Update or New?

[grizzlypaugh]

My friend is wanting a new gaming computer I built one for him 5 years ago and it is still doing well but it is now just starting to lag with some games. I am thinking about updating his video card and maybe over clock his current CPU to get him by till later. He has a budget of $1500 for the PC and a new monitor. What do you guys think?
 

This is his current system sorry no pcpartpicker I could only find some of the parts on there not all.

 

 

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition

 

Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3

 

OCZ Reaper HPC 3x2GB DDR3 PC3-16000

 

Sapphire 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 1GB

 

Corsair TX Series CMPSU-750TX

 

Cooler Master HAF 922

 

25" Hanns-G

[LegacyStijncat]

@grizzlypaugh what games is he playing? If they are online, make sure internet is okay.

You should just upgrade parts. Get an i5 (or i7 if he streams etc), and a good 3GB or more VRAM card.

Oh, and upgrade the mobo. Quite important when trying to install a CPU from a different brand!

 

(Also, remember to follow your topics! The button is at the top right of the screen!)

[Viper9]

If you put a R9 280X in this system I could perform well. 

 

But if he already have a budget of 1500$ you can build a new rig with a Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a GTX 970. 

[Fluffinator]

If you put a R9 280X in this system I could perform well. 

 

But if he already have a budget of 1500$ you can build a new rig with a Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a GTX 970. 

More like he could get an i7, 980 and 16 gbs of ram with that.

[dizmo]

I'd probably build a whole new rig. Perhaps keep the case but by the sounds of it, it would have been a budget build.

 

 

If you put a R9 280X in this system I could perform well. 

 

But if he already have a budget of 1500$ you can build a new rig with a Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a GTX 970. 

Not really the CPU would be seriously limited.

 

More like he could get an i7, 980 and 16 gbs of ram with that.

Likely a waste of money

[JoaoPRSousa]

If you put a R9 280X in this system I could perform well. 

 

But if he already have a budget of 1500$ you can build a new rig with a Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a GTX 970.

It probably would be bottlenecked by the CPU.

And as @Fluffinator said, with 1500$ you can get more than that. Unless they are AUD.

[Dimwitted]

Do you have a plan for the parts? If not I'd keep the system and sell or give away as a working system. It would be a shame to put working components into the landfill but it's now old enough that selling the individual parts would be difficult and a real PITA. Replacing it with a complete new system will be the best move.

[grizzlypaugh]

@grizzlypaugh what games is he playing? If they are online, make sure internet is okay.

You should just upgrade parts. Get an i5 (or i7 if he streams etc), and a good 3GB or more VRAM card.

Oh, and upgrade the mobo. Quite important when trying to install a CPU from a different brand!

 

(Also, remember to follow your topics! The button is at the top right of the screen!)

 

I am sorry about not following I have currently just clicked the follow.

[grizzlypaugh]

Thanks guys! I have been thinking just a new build would be best. This is what I planned out for him. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WNKp4D what do you guys think?

[LegacyStijncat]

Thanks guys! I have been thinking just a new build would be best. This is what I planned out for him. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WNKp4D what do you guys think?

1. Case: if it's a windowed case, make sure your insides look good.
2. 2400 Mhz is overpriced BS IMO. 

The GPU manufacturer is an unusual choice. I don't think silence is the priority cause you have a stock cooler. And the Strix doesn't overclock well (because of it's low power consumption) in comparison to other manufacturers, but the CPU is unlocked for overclocking, so I guess he wants to overclock? MSI for silence or Gigabyte for performance seems like a better choice.

Ask yourself the question. Is hyperthreading worth the extra $100?

Will he be overclocking his CPU?

[grizzlypaugh]

 

1. Case: if it's a windowed case, make sure your insides look good.
2. 2400 Mhz is overpriced BS IMO. 

The GPU manufacturer is an unusual choice. I don't think silence is the priority cause you have a stock cooler. And the Strix doesn't overclock well (because of it's low power consumption) in comparison to other manufacturers, but the CPU is unlocked for overclocking, so I guess he wants to overclock? MSI for silence or Gigabyte for performance seems like a better choice.

Ask yourself the question. Is hyperthreading worth the extra $100? Will he be overclocking his CPU?

 

 

With a window case I agree with looks. very interesting so 1600-1866 would be more practical for gaming it seems. What GPU would you recommend? I have been happy with my Strix but I don’t game all that often and I wanted more silence than anything. He wants best performance for the buck. With the CPU I think he would be fine with an i5 I first made a list with an i5 but changed it to an i7. As for overclocking he most likely won’t be until it is needed in the future. He is more of a user he wants something that has low maintenance and can play all his games. He plays first person shooters and military games. GTA V when he buy’s it.   

[LegacyStijncat]

With a window case I agree with looks. very interesting so 1600-1866 would be more practical for gaming it seems. What GPU would you recommend? I have been happy with my Strix but I don’t game all that often and I wanted more silence than anything. He wants best performance for the buck. With the CPU I think he would be fine with an i5 I first made a list with an i5 but changed it to an i7. As for overclocking he most likely won’t be until it is needed in the future. He is more of a user he wants something that has low maintenance and can play all his games. He plays first person shooters and military games. GTA V when he buy’s it.   

Here's what you do:

1. Throw away the i7 for an i5, and invest a part of that money in a CPU cooler.
2. The GPU (GTX 970) can stay the same, just another manufacturer _{(MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Zotac, EVGA...)}. I highly recommend you get the Gigabyte GTX 970. There's no passive fan mode, but it overclocks like a champ apparently, has 3 Displayport outputs, and cools amazing. Double check if it fits in the case though, it's a massive card.
3. If you want the thing to look good, try to find a Motherboard which looks fit with your RAM.

[grizzlypaugh]

 

Here's what you do:

1. Throw away the i7 for an i5, and invest a part of that money in a CPU cooler.
2. The GPU (GTX 970) can stay the same, just another manufacturer _{(MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Zotac, EVGA...)}. I highly recommend you get the Gigabyte GTX 970. There's no passive fan mode, but it overclocks like a champ apparently, has 3 Displayport outputs, and cools amazing. Double check if it fits in the case though, it's a massive card.
3. If you want the thing to look good, try to find a Motherboard which looks fit with your RAM.

 

 

Sounds good to me thank you. I could reuse his Noctua NH-D14 cooler it fits 1150 socket or get a different cooler. What do you think about a 27'' monitor?

[grizzlypaugh]

Here is a changed list http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B8vFrH

[f5alcon]

I have a similar system, but a phenom II X6 @ 3.2ghz and 12GB of memory. I upgraded to a 970 a couple months ago and it is bottlenecked by the CPU. I am probably moving to core i5 4690k and start saving for a full new system a couple years down the line and then go all out on that build with a much larger budget. 

[LegacyStijncat]

Sounds good to me thank you. I could reuse his Noctua NH-D14 cooler it fits 1150 socket or get a different cooler. What do you think about a 27'' monitor?

The screen size doesn't change much; besides that pixel density is reported quite bad often for 27" + 1080p.

So, it comes down to this:

 

Unless you got cash to get an ultimate monitor, you'll have to sacrifice something. You can get a 144Hz TN for a nice refresh rate, or a 60Hz IPS monitor for better colors.