Looking to upgrade, please help?

[Daniel2807]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer. (http://puu.sh/v74Jp/144c15f189.png)
I don't know much about compatibility and building computers, so I might need some recommendations or pointers as to what I should do. I want to buy an Intel Core i5-7500 but my current motherboards only supports AM3 (I think.) I am quite an avid gamer, so I don't want anything too frail. Any suggestions as to what i should do? I'm pretty sure that my motherboard is an ATX size too.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer. (http://puu.sh/v74Jp/144c15f189.png)
I don't know much about compatibility and building computers, so I might need some recommendations or pointers as to what I should do. I want to buy an Intel Core i5-7500 but my current motherboards only supports AM3 (I think.) I am quite an avid gamer, so I don't want anything too frail. Any suggestions as to what i should do? I'm pretty sure that my motherboard is an ATX size too.

I'd say just change CPU, GPU and motherboard. But you'll also have to buy ddr4 RAM since ddr3 is not supported on Kaby Lake processors. I'd also change the PSU if necessary. So sorry about this but it comes to a conclusion where I'd say you should just buy a whole new PC. If you're up for that let me know your country and budget.

 

[Daniel2807]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer. (http://puu.sh/v74Jp/144c15f189.png)
I don't know much about compatibility and building computers, so I might need some recommendations or pointers as to what I should do. I want to buy an Intel Core i5-7500 but my current motherboards only supports AM3 (I think.) I am quite an avid gamer, so I don't want anything too frail. Any suggestions as to what i should do? I'm pretty sure that my motherboard is an ATX size too.

I'd say just change CPU, GPU and motherboard. But you'll also have to buy ddr4 RAM since ddr3 is not supported on Kaby Lake processors. I'd also change the PSU if necessary. So sorry about this but it comes to a conclusion where I'd say you should just buy a whole new PC. If you're up for that let me know your country and budget.

Thanks, Ali. Before I consider this option, is there any options for an optimal processor that is worth my time that is supported by my current PC? But yeah, getting a whole new computer seems the most likely option right now. I live in the UK, and my budget is like £1000 over a few years. Do you know of any sites that can let you prototype a PC to test if everything is compatible? It seems pretty far fetched but you never know.

 

[coozie7]

The first thing you should do is take a look at some of the upgrade and build videos over on YouTube, they'll give you a good idea a to what you are about to let yourself in for. 😉

What is your budget?
What games do you play and what settings would you like to play at?
What is the power supply? We need make and model.

A few general hints:

You'll be working close to precision electronic parts, so use a good quality screwdriver, one slip with a cheap one and you can wreck a motherboard.

That big 24 pin motherboard connector is ALWAYS tight! It usually also has a small tab on one side that must be depressed to release it, squeeze the tab and rock the connector out, don't try to just pull it free, use your other hand to support the motherboard as well if it's really stubborn.
Before pushing it back, lubricate it with a little petroleum jelly, it's quite safe to do so.

If you swap the motherboard and CPU you'll need to reactivate Windows at least, if you have an OEM (builder) license you may need to purchase a new license.

It's usually good practice to do a full reinstall of everything when doing a major upgrade like this, so save out your important stuff to an external drive (like a USB stick) and download and save the latest drivers available from the manufacturers websites for the new hardware to another USB stick, that way you'll have the latest software ready and available to install when required.

EDIT:
There's no useful CPU upgrade with the current motherboard, and the later Intel parts all require DDR4 memory.
Try PC partpicker, you can see how much it'll cost and their compatibility checks are usually pretty good.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer. (http://puu.sh/v74Jp/144c15f189.png)
I don't know much about compatibility and building computers, so I might need some recommendations or pointers as to what I should do. I want to buy an Intel Core i5-7500 but my current motherboards only supports AM3 (I think.) I am quite an avid gamer, so I don't want anything too frail. Any suggestions as to what i should do? I'm pretty sure that my motherboard is an ATX size too.

I'd say just change CPU, GPU and motherboard. But you'll also have to buy ddr4 RAM since ddr3 is not supported on Kaby Lake processors. I'd also change the PSU if necessary. So sorry about this but it comes to a conclusion where I'd say you should just buy a whole new PC. If you're up for that let me know your country and budget.

Thanks, Ali. Before I consider this option, is there any options for an optimal processor that is worth my time that is supported by my current PC? But yeah, getting a whole new computer seems the most likely option right now. I live in the UK, and my budget is like £1000 over a few years. Do you know of any sites that can let you prototype a PC to test if everything is compatible? It seems pretty far fetched but you never know.

