Gaming upgrade with a $600 budget?

Hey there,

I think it’s finally time for me to pull the trigger on an upgrade—honestly, trying to run anything released lately is becoming a total nightmare on this rig.
Anyway, here’s what I’m currently rocking:

GIGABYTE H77M-D3H Motherboard, LGA 1155, DDR3, SATA3, USB3, Gigabit LAN
Intel Core i3-2120 (3.30GHz, 3MB, 65W, LGA 1155) box
8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 PC12800/1600 MHz - Kingston HyperX
500 GB SATA II Hard Drive, 64MB, 3.5", Western Digital Caviar Green
ATI Radeon HD 7770 1 GB, GDDR5, 128 bit, HDMI, DVI, DP
LG DVD+/- RW SATA, 24x
550W Spire SP-ATX-550W-PFC Power Supply, passive PFC, 12cm fan

It would be absolutely ideal if I could avoid swapping out the motherboard... just to save myself the headache.
I’ve got about $1333-$1500 ready to go in cold hard cash.
If you guys have any solid advice or suggestions on what parts I should grab and where to shop, please let me know! 👍

Picking up an i5 3xxx from eBay

1 x Asus Radeon R9 290 x 4 GB R9290X-DC2-4GD5
1 x Fortron Raider S 550W, 80+
$1099

Best Buy

So, what’s the actual lifespan of an i5 processor—do they just die on you out of nowhere? I’ve been rocking my own i3 for two years now and honestly, I haven't noticed any extra heat or anything slowing it down, but still...
I'm just not sure if it's even worth hunting through Craigslist for parts, especially when there's zero warranty involved.
If I remember right, a brand new one goes for about $533? Personally, I’d rather just drop the cash on a fresh unit than blow 1,000 bucks on some random used part from God knows where, don't you think?

Processors don't just fail; they are arguably the most perfect and durable components in any build. You might run into one dud in every few thousand—maybe even tens of thousands. If you can still find them, buying a used one is absolutely worth it.

Regarding those Intel processors—they have a nice, flat surface underneath them. It's a bit different from AMD, where you've got all those little pins that can be so easy to bend if you aren't careful.

Of course, if a user messes it up, that's on them. Those pins slide right into the socket perfectly; you'd have to be a complete amateur to force it if it isn't seating correctly. As for the CPU, it’s not just going to die on its own—that's an extremely rare occurrence.

Sure, overclocking a processor can shave bits off its lifespan, especially if someone decides to push it way past its limits, but even then, that lifespan is still going to outlast the average user's interest in the machine itself. Wouldn't you agree? Personally, I’d always run a prolonged stress test on the CPU just to be absolutely certain everything is holding up under pressure before calling it a success.

A stress test isn't really meant to verify if a processor is functional—I don't think that's even a thing.

It's more about checking if the voltage is sufficient for stable operation and seeing if anything starts overheating.

So, I decided to scrape together a little more cash first...

Basically, I went with crimsonstag84's build as a base but added a few extra bits—so if you guys could take a look and tell me if this actually holds up or if there's a better way to go, I'd appreciate it.

XFX AMD Radeon ™ R9 390 8GB DD
$950

550W PSU, ANTEC True Power Classic TP-550C, ATX, 120mm vent.
$215
Will this be enough juice?

Intel I5 3550 3,3 GHz 1155 (Found it on eBay—honestly don't have much of a choice since they're basically nonexistent in local stores...)
$467

Samsung 120GB 850 EVO Basic SSD
$189

Toshiba 2TB, 7200rpm, 64MB HDD
$209

Since almost everything here is fresh, and I'm planning on handing my old rig over to my brother, I was thinking about just grabbing a new motherboard, a different CPU, and a new case too.
I'm torn on whether it even makes sense for him to get a motherboard for my old setup when I can just buy myself a whole new platform right now and let him have all my old parts.
That way, he'd only need to hunt down some RAM instead of having to buy a board for that old 1155 socket...
Also, what's the actual real-world difference between Intel's 3rd gen and 4th gen CPUs?

