Need some help with upgrading

[Jose Marquez]

I need some help upgrading my very crappy interntal AMD Radeon 3000... I'm actually planning to upgrade the RAM, PSU, and getting an SSD as well. I saw Linus's NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti review and I actually liked it and was wondering if it's a good choice for upgrading.

 

UPDATE: 2/14/2016 My dad and I are gonna look around for stores that sell power supplies and hopefully pick them up at the store which is kinda difficult considering that almost all the power supplies on the websites of the stores are online only. The graphics card that my dad has agreed on is the ASUS GeForce GTX 750Ti GDDR5 2GB.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Jose Marquez
Updating what's gonna happen soon/graphics card already chosen

[Jordaneer]

other specs of your computer so we know what your dealing with? and budget?

[Frosty]

What is your budget like? The rest of your system hardware?

[Le Lion de Barreras]

The 750 TI is a fairly old card you're better off going the newer route which is the 950.

[Jose Marquez]

7 minutes ago, Le Lion de Barreras said:

The 750 TI is a fairly old card you're better off going the newer route which is the 950.

I guess I could get it.

[Le Lion de Barreras]

Just now, Jose Marquez said:

I guess I could get it.

First decide on a budget. Depending on what you're allowed to get. In terms of hardware the 950 is better than the 750 TI but if you're allowed to spend a bit more going to the AMD route for a R9 380 is a much better option than the 950 or go one step above and get a 960. But what's your current PSU?

[Jose Marquez]

8 minutes ago, Frosty said:

What is your budget like? The rest of your system hardware?

 

9 minutes ago, Jordaneer said:

other specs of your computer so we know what your dealing with? and budget?

I actually don't have one, my dad and I were talking about how he would buy me some computer stuff for my good grades.

 

PC Specs:

 

Motherboard: 760GM-P23 (FX)
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 270 3.4 GHz

RAM: 2.0 GB Kingston from my parts bin

Storage: 1 WD 250 GB, 1 Seagate 80 GB for backup

GPU: AMD Radeon 3000

PSU: An old Dell from my friends broken pc(upgrade requrired immediately)

 

I really need to start over but I can't due to money problems.

 

[Low_Battery]

3 minutes ago, Jose Marquez said:

I guess I could get it.

You really either need to determine a budget, or know what performance you need / want out of the card. The 750ti's run between 100 and 130 (us$), the 950's run between 130 and 180.  Or, you can get a r9 380 starting at 165.  You can always pay slightly more for better performance ...

[Jose Marquez]

3 minutes ago, Le Lion de Barreras said:

First decide on a budget. Depending on what you're allowed to get. In terms of hardware the 950 is better than the 750 TI but if you're allowed to spend a bit more going to the AMD route for a R9 380 is a much better option than the 950 or go one step above and get a 960. But what's your current PSU?

One that needs to be upgraded asap.

[Jose Marquez]

1 minute ago, Low_Battery said:

You really either need to determine a budget, or know what performance you need / want out of the card. The 750ti's run between 100 and 130 (us$), the 950's run between 130 and 180.  Or, you can get a r9 380 starting at 165.  You can always pay slightly more for better performance ...

I'm a gamer so I need one for that..

Games:
Team Fortress 2 - Graphics CFG Modified

Portal - DirectX 8

Portal 2 - DirectX 8

Garry's Mod - DirectX 9

Black Mesa - DirectX 9

 

I get around 1-60 FPS depending on how many particles are being rendered.. Radeon 3000 doesn't like alot of particles...

[Le Lion de Barreras]

1 minute ago, Jose Marquez said:

One that needs to be upgraded asap.

Go with upgrading your PSU first and then go for the GPU later. If your PSU needs to be upgraded asap you'll be stuck with a low tier card going the 750 TI route. The good about the 750 TI is that isn't doesn't need a PSU cable to run, it runs fine off the PCI power but it's a low tier card you won't be able to play much games at high settings. Upgrade your PSU and then go for a card that's within your budget.

[Jose Marquez]

6 minutes ago, Le Lion de Barreras said:

Go with upgrading your PSU first and then go for the GPU later. If your PSU needs to be upgraded asap you'll be stuck with a low tier card going the 750 TI route. The good about the 750 TI is that isn't doesn't need a PSU cable to run, it runs fine off the PCI power but it's a low tier card you won't be able to play much games at high settings. Upgrade your PSU and then go for a card that's within your budget.

I just talked with my dad and he said that at most $100 for a graphics card...

[Frosty]

10 minutes ago, Jose Marquez said:

 

I actually don't have one, my dad and I were talking about how he would buy me some computer stuff for my good grades.

 

PC Specs:

 

Motherboard: 760GM-P23 (FX)
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 270 3.4 GHz

RAM: 2.0 GB Kingston from my parts bin

Storage: 1 WD 250 GB, 1 Seagate 80 GB for backup

GPU: AMD Radeon 3000

PSU: An old Dell from my friends broken pc(upgrade requrired immediately)

 

I really need to start over but I can't due to money problems.

 

A 950 and a new power supply would be a good place to start. While you should still see substantial performance gains, your CPU and RAM are going to be a bottleneck anyway. Upgrading to anything beyond that wouldn't be a good use of your money. Waiting some until you can upgrade your whole platform would be the next stage, I think.

