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What should i upgrade?

Ferico
By Ferico
in Graphics Cards
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Go to solution Solved by Faceman,

@Ferico

 

If your motherboard is bricked, then you will have to buy a new mobo regardless.  In order to get the maximum performance, you are going to have to make incremental improvements because you don't have a large enough budget to tackle everything all at once.

 

To start, I recommend going with a Z87/97 motherboard and pair it with an i5-4670k or i5-4690k. The mobo and CPU alone will cost you $350. @AlwaysFSX 4th Generation i3s do perfectly fine for gaming, his i3 is from 2011.  It will be able to run Skyrim, and Far Cry 3, but for highest possible settings, he needs to step up to the i5.  By going with a better CPU and motherboard, it lays the foundation for future upgrades.  This will be a project, not an instant-fix.

 

i5-4670k can be purchase for $189 in-store at Microcenter, or using Staples.com price match feature.  To use the Staples price match feature, you will have to call them up, or live chat with someone on their website.  The i5-4670k for $189 is an incredible deal.

 

Here is what the first phase of your upgrade path should look like:

 

EDIT: Added in a good PSU for a low price.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($118.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $378.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:46 EDT-0400

 

Once you have the new CPU, motherboard and PSU, you can use the rest of your components and as you get more money, you can upgrade accordingly.

The next upgrades after CPU and motherboard should be a combination of RAM/SSD.  Don't worry about having a 5200rpm HDD, an HDD is going to be slow regardless, no sense spending more money on storage unless it is an SSD.

 

The next upgrade you will make will be your largest expenditure, the GPU.  Nothing has more of an impact on performance than the GPU.  Spend as much as you can on this component.  I personally think that the best price to performance GPUs out there are either the R9 280 for $200 or the R9 290 for $350.  If at all possible, go for the 290 because it will give you much more headroom for future games than the 280.  If you cannot afford the 290, the 280 is no slouch and can be overclocked very easily for very cost effective 1080p gaming.

 

You will also want to consider moving up to 1080p.  You can find nice 1080p monitors for $100-$150.

Posted

My system specs are:

cpu-i3 2100

gpu-hd 5770 :unsure:

ram- 4 GB A-data 1333mhz (2x2 gb)

mobo-intel dh61ww(this mobo is toast so i need a new one, :( i verified that the mobo is under permanent failure)

HDD-1 TB wd green(5200 rpm :( )

 

Monitor resolution - 1366 x 768  (Samsung sync master SA 300) .

 

 

I want to play most demanding games with everything maxed out.

 

Skyrim(with mods and enb,)

watch dogs

battlefield 4

far cry 3

 

My budget is 350$

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harsh budget... and that budget wont cover the gpu for what you want, you want get everything maxxed out and good fps from anything below a 780 in some of those games :/ please update with a more realistic goal

 

and i mean maxed, otherwise im sure someone here knows what could work :/

Proud Member of the Glorious PC Master Race

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harsh budget... and that budget wont cover the gpu for what you want, you want get everything maxxed out and good fps from anything below a 780 in some of those games :/ please update with a more realistic goal

768p. An r9 270 will mad everything at that res. 

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768p. An r9 270 will mad everything at that res. 

yea, saw that later, but still, Skyrim on a ENB and mods at maxed? my 780 wont do that easily :/ and Watch dogs :P well theres that, and Far Cry 3 i played a day or 2 ago on Max and i ran at 45 fps at times :/

Proud Member of the Glorious PC Master Race

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Why :( at the HDD? Nothing wrong with it. :P

 

 

 which might give 10fps but gives no graphic improvement which is what he/she asked for...

Was just about to say this.

 

Personally I'd look at getting a handful of smaller upgrades across the board rather than splashing out on a single new component and having it bottlenecked.

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@Ferico :)

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT/by_merchant/

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: A-Data Premier Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($42.78 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($48.91 @ Amazon)
Total: $314.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:30 EDT-0400

 

 

Upgrade your CPU to a i5-4670K you should also have some extra money for a new motherboard

i3's do perfectly fine for gaming

.

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@Ferico :)

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT/by_merchant/

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($42.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: A-Data Premier Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($42.78 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($179.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($48.91 @ Amazon)

Total: $314.67

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:30 EDT-0400

Seems pretty spot-on to me. :)

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@Ferico :)

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FF8mFT/by_merchant/

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($42.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: A-Data Premier Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($42.78 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($179.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($48.91 @ Amazon)

Total: $314.67

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:30 EDT-0400

 

 

i3's do perfectly fine for gaming

 

Oh yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes

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  • Solution

@Ferico

 

If your motherboard is bricked, then you will have to buy a new mobo regardless.  In order to get the maximum performance, you are going to have to make incremental improvements because you don't have a large enough budget to tackle everything all at once.

 

To start, I recommend going with a Z87/97 motherboard and pair it with an i5-4670k or i5-4690k. The mobo and CPU alone will cost you $350. @AlwaysFSX 4th Generation i3s do perfectly fine for gaming, his i3 is from 2011.  It will be able to run Skyrim, and Far Cry 3, but for highest possible settings, he needs to step up to the i5.  By going with a better CPU and motherboard, it lays the foundation for future upgrades.  This will be a project, not an instant-fix.

