pc upgrade, need help.

[Brostav]

Hi all it has been a while since I have been involved with pc building and need some advice.

 

Over the past month or so I have noticed a dramatic increase in CPU temps in my system ( approx idle at 50 deg C) which has lead me to believe that my stock cooler aka thunder jet (from the sheer noise) is about ready to kick the bucket. I am going to purchase a coolermaster seidon 120V to solve this but now I am reminded of how old my system is (4 years) and am wondering if its worth spending a little bit of money to upgrade it OR just let it age gracefully and save up for a new rig early next year. 

 

The main purpose of this rig was to enjoy some causal gaming at 1080p such as Skyrim & The Witcher so here are the specs:

 

CPU: AMD phenom II 965 BE (not overclocked, but can be)

 

MOBO: Gigabyte 990 fxa-UD5

 

VGA: Asus Direct CU 6870 1GB (not overclocked)

 

RAM: G skill sniper 8GB 4x2 1333mhz

 

PSU: Thermaltake 700w 80+ brnz ( Have heard it may be bad but no problems so far)

 

CASE: Coolermaster CM 690

 

MONITOR: LG flatron 

 

Back when I was building the thing SSD's were a bit out of reach budget wise so maybe adding one for an OS might be a good step?

I am willing to learn how to overclock if it will give me a good performance boost So I am willing to hear what you guys think would be the best thing to do. I am willing to spend around $200-300 AUD if it will give me a couple more years @ 1080p or maybe even 1440p?

Thanks in advance

[dragoon20005]

a nice GPU might be a good idea

 

if you can scrape together some money get a R9 280 3GB

 

you have a great mobo to begin with

 

you could just get a used FX8320 or 8350

 

or a 120-128GB SSD

 

3 upgrade paths

[Hardip]

You can overclock but your ram speed is slow. You have to buy at least 1600 MHz Ram. And you should have a decent cooling solution. 

[Brostav]

a nice GPU might be a good idea

 

if you can scrape together some money get a R9 280 3GB

 

you have a great mobo to begin with

 

you could just get a used FX8320 or 8350

 

or a 120-128GB SSD

 

3 upgrade paths

Cool thanks for the quick reply,

 

If i choose to upgrade the cpu to an FX8320 will i need to upgrade the bios?

Also do the 8320 and 8350 differ much performance wise?

 

Finally what would be a good 128GB SSD to add in? Not sure with brands and what not

[dragoon20005]

Cool thanks for the quick reply,

 

If i choose to upgrade the cpu to an FX8320 will i need to upgrade the bios?

Also do the 8320 and 8350 differ much performance wise?

 

Finally what would be a good 128GB SSD to add in? Not sure with brands and what not

8320 is a slower speed version of the 8350 

 

not much difference

 

check your BIOS version and see if it support the FX

 

by right it should be able to just plug and play the FX

 

else look here

 

http://www.gigabyte.sg/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3891#bios

 

follow their guide to the nails unless you want a bricked mobo

 

I am using the SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB decent budget SSD

 

or you can opt for Samsung Evo 120GB

[Brostav]

Cool thanks a bunch! I will check the the bios version and update accordingly.

 

Just a finial few questions:

 

Can I still use my current cpu with the updated bios?

 

What is this gpu like? www.msy.com.au/viconline/pc-components/13109--gigabyte-r928wf3oc-3gd-3gb-r9-280-oc-pci-e-vga-card.html

 

Thanks a bunch again

[dragoon20005]

Cool thanks a bunch! I will check the the bios version and update accordingly.

 

Just a finial few questions:

 

Can I still use my current cpu with the updated bios?

 

What is this gpu like? www.msy.com.au/viconline/pc-components/13109--gigabyte-r928wf3oc-3gd-3gb-r9-280-oc-pci-e-vga-card.html

 

Thanks a bunch again

yes you still can use your CPU with the updated BIOS

 

yes that GPU should be good