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Need some help with upgrades!

ShiftY_
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Hey,

 

I have been needing to upgrade my PC for quite a while now since the Video card in it is now Ancient:

 

Any suggestions for an upgrade?

 

Specs -

CPU: i7-2600 @3.4Ghz LGA 1155

RAM: 8GB(2x4)@1066Mhz

Motherboard: AMI-2AB5 Sandy Bridge chipset Micro-ATX

GPU: GT530 (OEM) 2GB DDR3 (I don't mind getting a new Power supply)

 

Please help!

 

Regards ShiftY

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budget and location?
please post in the right sub forum this belongs in new builds and planing

Specs

CPU: i5 4670k i won the silicon lottery Cooler: Corsair H100i w/ 2x Corsair SP120 quiet editions Mobo: ASUS Z97 SABERTOOTH MARK 1 Ram: Corsair Platnums 16gb (4x4gb) Storage: Samsun 840 evo 256gb and random hard drives GPU: EVGA acx 2.0 gtx 980 PSU: Corsair RM 850w Case: Fractal Arc Midi R2 windowed 

 

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Couple more details would be cool but talking from a bang for your buck perspective:

CPU should be fine if you don't plan on overclocking

RAM is meh but also not where you need to drop the cash

Mobo: If you can find something a bit more current for the 1155 socket go for it. otherwise if it is reliable and your happy with it don't bother.

GPU: That new maxwell-based card is pretty compelling + new tech is awesome. Otherwise, sweet spot for $$ for performance is probably one of these: 7850/7870/7950

PSU: Something that'll handle your new little beast. 400+W preferrably with a good efficiency rating

 

EDIT: throwing in a ssd is never a bad thing and probably one of the biggest things you can do to speed up a system

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Couple more details would be cool but talking from a bang for your buck perspective:

CPU should be fine if you don't plan on overclocking

RAM is meh but also not where you need to drop the cash

Mobo: If you can find something a bit more current for the 1155 socket go for it. otherwise if it is reliable and your happy with it don't bother.

GPU: That new maxwell-based card is pretty compelling + new tech is awesome. Otherwise, sweet spot for $$ for performance is probably one of these: 7850/7870/7950

PSU: Something that'll handle your new little beast. 400+W preferrably with a good efficiency rating

Or better, 750 ti :D

I fix computers and computer accessories... sometimes... when I want to...

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Location: Australia

Money to spend: $600-700

is that your max budget? Because 600-700 AUD is way above the best price/performance point. 300-400 AUD is probably best.

 

If I were you I would use something like 400 AUD for the GPU then use the rest of the money for GOOD headphones, an SSD etc...

Much more worth it than getting an extra 12FPS in a game for 150$ if you ask me!

 

also what is the current wattage of the PSU you have? 

"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

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Location: Australia

Money to spend: $600-700

oh...

Well the prices of things here are a lot more than the USA/CA.

I would probably look into:

  • 7950/750ti
  • 120gb 840 EVO ssd

(if your current psu is below 450-500w I would suggest upgrading to something 500w or 550w like a Corsair RM550 gold.)

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is that your max budget? Because 600-700 AUD is way above the best price/performance point. 300-400 AUD is probably best.

 

If I were you I would use something like 400 AUD for the GPU then use the rest of the money for GOOD headphones, an SSD etc...

Much more worth it than getting an extra 12FPS in a game for 150$ if you ask me!

 

also what is the current wattage of the PSU you have? 

why should he spend money on something that clearly does not increase the performance of his system, headphones are something you buy as a luxury for your system.

 

get a high end AMD/Nvidia card (or at least what his psu supports) and buy a 256GB SSD

 

If he needs a new PSU get a 650w (could probably go lower for one card configuration) and maybe a medium or high level card if you still have the money for it

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22032

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25553

 

can be $20 shipping depending on where you live + 2% credit surcharge if you pay with a card

Intel Core i7 930 // GIGABYTE X58-UD7 rev1 // Corsair Dominator 3x4GB // GPU MSI 7870 // Fractal Design R4 // 256GB Samsung SSD 840 Pro 1TB Samsung SpinPoint 3TB Seagate Barracuda  // Corsair 1000W // Dell 2713H // Vortex Poker II Ducky DK9008 // Logitech G400s // SteelSeries Qck+ DotA 2 Edition // Swan D1080-IV Audioengine A5+ Audioengine S8 // ASUS Xonar Essence STX - Albums http://imgur.com/a/wkJSM#2 // http://imgur.com/a/V2idF#0

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An SSD doesn't increase performance in terms of FPS, he should get a 780 and a 550w psu. 

 
 
Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card  ($579.00 @ PCCaseGear) 
Power Supply:  XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($99.00 @ PLE Computers) 
Total: $678.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-23 18:39 EST+1100)
SuperNova: CPU: Intel Core i5 4670k @4.6 GPU: Sapphire R290 Tri-x @1200, @1350, MOBO: MSI Z87 G45 Gaming, RAM: 16Gb HyperX Fury White @1866, PSU: CORSAIR TX750M, CASE: Arc Midi R2, SSD: Kingston 120gb SSD, 
COOLING: H100i w/ 2x Nb eLoop 800rpm
Check out my build log Black Dawn Check out my build log Supernova
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An SSD doesn't increase performance in terms of FPS, he should get a 780 and a 550w psu. 