 

i5-4670k can be purchase for $189 in-store at Microcenter, or using Staples.com price match feature.  To use the Staples price match feature, you will have to call them up, or live chat with someone on their website.  The i5-4670k for $189 is an incredible deal.

 

Here is what the first phase of your upgrade path should look like:

 

EDIT: Added in a good PSU for a low price.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($118.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $378.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:46 EDT-0400

 

Once you have the new CPU, motherboard and PSU, you can use the rest of your components and as you get more money, you can upgrade accordingly.

The next upgrades after CPU and motherboard should be a combination of RAM/SSD.  Don't worry about having a 5200rpm HDD, an HDD is going to be slow regardless, no sense spending more money on storage unless it is an SSD.

 

The next upgrade you will make will be your largest expenditure, the GPU.  Nothing has more of an impact on performance than the GPU.  Spend as much as you can on this component.  I personally think that the best price to performance GPUs out there are either the R9 280 for $200 or the R9 290 for $350.  If at all possible, go for the 290 because it will give you much more headroom for future games than the 280.  If you cannot afford the 290, the 280 is no slouch and can be overclocked very easily for very cost effective 1080p gaming.

 

You will also want to consider moving up to 1080p.  You can find nice 1080p monitors for $100-$150.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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how about this guys

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bKVCFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bKVCFT/by_merchant/

Motherboard: ASRock B75 Pro3-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $357.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:45 EDT-0400

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bKVCFT

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@AlwaysFSX 4th Generation i3s do perfectly fine for gaming, his i3 is from 2011.  It will be able to run Skyrim, and Far Cry 3, but for highest possible settings, he needs to step up to the i5.  By going with a better CPU and motherboard, it lays the foundation for future upgrades.  This will be a project, not an instant-fix.

Not true, benchmarks have shown time and time again that an i3 can get pretty damn close to an i5 in terms of gaming performance EVEN with high end cards.

.

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@Ferico

 

If your motherboard is bricked, then you will have to buy a new mobo regardless.  In order to get the maximum performance, you are going to have to make incremental improvements because you don't have a large enough budget to tackle everything all at once.

 

To start, I recommend going with a Z87/97 motherboard and pair it with an i5-4670k or i5-4690k. The mobo and CPU alone will cost you $350. @AlwaysFSX 4th Generation i3s do perfectly fine for gaming, his i3 is from 2011.  It will be able to run Skyrim, and Far Cry 3, but for highest possible settings, he needs to step up to the i5.  By going with a better CPU and motherboard, it lays the foundation for future upgrades.  This will be a project, not an instant-fix.

 

i5-4670k can be purchase for $189 in-store at Microcenter, or using Staples.com price match feature.  To use the Staples price match feature, you will have to call them up, or live chat with someone on their website.  The i5-4670k for $189 is an incredible deal.

 

Here is what the first phase of your upgrade path should look like:

 

EDIT: Added in a good PSU for a low price.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ffy9t6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($118.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $378.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 15:46 EDT-0400

 

Once you have the new CPU, motherboard and PSU, you can use the rest of your components and as you get more money, you can upgrade accordingly.

The next upgrades after CPU and motherboard should be a combination of RAM/SSD.  Don't worry about having a 5200rpm HDD, an HDD is going to be slow regardless, no sense spending more money on storage unless it is an SSD.

 

The next upgrade you will make will be your largest expenditure, the GPU.  Nothing has more of an impact on performance than the GPU.  Spend as much as you can on this component.  I personally think that the best price to performance GPUs out there are either the R9 280 for $200 or the R9 290 for $350.  If at all possible, go for the 290 because it will give you much more headroom for future games than the 280.  If you cannot afford the 290, the 280 is no slouch and can be overclocked very easily for very cost effective 1080p gaming.

 

You will also want to consider moving up to 1080p.  You can find nice 1080p monitors for $100-$150.

i really really appreciate your answer :) .but this is a gift from my cousin( i d give the link to him and he would purchase the parts its a one chance and i don't think it'd come by an time nea :( r) thanks pal really appreciate your time for the answer :)

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Not true, benchmarks have shown time and time again that an i3 can get pretty damn close to an i5 in terms of gaming performance EVEN with high end cards.

Yes, I'm not arguing that, but those tests are with 4th gen i3s.  He has a 2nd Gen i3.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Ferico

 

Ok, I understand that it is a gift, so I will rework the answer.  The motherboard that you selected ASRock B75 is a Micro ATX motherboard which could be difficult to work with for a first time user, it is also not overclock capable which may be something your cousin would like to do in the future, also is not dual-GPU compatible.  I would recommend going with a 1x4GB stick of RAM so that you aren't maxed out at 8GB on all 4 DIMMs.  I also selected a slightly more expensive motherboard($20), but this motherboard gives you a clear upgrade path for down the road.  Say if you want to upgrade to an i5 or even i7, you are overclock ready.  If overclocking is not something he would be interested in doing, the motherboard you selected will work just fine.  The Z77-A is also Xfire and SLI capable in the event he would like to get even more graphics power. 2x R9 280s would be incredibly powerful, and with the price of AMD cards on the steady decline, in a year or two, you could fetch a 280 for probably $100-$150.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gLy9t6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gLy9t6/by_merchant/

Motherboard: Asus Z77-A ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($40.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $375.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 16:24 EDT-0400

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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