WIP budget gaming rig

[MysticDaedra]

As an original backer of Star Citizen (Golden Ticket Holder and first day backer) I realized that my old setup wasn't going to be anywhere near powerful enough to run the finished game. I don't have a steady stream of income, so all the parts I buy foe my new rig are cheap, from off ebay.

Here's what I have so far:

MSI Z68A-GD55 (B3) motherboard
Coolermaster GX 450W 80+ Bronze
8GB DDR3 RAM
Pentium G630 2.7GHz
HIS Radeon HD 6750 1GB
2 SATA HDD
Raidmax Helios PC Case

I also am using a 1440x900 monitor; really a fan of 16x10.

So, the video card I have is not stellar, and neither is the CPU. Which do you guys think ,might be the biggest bottleneck? I know I'm going to have to upgrade both sooner or later if I am going to play SC. The question for me is which should I focus on upgrading first? Thanks for the help.

*EDIT* It's a B3 not G3 model.

[minicale]

I heard star citizen needs hefty hardware so I guess atleast the cpu and gpu maybe the psu.

Seems as you have a z68 board you might aswell get a 2500k or 2600k.

As for gpu get whatever suits your budget really.

[rfu3]

Not trying to be funny but I would start with the screen. Even if you don't like 16:10 there are 24" 1920x1200 monitors out there or even 30" 2560x1600.
I'm guessing you must have a 19" screen or something which even at a close distance can't be an involving experience for gaming. At least once you know what resolution you'll be gaming in then we can truly give advice. If you are gaming at 1440x900 you don't really need much of an upgrade. The i7 2600K will be great long term but you could probably get away with a i5 2500S which are sub £100 on ebay and your graphics card would probably hold up at that resolution. A GTX570 would run anything at that resolution and they are only around £90 on ebay.
I'm totally with you on Star Citizen - it's going to be amazing.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Star Citizen uses Cry Engine 3 which is one of the most multi-threaded game engines out there. I would be look at least at an FX6300/FX6350/FX8320/Core i5 for the game.

Edit!!

Are the parts in the OP,already bought??

If so I would just get a Core i5 first.

What is the exact model number of the PSU??

[MysticDaedra]

Thanks for the tips guys. I actually do like the 16x10 res ratio, I'm probably not going to switch over to 1080p gaming because it just feels a little too squashed to me. I haven't really thought of a monitor upgrade, but I guess that would come eventually.

Looks like the GTX 570 might be a good option, it compares a lot better than the 6750 I have now. Will definitely need a new PSU though.

When I look on ebay the i5 2500S actually appears more expensive than the 2500K by almost $50, which seems rather odd. I guess I'll just keep looking at those two different CPU's and make a decision between them when I have the money to purchase.

Thanks for the help. Now that I have a better idea of what I'm saving for I should have more motivation to find a job

[MysticDaedra]

Star Citizen uses Cry Engine 3 which is one of the most multi-threaded game engines out there. I would be look at least at an FX6300/FX6350/FX8320/Core i5 for the game.

Edit!!

Are the parts in the OP,already bought??

Yes, those are already purchased and inside my rig. Most were bought to tide me over until I could afford the better, more expensive components. The CPU especially is a "placeholder".

I have played Crysis 2 with mediocre results on my current rig, but just from those frames (30-40fps average) I can tell it just won't cut it for SC when it is released. Not basing anything off the Hanger Module since it is un-optimized.

EDIT: The PSU is a CoolerMaster GX model.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yes, those are already purchased and inside my rig. Most were bought to tide me over until I could afford the better, more expensive components. The CPU especially is a "placeholder".

I have played Crysis 2 with mediocre results on my current rig, but just from those frames (30-40fps average) I can tell it just won't cut it for SC when it is released. Not basing anything off the Hanger Module since it is un-optimized.

