Time to upgrade

[acerinpa]

My son's PC needs some upgrading and his B-day is coming up. Trying NOT to spend over $300 - 350 - but I will if necessary .

He currently runs an AMD cpu and MOBO - runs hot and it is still doing OK but starting to have issues and he is a Fallout NUT and wants to play Fallout 4 on ultra. Have him convinced to improve it is best to get an i5 and the appropriate Z97 MOBO. He currently does not overclock because of fear the AMD would not handle it. Eventually he may want to go to a 4k or at least a 1440 monitor. But that is down the road. For now - please critique this combo of CPU/MOBO. It is a bit high- but I don't know if cheaper components will effect performance or not.

CPU - i5 Haswell= Intel Core i5-4690K Haswell Refresh Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I54690K - Newegg.com - Newegg.com

MOBO- Asrock z97 = ASRock Z97 Extreme6 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Thanks

 

[PP Mguire]

If he doesn't OC then no need to get that combo honestly. Is this the one with the 290? Will need better GPU power to run Fallout 4 on Ultra, and more for 1440 or 4k.

 

[acerinpa]

yes- Well probably will eventually get a new GPU but for now the 290 will be it- I am NOT buying him a new GPU or monitor. Please suggest a better combo, I figured that one was overkill - but a good place to start.

So maybe not ultra settings, but the best he can with the 290 at 1080.

 

[PP Mguire]

By all means, if you can afford this it's a great platform. Will allow for overclocking later if needed and it's a fantastic board with 2 M.2 slots.

What kind of cooling is he running now? If it's the stock cooler more than likely needs to be replaced.

 

[acerinpa]

I think he has a aftermarket cooler on his AMD - I will have to check that out. If not, we will use the stock i5 cooler and get an aftermarket if and when he overclocks.

 

[PP Mguire]

I think he has a aftermarket cooler on his AMD - I will have to check that out. If not, we will use the stock i5 cooler and get an aftermarket if and when he overclocks.

The stock cooler will be fine for a while but I'd get something at least like an H60 when possible.

 

[acerinpa]

Will a cheaper MOBO and hazwell combo make a difference in performance? I see the ones that are under $200 are not overclockable, a less expensive mobo with make what differences?

 

[PP Mguire]

Z97 is required for overclocking, so if you drop the K CPU to a 4460 then he doesn't need a Z97 board unless the need for SLI or an M.2 SSD comes later. Otherwise an H81 board would suffice easily.

 

[acerinpa]

OK very good- will there be much performance differences with the say 4460/H81 combo compared to the combo in the first post = assuming no overclocking? "Suffice easily" can be interpreted many ways. Basically is the extra near $100 worth it?

 

[PP Mguire]

Performance? Not really. It would be worth the overclocking availability for later.