What to upgrade in this PC? I've got ~200 USD to spend

[zerge]

As the title says, what should I upgrade in this PC for max 200 USD?

CPU: AMD FX-6300
RAM: 2 x 4GB Fury Blue 1866Mhz
Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 OC Edition
Storage: 1TB Seagate Barracuda

[1Scotty1]

CPU+mobo

[OfficialJsP]

get an SSD maybe

[SimpleG]

Crucial MX100 SSD

[zerge]

CPU+mobo

Can't afford both, which one to upgrade first?

[Oshino Shinobu]

A 128/250GB SSD is a good place to start. 

[zerge]

get an SSD maybe

 

Crucial MX100 SSD

 

I don't feel like SSD's are really worth it right now as I'm more looking into improving the overall performance in games and other heavy applications, not the loading time.

[1Scotty1]

Can't afford both, which one to upgrade first?

I was thinking more along the lines of switching that FX to i5

[SkilledRebuilds]

SSD for sure...You can pick up some large 512GB capacities for $200-250 on special around the interwebs.

 

 

I don't feel like SSD's are really worth it right now as I'm more looking into improving the overall performance in games and other heavy applications, not the loading time.

It's not at all about loading time...

 

It's about the INSTANT response to your double clicks.. not just that but you doing 'Windows operations' all have instant access to what it needs <-- your day to day stuff,..is way better in response time,... you'll thank me later on.

You'd think your PC is fast now.... you have no idea,.. get an SSD!

[KamiKatze]

You can try selling the 280 for a good price and instead get a R9 290. THat would bring a moderate improvement, however your CPU should really be the next thing to upgrade.

 

You can also try to switch to Intel if you find somebody to buy your motherboard and FX 6300 from you.

[SimpleG]

I don't feel like SSD's are really worth it right now as I'm more looking into improving the overall performance in games and other heavy applications, not the loading time.

CRUCIAL FUCKING MX100.

 

oops capslock got stuck

[Misanthrope]

I don't feel like SSD's are really worth it right now as I'm more looking into improving the overall performance in games and other heavy applications, not the loading time.

 

That might be though on your 200 USD budget. Here's a couple of options though

 

1) Sell your 280 to get some extra cash and a bump to a 970 or a 290x. Unless you have a GPU the system won't have video and it might take a while for you to off that 280 though

2) Sell your mobo and CPU and upgrade to an i5 4590. Same as in 1 but not as immediate impact on your performance for games but bear in mind games that promise to be more multithreaded like Witcher 3 are around the corner

3) The good Old "save a little bit more". This is particularly true since in 2 or 3 months AMD will come up with new GPUs so you could be looking at a 370 or 380, supposedly they might not be just rebrands

4) You really need to try an SSD, I know you're thinking "Load times? pff who cares" I used to think the exact same thing, after trying an SSD I am now looking at ditching my mechanical entirely in favor of a 240 or 480 ssd and just depend on streaming more while prices drop even more. It makes that much of a difference for your rig to feel so responsive is unbelievable.

[zerge]

You can try selling the 280 for a good price and instead get a R9 290. THat would bring a moderate improvement, however your CPU should really be the next thing to upgrade.

 

You can also try to switch to Intel if you find somebody to buy your motherboard and FX 6300 from you.

Would the FX8350 be a good upgrade from the FX6300?

[dadasmithywinkle]

Would the FX8350 be a good upgrade from the FX6300?

Not really; no. There isnt that much of a difference.

 

This, maybe?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($173.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $217.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 10:08 EDT-0400

[zerge]

 

Not really; no. There isnt that much of a difference.

 

This, maybe?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($173.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $217.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 10:08 EDT-0400

 

 

Tbh I'm not able to afford that as the prices are a bit different over here as I'm not from the US, Amazon.co.uk is where I am planning to buy it at and I've got 160GBP to spend - 10 GBP in shipping which means 150 GBP.

[ryanmmax]

Similar setup, and put in a new SSD... My FPS did not go up but I feel like I got a brand new computer!!!

Go get

50$ --128GB SSD

150$ --HD598

Or

SSD

Mechanical keyboard

or

SSD

Bigger better heatsink and OC your cpu

Don't bother upgrading VC or CPU unless you know which is bottlenecking your application...

[EpochMedia]

On the subject of SSDs - The Samsung EVO 850 500gb was $180 yesterday, you can definitely get good value on an SSD if you're patient.

 

Having that CPU myself, I can reliably say that it needs to be upgraded. I went from a 6870 to a 290x, but stayed with the FX-6300, and the CPU is definitely a bottleneck, despite its 4.4ghz clock on air. 

[dadasmithywinkle]

Tbh I'm not able to afford that as the prices are a bit different over here as I'm not from the US, Amazon.co.uk is where I am planning to buy it at and I've got 160GBP to spend - 10 GBP in shipping which means 150 GBP.

This?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£97.14 @ Aria PC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£49.36 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £146.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 14:12 GMT+0000

[Meladath]

SSD without a doubt.

[zerge]

Similar setup, and put in a new SSD... My FPS did not go up but I feel like I got a brand new computer!!!

Go get

50$ --128GB SSD

150$ --HD598

Or

SSD

Mechanical keyboard

or

SSD

Bigger better heatsink and OC your cpu

Don't bother upgrading VC or CPU unless you know which is bottlenecking your application...

Already got a good CPU cooler (Cooler Master Nepton 140XL) but my motherboard is currently screwing up the overclocking, as I cannot go over 4Ghz and it's due to motherboard.

[EpochMedia]

 

This?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£97.14 @ Aria PC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£49.36 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £146.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 14:12 GMT+0000

 

I would just save until being able to afford an i5 and accompanying mobo.

[zerge]

 

This?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£97.14 @ Aria PC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£49.36 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £146.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 14:12 GMT+0000

 

That's almost no difference tbh and there's no reason to get a CPU and motherboard that is actually worse.

[EpochMedia]

Already got a good CPU cooler (Cooler Master Nepton 140XL) but my motherboard is currently screwing up the overclocking, as I cannot go over 4Ghz and it's due to motherboard.

 

Ouch. As I mentioned, even overlcocking to 4.4ghz that CPU just doesn't deliver in the long term. I couldn't imagine being stuck at 4 ghz on it. To give the rest of the guys some context, if you take Firestrike normal on that CPU, it pulls maybe 5-15 fps on the physics portion (my laptop with an i7 mobile pulls double!).

[zerge]

Ouch. As I mentioned, even overlcocking to 4.4ghz that CPU just doesn't deliver in the long term. I couldn't imagine being stuck at 4 ghz on it. To give the rest of the guys some context, if you take Firestrike normal on that CPU, it pulls maybe 5-15 fps on the physics portion (my laptop with an i7 mobile pulls double!).

So is the upgrade from 6300 > 8350 a huge difference? I'm unsure as I've not used many of the other FX series CPU's.

[EpochMedia]

So is the upgrade from 6300 > 8350 a huge difference? I'm unsure as I've not used many of the other FX series CPU's.

 

Not for the money, when saving just a bit more (unless your money is really hard to come by) can get you an i5 and a new mobo. I haven't looked in awhile but I assume the 8350 is still around the $150-$180 range, and while that used to be value, A 4670k would be your ideal bet, especially if you can re-use that cooler, but that's going to be a bit of a stretch. Worth the wait if you can. 

 

A 4460 may well be within your range, though not unlocked.