Please Give Advice On Upgrading.

bloonhead

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Mar 1, 2017
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Hello T.H. community,

This is my first computer my bro built for me so I don't know what I need for upgrades. I'm interested in the gtx 1060 (6Gb). My friend said get the Asus z170 Pr Gaming motherboard and start all over with a new build. What do I need to upgrade to have no performance bottleneck issues? Ultimately, I want my computer to have smooth gaming experience at 1080p, good for downloading, smooth web surfing, and good software performance for audio program.

My Computer Build:


  • Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 3.0)

    CPU: AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor

    RAM: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz

    Power Supply: XFX Pro Series 750W

    GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670

Thanks,
bloonhead
 
Solution
And then you still have to buy DDR4 memory.

Also, with the i3-8350K you're still getting about the same as the previous generations, but for a lower cost. If you wanted more the sweet spot is the i5-8400/8600K (depending on your budget) because of their 2 extra cores.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
Total: $199.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:13 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($279.89 @ B&H)
Total: $279.89...
Well you can either go with Ryzen or wait until Intel Coffee Lake is in stock again (maybe [end of] next month).

This would be the bare minimum for Ryzen, and you can switch the R3 1200 for an R5 if you wanted a better CPU. The R3 1200 would limit the GTX 1060/RX 580 some in some games, but not nearly as much as your FX 6300. You can overclock it if you want.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.88 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.33 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $273.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-22 20:34 EDT-0400

or wait for a Coffee Lake setup.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($128.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $337.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-22 20:35 EDT-0400
 

bloonhead

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Mar 1, 2017
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Hey MrN1ce9uy,
Thanks for the advice/recommendations and pricing details with links! I think I'd rather wait and go with Intel this time.

I'm interested - what parts would you recommend if I did go with the Asus z170 Pro Gaming motherboard my friend told me to get? Or, is the MSI-Z370-A Pro ATX LGA1151 a better motherboard? They both run for around the same price, but the main difference is the Asus z170 Pro Gaming offers 1 SATA Express and the MSI-Z370-A Pro ATX LGA1151 does not. Oh and the MSI-Z370-A Pro ATX LGA1151 offers more memory types.


 
You can choose a different Z370 motherboard. The difference in the Z170 and Z370 is Z170 (and Z270) is not compatible with Intel's newest 8th-gen Coffee Lake processors. The good thing about Coffee Lake is the increase in core count. They feature quad-core i3 and hexa-core i5/i7.

Not only that but Z170 doesn't support 7th-gen Kaby Lake without a BIOS update, which cannot be updated without a 6th-gen Skylake CPU. The Z170 is from 2015. Z270 is from January 2017. And Z370 is from October (brand new) 2017. Only thing is the Coffee Lake CPUs that go in the Z370 have all sold out because everyone wants the latest/greatest from Intel.

The i3-8100 ($120 8th-gen Coffee Lake) is faster than all but the overclockable ($230) i5-6600K (when overclocked) from the 6th-gen i5 series that are compatible with the Z170. And it's basically the same with 7th-gen, because the cores increased with the newest 8th-gen.

I'm not sure why your friend is telling you Z170 other than he probably does not know about the newest chipsets and CPUs. If you didn't want to wait on an 8th-gen CPU to become available, then you should go with Z270.

These would all be very close in performance, but the Z370 would allow you to go with a six-core i5 or i7 instead of a quad-core i5 or i7 on the Z170/Z270.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.59 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($156.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $420.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:04 EDT-0400


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX Z270-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $425.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:03 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8350K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - TUF Z370 Pro Gaming ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($158.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $393.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:06 EDT-0400
 
And then you still have to buy DDR4 memory.

Also, with the i3-8350K you're still getting about the same as the previous generations, but for a lower cost. If you wanted more the sweet spot is the i5-8400/8600K (depending on your budget) because of their 2 extra cores.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
Total: $199.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:13 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($279.89 @ B&H)
Total: $279.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-23 07:12 EDT-0400
 
Solution

bloonhead

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Mar 1, 2017
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Ok, so I've looked at many benchmarks now and I'm torn between the Core i5-8600k and the i7-7700k. I'm not looking for "best" cpu for gaming, but cpu for good gaming in 1080p/Ultra and great performance in other areas... (Examples): heavy-multitasking, encoding or merging video files (only video formatting I do), audio production (FL studio), torrenting/ downloading files, using 7zip/winrar, and lastly, I'm wanting to learn how to create a lab within a virtual machine for honing skills in IT.

You have the exact build I would want, but with a Z370 motherboard with i5-8600k or your current i7-7700k with some kind of motherboard. So, with more specific reasons on what I'm aiming toward in cpu performance, which out of the two would you prefer....Would my reasons for computer use be more advantageous with a Core i5-8600k or your current i7-7700k cpu?


 
You would be just as well off with either chip performance-wise, although the i5-8600K has an upgrade path to the i7-8700K. It is also a better deal because it is cheaper; however, Intel has not produced enough to keep them in stock. So you could be waiting.