That price is an absolute rip-off for used gear; at the very least, it $333 should be priced closer to

http://www.amazon.com/s?k=i5+3330
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=i5-3340

In your situation, you might actually want to grab one from Best Buy. Processors almost never fail—it's incredibly rare—so any bad experiences people have had with their return policies are pretty much irrelevant here, provided they actually have it in stock.

Or just wait for a used one at a reasonable price.

The power supply is fine, but for that kind of money, you could get a Sapphire Nitro with a much better cooler (it’s quite long) or a Gigabyte model with a 3-year warranty (though those are short). The main thing is, what kind of case are you running?

Timothy Kim60 said:That price is straight-up highway robbery for used gear—honestly, for $333 you should be looking at

http://www.google.com/search?q=i5+3330

In your shoes, I’d probably just grab one from Best Buy—I mean, CPUs almost never die (it's insanely rare), so any sketchy vibes about their return policy don't really matter here, assuming they even have them in stock.

Or just wait until you find a decent deal on the used market.

The power supply is fine, but for that kind of cash, you could snag a Sapphire Nitro with a way better cooler (it's pretty beefy) or maybe a Gigabyte if you want that 3-year warranty (though those tend to be short). Just gotta know—what kind of case are you running?

http://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/support/product-specs/optiplex-series/

Graphics cards up to 295mm will fit, so this one would work. That said, I’m a bit hesitant about putting it in a budget case like that—given the high TDP, you absolutely have to prioritize airflow. You already have the 92mm fan in the rear, so I’d suggest adding a 12cm fan to the front, for example. Alternatively, you could go with a gtx 970 which has a lower TDP.

In real-world usage, there isn't any meaningful difference between an i5 3xxx and a 4xxx; you honestly wouldn't feel the change. Now, regarding that deal with your brother, what kind of specs are we talking about?

Timothy Kim60 said:GPU length goes up to 295mm, so this one would fit—though honestly, I’m not sure if I’d even bother putting it in a budget case like that (given the high TDP). You absolutely have to sort out the airflow; you’ve already got the 92mm one in the back, maybe slap a 12cm fan in the front.

Realistically, there’s zero difference between an i5 3xxx and a 4xxx in actual use—you wouldn't feel a thing. Anyway, regarding that whole situation with your brother, what kind of specs is he running?

Pre-installed fan:
Rear:1* 9cm fan
Front:1* 12cm Blue led fan

👍

Basically nothing, except for some cheap plastic trim XD

Otherwise, you're stuck buying an entirely new setup from scratch.

The ventilation issue is sorted then; that 6008 model only came with the Rear fan. I added a link above for a gtx 970 that should fit perfectly—performance-wise, the GPUs are basically in the same league right now.

Timothy Kim60 said:You'd basically be buying an entirely new build from scratch at that point.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking—just building the whole thing from the ground up instead of trying to scavenge an old motherboard for my i3, especially if the prices for 1150 and 1155 boards are pretty much neck and neck anyway.

Nvidia is a hard pass for me :P

So, what kind of budget are we working with here? If you aren't looking to drop at least six grand, there's no way you're landing a GPU in that same league as the one mentioned above.

Honestly, even if someone threw $6,500 at me, it probably wouldn't have been enough—not even close, if you ask me 😢

You said you'd break your back working for this, yet here he is just shopping around

Everything new under $600 could potentially be cobbled together with an FX 8300, but if we go with an i5, we're going to need a bigger budget

We could probably save about $10 by grabbing a cheaper motherboard (like an H81M-HDS), ditching the flashy lights (-$40) and so on, plus maybe picking up a more budget-friendly power supply (at least an XFX 550) - $33...

For $2167, you could probably snag an R9 390 paired with an i5, though you wouldn't get an SSD included.