In my opinion none of AMD's Am3 processors are good in performance and whichever you choose you'll probably not see a big difference from your current processor but for 1000 pounds you can get an awesome PC. And also yes PCPartPicker UK will do the compatibility check for you and that's why every PC builder uses it. It can also find the cheapest prices in various online stores.
That being said here's a £1000 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£217.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.97 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£107.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£99.72 @ More Computers)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£66.50 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card (£326.48 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£41.39 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£84.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1010.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-02 20:50 BST+0100

 

[coozie7]

^ Nice, but the OP may be able to drop some parts depending on what he currently has: Case, HDD and PSU. Depending on his needs he could drop to a GTX 1060 as well, it's a great card for 1080 gaming and a lot cheaper than a '1070!

 

[Ali Tauseef]

^ Nice, but the OP may be able to drop some parts depending on what he currently has: Case, HDD and PSU. Depending on his needs he could drop to a GTX 1060 as well, it's a great card for 1080 gaming and a lot cheaper than a '1070!

Just suggested something for his budget but you're right he might use some of his current parts but that's only going to make the build better. Although I don't know if you saw the price but the 1070 I chose is for 325 pounds only and that's a like a 50-60 pounds difference than a 1060 6 GB while offering a huge performance difference.

 

[Daniel2807]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer. (http://puu.sh/v74Jp/144c15f189.png)
I don't know much about compatibility and building computers, so I might need some recommendations or pointers as to what I should do. I want to buy an Intel Core i5-7500 but my current motherboards only supports AM3 (I think.) I am quite an avid gamer, so I don't want anything too frail. Any suggestions as to what i should do? I'm pretty sure that my motherboard is an ATX size too.

I'd say just change CPU, GPU and motherboard. But you'll also have to buy ddr4 RAM since ddr3 is not supported on Kaby Lake processors. I'd also change the PSU if necessary. So sorry about this but it comes to a conclusion where I'd say you should just buy a whole new PC. If you're up for that let me know your country and budget.

Thanks, Ali. Before I consider this option, is there any options for an optimal processor that is worth my time that is supported by my current PC? But yeah, getting a whole new computer seems the most likely option right now. I live in the UK, and my budget is like £1000 over a few years. Do you know of any sites that can let you prototype a PC to test if everything is compatible? It seems pretty far fetched but you never know.

In my opinion none of AMD's Am3 processors are good in performance and whichever you choose you'll probably not see a big difference from your current processor but for 1000 pounds you can get an awesome PC. And also yes PCPartPicker UK will do the compatibility check for you and that's why every PC builder uses it. It can also find the cheapest prices in various online stores.
That being said here's a £1000 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£217.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.97 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£107.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£99.72 @ More Computers)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£66.50 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card (£326.48 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£41.39 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£84.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1010.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-02 20:50 BST+0100

Wow, thanks! That looks like pretty much what I want.

 

[Daniel2807]

^ Nice, but the OP may be able to drop some parts depending on what he currently has: Case, HDD and PSU. Depending on his needs he could drop to a GTX 1060 as well, it's a great card for 1080 gaming and a lot cheaper than a '1070!

Didn't think of that, yeah. And that sounds good, dropping down to a 1060 and maybe subbing in an extra HDD.

 

[cryoburner]

If you don't need to upgrade immediately, I would also look at AMD's Ryzen 5 series processors, which should be launching within the next couple weeks. They might potentially offer some more-compelling options in the $170 to $250 price range. Again though, you would need a new AM4 motherboard and DDR4 to make use of one though. Even if you end up going with an Intel processor, it will probably be worth seeing how AMD's new offerings compare. If Ryzen can provide similar per-core gaming performance to an i5-7500/7600, but with 4 cores/8 threads or 6 cores/12 threads rather than 4 cores/4 threads, it might allow for more room to grow as more games start to make greater use of multi-threading.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

^ Nice, but the OP may be able to drop some parts depending on what he currently has: Case, HDD and PSU. Depending on his needs he could drop to a GTX 1060 as well, it's a great card for 1080 gaming and a lot cheaper than a '1070!

Didn't think of that, yeah. And that sounds good, dropping down to a 1060 and maybe subbing in an extra HDD.

Should've let me known if you wanted more space, I've reassembled it and now you're saving some money too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£217.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.97 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£107.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£99.72 @ More Computers)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£66.50 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£79.50 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card (£214.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£41.39 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£84.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £936.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-02 21:24 BST+0100