Looking to upgrade a computer

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My uncle builds computers, and has recently given me a older one of his. Its at least 8 years out of date. I currently have the p8p67 board(which is only pci 2 compatible). With the gtx 560 ti graphics card. intel i5 core 2500k. I am not much of a computer guy i know little not a whole lot though. I know it has a 1tb gaming drive and a 750gb "work" drive. With this setup its kind of hard to play most newer games, mainly the graphics card i think. What would be best to upgrade first and upgrade to what? If more info is needed just let me know!
 
Pending someone with more expertise coming along, my reaction is that you'd be better off spending your money on a pre-built PC. Your old one would probably need most components replaced apart from the case to play newer games.

A helpful expert would like to know:
How much RAM, is it DDR3 or DDR4?
Make/model & wattage of the PSU
Are either of the drives a SSD?
Are you ok playing on low settings at 1080p resolution?
 
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It is a ddr3 8 gb
PSU is the Corsair GS800
They are both HDDS
There is 2 SSD one reserved. and one (C: )
As of right now I cant play higher than 1080p. At least with this setup but no I don't really mind it. but if I wanted I would like to be able to switch it to at least medium to high resolution.
 
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As well as what BrianBoru asked, it would also be useful to know how much money you are willing to spend and what country you are in.

You can still play any modern game right now with a 2500K, if you updated to a more modern GPU and potentially added in another 8GB of RAM. The PSU is old although its not the worst model and has been running at under half its capacity for most of its life, if its only been in that system.

If you could pick up a second hand GTX1060 6GB for around 100USD you'd be able to play anything at 1080p with sensible in game quality settings. a 16GB kit of 1333/1600 DDR3 would help too and doesnt look to be too expensive.

However

The problem at the moment is the price of graphics cards, you might not find even an old card for a sensible price unless you get lucky.
 
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As well as what BrianBoru asked, it would also be useful to know how much money you are willing to spend and what country you are in.

You can still play any modern game right now with a 2500K, if you updated to a more modern GPU and potentially added in another 8GB of RAM. The PSU is old although its not the worst model and has been running at under half its capacity for most of its life, if its only been in that system.

If you could pick up a second hand GTX1060 6GB for around 100USD you'd be able to play anything at 1080p with sensible in game quality settings. a 16GB kit of 1333/1600 DDR3 would help too and doesnt look to be too expensive.

However

The problem at the moment is the price of graphics cards, you might not find even an old card for a sensible price unless you get lucky.

Price range around $1000 usd. I think thats a reasonable price for an upgrade.
That being said I would need a new mobo in order to go anything higher than a 730 due to the p8p67 only being pci 2 compatible. At least I believe so, right? With that i honestly just dont know what is compatible with what if i do any upgrades. But i was looking at the GTX1060 but thats pci 3 so what would be a decent mobo that would work with the rest of my setup. Another 8gb of ram will be added along with an i7 processor if that'd work with the rest of the setup. Thanks for the help
 
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Price range around $1000 usd. I think thats a reasonable price for an upgrade.
That being said I would need a new mobo in order to go anything higher than a 730 due to the p8p67 only being pci 2 compatible. At least I believe so, right? With that i honestly just dont know what is compatible with what if i do any upgrades. But i was looking at the GTX1060 but thats pci 3 so what would be a decent mobo that would work with the rest of my setup. Another 8gb of ram will be added along with an i7 processor if that'd work with the rest of the setup. Thanks for the help

I missed in your earlier post where you said you have 2 SSDs and that both hard drives are HDDS. I dont think you know what an SSD is? PCI Express slots are fully backwards and forwards compatible, but with $1000 budget you have better options.

You can pick up a prebuilt system for that price or you could build a system for that price from scratch and potentially reuse the hard drives and case you have currently. Both options would be better in every way then your 2500K system.

Usually I don't suggest pre-built systems but at the moment they are often the best value for money.

A third option is to throw in a GTX 1060 and new RAM for now, and save up with the rest of the money until next year when prices hopefully return to normal. If you can find a cheap GTX 1060 which is easier said than done.
 
i honestly just dont know what is compatible with what
The site PCpartPicker.com which @Kaamos_Llama linked above is your friend for that. Put in your parts and it should warn you of any mismatches.
They are both HDDS
There is 2 SSD one reserved. and one (C: )
I'm guessing you have 2 x traditional hard drives, and zero SSDs? Getting a SSD for your system drive—usually C:—will make a significant difference to the speed and feel of your PC.
 
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I missed in your earlier post where you said you have 2 SSDs and that both hard drives are HDDS. I dont think you know what an SSD is? PCI Express slots are fully backwards and forwards compatible, but with $1000 budget you have better options.

You can pick up a prebuilt system for that price or you could build a system for that price from scratch and potentially reuse the hard drives and case you have currently. Both options would be better in every way then your 2500K system.

Usually I don't suggest pre-built systems but at the moment they are often the best value for money.

A third option is to throw in a GTX 1060 and new RAM for now, and save up with the rest of the money until next year when prices hopefully return to normal. If you can find a cheap GTX 1060 which is easier said than done.


Now I've been searching and its hard to find a reasonable priced 1030. But i did manage to find a GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 for $170 would that be compatible with my setup.
Also have a slot on top for a SATA drive debating on using a SATA or an actual SSD.
 
