Cheap Upgrade

[Rray]

First of all, I'd like to say that I am a noob when it comes to building gaming rigs. Most of my life, I've relied on my older brother to provide me with the means of satisfying my needs to play computer games. Yes, I'm a gamer and I don't know a bit about computers. That's why, I need help.

 

I moved out of the house quite recently and was given by my brother this computer:

 

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640

GPU: Sapphire Radeon 5450

Mobo: Emaxx-MCP61D3-iCafe

RAM: 4 GB Kingston DDR3

 

And, everything else is pretty much generic. I'm considering upgrading this and turning it into a mid-end gaming rig and I'd like to start with the mobo, ram and GPU first, as well as a new case since this one is generic.

 

What I have in mind is these:

 

Mobo: Asus M5A97

RAM: G.Skills Ripjaws Red DDR3 1600 (2x4GB)

GPU: Sapphire 6790 or 6870.

 

However, I'm pretty confused since up to this day, I've read reviews that 4850/4870 are one of the best video cards out there in terms of price-quality ratio and some are sold here for little over half the price of the 6790, which somehow is quite a tempting offer.

 

I don't want to include my budget but somewhere around that price range would be good. I'm also planning to upgrading to Phenom X6 but that's about a few months from now, probably until my birthday. Oh yeah, I forgot, I'm planning to buy all of these next friday, on the 30th. So, I'd really appreciate anyone helping me around here.

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT: 6790 or 6870

Edited December 19, 2011 by Ray Ian

[Alexandre]

Hi mate and welcome to OCC

 

The world of computer building can seem a bit confusing at times, especially with how fast technology is changing these days, but it's not too bad once you understand the basics.

 

Just a few questions:

 

- What PSU do you have? - this will be a deciding factor as to how powerful your system can be and what graphics card you can get.

- Where are you planning on buying your stuff from? Any websites? - this helps us know what prices you are looking at.

- Do you have a 64 bit Operating System?

 

Cheers!

[Tjj226_Angel]

First of all, I'd like to say that I am a noob when it comes to building gaming rigs. Most of my life, I've relied on my older brother to provide me with the means of satisfying my needs to play computer games. Yes, I'm a gamer and I don't know a bit about computers. That's why, I need help.

 

I moved out of the house quite recently and was given by my brother this computer:

 

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640

GPU: Sapphire Radeon 5450

Mobo: Emaxx-MCP61D3-iCafe

RAM: 4 GB Kingston DDR3

 

And, everything else is pretty much generic. I'm considering upgrading this and turning it into a mid-end gaming rig and I'd like to start with the mobo, ram and GPU first, as well as a new case since this one is generic.

 

What I have in mind is these:

 

Mobo: Asus M5A97

RAM: G.Skills Ripjaws Red DDR3 1600 (2x4GB)

GPU: Sapphire 6790 or 6870.

 

However, I'm pretty confused since up to this day, I've read reviews that 4850/4870 are one of the best video cards out there in terms of price-quality ratio and some are sold here for little over half the price of the 6790, which somehow is quite a tempting offer.

 

I don't want to include my budget but somewhere around that price range would be good. I'm also planning to upgrading to Phenom X6 but that's about a few months from now, probably until my birthday. Oh yeah, I forgot, I'm planning to buy all of these next friday, on the 30th. So, I'd really appreciate anyone helping me around here.

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT: 6790 or 6870

 

First off, welcome to OCC!

 

So from what I understand, you want to get a new system, but you want to do it slowly over time correct? That is why you are getting new mobo, gpu, and ram now, and a new processor later right?

 

What you probably should do in this situation is purchase the mobo, gpu, and cpu and leave the ram alone.

 

I would say to go with an APU solution in this instance.

 

I would guess that you are aiming to keep this upgrade at around "a" price point (if you live in the US I think I know what it is ) and I think I have a much better solution that what you are after.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130605

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103994

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

 

In reality, you don't need more ram.

 

So let me break this down for you. Basically you gut your system. Take out what you have now an sell it, or give it to charity. For realitivley the same price after rebates you get the CPU, mobo, and video card. Now this is obviously an APU. That means that aside from it being a CPU, it has a little GPU on it too. The performance of the CPU is pretty amazing for the price, and it allows you to do something reptty freaking cool.

 

The video card is a cheap little POS (if you know what I mean), however, you can crossfire it with the GPU on the CPU. This used to be called hybrid crossfire. In theory, the combined GPU power should outperform the 6790, or be right about on par depending on the game and if you overclock your CPU/GPU.

