Assistance needed with upgrade

Krazen

Krazen

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Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
103
My old i5 3570K system seems to have died so I am looking into upgrading. There seem to be a couple of options with intel processors and motherboards. I haven't built a PC in years and I was wondering what advice you would have for my upgrade. Do these parts make sense or is there a better alternative? Thanks for any help.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming mostly
2) What's your budget? $800
3) Which country do you live in? U.S. Maryland with a Microcenter nearby
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, Processor, Possible Power supply.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? I plan on reusing my Samsung 256GB SSD, Asus GTX960, Case, and possibly Antec Earthwatts 500w EA-500d power supply
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 32" 2560 x 1440
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? Decent onboard audio would be nice. other than that nothing out of the ordinary
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? I already have WIndows 10 Pro 64bit.

My rough start is:

Microcenter has the CPU/Mobo combo for $374.98

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Intel Core i5-8600K ($276.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z370-A Prime Z370-A ($176.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Aegis ($185.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5 ($0 - Owned)
Power Supply: Antec 500W EarthWatts EA-500D Green ($0 - Owned)
Storage: SAMSUNG 256GB 850 PRO MZ-7KE256BW ($0 - Owned)
Case: Diablotek EVO CPA-6170 ($0 - Owned)
Total: $639.84
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound
 
The i5-8600k supports DDR4-2666 RAM, so I'd get that instead of the listed 2400. It's probably a minor performance difference, but the cost difference should also be small.

"k" CPUs don't come with a heatsink, so you'll need to pick up one of those as well. A quality, basic 120mm air-cooled tower (e.g., Noctua, Thermalright) is more than sufficient.

No idea what you're playing, but I'd be surprised if that GTX-960 wasn't holding you back some at 1440p. Any way to swing an upgrade here, such as to a 1070ti or 1080?
 
Krazen said:
My old i5 3570K system seems to have died so I am looking into upgrading. There seem to be a couple of options with intel processors and motherboards. I haven't built a PC in years and I was wondering what advice you would have for my upgrade. Do these parts make sense or is there a better alternative? Thanks for any help.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming mostly
2) What's your budget? $800
3) Which country do you live in? U.S. Maryland with a Microcenter nearby
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, Processor, Possible Power supply.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? I plan on reusing my Samsung 256GB SSD, Asus GTX960, Case, and possibly Antec Earthwatts 500w EA-500d power supply
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 32" 2560 x 1440
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? Decent onboard audio would be nice. other than that nothing out of the ordinary
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? I already have WIndows 10 Pro 64bit.

My rough start is:

Microcenter has the CPU/Mobo combo for $374.98

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Intel Core i5-8600K ($276.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z370-A Prime Z370-A ($176.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Aegis ($185.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5 ($0 - Owned)
Power Supply: Antec 500W EarthWatts EA-500D Green ($0 - Owned)
Storage: SAMSUNG 256GB 850 PRO MZ-7KE256BW ($0 - Owned)
Case: Diablotek EVO CPA-6170 ($0 - Owned)
Total: $639.84
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound
Click to expand...

As mentioned above move to 2666 or better yet 3000.

I'd personally put some money into a better power supply like a Corsair RMX, Seasonic Gold or EVGA Gold.

Otherwise looks good.

May also want to get a Noctua cooler or Cooler Master EVO If you're on a conservative budget.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice. Here is a new list with your suggestions.

I don't have the budget for a new video card right now. Hopefully I can pick one up in a couple of months.



PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Intel Core i5-8600K ($276.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z370-A Prime Z370-A ($176.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8GB) Vengeance LPX ($204.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5 ($0 - Owned)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 850W FOCUS Plus 850 Gold SSR-850FX ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SAMSUNG 256GB 850 PRO MZ-7KE256BW ($0 - Owned)
Case: Diablotek EVO CPA-6170 ($0 - Owned)
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 ($29.59 @ Amazon)
Total: $773.42
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound
 
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