Upgrade recommendations?

My CPU is an Intel Core i5-2500K
motherboard is an ASRock 970 Extreme3
GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
4 gigs of RAM
power supply is a Corsair 500W, if I recall correctly

It’s about a year old

What’s the best way to beef this up? Or should I just cut my losses, sell the whole thing, and jump ship to a fresh Intel build?
I mainly use it for 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Engine, UDK, high poly modeling, and ZBrush

My plan was to just upgrade enough to run a 64-bit OS—maybe grab an Intel Core i5-3570K and some more RAM—since it seems like everyone is ditching 32-bit support these days

So how much cash are we talking about here? Maybe an Intel Core i5-3570K plus a cooler, then just bump the RAM up to 8 or 16GB and toss in an SSD.

fadedorca66 said:So, what kind of budget are we actually looking at here? If you're working with an Intel Core i5-3570K, a decent cooler, and you plan on bumping that RAM up to either 8 or 16GB along with throwing in an SSD, how much cash are you willing to drop to make it happen?

2 2500 3000

I mean, I could just sell off my current rig, toss in another three grand, and just bite the bullet on a brand-new build. It’s that classic dilemma, isn't it? You're sitting there staring at your setup, weighing whether it's worth patching up an old sinking ship or if you should just walk into Best Buy and start over from scratch. Sometimes, trying to upgrade a dinosaur feels like trying to put a turbocharger on a lawnmower—sure, it might move a little faster, but you're still fundamentally working with a machine that wasn't meant for the race. Either way, it's a hell of a lot of money to throw around.

driftingdrifter88 said:2,250 to 3,000

Or I could just sell my current rig, toss in another 3k, and buy something entirely new.

If you’re looking to upgrade what you already have, here is how I would play it:

Intel Core i7-4770K Processor (3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W) box
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P Motherboard
Raijintek EreBoss CPU Cooler (P/N: CPRT-004)
Patriot Signature Series DDR3 1600MHz, 4GB PSD34G160081 (get the same RAM sticks you currently have; I just listed this 4GB one as an example)

Total cost: $2,446.75 at Best Buy if you have $1000 available for an upgrade. You should also throw in this SSD http://www.bestbuy.com/details/ssd-120gb

driftingdrifter88 said:2 2500 3000

and if I sell my current rig, add another 3k, and just buy a whole new build

I don't think that's worth the investment; you actually have a decent foundation here.

Just drop in an
Intel Core i7-4770K
and grab an aftermarket CPU cooler if you haven't yet—maybe something like a Spire Kepler or an LC 95

Also, get a Samsung EVO SSD

plus some more RAM (either matching yours or similar sticks).

Well, his motherboard doesn't even support 8-core processors... 😕

Dammit, it doesn't support the Intel Core i7-4770K. These 970 Extreme3 boards they're pushing nowadays are all the R2.0 versions.

It supports those older 8-core chips like the 8120, 8150, and FX8300 (which you can't find anywhere in the States), so damn it, I'll just have to settle for the Intel Core i5-3570K.

SanDisk 120 GB 840 $206
Thermaltake Contac 30 $85
DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston $83
Just overclock that Intel Core i3-2100 and save your cash for a new build.

nytimes.com

EVGA AMD Radeon R9 280 3G GDDR5 PCI-E DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI / DP DUAL-X WITH BOOST (UEFI), 850MHz (940MHz) / 1250MHz, 384-bit, 2 slot active, LITE
SANDISK SANDISK X110 128GB SSD, 2.5" 7mm, SATA 6Gbps, Seq Read/Write: 505 MBps / 445 MB/s, IOPS max: 81000, SLC, Retail
Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler, Cooler Master V8, LGA 775, LGA 1156, 1366, 775, LGA 775, LGA 775+, LGA 1156, LGA 1156+, 2011, LGA 1155, 4 pin, Copper Fins, Aluminum & Copper base, 1200 ~ 1800 rpm, Weight 1230 g, 18 dBA,
Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB

Total: $873 Best Buy

I guess that cooler might not fit in your case 😬 ...it really depends on what you're running. Everything else is new—the GPU is maybe 2 to 2.5 times more powerful, but you’ll probably need to overclock the CPU to at least 4.2GHz.

Ryan Wilson7 said:But his motherboard doesn't even support 8-core processors... 😕

Look, I actually installed a damn board for him that supports 8-core CPUs and can handle serious overclocking, so maybe read the post more carefully.

driftingdrifter88 said:The processor is an Intel Core i3-2100
on an ASRock 970 Extreme3 motherboard
Graphics card is an AMD HD6780
with 4 gigs of RAM
Power supply is a Corsair 500W, I think

It's about a year old

Should I upgrade this... or just sell it all and buy a new Intel build?
It's used for 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Engine, UDK, high poly modeling, and ZBrush

I’d only upgrade enough to allow me to run a 64-bit OS, which means grabbing an Intel Core i5-3570 processor and more RAM, since it seems like 32-bit systems aren't really supported anymore

If you want to go for a completely new Intel-based setup, you could try something like this:

1x Intel Core i5-4440 Processor
1x Gigabyte B85M-D3H Motherboard
1x MSI GeForce GTX 750 Titanium Video Card GDDR5 2GB/128bit, 1085MHz(OC mode)/5400MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, H
2x Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB PSD34G160081
1x XFX Pro Series CoreEdition 80 450W PSU, XFX-P1-450S-X2B9
1x SanDisk 120 GB 840 SSD Basic MZ-7TE120BW
1x WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 Hard Drive WD10EZEX
1x Generic Black DVD±RW 24x drive
1x Zalman micro tower case black, Cooler Master Hyper 212

Total cost:$1692 cnn.com
I put together a list for you with entirely new components, though you could potentially reuse your old power supply, case, and optical drive. You could also just add another 4GB of RAM, or use your existing hard drive if it has a SATA connection, or even swap the GPU. Alternatively, you could just sell the whole rig and buy what I've suggested here—let's see how that works out for you...

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20E...3/index.us.asp

Looking at this spec sheet, it seems my current motherboard actually supports an 8-core processor
though apparently only the older models

Keith Wright2 said:Look, I explicitly stated that I installed the damn board that supports 8-core CPUs, and I even mentioned the overclocking, so read the damn post more carefully.

Maybe you should try reading more closely instead of acting blind... did I actually quote your post or was I quoting the new guy? 🙄