Mid Range Computer - Looking to upgrade. Budget $1000. - Hardware & Software

Hey guys. So I've been using the setup for over a year now and I'm thinking it is time for a big upgrade to prepare for Arma3 and some other upcoming games that could be quite resource intensive. I like to be able to play all games on the max settings. Current setup: GTX560 1GB GPU. I5 processor, stock speed. 8gb Ram, DDR3. Antec Truepower Trio 650Watt PSU. Budget for upgrade: $1000. But the lower the better :smile: I'd like to upgrade my GPU to maybe a 680 but I'll need a new motherboard as well with the supporting socket. I'm sorry to say that I've fallen behind when it comes to computer hardware so I'm not too sure at this point what's old tech and what's known to be better, really I'm researching at this point and hoping to hear some of your suggestions. Thanks.

Honestly just wait a little bit, your computer isn't necessarily bad at the moment. I get that you want to play all games at max settings but it just won't last as long as you'll want and you'll end up having another $1000 upgrade next year because you couldn't wait for the next gen stuff that's coming out soon. IMO it's best to upgrade with a new generation because you won't feel outdated nearly as fast. [editline]1st March 2013[/editline] Which i5 do you have specifically, by the way? There are 3 generations of them and multiple chips from each so it doesn't really mean much to just say you have an i5.

It's the Intel Core i5-2400 at 3.10Ghz. You're right, I should probably wait.

[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d1sh]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d1sh/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d1sh/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url] [b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k]Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($189.99 @ Microcenter) [b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-cwch100]Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler[/url] ($105.91 @ Amazon) [b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4]ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/url] ($129.99 @ Microcenter) [b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n670pe2gd5oc]MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card[/url] ($369.99 @ Microcenter) [b]Total:[/b] $795.88 [i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i] [i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-01 17:46 EST-0500)[/i] 1. Rationale for a 670 over a 680: between the two, there isn't a whole lot of difference when it comes to performance in games, so I went with the cheaper option, the 670. See for yourself: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=555[/url] 2. Rationale for a 670 over a 7970: there also isn't too much of a difference: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=508[/url] Differences become more apparent if you go with a GHz edition though: [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=618[/url] Overall, it's a matter of picking your poison (particularly if you want to do GPGPU stuff too like Folding@home and Bitcoin mining). NVIDIA's cards perform better in Folding@home, AMD's are better with Bitcoin mining (they're at an all-time high right now). I should also mention that the 3570K and the H100 are combo'ed. Make sure your case can fit the H100, though. If it can't, other air-based cooling alternatives include the [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2]Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO[/url], and the [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14]Noctua NH-D14[/url]. [editline]1st March 2013[/editline] If you're patient, you could wait for Intel's Haswell architecture to come out, but this will require a different mobo (and maybe cooler). But I would echo HCAW's sentiments.

I would wait for all the next generation of CPu and GPU before upgrading because you're only bridging a 1 gen gap. If you can just hang on you will get a much more significant upgrade