Upgrade recommendation needed.

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Leon Hart

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Feb 16, 2012
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Hello guys! Thank you for coming to my thread and I hope y'all have great day.

I built my PC for awhile now, and I think it's time to upgrade it a little bit. I need recommendations on which parts should I replace and which parts should I keep. Below is my current rig and references:

Current Specs:


CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge (not overlocked)
GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2672-KR GeForce GTX 670 (not overclocked)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
SSD: Crucial m4 128GB Solid State Drive CT128M4SSD2
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80

Budget Range: $500-600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, 3dsMax, other

Are you buying a monitor: Not needed

Parts to Upgrade: I'm looking to upgrade mostly the GPU and the CPU. But what do you think about my current motherboard? Should I upgrade that as well? As for the GPU, should I run SLI with the same current card?

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg, Amazon

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPUs

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p

Alright, that's about it, I think. Thanks again for reading. I'm looking forward to your advices and recommendations.
 
Solution
Darkbreeze
Somebody always has an older rig than you, so it's quite possible to sell them. Or, keep them in case you come across other parts and just want to build a cheap second rig for something. Or, in case something fails, you have backup parts until you get them replaced. God forbid anything should fail, but it happens.

Overclocking the i5-2500k:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/07/how-to-overclock-the-intel-core-i5-2500k/1


Recommended GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $329.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23...
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Since gaming is your priority, the only thing you really need to upgrade right now is your GPU. The GTX 970 is within your budget and will seem like having an entirely new rig with the difference in gaming performance. Any GPU you upgrade to that makes sense on investing money for above what you have now, will not leave any budget to upgrade the cpu that makes sense because you would also then need a new motherboard.

I would suggest you upgrade the GPU, save a few more bucks and then upgrade the CPU to an i5-4690k or an i7-4790k along with a good board, when you can afford it. You'll already have about 280.00 of the 400 you would need to do it. Or, get the GPU and wait for the Prices on Haswell-E and DDR4 to drop.
 
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Here is something which is much better.
The motherboard upgrade is a much, because the LGA1155 is old. People will get mad at my for saying LGA1155 is old, but then recommending an AM3+ socket, but it is much better value.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 990FXA-GD65V2 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $539.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 23:47 EST-0500
 
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No, the 8350 is really not an upgrade from the i5-2500k. Especially since you would need a new motherboard to go with it and it would need to be highly overclocked to outreach what the i5 could do if you just overclocked that. I would recommend the GPU upgrade along with overclocking the i5 to around 4Ghz or better if you can get it stable. If you don't want to overclock, then just save up for the other options.
 
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Exactly what I said. And it's irrefutable. You've got a fairly decent PSU, so you can do about anything you want in regard to a big card and an overclock. Not too sure about that board though. Let me double check that.
 
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Well, it's got 12 phase power and looks like it should be ok up to about 4Ghz-ish, maybe slightly more with a really good cooler. At 4Ghz on 4 threads it should be about equivalent to the FX 8 core at 4.5 for threaded performance, and will demolish the FX in single threaded applications even though it IS an older i5.

As mentioned, that CPU at 4Ghz with a 970 should do anything you want on a single monitor at 1080.
 
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I'm calm. Why would I not be? I'm just sayin', whooped is whooped. The numbers support it.

Here, with both at stock speeds, the i5 leads on quite a few of the benchmarks, even some of the 3d and rendering tests.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=288


And here, it seems much higher overclocks with that CPU have been fairly common, so at a 4.5Ghz overclock that would only require you to purchase a 70 dollar cooler versus a new cpu and motherboard to achieve the same or worse performance seems silly. Granted, with both CPUs at 4.5Ghz, the FX will win in threaded performance, but that would mean you would ALSO need to get an aftermarket cooler for the fx in addition to buying the cpu and board. 70 bucks or 270 bucks?

I probably wouldn't try to take that CPU over 4Ghz with a 212 EVO or another budget cooler. A decent cooler WILL be required to rein in the thermals.


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/309442-28-2500-2500k
 
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Hi guys! Thank you so much for your feedbacks. I do have a 212 EVO installed, but I used to overclock the CPU to 4.0Ghz but then after 2-3hrs it became unstable (crashes, bluescreen, etc.) so I returned it to normal clock. Maybe I did something wrong with the overclocking. Any of you have a good guide in overlocking the i5 2500k?

