Upgrading My 3 Year Old Gaming PC

[EoghanKelly]

My current PC runs the new DOOM on medium settings at like 35 fps, I'd like to also run overwatch on high/ultra settings. I want to improve my fps and be able to run new games e.g GTA V, Overwatch and DOOM and decent settings.

These are my current specs:

AMD FX-4 4100 Black Edition 4 Core 3.6Ghz Socket AM3+ 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Socket AM3+ VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard Crucial 16GB kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1333 MT/s (PC3-10600) CL9 @1.5V Ballistix Sport UDIMM 240pin
Seagate 1TB Barracuda 3.5" SATA-III Hard Drive - 7200RPM 64MB Cache
XFX HD 7850 Core Edition 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Dual DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card (free accessory) Never Settle Forever Silver for 7800 Series Coupon
Samsung 24x Sata Internal Dvdrw Bare Black
Cooler Master K-series K380 - Usb3.0 Atx Case Side Window
Corsair 600W CX Builder Series 80 Plus Bronze PSU 3 Year Warranty Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit DVD - OEM
I don't have a great understanding of what each part of what does so please explain improvements in simple terms, thanks!

My budget for upgrades is about £150-£300

Thanks!

 

[Icaraeus]

You really don't have enough to get a better GPU, not to mention the CPU is the first thing you need to change first.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£41.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Total: £222.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:05 BST+0100

I would get this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £248.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:06 BST+0100

This is what you'll need if you want to run DOOM at high settings 1080p60fps.

 

[EoghanKelly]

You really don't have enough to get a better GPU, not to mention the CPU is the first thing you need to change first.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£41.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Total: £222.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:05 BST+0100

I would get this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £248.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:06 BST+0100

This is what you'll need if you want to run DOOM at high settings 1080p60fps.

I could probably stretch a bit further for my budget, what do you think I need to spend to get my monies worth? Also if I'm upgrading my CPU would I need to change my cooling system?

I basically want to maintain some parts of my core PC but I'd be willing to spend up to like £450/500

 

[Icaraeus]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£69.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £499.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:21 BST+0100

For 500 pounds go with this. The CPU runs perfectly fine using stock fan. You don't need aftermarket coolers.

 

[EoghanKelly]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£69.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £499.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 11:21 BST+0100

For 500 pounds go with this. The CPU runs perfectly fine using stock fan. You don't need aftermarket coolers.

Is my current CPU not better that that one? It has more GHz, does this mean anything or how does this affect it? Sorry, I don't have a great understanding of PC's

 

[guanyu210379]

If you want to go less fancy in upgrading you rig:
i5 4590
A cheap H97 or B85 mobo
keep everything else, including your 16GB DDR3 RAM.
GTX970

GHz? Frequency alone means nothing. Processor architecture, etc. also play a role in processor performance.

 

[Icaraeus]

Comparing clockspeed is completely irrelevant when comparing two different CPU architectures. It's like saying the PS3's CELL processor is faster than the PS4's Jaguar APU just because PS3 is 3.2ghz and PS4 is 1.6ghz (PS4 is actually a bit better).

Intel's IPC (instructions per clock) is much higher than AMD. As such you see Intel's quad cores matching or even exceeding AMD's FX 8xxx series CPUs, even though AMD's processors not only have 8 threads but are often 4+ghz where Intel is 3ghz.

 

[Icaraeus]

If you want to go less fancy in upgrading you rig:
i5 4590
A cheap H97 or B85 mobo
keep everything else, including your 16GB DDR3 RAM.
GTX970

GHz? Frequency alone means nothing. Processor architecture, etc. also play a role in processor performance.

I would NOT choose Haswell. The architecture is old, and Skylake has many improvements including DDR4.

 

[guanyu210379]

I would NOT choose Haswell. The architecture is old, and Skylake has many improvements including DDR4.

Haswell is still ok, if you are short of cash.

 

[EoghanKelly]

Comparing clockspeed is completely irrelevant when comparing two different CPU architectures. It's like saying the PS3's CELL processor is faster than the PS4's Jaguar APU just because PS3 is 3.2ghz and PS4 is 1.6ghz (PS4 is actually a bit better).

Intel's IPC (instructions per clock) is much higher than AMD. As such you see Intel's quad cores matching or even exceeding AMD's FX 8xxx series CPUs, even though AMD's processors not only have 8 threads but are often 4+ghz where Intel is 3ghz.

Ok, thanks very much for your help, I will forward these suggestions onto my friend and see what they think.

 

[Icaraeus]

I would NOT choose Haswell. The architecture is old, and Skylake has many improvements including DDR4.

Haswell is still ok, if you are short of cash.

He can afford Skylake so why not get Skylake?

 

[EoghanKelly]

If you want to go less fancy in upgrading you rig:
i5 4590
A cheap H97 or B85 mobo
keep everything else, including your 16GB DDR3 RAM.
GTX970

GHz? Frequency alone means nothing. Processor architecture, etc. also play a role in processor performance.

I would NOT choose Haswell. The architecture is old, and Skylake has many improvements including DDR4.

What's your thoughts on these upgrades?

Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Asus Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card

 

[Icaraeus]

Even worse. Why would you consider an old architecture when you can get the latest?

 

[EoghanKelly]

Even worse. Why would you consider an old architecture when you can get the latest?

How is this old? I was recommended this by someone, telling me it would help my case?

 

[Icaraeus]

Intel i5 4460 -- released Q2 2014 (over 2 years ago)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£69.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £499.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 15:23 BST+0100

This is much better.

Intel i5 6400 -- released Q4 2015, and as such is a newer architecture with better IPC (instructions per clock)

 

[EoghanKelly]

Intel i5 4460 -- released Q2 2014 (over 2 years ago)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£69.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £499.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 15:23 BST+0100

This is much better.

Well yeah, but I'd rather not spend that much, I can stretch that far but I need new peripherals too, so is there a cheaper version of that build, or something I could substitute from it?

 

[Icaraeus]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£41.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £471.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 15:32 BST+0100

Cheaper motherboard that is roughly as good (just not as many expansion slots/ports)

 

[EoghanKelly]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£41.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £471.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 15:32 BST+0100

Cheaper motherboard that is roughly as good (just not as many expansion slots/ports)

Ok, thanks

 

[EoghanKelly]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£147.99 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£41.21 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.95 @ More Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (£248.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £471.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-30 15:32 BST+0100

Cheaper motherboard that is roughly as good (just not as many expansion slots/ports)

How long do you think this PC should last me if these parts are bought (i.e continue to run new games coming out on high)?

 

[Icaraeus]

It will last the next year or two on high for most games.

 

[guanyu210379]

i5 6400 will last up to 5 years without having any serious bottlenecking.
GTX970 can hold up to 2 years for now, before you must reduce the graphic settings tremendously on 1080p for the coming AAA games.
I would get only the skylake processor+mobo+ddr4 ram, use the iGPU or your current GPU for now, wait a month or two and try to get GTX 1070.