[american express]

I currently have the following:

Intel i5 3570 @ 3.40GHz
Asus STRIX Edition GTX960 2GB Edition
8gb Corsair XMS DDR3 1600mhz Ram (2x 4GB sticks). 2 of 4 slots used.
Sata 7200 Hard Drive
Gigabyte H77 Motherboard
Generic 650w power supply.

I have approximately $600 NZD to spend locally.

I'm wanting to be able to run games such as PUBG smoother and more lag free than I can currently. With my current set up on LOW graphics settings, I can't even run Chrome in the background without everything freezing up/lagging.

What should I look at upgrading?

Here's a couple of local stores:
PCPartPicker
www.pbtech.co.nz

 

[wet rag]

Get an 8gb ram stick and upgrade cpu to
Intel Core i5-7600K

 

[american express]

Get an 8gb ram stick and upgrade cpu to
Intel Core i5-7600K

Hmm I believe that means I would need a new motherboard?

Current motherboard socket = LGA1155
i5-7600k = FCLGA1151

 

[wet rag]

Hmm I believe that means I would need a new motherboard?

Current motherboard socket = LGA1155
i5-7600k = FCLGA1151

nah

 

[zishan]

Hmm I believe that means I would need a new motherboard?

Current motherboard socket = LGA1155
i5-7600k = FCLGA1151

Yes, that would mean getting a new mobo. You should maybe buy a bundle where you get CPU, Mobo and RAM together. Also get a new GPU. This will probably exceed your budget.

 

[american express]

Since I'll be needing a new motherboard, is it worth going for AMD over Intel?

 

[staffix]

NDZ $ ?.. is that like Canadian $ ?..
completely useless and not 'Murica money?

 

[zishan]

Since I'll be needing a new motherboard, is it worth going for AMD over Intel?

It will be between i5-7600 and AMD Ryzen 1600(Do you intend to overclock it?), depends do you only game? Or do you stream, render videos and similar tasks. If you do all that, then Ryzen 1600 would be the best. I dont know if you wanna go for 1600X, but if you are interested in overclocking in the future you should.

This is what I got after some quick searching.
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, 6 Core 12 Threads, UNLOCKED, up to 4.0Ghz AM4, No Headsink Included [YD160XBCAEWOF] - NZ$365.00 incl : PC FORCE Ltd, insist top quality on low price
Mobo
MSI B350 TOMAHAWK B350 DDR4 AMD AM4 Ryzen ATX Motherboard [B350 TOMAHAWK] - $192.00&nbspincl GST : 1stWave Technologies, :: UNLEASH THE POWER :: Create the Custom Gaming PC of your dreams
Just need to find 8-16GB RAM, that should be enough.

Note: 1600x doesn't come with stock cooler, but the 1600 does come with stock cooler.

 

[puppygirl]

Note: 1600x doesn't come with stock cooler, but the 1600 does come with stock cooler.

also note that amd cpus are notoriously known for running super hot so I'd get a cheap aftermarket air cooler if you have it in the budget. hyper 212 evo is basically best budget air cooler. Idk if they support ryzen yet but they should

 

[savior]

also note that amd cpus are notoriously known for running super hot so I'd get a cheap aftermarket air cooler if you have it in the budget. hyper 212 evo is basically best budget air cooler. Idk if they support ryzen yet but they should

The Cryorig H7 is actually better than the commonly known 212 EVO.

 

[american express]

Am I better off upgrading the CPU, which would mean a new motherboard, or just putting the money towards a new graphics card?

If I were to get a new graphics card instead, I could sell my current GTX 960 and have enough budget for a GTX 1060 6GB version.

 

[wet rag]

Am I better off upgrading the CPU, which would mean a new motherboard, or just putting the money towards a new graphics card?

If I were to get a new graphics card instead, I could sell my current GTX 960 and have enough budget for a GTX 1060 6GB version.

You need a new CPU not gpu

 

[zishan]

Am I better off upgrading the CPU, which would mean a new motherboard, or just putting the money towards a new graphics card?

If I were to get a new graphics card instead, I could sell my current GTX 960 and have enough budget for a GTX 1060 6GB version.

So do you wanna overclock or not in the future? Because the 1600 comes with the cooler and it's just slightly worse then the Hyper 212 EVO.

Will be something like this.

PCPartPicker
or
PCPartPicker

Also I still dont know if you can use mATX.

 

[puppygirl]

The Cryorig H7 is actually better than the commonly known 212 EVO.

not for price, unless cryorig recently dropped price you could get a new or lightly used 212 for $10 or less and tbh as long as everything is there it will work just fine

 

[staffix]

If you could up your budget abit, you could get a rog strix 270 model, a 7700k and 16gb crucial ram.. i think the red sports edition is semi-cheap.

but then again, idk how much you can get for monopoly money Kappa

 

[american express]

Thanks for all of your advice, I ended up purchasing the following:

CPU: i5 7600k
Mobo: ASUS PRIME Z270M-PLUS
RAM: 8GB 2400MHz
Cooler: CRYORIG H7 Performance CPU Cooler
SSD: Apacer 240GB
Case: ZALMAN Z3 Plus