Need help upgrading from an i3

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minhaz23

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May 18, 2013
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I decided to upgrade to an i5 that can run arma 3 at super high fps on ultra, wont mind spending ~230 dollars. Want the best bank for my buck. Also looking to purchase an extra stick or ram and upgrade to 8 gigs. My current specs are as follows:

Intel Core i3- 2120
H61-MLE Motherboard
Radeon HD 7850 1GB
450 PSU
4 gigs ram
Rosewill Case

Originally i was tight on cash, so i built a budget pc. Now i have a few dollars to upgrade to a decently better PC, since running arma 3 is a pain in the ass. I would like to know if my motherboard would be compatible with i5 because its a mini motherboard (LGA 1155), and i would also want to make sure that i get the correct RAM aswell. Thanks!
 
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Without upgrading the motherboard, which the budget doesn't allow, you'd be limited to this option.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($196.99 @ Mac Mall)
Total: $196.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:48 EST-0500

Which would be almost like a side-step if anything. You'd even be taking a very small hit in single core performance. I'd save a while longer to afford a new motherboard to go along with an adequate i5 upgrade.

OR!

Save yourself some money now and make a pentium purchase that gifts you a new motherboard and a stronger processor than the one you currently have. But also leaves you with a good upgrade path for when you can afford that i5.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $152.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:52 EST-0500
 
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Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I'm only looking to upgrade my CPU and add a stick of ram, not really looking forward to replacing my motherboard right now. Would an i5 3750 be fine along with 8 gigs of ram?
 
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Well, depending on what ram model, manufacturer and specs you have, the second solution I noted would allow for it in the budget. As a single 4GB stick runs from $30-$50 roughly
 
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Solution
You've got a perfectly good motherboard there and there's hardly any difference between a quad core Ivy Bridge (i5-3xxx) and Haswell (i5-4xxx) CPU. Sammy's suggestion involves a lot more money for very little gain over my suggestion of the i5-3470 which uses your current mobo.

Nowhere near worth the extra $135 IMHO.
 
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I see. Thanks for your input. Ideally, I'm just looking to increase my GPS during gaming, and I want to play at 60 fps on arma on med settings. I don't really plan on upgrading this pc any further since I'm a college student. I do however plan to build a completely new pc in about 3-4 years. But for now I just wih to play new games at decent frames on decent settings.
 
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What does the new motherboard get you that you don't already have?

CPU difference between IvyB and Haswell is like 10% and a quad core IvyB is enough for any game. The Tom's hierarchy chart doesn't distinguish any of the quad core Intel CPUs, while there are difference that can be shown in benchmarks, for gaming they're all capable: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

Your end goal should be
- 8GB RAM
- Intel quad core (Sandy/IvyB/Haswell - any of the above is fine)
- One good video card (GTX 970, or similar)
- A good PSU (if your current 450W is a cheapy)
That will be a serious gaming rig capable of handling any game at high quality settings.

You want to get there as quickly as you can. Spend sensibly and you can get there quicker. Don't throw money into a new motherboard that gets you nothing for gaming.
 
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Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Desktop Processor.... $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Core i5-3570k compatible since BIOS 3605. Update it if necessary to support the CPU
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H61M_LE/HelpDesk_CPU/

RAM support QVL list.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/H61M-D/H61_2DIMM_report1008.pdf

Whether your RAM is in the QVL list or not, make the new module exactly the same brand, model, size and speed.
 
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Also one final question. Will there be any harm if I decide to go with the 3750k? I do not mind spending a max of 250 dollars for a good CPU. Or is it recommended that I get the i5 3470? I plan to order these items within the hour
 
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The RAM module should be an exact "copy" of the one you already have.... mixing different brands, models, speeds and sizes is not recommended... they should be exactly the same even from the same batch of manufacture if possible, which is not possible in your case unless you buy a two module kit... but at least try getting the same brand, model, size and speed as they one you have.
 
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i5-3570 or i5-3570k.... the K unlocked is a bit faster at stock clock speed and only $15.00 USD more. Both are $210.00 and $225.00 right now at newegg.com. Even if you don't plan to overclock which you can't with that motherboard, you may want to upgrade the motherboard in the future to one with a Z chipset (overclockable). In any case the K CPU is the best socket 1155 Core i5.
 
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okay, im going to place an order for the following:

Intel Core i5-3570 Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 6 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570
(wont get new motherboard)

ADATA USA XPG V1.0 OC Series 8GB DDR3 1600MHZ PC3 12800 4GBx2, Black AX3U1600W4G9-DB

Im looking for a 2 x 4GB for ~70 dollars. Can you find one thats good?
 
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If you don't mind the extra $13.00 - $15.00 get either of the two first GSkill Ripjaws... the third option is high performance gaming memory.. 1866Mhz will run at 1600Mhz on your motherboard.
The forth option is a good buy 1866Mhz at only $69.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
(Low Latency 7 but $82.99)
Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBXM
DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Timing 7-8-8-24
Cas Latency 7
Voltage 1.5V
$82.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231536

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Timing 8-8-8-24
Cas Latency 8
Voltage 1.5V
$84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Timing 9-10-9-28
Cas Latency 9
Voltage 1.5V
$81.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-1866C9D-8GAB
DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Timing 9-10-9-28
Cas Latency 9
Voltage 1.5V
$69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550
 
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