Deciding whether to upgrade barebones or new PC

[jambos]

Hi, I currently a have an old 1st gen i5 desktop/gaming PC:

• i5-650
• 8Gb RAM (not sure of spec off my head, but pretty sure it's basic/cheap)
• 128Gb Samsung 840 SSD + a 500GB HDD
• Radeon 7870 Tahiti LE.
• The case, Foxconn mobo, PSU etc are are all pretty basic

I want to upgrade this to be a better gaming PC. I tried putting my son's GTX 970 in, and although FRAPS showed some FPS increase, it was pretty modest and I couldn't actually "see" the difference.

Some questions:

1. Is it worth trying a 980 or a Fury (given the high price tag of these)? I tend to think not.
2. Is it worth replacing the mobo, RAM and CPU to a 4th gen i5 or i7 with very fast RAM?
3. Is it worth replacing everything except storage, GPU, monitor, kb & mouse?
4. Or is it worth saving to spend an extra £400+ on top of the above to get a complete new system with 980 or R9 or better?

In my mind, the 7870LE is a pretty good card, and I have to go silly money to make a big difference. So I'm fingers crossed you guys will say that a barebones + RAM upgrade will give me a decent boost instead.

Cheers

James

 

[jambos]

Ok, maybe I need to rephrase.

Would I see a significant difference in gaming performance moving from an i5-650 to something like an i5-6500 or 6600, but retaining my Radeon 7870 LE?

 

[jambos]

Barebones spec to take my existing GFX card and drives?

I want to put my Radeon 7870LE into a new barebones system, along with my SSD, HDD and DVD.

Ignoring case for now, is this a sensible approach:

• Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6500 (3.2GHz) 6MB Cache
• ASUS® Z170-P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
• CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY

The intention is to replace the (rather excellent value) 7870LE with a hefty card later, but I can't afford the "TomsHardware 3 tier" hike of a GTX980 or R9 Fury for at least a year.

Is the 3GHz RAM worth the extra?

Also, PC specialist won't let me buy a PC without a hard disk, but the cheapest bumps up the cost by £30. Is it possible to get a barebones system without a HDD?

Cheers

James

 

[SpyderTracks]

I want to put my Radeon 7870LE into a new barebones system, along with my SSD, HDD and DVD.

Ignoring case for now, is this a sensible approach:

• Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6500 (3.2GHz) 6MB Cache
• ASUS® Z170-P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
• CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY

The intention is to replace the (rather excellent value) 7870LE with a hefty card later, but I can't afford the "TomsHardware 3 tier" hike of a GTX980 or R9 Fury for at least a year.

Is the 3GHz RAM worth the extra?

Also, PC specialist won't let me buy a PC without a hard disk, but the cheapest bumps up the cost by £30. Is it possible to get a barebones system without a HDD?

Cheers

James

PCs don't do barebones systems, only complete builds. As such you won't be able to order one without components except case and graphics where you can send in your own.

 

[jambos]

Ok cheers. Any thoughts suggests on the main points of my post?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ok cheers. Any thoughts suggests on the main points of my post?

For gaming, 8gb RAM is fine, and you wouldn't notice any improvement above 1600mhz currently, that may change in the coming years, but certainly not for a bit.