PC upgrade advise, please

You won't get much out of new GPU with your current CPU, so you should definitely change CPU+the others first, and in case of GPU I would wait for GTX 1060, which should be ~same price, but more powerful. In case of CPU I would go for the one with higher clocks. Also you might want to consider newer socket LGA 1151 which will last longer.

1) Everything. There isn't a single part where if you change it something modern and half-decent, it won't get bottlenecked hard.

2) An LGA-1151 socket one with preferably DDR4 support. Suggest brands are ASRock, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, roughly in that order. Suggested chipset: B150 or H170 if you don't have too much money, Z170 otherwise.

3) i5 for gaming, i7 for media work, including streaming. Hyper-Threading has little to no real-world advantage in high-performance operations like gaming. An i3 can be sufficient for most any gaming though..

Addendum: Forget the GTX 970. Either but a GTX 1070 or an AMD R9 480. Or wait for the 1060/470. The new line replaces a really aged manufacture process/chips, and the older cards will start to fall off rather fast compared to the new generation.

4) A system SSD. Most any will suffice, but currently nothing can beat a Samsung 850 EVO in price/performance, even if it is a little expensive compared to such budget solutions as AData. (The 950/951 are a lot faster, but even more expensive.)
Also, most likely a PSU, unless you have some really nice brand there. But even then, check if it has an 8-pin CPU and GPU connector (especially the latter).

thats a really old system at this point, i would just take your time and build a new system on the side while using your current one and buy things as you can afford them building it as you go,pick up a nice new case and motherboard,then when you have more money get a good Cpu then after get a good power supply and aftermarket cpu cooler,then grab yourself some ram and a ssd/hdd and then finally save up for the best GPU you can afford.it can take some time this way but you will end up with a better system then you will if you rush it on a smaller budget.

at minimum upgrade cpu to a high end i3 they work well in even some of the newest AAA titles. then ya at least 8gb ram and the rx 480. with those three you'll play a lot of games no problem. but if you have more money get the i5 there the sweet spot for gaming dual cores will be obsolete soon

I'd say...just replace everything. If you don't have the money, save up. Don't cheap out on it, you'll regret it in the long run. That's not to say that you need to throw several thousand dollars away, either. Need to find that balance.

Unless you're using lots of media programs that take advantage of an i7's hyperthreading, stick with an i5. Get the i5-6600K if you're overclocking (and get a Z170 motherboard to go with), stick with i5-6500 (or 6600 if you have spare money) and get a B150 or H170 motherboard.

Get an SSD. They're well worth it. If you need more space, get an SSD for OS/some games, and a larger (and cheaper) HDD to go with it for storage.

Regarding GPU: going to depend entirely on how much money you have, and when you'll have the money. Much easier to replace down the road than the other parts, so going for one of the mid-range options isn't entirely a bad idea.

Probably should get a new PSU. Whatever you plan on getting, check on JonnyGURU, TechPowerUp, etc. for reviews before buying.

As for RAM: so long as you stick with reputable brands...there's not a huge performance difference between them all, for the most part. Just remember to get DDR4 if you're goign with Skylake.

Use PCPartPicker if you aren't already. Fantastic website.

Personally, I'd do the buy parts each pay or so and once you have everything do the transplant. Make sure your power supply can handle the new components as well. I've taken that approch many times. I'm an AMD fanboy, they have decent stuff at cheaper prices.

Definitely save up money and wait. That computer is mostly capped for performance. i mean, you can minorly upgrade a few things, but at the end of the day, it isn't going to be enough to play any new games, just be slightly better.

I wouldn't start buying/building it until you have the money saved for a whole new system as cards and CPUs get better over time making the older ones cheaper.

If I were you, I would start saving and scouting out what you might be able to afford by the end of November building it yourself. Then, when Black Friday rolls around, see if you can't get lucky with a deal or two. I've had good luck finding complete pre-built systems sold for nearly half off as some of the components get "obsoleted". Prices I couldn't match building it from scratch. But you can also get incredible deals on components as well.

As others said, there is more gain from getting the i5 + ram + motherboard (just pick one with the correct socket and enough slots for what you want to install). The integrated gpu is strong enough and you don't even have to bother with installing the 9600gt. You most likely need a new PSU as well.

Intel i7 (Question 3: What's better, a high level i5 or a low level i7?)

