PC Upgrade Ideas

You could actually go with an older i5 3350p instead. Performance-wise, it’s basically neck-and-neck with an i5 4430 or an Intel Core i5-4440—I’d say there’s maybe a negligible 5% difference, so they're essentially the same thing to you.

http://www.diskont24.com/product.php?productid=118316
http://www.diskont24.com/product.php...cat=568&page=2

The i5 3350p would run perfectly fine even on some of the cheaper motherboards like this one:
http://www.diskont24.com/product.php...cat=568&page=1
The only catch is that those budget boards are a bit stripped down—they lack USB 3.0 and SATA 3 connectors. So, if your budget allows, I’d suggest sticking with that B75 board mentioned above.

Just as a heads-up so you don't run into any headaches: that i5 4440 won't fit in these specific boards. It uses the LGA 1150 socket, whereas the i5 3350p uses the LGA 1155 socket. All that technical info should be listed right there in the product descriptions.

To VG3 motherboard looks more like an ITX build to me😬

I'd take the H61-P20 any day—it comes with a 3-year warranty and doesn't look like some Lego brick😁

crimsonstag84 said:To VG3 motherboard looks more like an ITX board to me.😬

I’d go with the H61-P20 instead; you get a 3-year warranty and it doesn't look like a Lego brick.😁

It might look like it, but it isn't.😬

Just so you don't run into any trouble—not all H61 Ivy Bridge processors are supported right out of the box. The VG3 definitely supports them, and I'm pretty sure those MSI boards ending in G3, like the H61M-P20-G3, work too.

That way you won't have to hunt someone down just to flash a BIOS update.

It probably looks to you all as if I’m just indecisive for the sake of being difficult or simply don't have a clue what I'm aiming for, but I assure you, that isn't the case at all.
When we first floated this idea of an upgrade, my eyes were set exclusively on gaming performance. However, things have shifted slightly because my kid—who is now a fifth grader—has been filming and editing short movies using Adobe Premiere Pro for school, and he’s actually developed quite a passion for it. He’s been churning out videos and uploading them to YouTube, and he’s one of those kids who absolutely insists on having music blasting in his ears while he plays games.
Back when I first started posting on these forums, I barely grasped the fundamental differences between various CPU architectures, but with every response I receive, certain concepts become clearer, even if other parts remain a total mystery to me.
It is perfectly obvious to me now that a new GPU would be a fantastic addition, but unfortunately, the budget has been completely eaten up by our winter tire expenses, so I am forced to make a choice. My ultimate goal is to avoid having to perform massive overhauls again in a year's time; ideally, I'd only need to swap out the graphics card later down the road.
So, given all of this context, I am curious to know which path represents the wiser investment (keeping in mind that an i5 is the absolute ceiling of my current budget).
That is just how it goes when you have a child with a million different interests and you personally still believe a computer is a pretty incredible piece of machinery.

Everything is fine. You should take your time to think it over—until you actually commit the funds, you still have all the options available to you. Usually, while you're busy crunching the numbers, an even better opportunity ends up popping up anyway...

You really can't go wrong with either option. From what I've heard, that Intel Core i5-3570K performs better for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects due to its architecture, though I can't speak from direct experience since I've never used those programs myself—I just never had much interest in them. There are so many different apps in that Adobe suite anyway.

The Best benchmark site for Premiere Pro is http://ppbm5.com/
If you are going to edit HiDef you need an i7 or for standard def video at least an i5
The Intel lacks some of the special firmware instructions that PPro uses, so will always be slower than Intel
If you are looking at a laptop, read http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1069742
-and http://forums.adobe.com/message/4578948

That FX 6300 has less efficient cores, but it does have two extra ones and can boost performance through overclocking—so that helps bridge the gap. I don't think the Intel Core i5-3570K has a massive lead, especially if the software or game is well-optimized for multiple cores (which most are these days). In practice, I doubt you'd even notice a difference in processing speed unless you were actually timing it; the margin is slim.

In my opinion, the Intel Core i7-3770K would be the superior choice for heavy-duty video rendering and 3D work, though it'll definitely be the pricier route.

EDIT

Regardless of which one you pick, you won't be needing an upgrade in a year; you should be set for a few years.

Well, things are starting to make a lot more sense now. If I decide to pull the trigger on an Intel Core i5-3570K, which motherboard would actually be worth my time while still offering four RAM slots? My plan is to pick up some 8 GB sticks, so if anyone could point me toward a winner from this massive pile of options, I’d certainly appreciate it. I'm assuming it's common sense to aim for the ones clocked at 1600 MHz or higher, right?

