Max of $350 for upgrades, CPUand MB best choice?

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bluntspoon
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Max of $350 for upgrades, CPUand MB best choice?

Post by bluntspoon » Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:46 pm

Considering an upgrade.

Current
AMD Phenom X4 955 Black, not overclocked
8 GB DDR3
GTX 660
256 GB SSD
2TB HD
27" Monitor (1080p) + 19" secondary

Up to $350 to spend.

Looking at
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813132118 or similar Z97 MB
And an i5 processor, but completely confused as to what type is best. Don't particularly care about overclocking, but I do have a decent heatsink/fan that could handle it. Just could never be bothered.

I'm intrigued by the thought of buying a GTX 970 and overclocking the current CPU and if that would be better....................

Appreciate thoughts on if this is best bang for the buck, or something else.
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Re: Max of $350 for upgrades, CPUand MB best choice?

Post by Boss Llama » Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:34 pm

I strongly recommend the monthly lists from Tom's Hardware - Best (component) For The Money. For the CPU, here's the link. Basically, if you're looking for an i5, they recommend a Core i5-4430 if you don't want to overclock, or the i5-4690K if you do. I've been using a nice i5 based on their recommendation for quite some time now, and loving it. I don't feel like they've ever steered me wrong.
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Re: Max of $350 for upgrades, CPUand MB best choice?

Post by Plinko » Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:20 am

My new machine uses a Z97 and the i5-4690K. From what I understand, it's ridiculously easy to OC this one, but I think xorv did it for me so I never touched the settings.

Looking at what you're running, that would probably be your most bang for the buck to upgrade something along those lines, plus it would set you up for any future upgrades when budget allows.
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Re: Max of $350 for upgrades, CPUand MB best choice?

Post by Clay Pigeon » Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:19 pm

Quad core i5's are generally in a sweet spot in terms of price/performance, for people who focus on gaming.
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