[Low_Battery]

8 minutes ago, Jose Marquez said:

I just talked with my dad and he said that at most $100 for a graphics card...

Sounds like the decision just got a lot easier.  If your dad is OK with the rebate aspect, these are both good options:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-video-card-vcggtx750t2xpb

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx750tioc2gd5

 

Also, in regards to the person's comment about waiting, it is true that you could save up more and ugprade all at once, but that is probably easier said that done when you don't have a good computer to game with.  While this is obviously a very financially responsible thing to do, sometimes waiting just isn't worth it.  My vote - and really this is all up to you and what makes sense for your situation - would be to reward yourself for your hard work and have something that will get you gaming now.  You can always do more chores, neighborhood jobs, etc. and save up for that killer system down the road.   

 

However, since you are putting this into a system with a PSU recycled from a Dell, make sure that you have the proper cable connections and wattage with your current power supply unit before buying.  Unless of course he will help you upgrade that too.

 

Enjoy!

[Le Lion de Barreras]

18 minutes ago, Jose Marquez said:

I just talked with my dad and he said that at most $100 for a graphics card...

Alright. My advice is go with the 750 TI along with a decent power supply if you can manage. For the games you're currently playing the 750 TI should be a decent upgrade. Going any higher is a waste since you current setup will bottleneck it. Once you have the 750 TI save up little by little and do a completely new build, only carry over the hard drive and the GPU and PSU (if you went and bought a new one) and in the future go for a better GPU. As for which brand for of GPU to choose EVGA is pretty solid and they also make pretty good PSU's too. Good luck.

[Jose Marquez]

18 hours ago, Low_Battery said:

Sounds like the decision just got a lot easier.  If your dad is OK with the rebate aspect, these are both good options:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-video-card-vcggtx750t2xpb

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx750tioc2gd5

 

Also, in regards to the person's comment about waiting, it is true that you could save up more and ugprade all at once, but that is probably easier said that done when you don't have a good computer to game with.  While this is obviously a very financially responsible thing to do, sometimes waiting just isn't worth it.  My vote - and really this is all up to you and what makes sense for your situation - would be to reward yourself for your hard work and have something that will get you gaming now.  You can always do more chores, neighborhood jobs, etc. and save up for that killer system down the road.   

 

However, since you are putting this into a system with a PSU recycled from a Dell, make sure that you have the proper cable connections and wattage with your current power supply unit before buying.  Unless of course he will help you upgrade that too.

 

Enjoy!

I'll talk with my dad about what components he's gonna buy and I'll get the PSU first since it's the component in need of an upgrade..

18 hours ago, Le Lion de Barreras said:

Alright. My advice is go with the 750 TI along with a decent power supply if you can manage. For the games you're currently playing the 750 TI should be a decent upgrade. Going any higher is a waste since you current setup will bottleneck it. Once you have the 750 TI save up little by little and do a completely new build, only carry over the hard drive and the GPU and PSU (if you went and bought a new one) and in the future go for a better GPU. As for which brand for of GPU to choose EVGA is pretty solid and they also make pretty good PSU's too. Good luck.

Alright, thanks for the tips :3

[Jose Marquez]

Also how do I select the correct power supply and calculate the wattage? I know there are online calculators but I don't trust them. And suggestions on an SSD?

 

[Jordaneer]

3 hours ago, Jose Marquez said:

Also how do I select the correct power supply and calculate the wattage? I know there are online calculators but I don't trust them. And suggestions on an SSD?

 

As a general rule of thumb, if you have 1 graphics card (as long as its not a dual GPU card), a decent PSU from a repuable brand (seasonic, superflower, antec, etc) 500 W is more than enough, if you want to SLI or crossfire, 750W, but a 500W should be WAY more than enough for a 750 Ti, but it will give you some growing room if you upgrade to a better GPU.

[sushisharkjl]

23 hours ago, Jose Marquez said:

 

I actually don't have one, my dad and I were talking about how he would buy me some computer stuff for my good grades.

 

PC Specs:

 

Motherboard: 760GM-P23 (FX)
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 270 3.4 GHz

RAM: 2.0 GB Kingston from my parts bin

Storage: 1 WD 250 GB, 1 Seagate 80 GB for backup

GPU: AMD Radeon 3000

PSU: An old Dell from my friends broken pc(upgrade requrired immediately)

 

I really need to start over but I can't due to money problems.

 

Check Craigslist for some insane deals - my current rig has a (then) new Tri-X 390x for $300, a used GA-Z87X-UD4H for $40, and the rest pulled from my previous Dell XPS 8700. 

 

23 hours ago, Jose Marquez said:

I just talked with my dad and he said that at most $100 for a graphics card...

You may want to discuss this and see if you can reweigh and reallocate some of the money onto other components or go the used route.

[sushisharkjl]

4 hours ago, Jose Marquez said:

Also how do I select the correct power supply and calculate the wattage? I know there are online calculators but I don't trust them. And suggestions on an SSD?

 

The eXtreme PSU calculator estimates pretty close from personal experience. Alternatively add up the TDP for the parts or take the recommended PSU wattage from the GPU specs. 

 

As for SSD, try a Samsung 850 EVO.