Just grab whatever cheap RAM is on sale... I mean, who actually needs 32GB anyway? xD

I guess 8GB is probably overkill for gaming.

I guess 8GB should hold you over for at least three years. By then, you might be looking at a total system overhaul anyway, probably moving over to DDR4.

I seem to have misspoken in my previous rambling. What I actually intended to convey was my plan to install 8 GB of RAM during this initial build phase, leaving plenty of headroom for potential upgrades down the road whenever the need arises.

Look, if you’re planning on going with a single 8GB stick, a board with just two slots is plenty. For this 1155 socket era, you can easily find budget-friendly boards with four slots available.

If you have the choice, go with the ATX (that second one). It looks much cleaner in an ATX case, and having that extra breathing room makes the whole building process a lot easier.

For example, the 1150 options tend to be a bit pricier.

Just check around different retailers and see which one fits your needs best.

If your son really gets serious about this, he should definitely look into getting an SSD down the road.npr. Aside from being great for productivity work, it will make the entire PC feel snappier and significantly cut down game loading times if they're installed on it.

There isn't a massive performance difference between 1333 and 1600 MHz RAM, and since memory prices have skyrocketed recently—nearly double what they were last year—it's really not worth the premium for those faster 1600 sticks. That speed boost is mostly beneficial for people relying on integrated graphics since they don't have dedicated VRAM.

Timothy Kim60, I really appreciate you bearing with me and offering such guidance; things are finally starting to click, and I have a much clearer picture of how all these components actually fit together. My next move is to sit down and scout out where to find the best deals, have a serious heart-to-heart with my son to see if this obsession with filmmaking is just a passing phase or a genuine calling, gather up a stack of cash, and finally pull the trigger on a purchase. Honestly, everything you guys suggested seems perfectly adequate for his current skill level, because I’ve never been the type of parent who believes a kid needs the absolute bleeding edge of technology the second it hits the shelves—if this turns out to be a lifelong passion, then we can worry about upgrading later.

I truly want to thank everyone here for the advice, and I wish you all nothing but the best in the coming year. And may you all deal with far fewer tedious characters like myself, ha, ha, ha.

Best regards,

So, it’s been about two years since I last messed with my build and I'm finally looking to refresh some parts

intel g840
nvidia gtx 560 Ti
4gb ddr3 ram
chieftec 450w

Anyone got any decent suggestions? I've got roughly $220 to work with, and honestly, I just care about gaming performance right now.

Your CPU is definitely gonna bottleneck that GPU. What else are you running in this build? Like, what kind of case are you rocking, what’s the motherboard, and how old is that chieftec 450 w power supply?

That’s exactly what I’m worried about, so I was thinking about jumping to an i5 instead. It’s a 1155 socket, but I can't quite remember which specific one...
The motherboard is an Intel GA-H67M
And I think that chieftec 450 w has been running for maybe two years
I'm not totally sure about the case, but honestly, it doesn't really matter since I'm not at my place right now 🙂

Haha, if you're looking at the used market, it doesn't really matter—just don't go overboard and blow too much cash on it. You're looking at the $800-$333 range for stuff like an i5 2300, 2400, 3350P, or 2310, all of which are going to feel way faster than that Pentium you're running now.

After that, you might want to look into upgrading your RAM or maybe selling off your current GPU to squeeze out some extra cash for something like an HD 7870 or whatever.

If you decide to just head down to Best Buy and buy everything brand new, most of your budget is honestly just gonna get eaten up by the cpu alone.

One quick heads-up though: before you ditch the Pentium, make sure you flash the BIOS so you actually have full support for all those Sandy and Ivy Bridge processors.

3470 versus 3570—it’s basically a toss-up.

I'm thinking about jumping on a new i5 and was planning to bump up the RAM too 🙂

thanks for the heads-up on the BIOS update, totally slipped my mind.

Those P-series models don't come with integrated graphics, so if you need some kind of backup plan in case your dedicated card decides to quit on you, you might want to look at an i5 3330—or maybe check out those slightly pricier options Benjamin King2 suggested.

Personally, I’d suggest he just goes with a P-series processor—it's a solid choice—but unfortunately, it isn't showing up on the CPU support list.

So, I finally pulled the trigger on the 3470. Unless there's some other newer i5 I haven't even considered yet, I guess that's it for me.
How's the 4570 holding up, though?
And regarding the GPU, I actually have an extra one sitting around in reserve somewhere.🙂