 
 
Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card  ($579.00 @ PCCaseGear) 
Power Supply:  XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($99.00 @ PLE Computers) 
Total: $678.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-23 18:39 EST+1100)

 

An SSD would increase overall performance of the OS and load times of applications installed on the SSD

Intel Core i7 930 // GIGABYTE X58-UD7 rev1 // Corsair Dominator 3x4GB // GPU MSI 7870 // Fractal Design R4 // 256GB Samsung SSD 840 Pro 1TB Samsung SpinPoint 3TB Seagate Barracuda  // Corsair 1000W // Dell 2713H // Vortex Poker II Ducky DK9008 // Logitech G400s // SteelSeries Qck+ DotA 2 Edition // Swan D1080-IV Audioengine A5+ Audioengine S8 // ASUS Xonar Essence STX - Albums http://imgur.com/a/wkJSM#2 // http://imgur.com/a/V2idF#0

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An SSD would increase overall performance of the OS and load times of applications installed on the SSD

But still, a 780 would be a better overall choice. 

SuperNova: CPU: Intel Core i5 4670k @4.6 GPU: Sapphire R290 Tri-x @1200, @1350, MOBO: MSI Z87 G45 Gaming, RAM: 16Gb HyperX Fury White @1866, PSU: CORSAIR TX750M, CASE: Arc Midi R2, SSD: Kingston 120gb SSD, 
COOLING: H100i w/ 2x Nb eLoop 800rpm
Check out my build log Black Dawn Check out my build log Supernova
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why should he spend money on something that clearly does not increase the performance of his system, headphones are something you buy as a luxury for your system.

 

get a high end AMD/Nvidia card (or at least what his psu supports) and buy a 256GB SSD

 

If he needs a new PSU get a 650w (could probably go lower for one card configuration) and maybe a medium or high level card if you still have the money for it

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22032

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25553

 

can be $20 shipping depending on where you live + 2% credit surcharge if you pay with a card

it's not a luxury at all. If you're gaming, there are obviously two things that matter. The visual aspect and the auditory aspect. The FPS you get from your GPU is part of the visual aspect, and so is your monitor. The auditory aspect is just as important as that if you truly want to get immersed in gaming.

 

256GB SSD is also an unnecessary expense for most. The OS files and your frequently used programs should be able to fit on a 128GB SSD, the rest can go on a regular hard drive. 

 

I just checked the prices in Australia and the best choice for you as far as price to performance seem to be the R9 280X with the sapphire cooler which costs around 350 AUD + buy some 150 AUD headphones + 100 AUD SSD. That's exactly his budget and much better than wasting money (sorry to say but it is) on a 600 AUD GPU. 

"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

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it's not a luxury at all. If you're gaming, there are obviously two things that matter. The visual aspect and the auditory aspect. The FPS you get from your GPU is part of the visual aspect, and so is your monitor. The auditory aspect is just as important as that if you truly want to get immersed in gaming.

 

256GB SSD is also an unnecessary expense for most. The OS files and your frequently used programs should be able to fit on a 128GB SSD, the rest can go on a regular hard drive. 

 

I just checked the prices in Australia and the best choice for you as far as price to performance seem to be the R9 280X with the sapphire cooler which costs around 350 AUD + buy some 150 AUD headphones + 100 AUD SSD. That's exactly his budget and much better than wasting money (sorry to say but it is) on a 600 AUD GPU. 

The OP has not even specified what kind of headphones he has, why are you assuming he has some rubbish steelseries headset?

 

Anyway it seems OP's PSU is a generic 400w PSU, personally I don't trust those kind of PSUs (watched my brother fry two motherboards with a new generic PSU which was faulty lol)

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=26264 cheapest corsair psu with a 80 plus gold rating over 500w

 

Well the 256GB SSD is just a suggestion, it depends on how OP uses his computer. My 256GB SSD only has 50GB left on it which is mostly steam games

Intel Core i7 930 // GIGABYTE X58-UD7 rev1 // Corsair Dominator 3x4GB // GPU MSI 7870 // Fractal Design R4 // 256GB Samsung SSD 840 Pro 1TB Samsung SpinPoint 3TB Seagate Barracuda  // Corsair 1000W // Dell 2713H // Vortex Poker II Ducky DK9008 // Logitech G400s // SteelSeries Qck+ DotA 2 Edition // Swan D1080-IV Audioengine A5+ Audioengine S8 // ASUS Xonar Essence STX - Albums http://imgur.com/a/wkJSM#2 // http://imgur.com/a/V2idF#0

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Location: Australia

Money to spend: $600-700

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.
What's your system being used for? Rest of specs?

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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