Going from scratch the FX6300 and the FX8320 are the budget CPUs for CryENGINE 3 games. However,as you already have a motherboard a Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge Core i5 is what you should be looking at. Avoid the Core i3 CPUs,especially since SC will have an online mode also IIRC.

Regarding the graphics card,I would get a newer card over the GTX570,as it has less VRAM and no support for newer revisions of DX11,which might prove useful too.

For around £100 you can get a brand new GTX650TI Boost or HD7850. The HD7870 can be had for under £140 too.

Also,what is the exact model number of your PSU too??

[MysticDaedra]

Model: GX series
Model Number: RS-450-ACAA
Its on-box specs state an Output capacity of 450 watts and a Max output of 540 watts.

[rfu3]

Good news that the i5 2500K is cheaper as its the same processor as the 2500S but additionally it is overclockable. I figured you wouldn't be stressing the processor so an S series would be ok but its always nice to have the option to overclock later.

[MysticDaedra]

So I've decided I'm going to get a GTX 650Ti Boost, and an i5 2500k. Now, because of my budget concerns I'd like to prioritize between which needs to be upgraded first. To that end, what is a good system test or benchmark I can run that might give some insight into which is causing the bottleneck, the CPU or GPU?

[Bonebreaker777]

Hmm. I would say first upgrade the CPU as it would be noticeable outside the gaming too, but from pure gaming point of view the GPU upgrade will be still more preferable even with a Pentium class CPU.

[Domestic_Ginger]

I think at lower resolutions the CPU may be the most important part. You can game with fraps I think which will shows GPU and maybe CPU utilisation shown. Maybe run gpuz in the background and alt tab out to look at utilisation or just log it. task manager/system resource monitor wll show cpu load but not sure how to log it.

Don't get a 2500s, its 2.7 ghz boosting to 3.7. it'll boost to 2.8/3.2/3.6/3.7 depending on how many cores are used.

Alternatvely if your chipset allows you to OC four bins then a 3470, 3450 are fine and will run at 3.8/3.9 on four cores.

7870, 660, 660ti, 670 are decent alternatives and maybe worth looking on ebay. The 7850 if OC'd may be an alternative.

[Bagnaj97]

I'll echo Cat and recommend the FX6300 on the CPU side, the SC Hangar Module runs fine on my system, although my CPU is overclocked. That said I think a graphics card upgrade would be more beneficial.

Personally though, if this rig is specifically for Star Citizen, I'd wait. There's not much to the Hangar Module and I suspect there won't be a huge amount of depth to the Dogfight Module when it's released. As I'm sure you're aware, tech moves pretty quickly. Upgrade nearer final release and you'll a) have time to save a bigger budget and b) get more performance for your money.

If you must upgrade now I would get a GPU but nothing below a 7870 or GTX 660. I think if you get anything below that you'll just end up wanting another upgrade pretty soon.

[scaryjim]

If you must upgrade now I would get a GPU but nothing below a 7870 or GTX 660. ...

As much as I hate to disagree vehemently with some of the more knowledgable members of the board, there is absolutely no way I would recommend an upgrade from a 6750 when the OP has a dual core Pentium CPU, particularly when using a 1440x900 monitor. Use sensible IQ settings and the 6750 is plenty at that resolution. A 2500k will benefit most computing tasks, not just gaming; will help out with newer game engines that employ better threading; and will provide a solid base for upgrading the GPU later, once you've saved some more money.

So, get the CPU upgrade now, as it'll benefit everything you do, then get the GPU upgrade nearer the final release of Star Citizen, when you've saved more money and prices have (hopefully) dropped a bit.

[MysticDaedra]

I've been thinking that the CPU upgrade is the way to go.

Just to clarify for those suggesting AMD CPUs, my chipset is LGA1155, Sandy Bridge (or Ivy Bridge if I decide to flash the BIOS). So AMD processor aren't really an option.

Thanks for all the help guys. My next step is to find a job, then I can finish up my PC.