Any way to cheaply upgrade/refresh my pc? maybe it is worth upgrading ram? (2500k rig)

HiCZoK

HiCZoK

Gawd
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
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Hey everyone. I bought this in 2012 and it's still going strong.
I don't mind capping games to 30fps with riva tuner if needed but I feel like my pc might need some cheap refreshing anyway.
I will post list of my parts and what I think about them. This is what I have:

Motherboard:
Asrock p67 pro3 - so It's a super cheap mobo and it shows. I have fiio e10k and had to get pci usb extension card because the usb on the back were giving me pops in audio... besides that, its a solid mobo. No problem with oc or stability. Maybe I would just like it to be micro or itx... more on that later.
CPU:
2500k running at 4.5ghz with fixed vcore at 1.30. Stable and fast I think. no problems with it. Never going past 65 degrees C in gaming. And thats passive on macho 120. yes. I just remove the fan, no need for it as There are case fans above and behind it exhausting. I like quiet pc.
GPU:
Gigabyte 7870oc edition. I overclocked it even more. to 1170, so past 7950 levels. Its good. Don't think I have any problems with it. It stays below 60 degrees and thats with fans locked at 30%. its rather loud above that.
Memory:
2x4gb of Kingston 1.5v 1333 blu. I don't need more memory but maybe it's a good idea to get 2133 or 2400 ? It's rather affordable and some say they will speed up cpu, Not even sure if my mobo supports xmp and not sure what is compatibile with asrock p67pro3 and 2500k
Case:
Fractal 3000. Good sturdy case with lots of options. I removed front fan intaking air and just left back and up fan exhausting. No difference in temps. Just less dust and less noise. I like the idea of small form factor pc but I would need new case, psu and mobo... that supports 2500k.
PSU:
650W corsair gs. It's laud when gaming... and whiny all the time. IT does the job and looks good but I hate the noise. And it's not modular. I would like something modular and quiet.

Hard Drives and peripherals are all good. ssd 120gb plextor for system and old 1tb wd for storage. No problems. Got new monitor last month. 1080p. Don't need more.

So I wonder if there is any point in upgrading any part or just left it as it is and change the whole thing in like 2 years time.

So I wonder if I should just change ram and maybe psu or just go full m/iatx... but that can be a bit expensive. Would I gain any performance from going with better ram?
What about psu? Any budget silent modular options ?

edit:Btw. My firestrike score is a bit over 5900.
 
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Your CPU should be good for a while longer I think. Most things I've read imply that you're unlikely to bottleneck most common GPU configurations with Sandybridge and newer. I'm sure you'd want better for 980ti sli but my buddy runs a GTX 970 on a 2500K clocked lower than yours, and we get about the same frames on the same games and I'm on a 3570K running at 4.0. What do you consider cheap? A 7870 is pretty dated at this point, so I'm betting a new graphics card would make you feel much better. You are likely to find something really really awesome in comparison to the 7870 for under $300. I wouldn't worry too much about your ram, see if you can overclock it to 1600 if you must. You probably could if the stock voltage is 1.5, as you should be able to safely raise it to 1.65ish. Even then I doubt it'll make much of a difference. I'd leave it be for a while, get a new GPU, and start a fund for 6th or 7th gen Intel and wait to see how AMD and Nvidia come out this coming, or next gen. Also, if that power supply is annoying you, keep an eye out for a good deal on something with the H approval. That's something you could easily put in your current rig, and carry over when you build anew.

Edit: More info. Looks like the Corsair RM750X can be had for around $100 and its fully modular with the flat cables to boot, and has a silent fan mode when under low/med load. The [H] didn't have a review on it but kitguru did. Here's the link to that.
Corsair RM750x review

Edit 2: Check jet.com for good deals on stuff. I usually point to it because you can usually find a good coupon code to save sometimes as much as $50 off your first purchase from them. You can also nickel and dime your way down another 15 or 20 bucks by opting out of the free return shipping and by paying with a debit card. My buddy just got his Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gamer edition (one of the most $$$ 970's) for I think like $307 after tax, which compared to newegg is a killer deal.
 
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I think I will pass on gpu upgrade for now. I bet I could find something better below 300$ but now feels like wrong time to change.
Anyway, I am from Poland and prices here are not quite the same. And gpu like 970 went sky high in past year due to it's popularity. 960 costs about 250$ here and 970 is about 420ish.

Overclocking ram and getting that psu sounds like a good idea !
Not sure what settings should I use for my ram tho. I don't see xmp option in bios anyw and Kingston don't lists timings for these blu 1333 sticks.

as for the recommended psu. It looks good. i would prefer something totally fanless but if it's quiet, it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks, will look into it

my current corsair psu is also not turning fan in desktop/low power consumption mode but when it's on... its not bad. It's just that its turning on and off all the time and its super loud when doing that.
 
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Upgrade the GPU like the poster mentioned above. Aside from that, you could always find a 7870 for $120 and crossfire; your existing setup should be capable. Granted, crossfire kinda sucks sometimes, but that'd give the biggest bang for the buck.
 
My mobo dont support crossfire. Besides, i never was a fan of that idea.
 
It's been a long time since I've overclocked non XMP memory, but if I remember correctly as long as timings are set on auto you should just be able to specify a clock and be decent. The auto timings may not be optimal, but that matters less than it used to as far as I know.
 
As has been pointed out, your weakest link is the GPU, by far. A 390/970 or equivalent, as mentioned above, would give you roughly double the performance at a fair price. Don't want to spend that much? Buy used to hold you over. A 290/770 should be fairly priced is used and over a sizeable bump (the 290 begging better, but there 770 being cheaper).

RAM OC won't do much for performance, and a PSU swap will help with noise.
 
Thanks.
I might look into used market.

Now I kinda have a grasp of where things are nowadays. I was kind out of a loop with all the new amd names and nvidia offering like only 970 card
 
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