Help to upgrade my old geezer?

[walterg74]

Hey guys.
 

Long time gamer, first time poster...

Haven't upgraded/renewed my PC in a long time, and looking to do just that.

I have some doubts as to wether I should just renew it, or if upgrading a few key components would be enough.

While my components are old for gaming standards (don't remember now but they were bought between 3 and 4 years ago,...), and I definitely would want to upgrade the video card for the latest games as well as add RAM, I'm not sure if I would get a real benefit from changing the rest.
And when I say "real benefit" what I mean is I don't consider (for me) that getting an extra 5-10 fps would be worth changing the base platform, if changing the rest gives me decent performance.

So this is my current setup:

CPU: Phenom II X4 940 3.0 Ghz Black Edition
RAM: 4GB Gskil Pi Black 5-5-5-15
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
GFX Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified (single +12V rail)
Disks: WD 250Gb (80 OS + 160 Misc) + WD 500 GB (Games) + WD 1TB (More Games...)
Monitor: Samsung XL2370 @ 1920x1080

My thoughts after some basic searching were to get another 4GB of RAM to take it to 8GB, and to replace the video card to either a GTX 770/780 or an R9 280X/290X (budget depending).

Any thoughts from you knowledgeable folks?

[El_Capitan]

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need. PSU is still good enough for any graphics card upgrade.

 

If anything, I would get an SSD and a HD 7850 2GB (or R7 270), you don't need anything more powerful playing at only 1080P.

[Nyt]

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need. PSU is still good enough for any graphics card upgrade.

 

If anything, I would get an SSD and a HD 7850 2GB (or R7 270), you don't need anything more powerful playing at only 1080P.

 

I would suggest some more RAM.

The upcoming Watch Dogs requires 6Gb minimum and I can well imagine that future games would require something similar.

But remember to check that your OS is 64 bit.

 

Finding a cheap second hand HD7950 or HD7970 would also make a great gaming experience at 1920x1080

Plus if more games use Mantle in the future, you will be able to benefit from it.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Knight_72

[SpikeSoprano]

I would recommend a gtx 760,770 , you would probably find one for a good price as amd is still over priced because of the Bitcoin crap and a lot of the used ones are worked to death for the same reason.

[El_Capitan]

I would recommend a gtx 760,770 , you would probably find one for a good price as amd is still over priced because of the Bitcoin crap and a lot of the used ones are worked to death for the same reason.

 

AMD cards are overpriced if you're buying new. If you're buying used, it's cheaper than dirt. HD 7970's for $200, HD 7950's for $150.

 

By dirt, I mean soil rich in diamonds.

Edited April 28, 2014 by El_Capitan

[Bosco]

Ya a graphics upgrade is the first thing I would do then memory and SSD.

[DanTheGamer11]

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need.

 

I've noticed an increase in games using just over 4GB or more, can't really regret getting more Plus seems to have helped some with my stuttering(have 8GB now)

[El_Capitan]

 

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need.

 

I've noticed an increase in games using just over 4GB or more, can't really regret getting more Plus seems to have helped some with my stuttering(have 8GB now)

 

 

I guess the extra memory helps if you have a decent amount of programs running in the background, and/or have a fair amount of system memory being used.

[Nyt]

 

 

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need.

 

I've noticed an increase in games using just over 4GB or more, can't really regret getting more Plus seems to have helped some with my stuttering(have 8GB now)

 

 

I guess the extra memory helps if you have a decent amount of programs running in the background, and/or have a fair amount of system memory being used.

 

 

I'm pretty sure it will. 

 

This is what my RAM usage is with my usual tabs in Chrome and Steam/Origin in the background with monitoring apps :

 

 

Although that being said, I doubt many people have 8 tabs (two of which being sites with lots of meme pictures) running simultaneously 

[walterg74]

Wow thanks for all the replies and so fast..!

 

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need. PSU is still good enough for any graphics card upgrade.

 

If anything, I would get an SSD and a HD 7850 2GB (or R7 270), you don't need anything more powerful playing at only 1080P.

 

Yes, this PC is just for games. I have another smaller one for everyday stuff, downloads, office, etc.etc.

 

I play @1080p, however, what would I need to try two or three monitor setups in the future? (Looking at you, racing games)

 

 

 

Is it just a gaming rig, or do you do anything else with it?

 

If just for gaming, the CPU is still fine, and 4GB is still more than you really need. PSU is still good enough for any graphics card upgrade.

 

If anything, I would get an SSD and a HD 7850 2GB (or R7 270), you don't need anything more powerful playing at only 1080P.

 

I would suggest some more RAM.

The upcoming Watch Dogs requires 6Gb minimum and I can well imagine that future games would require something similar.

But remember to check that your OS is 64 bit.

 

Finding a cheap second hand HD7950 or HD7970 would also make a great gaming experience at 1920x1080

Plus if more games use Mantle in the future, you will be able to benefit from it.

 

 

Yeah I thought of bumping to 8. Then I saw the whole AMD2+/1066Mhz with 4 DIMMs issue... Kinda on the fence. OS is Win 7 Ultimate, 64bits.

 

I would recommend a gtx 760,770 , you would probably find one for a good price as amd is still over priced because of the Bitcoin crap and a lot of the used ones are worked to death for the same reason.

 

770/R280X was kind of my sweet spot I guess for max I wanted to pay for a new card.  Would that be good enough even for trying multi monitor?

 

Ya a graphics upgrade is the first thing I would do then memory and SSD.

 

Kinda thought so about graphics. She's just too old...    

 

Regarding SSD, is it mostly used for OS disk, or also for where you install games? Does it *really* show any improvement for this last use?

 

Thanks!

[Fight Game]

the ssd will help any screen that says "loading" or even during installations.  It won't have difference in frames per second.

[walterg74]

What if the screen doesn't say "loading"?