 

So that gives you the money left over for your AMD X6 processor that you would buy later on down the road. What I would do is stock pile your money, and instead of buying a X6 CPU, go buy a GTX 560 ti (since they will go down in price soon) and REALLY play some games.

 

That will be a much better solution for your situation.

 

Personally though if I could get you to consider something a bit different. It would be to wait entirely. Overclock your current system, pile your money up, and when ivy bridge hits the market, buy into that and get a totally new system, or take advantage of the old sandy bridge price drops.

 

Since in theory your current budget by THAT time would be about 150 more than it is now, you could get a Z68 board for 100 USD a i5 2500K for about 200 or less depending on how far the prices drop and a gtx 560 ti for 200 or less.

 

To me, taking advantage of that sort of a methodology of doing an upgrade would serve you FAR better then what you are planning now. If you can't wait, then the APU solution would be your best bet. It won't be the quickest thing on the planet, but it would do you a whole lot better than what you are planning now.

[Black64]

Welcome to occ and you should get the 6870, also you may not see an improvement with the x6

[SpikeSoprano]

Just one more point, you say you might purchace a phenom 6 core in a few months, They are not making that cpu anymore and in that time span dealers could be sold out, if it was me I would buy it now.

[Black64]

Just one more point, you say you might purchace a phenom 6 core in a few months, They are not making that cpu anymore and in that time span dealers could be sold out, if it was me I would buy it now.

 

Not on eBay.....

[SpikeSoprano]

Not on eBay.....

 

I agree Black but not everyone likes to buy pc parts threw ebay.

[Rray]

Hi mate and welcome to OCC

 

The world of computer building can seem a bit confusing at times, especially with how fast technology is changing these days, but it's not too bad once you understand the basics.

 

Just a few questions:

 

- What PSU do you have? - this will be a deciding factor as to how powerful your system can be and what graphics card you can get.

- Where are you planning on buying your stuff from? Any websites? - this helps us know what prices you are looking at.

- Do you have a 64 bit Operating System?

 

Cheers!

 

- It's a stock PSU from the Generic Casing. I was hoping to have it replaced by something that you could suggest.

 

- I'm going to buy my stuff from three local shops and I couldn't find one that had a website. I took a look at newegg, though and the prices are pretty similar. It's just that most shops here wait for about a month or two for what's new in the market.

 

- Yes. I do have a 64 bit Operating System. I'm currently using Windows 7 Ultimate SP1.

 

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130605

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103994

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

 

 

What you're suggesting is nice and I was hoping to buy a new CPU instead of just upgrading my GPU. However, I doubt I'll be able to find that CPU being sold near me considering that it would take about until February or March before that's sold in the market here. I'm from the Philippines, by the way. I'll try to look into what you suggested though.

 

With the APU solution out, would you be able to suggest something regarding a new case? I'll try to look for where I could buy that APU here though. Also, about that GPU thing you were talking about, what GPU would I be buying? The 4850?

 

Also, considering that you brought up the topic of building a completely new rig in the next few months when the price drops, would you also mind suggesting a temporary board or if I should need one? I could easily get it sold for about 75% of its original price.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ray Ian

[Alexandre]

Getting a good PSU is important so make sure you find one which has good voltage regulation and build quality otherwise it might reduce the life of all your computer components plugged into it.

 

This means you might have to pay a bit more for a decent PSU but it will be worth it. OCC's Recommended Power Supply List is a good place to start looking for decent PSUs. There are more good PSUs out there then what we have on that list but make sure you check for reviews on it to be sure.

 

I would probably look for a PSU in the 550-650W range - gives you room to upgrade in the future.

[Rray]

I'm looking at this one, http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=274&area=en

 

I've been reading and I do think that 550W should be enough for me. Plus, I doubt that I'll be doing some overclocking anyway.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ray Ian

[Alexandre]

Good to hear that you been reading up on things - here's a few good sources on PSUs if you and to read some more: Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies and A Detailed Look Into PSUs

 

Yeah that PSU is not too bad - it does have its cons though according to this review but overall look decent. How much they want for it?

Edited December 20, 2011 by Alexandre

[Rray]

More or less $90 for it.

 

EDIT:

 

I found this http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1041&pid=1235&psn=&lid=1&leg=0 being sold by my brother's mate after a month's use for about $60 less than its original price. Said he was going to replace it with a 6990 with Ref Cooler. What do you guys think? It's better reviewed than the 560 Ti that Angel mentioned.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ray Ian