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Most ssd are sata now, just don't buy an nvme or m.2, as they won't likely fit or work on your motherboard.

its hard to find any gpu right now.

board so old Asus have removed it from own website, I hate how they did that recently - https://www.anandtech.com/show/4732/asus-p8p67-review

yeah the mobo is really old, honestly was looking at replacing it but if i can just get a GPU for the time being then ill probably just rebuild the whole computer when the prices go down for everything. This is my first actual gaming pc (not much of one) but it runs some games at 1080 med to high settings no problem. Then the newer ones like warzone or scavengers for example I cant run at all. I wanna play Dayz and I'm pretty sure this wont run it. I've done more research and this mobo should run a 1060 sadly the one i found just sold :( i just dont know if putting a 1030 in it would actually be worth it.
 
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a 1060 or 1650(super) or even a 1050Ti would let you at least play any game around currently. A GT 1030 is probably not much of an upgrade from a 560Ti.

Throw in a SATA SSD for the OS too and it will make everything feel snappier, although you'd have to look into a fresh Windows install or clone your current one in that case.

gonna go with either a 1060 minimum and a SATA SSD with an additional 8gb of ram totally 16gb of ram. I appreciate all the info guys. I will re edit when all is done. Wish me luck in finding a GPU.
 

spvtnik1

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Good luck! I don't think I would dump any more than that in to it. You will probably still have trouble with the newer AAA games, but there are also plenty of titles that will probably play just fine on that setup. Even with the upgrades you will still have a less than par experience with some shooters probably. DayZ, for example, was built on the ArmA engine, which is notorious for needing a beefy PC (maybe DayZ is a little more optimized, but I doubt it). It really just depends on the games you want to play.

But if you are really having trouble finding the GPU, then I would save and wait, find some good classic games to play on that PC in the meantime, and look forward to getting a new rig. BUT, at least you will have a chance to see how much you like PC gaming so you can gauge how much you might be willing to spend on a new setup.
 
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Good luck! I don't think I would dump any more than that in to it. You will probably still have trouble with the newer AAA games, but there are also plenty of titles that will probably play just fine on that setup. Even with the upgrades you will still have a less than par experience with some shooters probably. DayZ, for example, was built on the ArmA engine, which is notorious for needing a beefy PC (maybe DayZ is a little more optimized, but I doubt it). It really just depends on the games you want to play.

But if you are really having trouble finding the GPU, then I would save and wait, find some good classic games to play on that PC in the meantime, and look forward to getting a new rig. BUT, at least you will have a chance to see how much you like PC gaming so you can gauge how much you might be willing to spend on a new setup.

Found a GTX XLR8 1060 for 200, rather cheap considering the prices right now. I've been looking up the one I have as well and they're selling for 150-250 so I could even make most of my money back! Already got the ram upgrade just need the SSD now and ill be set.
 
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spvtnik1

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Found a GTX XLR8 1060 for 200, rather cheap considering the prices right now. I've been looking up the one I have as well and they're selling for 150-250 so I could even make most of my money back! Already got the ram upgrade just need the SSD now and ill be set.

That is incredible! The hardware market is definitely a bonanza right now. Maybe I should sell my old rig....

For reference, I purchased a used GTX 970 about 2-3 years ago for $180. So, I'd say you would be getting a good deal there.
 
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Price range around $1000 usd. I think thats a reasonable price for an upgrade.
That being said I would need a new mobo in order to go anything higher than a 730 due to the p8p67 only being pci 2 compatible. At least I believe so, right? With that i honestly just dont know what is compatible with what if i do any upgrades. But i was looking at the GTX1060 but thats pci 3 so what would be a decent mobo that would work with the rest of my setup. Another 8gb of ram will be added along with an i7 processor if that'd work with the rest of the setup. Thanks for the help
Here's an example of what you could do. That cpu is due to hit the shelves en masse within the next two weeks.

https://www.newegg.com/black-phanteks-eclipse-p400a-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811854085
Phanteks Eclipse P400A Mid Tower Computer Case $69.99

https://www.newegg.com/evga-supernova-550-ga-220-ga-0550-x1-550w/p/1HU-00J7-004V3
EVGA SuperNOVA 550 GA, 80 Plus Gold 550W, Modular PSU $64.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119385
ASUS PRIME B560M-A $109.99

https://www.adorama.com/inbx8781140f.html
Intel Core i5-11400F $174.99

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-212S-20PK-R1-Contact-Silencio/dp/B07H25DYM3/
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition CPU Air Cooler $39.10

https://www.newegg.com/team-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820331354
Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16GB (2x8GB)DDR4 3200 CL16 $82.99

Total: $542 USD

If you plan on running that cpu with the power limits turned off in the bios in order to gain more FPS then look at this board (better VRM's) paired with this cpu cooler.

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119383
ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS WIFI $149.99

https://www.amazon.com/Mugen-Rev-CPU-Cooler-Support/dp/B06ZYB8K77/
Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B CPU Air Cooler $49.99


https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-core-i5-11400-review
Intel Core i5-11400 Review

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_11400f_processor_review,1.html
Intel Core i5-11400F Review

https://www.techspot.com/review/2232-intel-core-i5-11400f/
Intel Core i5-11400F Review

Intel Core i5-11400F CPU Review

https://www.profesionalreview.com/2021/04/26/intel-core-i5-11400f-review/
Intel Core i5-11400F Review



 

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