to play games like magicka, Call of Juarez, gunslinger, Hitman absolution, CS:GO and chivalry.
Also, can you please explain what those parts are to me just to be sure? Oh, and do you think getting an i7 would be better?

For gaming an i7 does not provide a benefit, the i5 4690k is a overclockable quad core cpu, and needs a decent z97 mobo to overclock well. Gtx 970 is a great card, even at 1440p, it will do well at 1080p for a few years.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

So those 3 parts would do? How much would they be altogether?

 

[LookItsRain]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

 

[TehDiamondPig]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

 

[LookItsRain]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

 

[TehDiamondPig]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

Well, I do have an oem windows license I think and I bought the computer with 8.1 but have since upgraded to 10. Couldn't I just get the free version of 10 again instead of buying a new license?

 

[LookItsRain]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

Well, I do have an oem windows license I think and I bought the computer with 8.1 but have since upgraded to 10. Couldn't I just get the free version of 10 again instead of buying a new license?

Im not sure on how that would work for windows 10. I would assume no. Someone correct me if im wrong.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

Well, I do have an oem windows license I think and I bought the computer with 8.1 but have since upgraded to 10. Couldn't I just get the free version of 10 again instead of buying a new license?

Im not sure on how that would work for windows 10. I would assume no. Someone correct me if im wrong.

Well I guess I could buy windows 8.1 again and install the free windows 10 thingy again also from the microsoft site? That would work, wouldn't it?
Oh, and I figured out that my current motherboard is 244x244mm but the one you suggested is 279.4x279.4mm so I'm not sure if it would fit or not.
They are both micro-ATX though so it should fit right?

 

[LookItsRain]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

Well, I do have an oem windows license I think and I bought the computer with 8.1 but have since upgraded to 10. Couldn't I just get the free version of 10 again instead of buying a new license?

Im not sure on how that would work for windows 10. I would assume no. Someone correct me if im wrong.

Well I guess I could buy windows 8.1 again and install the free windows 10 thingy again also from the microsoft site? That would work, wouldn't it?
Oh, and I figured out that my current motherboard is 244x244mm but the one you suggested is 279.4x279.4mm so I'm not sure if it would fit or not.
They are both micro-ATX though so it should fit right?

It should fit.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($298.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $651.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-03 17:03 EDT-0400

That's not bad really. I could get £430 easily. I guess it's just a matter of "will the parts fit into my PC" now?
Although, would I need the cooler? Is it COMPLETELY necessary for the CPU/GPU? Also, I read that changing my motherboard might screw up all my files/data and everything on my computer and that I will have to reinstall windows? Is that true? Could you give me some explanation?

if you have an oem windows license, you would need a new one on a motherboard switch

Well, I do have an oem windows license I think and I bought the computer with 8.1 but have since upgraded to 10. Couldn't I just get the free version of 10 again instead of buying a new license?

Im not sure on how that would work for windows 10. I would assume no. Someone correct me if im wrong.

Well I guess I could buy windows 8.1 again and install the free windows 10 thingy again also from the microsoft site? That would work, wouldn't it?
Oh, and I figured out that my current motherboard is 244x244mm but the one you suggested is 279.4x279.4mm so I'm not sure if it would fit or not.
They are both micro-ATX though so it should fit right?

It should fit.

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm kinda worried about my data including mods, worlds, programs, pictures, ect. And I REALLY don't want to lose it all. So, if I create a backup of my PC and then change motherboards, will I be able to restore my computer's files to how they were before -using the backup? I could copy some files onto a spare hard drive if I need to and write down the programs I have but I would rather not. And would the graphics card fit too? I'm not sure it's the same size as my current one.

 

[LookItsRain]

You would have no issues copying files,i dont know if the gpu will fit in your case, take some measurements and compare them to the cards specs.

Before you buy a windows license, try to use the old one, it may work and save you some money, but i doubt that will happen, but its worth a shot.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

You would have no issues copying files,i dont know if the gpu will fit in your case, take some measurements and compare them to the cards specs.

Before you buy a windows license, try to use the old one, it may work and save you some money, but i doubt that will happen, but its worth a shot.

Well, if it t doesn't fit, then that sucks. Do you think you could find me one compatible with the parts you listed before that will fit?r

 

[LookItsRain]

You would have no issues copying files,i dont know if the gpu will fit in your case, take some measurements and compare them to the cards specs.

Before you buy a windows license, try to use the old one, it may work and save you some money, but i doubt that will happen, but its worth a shot.

Well, if it t doesn't fit, then that sucks. Do you think you could find me one compatible with the parts you listed before that will fit?r

It will probably fit, but you never gave the size of your current computer case, and i did not post a new one. The gpu i picked is a regular dual fan evga model, it should fit unless your case is very small.

 

[TehDiamondPig]

Well, my PC is about 18cm wide(back), 43cm wide(side)and 35cm tall. If the graphics card fits, I will be getting all the parts you recommended me 😀

 

[TehDiamondPig]

You still there rain?