Gaming upgrade

[Xarick]

I keep waiting for an amazing deal, but none have arrived.
My budget $500-$600
buying most likely from an online source as the only computer store near me is fry's.

current system
asus p5qse
6gig ddr2 800
q9550 @ 3.4ghz
1tb WD black drive
1 bluray drive
1 750 antec true power
1 creative xtreme gamer
1 gtx 670 2gb OC
case antec 300

I need a good gaming rig upgrade

 

[mfenn]

The GTX 670 is still quite fast, so your most effective upgrades are going to be Mobo/CPU/RAM and adding an SSD.

i5 4670K + MSI Z87-G55 + G.Skill DDR3 1600 8GB combo $409 AR
Crucial M500 240GB $150
Total: $559 AR

 

[lehtv]

Agree with above. Upgrading the CPU will remove any CPU limit from gaming, and buying an SSD will remove the disk performance bottleneck from every day use (as well as improving loading times in games).

It wouldn't make any sense to only upgrade the graphics card, as the Q9550 is getting slow by today's standards. The 4670K could easily handle a faster graphics card than your 670, but you don't have the budget for upgrading the graphics card as well.

EDIT: Also, Kingston V300 240GB is a great SSD for just $131 shipped. Some avoid Sandforce controllers on principle, but the V300 series drives have been extremely well received.

 

[Xarick]

Is that motherboard any good? It is quite a bit lower price than I was originally looking at.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Pretty much any Z87 mobo you get from MSI is going to be fine. Any doubts you have are from well placed advertising telling you that you need a HyperTurboUltraPlus GOLD Caps Military Grade XX Z87 PRO III with DUAL UEFI and USB Acceleration (pretty much all things I've seen, and are useless).

 

[gammaray]

...you need a HyperTurboUltraPlus GOLD Caps Military Grade XX Z87 PRO III with DUAL UEFI and USB Acceleration (pretty much all things I've seen, and are useless).

haha good one! as long as your mobo isn't invisible from the camo paint!

 

[Xarick]

is the jump the the g45 worth it for the audio? I ask because I would like to dump the creative card.

 

[mjd]

The modern on-board audio is fine. Unless you have specific, special needs, I wouldn't bother with the sound card. Money in your pocket, yo!

 

[Sleepingforest]

It'll depend on your audio setup. If anything you have needs an amp, you'll probably need to keep the card or get an amp (the Schiit Magni and the Objective2 amp from JDSLabs are good options).

 

[Charlie98]

you need a HyperTurboUltraPlus GOLD Caps Military Grade XX Z87 PRO III with DUAL UEFI and USB Acceleration...

You... you mean... I DON'T need all that? But... they said I DID.

 

[mfenn]

The modern on-board audio is fine. Unless you have specific, special needs, I wouldn't bother with the sound card. Money in your pocket, yo!

Agree with this. :thumbsup: I would go further and say that if you do have specific-special needs, they'd be better served by an outboard DAC/AMP that by putting a sound card in the PC.

 

[Xarick]

What about overclocking. I have my q9950 at 3.4ghz. I don't need to go crazy, but want some juice.

Also what about Asrock or Gigabyte boards?

 

[Sleepingforest]

Well, if you follow mfenn's suggestion, that motherboard is just fine. Pretty much any Z87 board will be just fine because Intel has certain standards (992 pages, in fact) for their motherboard power delivery systems, and those standards for Z87 are good enough for an overclock to 4-4.5GHz.

 

[mfenn]

What about overclocking. I have my q9950 at 3.4ghz. I don't need to go crazy, but want some juice.

Also what about Asrock or Gigabyte boards?

ASRock and Gigabyte are fine boards, but they don't have any special features over the MSI and cost more due to the lack of combo discounts. The G55 will take the i5 4670K to a good air overclock.

 

[Xarick]

Alright. I think I am gonna go for the g55. However, I still need a HS/fan.

 

[mfenn]

Alright. I think I am gonna go for the g55. However, I still need a HS/fan.

The TRUE Spirit 140 is a good deal at $50 and will handle pretty much any overclock you care to throw at the machine.