A mid level i5. Generally speaking, if you're mainly gaming, then it's rare for the CPU to be the bottleneck. Don't go overboard here.

8 GB of RAM (to start)

Just make sure that there's room for upgrades.

GeForce GTX 970

Why? For the price of a GTX 970 you'll likely be able to get a 1060, and that one's stronger than a 980.

Your current computer is so old that I would not recommend trying to upgrade it, instead save up for a new computer. You might not be able to play No Man's sky at launch, but you'll probably end up with something that's not an awkward compromise in terms of parts.

Don't forget to check your PSU

PC Master Race might be helpful. Here is the link to the page with proposed builds maybe you will find something that would suit you best: https://www.reddit.com/r/PCMasterRace/wiki/builds

Oh god I was blinded by those specs x.x Ultimately it always comes down to budget. Like other people have already mentioned, scrap everything and start new. The only things possibly worth salvaging are the case and peripherals/accessories. i5 as everyone says is far more cost efficient.. 8GB is probably the recommended point right now. I would go with LGA 1151 and DDR4 even though DDR3 is currently still arguably better. GPU go with the new AMD 480 or GTX 10 series; may want to go with liquid cooled 10 series seeing as how their cards seem to be pushing thermal limits already. New PSU is advised even though power requirements have dropped with the current gen. It's been proven that PSUs do age and their voltage does become less reliable with time. Last bit of advise would be that CPUs of late have far greater future proofing since the gains per generation are very minimal so it may be in your interest to invest in a good CPU moreso than a top of the line GPU depending on your budget.

Make sure to double check the compatibility of your planned components with each other and your case.

everyone seems to be recommending replacing everything all at once, but i get the feeling that's not where you're at in terms of budget. there are a couple steps you can take rather than doing it all in one big jump. here's what i'd do, noting that i'm more of a best value for money pc builder with little interest in top-of-the-line components for the short period of time they remain top-of-the-line:

1. replace that gpu. i'm running a 660 which is a little better than half way between yours and the latest generation. your motherboard should support whatever you go with but your power supply might not. some of the beefier cards need multiple pcie power connectors, and almost for sure more power. nvidia numbers its cards with the first digit as the generation (except for the current generation which is 10) and the second digit how powerful it is within that generation. i like a 6 in the 2nd digit for the best value, and i'd probably be looking at an 860 (2 generations old) right now for the best value. i've been buying evga brand cards for my past few and have been happy with them. i don't know anything about amd.

2. (note: this step is very optional and can also be done last, but i'd do it here.) you didn't mention your hard drive, so if you're on magnetic consider replacing with solid state. your motherboard has 4 sata ports, so you probably have room to add a smaller solid state drive as your new c drive and keep your magnetic drive for more storage. i think steam will let you move games between drives so whatever you're currently playing can be on the solid state for better speed and anything else you want installed that doesn't fit on the ssd can hang out on the magnetic so you don't have to download it again. moving to solid state from magnetic isn't as much of a gain as gpu / cpu / ram is, but it helps with loading times.

3. motherboard / cpu / ram. as you seem to know, these need to go together. i'm running an i5 on my main computer and an i3 in my laptop and htpc. i7 is basically out of the question for budget-conscious builds and since we're on a gaming site i'd recommend an i5. the most important thing here is the architecture. skylake is the latest and broadwell is the one before that. i'd probably buy a broadwell right now but if it's not a lot more for skylake then i'd do that. my current cpu is a haswell which is one before broadwell, and probably one of the cheapest with that architecture. it's doing great. also make sure to get a better cpu fan than what intel includes -- you're likely to overheat with more demanding games on the stock fan. for the motherboard make sure it supports the cpu architecture and has the right cpu socket. they should all have pcie x16 for the graphics card. if you have other cards you want to keep make sure it has the right slots for those or replace them with others. i like asus for boards but i usually buy gigabyte because they tend to cost less and with the 5 boards i've had none of them ever had a problem. i get boards with 4 ram slots, then fill two slots with a matched pair (for dual-channel) so i have room to double it down the road if it seems necessary. i'm running a pair of 4 gig sticks for 8 gig and haven't had much reason to throw in another pair, so i'd recommend doing that.

thanks everione for the help. even if i didn't reply each one, know that i took a lot of notes
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