As for the graphics card, can you recommend any specific card that you are currently use? There's so many out there, and I don't really have lots of time to research.

For RAM? Do you think I need to upgrade to 16GB? Whenever I do 3dsMax, RAM usage is around 80-90%.

Also just out of curiosity, when you upgrade your PC, what do you do with your old parts? Wonder if anyone will buy 2 year olds PC parts.
 
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Somebody always has an older rig than you, so it's quite possible to sell them. Or, keep them in case you come across other parts and just want to build a cheap second rig for something. Or, in case something fails, you have backup parts until you get them replaced. God forbid anything should fail, but it happens.

Overclocking the i5-2500k:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/07/how-to-overclock-the-intel-core-i5-2500k/1


Recommended GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $329.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 02:36 EST-0500

OR this one:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($368.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $368.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 02:36 EST-0500


RAM upgrade couldn't hurt if you're sure that you're maxing out the RAM due to actual usage and not something else. Make sure you have installed any newer versions of your 3D applications as they may have had memory issues that are addressed in an update. Otherwise, it can't hurt to have a little breathing room there. Can you run CPU-Z and look on the SPD tab and tell me what the reported model or part number for your current RAM is?

CPU-Z: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z/versions-history.html
 
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Solution
Yes that's what I have. So you may already know, the EVO 212 takes too much space. I can't fit in another RAM in the 1st slot. Do you have any other good brand with a low profile RAM?
 
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That low profile RAM I linked to may fit regardless of the CPU cooler.

And the fan on the 212 CAN be mounted a little higher on the heat sink. It just clips on so you can raise it all the way up to any point where the upper clips on the fans still contact the fins on the heat sink but the real question is whether it's the fan or the heat sink that is interfering with the RAM.

It also might be necessary to remove the fan, or the heatsink, and install the RAM, and then reinstall the fan or heat sink, in order to make the memory fit. In a lot of configurations the RAM will actually fit, but cannot be installed with the cooler already in place.


If you do have to remove the heat sink for any reason, you will need to fully clean the base of the heat sink and the top of the cpu lid and then re-paste. Do not attempt to remove and reinstall the heat sink without doing this as it will generally not work well.
 
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Thank you for your advice on the RAM and CPU fan. For the graphics card, what are the differences between the two that you posted?

Also, if I have enough money to get 2 GTX 970 to run SLI, would the PSU sufficient for this setup?

I wonder if I can get another GTX 670 and run SLI, would it comparable to at least the GTX 770?
 
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A 750w TX PSU is enough for either two 670's or 970's. That PSU also has four PCI connectors of the 6+2 variety so it can provide the necessary power to two cards needing two 6 or 8 pin connectors per card. In other words, either way you would be fine.

I would really recommend going with a single 970 over adding another 670, for the simple fact that adding another 970 later will vastly improve your performance potential over two 670's. Dual 670's is going to be a better performer in some if not most titles and benchmarks than a single 970, but a good single card is always a better solution with fewer complications. It will also have less power draw which means less stress on the system and a cooler overall thermal situation for your internal case and hardware.
 
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Since you recommened to upgrade the graphics card only because the 2500k still relevant today, what about getting a GTX 980? It's in my budget range. Also, what do you think about AMD? Do they have any good cards?
 
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Single 980 is great! Amd has great gpus for the price, but produce more heat. 295x2 is probably their best
 
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GTX 980 has about a 10-12FPS advantage over the R9 290x at ultra settings with a 1080 resolution. At medium settings with 3840x2160 resolution it has about a 2-3 fps advantage. Clearly the higher the resolution, the lower the performance advantage. This is likely due to the better memory bandwidth of the 290x. At 1080 or 1440 and ultra settings the 980 is much faster though.

For me, an extra 10 FPS is not worth and extra two hundred bucks though, which is the price difference between the 980 and the 290x. An overclocked 970, which produces a heck of a lot less heat, even with the overclock, than the 290x, IS a good deal though. It's right there with both cards when overclocked and beats the 290x in some titles at specific resolutions, namely 1080, even when it isn't. Since you can almost get a second 970 for what a single 980 costs, I don't see it being worth it unless you're planning to get two 980's for 4K gaming.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/7
 
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Do you have any guide to SLI? I want to learn more about it. Looks like getting 2 GTX 970 for SLI is better choice. Some general questions:

1. Do I need the exact same cards for it to run SLI?
2. How do two cards add up?
 
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