Upgrade ideas?

Hey everyone, I’m looking at upgrading my CPU and motherboard and would love to get some feedback on my plan.
Here’s what I’m currently running:

Intel Core i7 Desktop PC
I7 3770
16GB HyperX DDR3
NVIDIA RTX Gaming PC
Corsair HX650
Nepton 240m
An OCZ Vertex 120GB SSD and a 500GB HDD

I’m planning to swap out the motherboard, processor, and RAM. My budget is sitting somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000...

Man, just some plain old bread over here 🙂

Lawrence Phillips said:Just some nonsense 🙂

^ 🤣

What sparked the itch to upgrade? Is your wallet just feeling heavy, or are you actually hitting some performance walls?

I’m thinking about handing down my current motherboard and CPU to my brother, then upgrading myself to something a bit more substantial.

Ethan Phillips60 said:Hey everyone, I'm looking into upgrading my CPU and motherboard, and I'd love to get some feedback on my plan.
My current setup:

none
none
16GB HyperX DDR3
none
none
none
An OCZ Vertex 120GB SSD and a 500GB HDD

I'm planning to swap out the motherboard, processor, and RAM. My budget is around $3,000–$4,000...

What’s the primary use for this PC? If it's strictly for gaming, just upgrade the GPU. For instance, you could grab something like a high-end card for quad-core gaming—prices are dropping steadily anyway—since your current rig still has plenty of life left in it.

EDIT

Ah, I see this is for your brother, but the intended use is still the most important factor.

Strictly for gaming purposes.

i5 8400
Gigabyte GA-Z370P-D3
DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) PC4-24000U 3000MHz CL16 G.Skill Aegis, F4-3000C16D-16GISB

You aren't going to see any real gains just by swapping out the platform; just drop in something like a GTX 1070 and everything will fly. If you change the platform, you likely won't see any improvement in your FPS at all.

Look, if the guy has a power supply capable of handling an R9 290 and a CPU beefy enough to keep up—think maybe an i5 Sandy Bridge, an FX 6300, or even better—then you should just hand him the GPU and grab the GTX 1070 for yourself. Alternatively, you could take his power supply and give him yours to run that R9 290, since the GTX 1070 is much more efficient with power consumption.

Is it actually worth my time hunting down a used 2011 socket motherboard on eBay?
I’ve got an I7-3930k sitting around gathering dust right now. I was thinking about building a rig around it, handing my current setup over to my brother, and then just picking up a new GPU on the side. Does that plan make any sense?

X79 motherboards are pretty hard to find and usually overpriced... this might be your one shot:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/motherboard-listing-example

Maybe try offering them $110 for the board.

He's asking $1,100 just for the motherboard.

In that case, you might be better off just selling the processor for roughly the same amount.

Is this used GPU actually worth picking up?
https://www.amazon.com/graphics-card-refurbished/dp/8100001091

I’d much rather go with this one

Plus, it actually still has some warranty left on it.

Ethan Phillips60 said:Is it worth picking up this used graphics card?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/graphics-card-example/dp/8100001091

It’s decent, but if you check Craigslist, you can definitely find one with better warranty coverage.

As for that I7-3930k—either buy a compatible motherboard or just sell it. Do something with it; it's better than letting it sit there gathering dust.

Is this actually worth picking up for $317?

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X79A-GD45.html

Honestly, you're getting way more bang for your buck here than if you went out and grabbed an i5 8400 along with a brand-new motherboard and some overpriced RAM. It’s a no-brainer. I’m running an I7-3930k myself, and I have to say, I couldn't be happier with it. Once you overclock it, this chip still holds its own and performs incredibly well.

By the way, I actually picked up the I7-3930k paired with that Asus board you linked, and everything is running perfectly smooth.

Is overclocking an absolute necessity for this CPU?
Or can I just leave it alone?

It feels like a waste not to overclock this... especially since at stock settings, it doesn't really outperform an Intel Core i7 3770 in most scenarios. That MSI board might struggle a bit for $317, but for a 750-$267, it could probably work.