PC upgrade

C

Chuck Norris

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Feb 10, 2011
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Hey everyone

I got a cheap PC from HP almost 2 1/2 years ago after the one I had fried and I am looking for an upgrade.

What I have right now
  • AMD Athlon II X4 2.9GHz
  • Radeon 5450 GPU
  • 4 GB of RAM


This is what I came up with.
build1.png

I currently do not have the cash to go i5, but if a different Intel CPU + mobo could outperform the FX-4100 at around the same $$, I am willing to switch. I would like to stay at the $400 mark for any changes made.

Another question I have, if I plan on buying a headset would it make a big difference if I had a sound card? Would a cheap card ($30-$50) do the trick? Would the 430W PSU be enough to handle the sound card?

Input would be appreciated. If you need more info on anything let me know.
 
Well, I don't know how much of an improvement an fx-4100 is over your current cpu. Might be worth it to just save up some more till you can get a decent step up.

As for psu, I would get the CX430 from corsair. Better quality unit for sure.

GPU is pretty good. You could go with a gtx 460 which is as good or a little better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130749

Pretty cheap AR. Or if you hold off on the cpu/mobo for now since they aren't a huge upgrade, you could put more toward a gpu. Just depends what you all play such as newer games requiring more horse power.

And as for sound card, it can definitely make a difference. However, it will not matter for a usb headset which have a built in one. Even a cheap asus xonar card such as

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020

paired with an analog headset should sound a good bit better than a usb headset that costs more.
 
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I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is the motherboard I curently have. I plan on playing some BF3 and a few new games that will come out this year so I will probably have to upgrade the cpu, but I can wait a few months. I have never seen or heard anything about the mobo I have right now and unless it is decent, I would rather get a new one. Would it be worth getting a cheaper intel cpu+mobo and then get a better cpu in about 6-10 months? Another thing that comes up, would it be worth waiting for the gtx600 to come out and then get a 570-580 for $50-100 less?
 
Yeah, that is some very cheap motherboard which is about all u can expect from a prebuilt. It will probably allow no overclocking of your cpu though which kind of sucks. It does have an x16 slot for your gpu which is probably as good as it gets for from a mobo like that.

However, the intel route is probably my favorite one. You could buy a cheap dual core with hyperthreading now and upgrade your cpu to one of the quad cores in the future. Again, it will probably not be a big upgrade overall with the dual core intel (except in gaming, they do excellent, even compared with the newer amd cpus since most games don't take advantage of 4 cores). It will also run you about the same amount of money if not more. Thus, I still recommend using what you got now and upgrade psu/gpu. Then upgrade to intel quad core right away when you have the money. Or is your computer performance lagging overall?

You live near a microcenter by any chance?
 
What if I got an Intel mobo for around $100-120 with this? I live about 20-30 min away from that store so that shouldn't be a problem.
 
Definitely go with microcenter. If you can, get either the 2500k or 3570k with a mobo combo. I know they give a $50 discount with purchase of a 3570k and z77 mobo. Not sure if they still do it with the 2500k. The K processors allow you to overclock which basically gives you a large performance boost which can be good in the future as they don't need to be overclocked immediately.

http://slickdeals.net/f/4298000-Intel-i5-3570K-189-99-Microcenter-in-store-only

I dont know if they have something similar with a 2500k still. They use to, but with release of the new ivy bridge cpus, those might be gone. If you can get the 2500k for $170 and a $50 discount on a mobo too, then that would be an awesome deal as well.

I wish I had a microcenter near me :(
 
Man how I miss the d/fw area for these deals... Tell ya 1 thing (I know this is off-topic so sue me), when I become certified in the IT industry, im really hoping to move back up there so I can be with my friends & be able to go to Quakecon (hopefully this year).
/rant

In other related news, I totally agree that you should continue to save more $$ until a possible better deal comes along that will become much more beneficial to your gaming habits.
 
Thanks for the input guys. My birthday is coming up in 2 weeks so if my budget changes enough to make a difference I will let you guys know.
 
The TR2 430w is literally like 6 or 7 years old at this point. At least the platform is. It didn't even originally have PCIe connectors, those are kinda jerry rigged onto the current unit.

The fact that it's efficiency is rated >=65% should kinda tell you how old that thing is.


For the same price (perhaps a bit less), you can get the Corsair CX430 which, although not perfect, is a FAR better unit than the TT.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx 430

EDIT: it is also extremely likely that your HP only fits micro ATX boards. Not like you need a case for the PC to be fully functional (I never use a case), but some people aren't comfortable running around naked.
 
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When do you plan to head to microcenter to pick up the new components? You still going to get a GPU and PSU? As I said, definitely go with the CX430 from Corsair over the one you originally linked to. And strongly consider the better deals on the gtx 460s which will perform on par with a 6850 or better.
 
The 3570k and the 2500k are both about $100 out of my price range. My birthday is coming up in 2 weeks so I will wait and maybe I will get either one of those. If not, I will get either the 2400 or the 3450 and then get a better one in in 2013. I may be rushing this a little but playing some games (l4d2 etc.) at around 10-15 fps is slightly annoying.

PS. what should the temperature be of my gpu under load?
 
I assume you are playing 1080p? The 5450 is your problem. Forget upgrading the cpu for now (but when you do, follow the plan we laid out) and simply upgrade your psu and gpu with the cx430 and a gtx 460 such as

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646

are your most needed upgrades. That will bump your frame rates up dramatically. Your cpu is not the problem here.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-athlon-ii-x4-620-review-test/14

This is crysis warhead (bottom of page) and you see at the higher resolutions, you become less bottlenecked where the gpu is put to work. If this slower cpu than yours can pull 33 in crysis warhead at 1200p, then that tells you the cpu is not your problem, but the graphics card is.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X4_645/10.html

Here are some more benchmarks with a faster athlon ii x4, and it performs quite well.
 
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I think I will do that. Its $134 after mir. It looks like a great deal. Do you think that mobo I have now could cause any problems? Also, would getting an additional 2GB or ram make a big difference? Right now I have 2x2GB.
 
For $134 after rebate, are you talking about your 6850 or the 460 and cx430 combined that I linked? The gtx 460 I have listed is $98 (including shipping) after rebate vs the 6850 at $135 AR.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/539?vs=542

This shows that the two trade blows from game to game. They will both provide very similar performance and are more than enough to handle source games. I strongly suggest saving some money and going with the gtx 460 I linked.

As for more ram, 4gb should be fine for most games, especially older ones. 8gb is kinda the standard to recommend now since it is so cheap. If you were to upgrade, you would want to get another 2x2gb kit that is rated for the same speeds (1066or 1333 likely) as what you have now. You also need to match up the timings so that they can both run at the same speed. I would simply hold off unless you use programs that need more ram, but for gaming, 4gb is fine.

Finally, your motherboard says it contains a pci-e x16 gen 2 slot which is all you need for the graphics card. However, a better power supply will definitely be needed to run the more powerful card.
 
$134 after rebate is the gtx460 and cx430. They add up to $50 mir and it comes with NBA 2k11(meh... wont play that anyways). I will probably order that today or tommorow and depening on how much cash I have left I will think about further upgrading my PC.
 
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