AdviceDo you think I can I upgrade?
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AdviceDo you think I can I upgrade?Posted:
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So I built a desktop back in 2012. I bought a gaming laptop last year as I was moving around a lot for my job. I am now in a place that I will staying for quite some time and would like to go back to a desktop. I do not have the money to purchase a new gaming desktop. I would like to upgrade my current desktop if possible. I play games like, Anthem, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Division 2. The specs are below. I was thinking I could get a new video card, more ram and an SSD. I am hoping to stay under $500. I am not sure what video cards are compatible with my build? Where would I be bottle necked? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W BX80623I52500K GPU: XFX Double D Radeon HD 6950 DirectX 11 HD-695X-CDFC 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Power supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750M 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Memory Kit Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R Is this rig even worth updating? Thanks! |
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Yes, you can definitely upgrade. Sandy Bridge is pretty dated at this point, but a 2500k is still a perfectly adequate CPU tbh. You'll definitely start seeing it's age soon, especially with a GPU upgrade, but it's for sure worth holding on to for now IMO. If you haven't overclocked the 2500k, it'll probably be worth overclocking now. Depending on what cooler you're using, you might want to spend $50ish or so on an aftermarket cooler for overclocking. Like you said though, I'd be focusing on RAM, SSD, and GPU first.
What monitor(s) are you using? HD6950/2500k era was before even 1080p was very common so if you're running sub 1080p monitor, it'll definitely be worth using some of your budget to upgrade monitor(s). If you are running at least 1080p monitors, then I'd go either a GTX 1660Ti or an RTX 2060. Gigabyte GTX 1660Ti - $280 Gigabyte RTX 2060 - $360 The RTX 2060 comes with a free game now. Your choice of BF V, Anthem, or Metro Exodus. The 1660Ti does not come with any free games. I'd probably go for the RTX 2060 since it'll be within your budget, it's a bit faster than the 1660Ti and comes with a free game. For RAM, DDR3 can be a hassle to find new, or is over-priced so just grab a used 8GB kit of DDR3, shouldn't be any more than $20 for 8GB of used DDR3. Lastly, SSD. 480-512GB SSD's are the best value right now so that's what I'd be aiming for. You can get some super cheap 480GB SSD's for $55ish, but I'd probably go for the Crucial MX500 or Samsung 860 EVO. Both come with a 5 year warranty and perform about as good as a SATA SSD will perform. |
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| Thank you very much for the information. Do you think I will need to update my BIOS with either card? |
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| Also, my heatsink is Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan. Is this adequate for overclocking? |
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No, BIOS is irrelevant for a GPU upgrade. You'd need a BIOS update if you wanted to swap your Sandy Bridge CPU for an Ivy Bridge CPU, but that wouldn't make sense anyway.
For GPU, you'll want to run DDU before you remove the HD6950 from your rig to remove the AMD GPU drivers completely. Once DDU has finished, and the system is turned off, just swap the HD6950 for the new GPU and install the NVidia drivers once you've booted the system back up with the new GPU. RAM should be plug and play, so long as it's working of course. SSD is also pretty much plug and play, though you will need to format it and assign a drive letter for it to be recognised in Windows. Figured it would probably be a 212 EVO lol. I'd stick with that cooler for now and just see what kind of overclocks you can get with it. Sandy Bridge was pretty good for temps, and most 2500k's could hit 4.4-4.6GHz with a reasonable cooler. If you find the 212 EVO is maybe limiting you quite drastically in terms of an overclock, or you're uncomfortable with temps, then you can consider upgrading it but why not hold on to it for now, and see how well it does for you. |
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| Thanks again for the info. I appreciate it. |
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21 wrote No, BIOS is irrelevant for a GPU upgrade. You'd need a BIOS update if you wanted to swap your Sandy Bridge CPU for an Ivy Bridge CPU, but that wouldn't make sense anyway. @Ninja One more question for you. Which graphics card, of the 2 tour suggested is better? I see the 2060 is offering a free game (Anthem) which I intend to purchase anyways so that lowers the price to $290 and the 1660 is $280. |
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deejay413 wrote @Ninja One more question for you. Which graphics card, of the 2 tour suggested is better? I see the 2060 is offering a free game (Anthem) which I intend to purchase anyways so that lowers the price to $290 and the 1660 is $280. Definitely the RTX 2060 then. There's a 20% reduction in CUDA cores with the 1660Ti over the 2060, and the 1660Ti is going to be 10-15% slower on average. Plus the RTX 2060 has additional features over the 1660Ti so for essentially a $10 difference, absolutely go for the 2060. If it's a $60+ price difference, then that's when the 1660Ti makes more sense IMO. |
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