I am looking to have a better rig running around summertime. However I haven't the faintest idea of where to start anyone help please?

Here are my specs

Budget?  Building or buying?

Here's a quick $1000 build minus windows, optical drive, ect.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($42.78 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($140.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($244.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 V2 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $967.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 16:34 EST-0500

I would certainly go to at least Window 7 , preferantly Pro version . Vista will soon not be supported if it has not already happened. As Tet says you will certainly need more ram .
I would also step up to a larger p/s (750 watts - they are getting less exspensive ).

I started out with Windows XP and jumped over Vista straight to Windows 7 Pro. and never looked back ! Somewhere down the road you WILL be getting other hardware that
may draw more power . I went from a 450 watt to a 500 watt p/s and after losing both of them went to a 850 watt w/modular wiring harness and after 5 yrs. , have never had
a problem .You may want to select a larger case also , for more room when you do upgrade again and for better cooling.

I am having "instability" problems and my rig is 5 +1/2 years old. I too am looking to build or just buy a gaming PC. I built this one but am a bit  out of date with current trends. Are the solid state drives much faster?
I will take any suggestions for pre made or building a new one. THANKS!

Definately get an SSD for your operating system and most of your games . I run my O/S and all three of my BK games. I got a Crucial M500 and could not believe the fast  loading
times of all my games and OS . I have a 750 gig WD 7200 rpm HDD for storage and games I don't play that often and am greatly satified with them both . Will be adding another
Crucial M500 SSD at my next upgrade. [240 gig + 240 gig - for a total of 480 gigs]. They can be run in striped mode or one as the primary and the other as a mirror of the primary
so as to have a back up in case the primary folds .

I prefer to do my own builds vs. pre-built .

I agree with Cake, go with a larger power supply ( I have 1000w) and Windows 7. Windows 10 may be out by time you're ready but be sure to read reviews first.

Bolt - two things come to mind about your instability problems . Do you routinely blow out you system ? And what is your cpu ?  Heat can cause those problems and getting all
the heat out of your case that you can is mandatory.

I try to tell people to use the largest case they can with plenty of fans . And don't forget to blow dust out of that psu that can be sometimes difficult to do considering  where
it is usually located in your case. Many systems put it down on the floor of your case where it will collect all the dust . An overheated psu will also cause you problem .


I run a AMD 1090 six core cpu with a liquid cpu cooler , It has a radiator that mounts in the rear of my case and stopped all stability problems . I also used the largest case
I could find [Antec 1200 ] with seven fans . That will also give you plenty of room for future upgrade . I run all my fans at 100% .


Hope the above will help !

Thanks guys, from your suggestions I may just go with a new computer. I'd be nice to have two anyway in case of an emergency in one.

Or, as Abram usually suggests, turn the old one into a media center box running Kodi(XBMC).

Cake, great advice as always. Most builders follow your methods with good reason... it makes sense and provides good value for your $$ spent.

A few rules of thumb that I've used on my builds are:

1) Always go overkill with the PSU. 1000w is a good size to begin with today with respect to the power requirements of GPU, SSD, HDD ect.

2) Research your CPU and match your motherboard to it. Selecting a mobo that is upgradeable is always a wise choice.

3) Go with the best graphics card (GPU) that you can afford. It will soon be outdated and as games progress you'll need to update it...preferably after a couple of years worth of use.

4) The bigger the case the better...airflow, airflow, airflow. Whether you use a liquid cooler or multiple fans, the cooler it runs the longer it lasts.

I've always built my own (unless an offer that I just couldn't pass up comes along) and I've always taken my time looking for the right deals. Don't be in a rush, you'll most likely spend more that you need to and probably miss some very sweet deals. One of my last computers was purchased from a tech who builds completely new each year. Its value at purchase time was approximately $2500.00 if I bought everything new and I got it for $600.00 by being patient and waiting. His first asking price was $1200.00 and eventually it came down to a much more reasonable price   and the complete package was just over 6 months old. Now that was the best deal that I've had in my PC adventures for a full system that included monitor, pc, keyboard and mouse but I've also gotten some very sweet deals on GPU's , PSU's, CPU's , Motherboards and cases for other builds, again by being patient and a bit of searching.

Thanks for the advice

Thank You Cake and all. I appreciate your responses. I was just being lazy thinking I would buy a pre made computer. I will build from scratch. But, before I rebuild , I am gonna remove clean and reset my CPU, as well as replace the cpu cooling system in this old setup. It is a decent 2.6 g  i7, so maybe I will get lucky and the issue will resolve.

Since your motherboard will not support any of the newer processors your best bet would be to go for a system replacement.
I would start with a Barebones kit, you can get a really good start for under $400  and if you are frugal when purchasing parts like a new Video card and memory.
you could have a completely new rig for under $600.

Here is a sight I found which you can use to compare prices.  These prices seem pretty good.

Portatech.com


ShellBack

Anyone know what Nvidia cards are compatible with an ASUS H81 Motherboard?

Alrighty I am looking to go expensive with this one. What kinda p/s should I be looking for?