😁 Kimberly Gomez34, if I may—it’s not a crazy idea at all. Spending that extra cash on a Z170 motherboard isn't just throwing money down the drain, no matter how you look at it. That 2.7 GHz clock speed is actually pretty low...
Timothy Kim60 said:It really just comes down to the software—how much there is and if overclocking even offers any real benefit.
Either way, you're better off grabbing an i5-6400 instead of going for the i5-6600k paired with a Z170 motherboard.
He wasn't even looking at the 6600K and Z170 combo; he was eyeing the i5-6400 with a Z170 just to try and push the clock speeds via BCLK. It’s not a totally crazy plan, honestly. If he could actually hit 4 GHz or higher, it would be worth it since the stock clocks on an i5-6400 are pretty underwhelming—sitting right around 2.7 to 3.3 GHz. It would be awesome if it worked, but I'm skeptical about whether you can actually push it that high using BCLK. Plus, most modern BIOS updates probably lock that down anyway to prevent non-K CPUs from being overclocked easily. That's supposed to be the whole selling point for the K-series processors. Anyway, the idea isn't insane; its value just depends on how much it actually works. I don't think it's a bad move to invest in a better motherboard and give overclocking a shot—you haven't got much to lose.
Jason Mendoza said:I'm leaning in that same direction... thinking about just setting that processor aside for now and focusing on grabbing a new GPU and a fresh case. 👍
What exactly are you running for a GPU right now? Or do you even have a dedicated card installed? If that power supply is some cheap Microsoft junk, you should definitely look into swapping it out too.
You don't even need anything high-end if you're just a casual gamer. You didn't mention what GPU or power supply you're running right now, though? With that setup, it should be flying—you've still got a solid i3 and an SSD. If I were you, I might look into changing the case like you mentioned if someone's selling an old card, but there's really no need to force a GTX 1060 if you're just playing things occasionally. An RX 460 would probably be more than enough for what you need for less than $333.
The real question here is: what’s your actual goal for this upgrade? If you're just looking at casual gaming—or even something slightly more intense—simply upgrading your GPU would be a massive leap. Something like an RX 470 would do the trick. If you're dead set on a new processor, honestly, it's probably not worth changing the whole platform. There isn't much a used Core i5 can't handle when it comes to gaming. Besides, CPUs rarely fail, so buying used carries almost zero risk. Even Sandy Bridge is still perfectly fine for pretty much any type of gaming. With $350, it's tough to make a smart move if you're trying to buy everything brand new. You'd naturally look toward Skylake, but it wouldn't make sense to stick with DDR3 RAM; you'd want a motherboard with DDR4 RAM, which means your current 8 GB becomes useless. To me, jumping to Skylake while staying on DDR3 feels like a waste. All things considered, if I were in your shoes, I'd just pick up a used chip like a Core i5 2500 along with an RX 470, RX 480, or a GTX 1060, grab a case, and call it a day. You won't run into any bottlenecking, you'll save a ton of money, and you'll be able to play basically anything you want. 🙂
Running modern titles on a Core 2 Duo is going to be an uphill battle. If you had at least a Quad-core, maybe you could scrape by, but most recent games are just too demanding for those old LGA 775 Core 2 Duo processors. Honestly, if I were in your shoes and could scrape some cash together, I’d look into replacing the CPU, motherboard, RAM, and GPU all at once—though that’s a pretty significant investment. If money is tight, even jumping up to an LGA 775 Quad-core wouldn't be a bad move. Even though they're getting old, those higher-end Core 2 Quad Q9xxx models actually aren't half bad, even by today's standards. If you can find a used Quad-core for $200 or maybe up to $100, and put the rest toward something like a Radeon RX 460, that would be a smart play. Pairing a Radeon RX 460 with a Core 2 Duo just doesn't make sense; the bottleneck will be massive, and you'll be stuck because some games won't even launch on a dual-core processor.
I’d personally go for the top-tier gaming build since it’s realistically the most powerful option when it comes to graphics, and you aren't really losing anything significant on the other components. If an extra 120 GB on your SSD isn't a dealbreaker, then I don't see any reason to settle for anything less than a GTX 1060 if it fits within the budget. 🙂
And I don't think it's just about power draw. Since the current trend is all about lowering hardware consumption, even fairly high-end GPUs can run on mid-range power supplies now. I mean, theoretically, you could pair a GTX 1060 and an i5 with a Hex unit; it’s not a bad power supply, and that combo won't push the Hex too hard. It’s just a question of how "balanced" it feels to drop over $600 on a build only to slap a $50 power supply in it. It used to be simple: more powerful components meant more power draw, which meant you needed a better PSU. Now, that gap has shrunk so much that you could practically put a 400W Hex in a $1,200 rig and it would hold up fine. Personally, seeing that kind of mismatch just rubs me the wrong way. 🙂
This is about as budget as it gets. It’s not going to be a great experience for browsing, and honestly, that $30 power supply isn't exactly something you can trust, but hey, it'll work... more or less.
Intel NUC, 1170, D3, S2, USB 3.0, mATX Corsair 2GB DDR3 1600 Value Se, COR-CMV2GX3M1C160C11 Toshiba DT01ACA050 500GB 3.5'' Linkworld PSU 400W, LKW-LPK2-23-RMA NaviaTec ATX Tower PC Case, No PSU, NVT-995
Total $367 Best Buy
Personally, I'd look for something used instead. You just have to hunt around on eBay or Craigslist a bit. 🙂
I didn't copy it over correctly; the SSD is included too 😬 As for the RX 480, reviews suggest it doesn't have any major overheating issues. Though, honestly, if you can fit a GTX 1060 in there, that’s probably the better move. You can find the cheapest $900... 😲
ASUS Prime H110M-E, s1151 Intel Core i5-6400 (6MB Cache, up to 3.30GHz), s1151 MS RAIDER Silver gaming case PowerColor RX 480 8GB DDR5 500W FSP Fortron Hyper Western Digital 1TB HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM DDR4 8GB (1x8GB) 2133MHz CL15 Crucial
Total: $600 $14 Craigslist
Everything fits, though I think I've pushed it to the limit. 🙂