Upgrading advice for a newbie.

[zheavy]

Hello,

 

I'm considering doing an upgrade soon when I manage to get the money. I have a somewhat low-end PC and I'm worried about incompatibility issues, so I just want to make sure I'm not going to buy the wrong hardware. Here are my current specs:

Case: don't know, nothing fancy, standard case

Mobo: Intel DH61WW

PSU: non-branded 350W

CPU: i5 2500

RAM: 2*4GB Kingston DDR3-1333

HDD: 1TB WD10EARX  // 500GB WD5000AACS

GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT520 1GB DDR3

 

I live in a limited market, so finding an upgrade with a good value is a bit hard, though according to my local prices, I found a few pieces that might be good and I'd like to double check if they would fit:

PSU: Gigabyte GE-N500A-C2 500W PSU

GPU : MSI GeForce N650Ti-2GD5/OC BE GTX 650Ti 2GB DDR5 OC Boost            // or  //        MSI GeForce N650Ti TF 2GD5/OC BE GTX 650Ti 2GB DDR5 OC Boost Twin Frozr

 

Are these considered a decent upgrade in your opinion?

Will I run into incompatibility issues?

Is the Twin Frozr version of the GPU worth the extra 15$?

Are there any tricky parts to installing these parts? as I've never done anything of this sorts, i'm really worried [Also would like to ask if i need to uninstall the driver before installing the new graphic card]

[Cad6500]

Hey man,.

 

That's not really a low-end pc, it's actually a pretty powerful one. if you can, I would suggest a 660 ti (or higher if possible). I'm not really sure about gigabyte psus, I would personally go with something like a Corsair CX 500 or 500M if its possible to get it where you live

[Samdb]

Hey man,.

 

That's not really a low-end pc, it's actually a pretty powerful one. if you can, I would suggest a 660 ti (or higher if possible). I'm not really sure about gigabyte psus, I would personally go with something like a Corsair CX 500 or 500M if its possible to get it where you live

This if possible.

[zheavy]

Thanks for the quick replies. Corsair is unavailable where I'm from. I choose the gigabyte cause it's half the price of the XFX 550W and still an 80plus certified PSUand i'm on a tight budget, and also i'm already using a non-branded psu. As for the 660ti, it's almost twice the price, it was my first option but as I run short on cash, i was thinking more the 650ti.

Would also like an answer on the installation part of the hardware.

[terrytek]

This if possible.

 

And, possibly, if you have the money, get something like a GTX 760. They are plenty powerful and run you about USD$250-300. Besides, what are you using this computer for? And, what storage drives do you have right now?

[zheavy]

Thanks terrytek for reminding me lol:P  I'm using this PC for gaming and my monitor is 5 a year old BenQ, max resolution 1680*1050.

The 700 series is unavailable as well, at least for the prices you're talking about. My whole budget is around 250$, and I can't seem to find the AMD counter-part for the 650ti, which is the only reason i'm considering it, else I would have had something much more powerful in mind.

[Cad6500]

my concern with pairing the i5 and 650 ti is if the gpu will bottleneck the cpu...

[terrytek]

my concern with pairing the i5 and 650 ti is if the gpu will bottleneck the cpu...

 

Same here. I think you should go for a Radeon 7950 or a bit lower, like 6950, if you're budget wise.

[zheavy]

Isn't it 10 times better then sticking to my current gt520? :P

 

If it weren't for my budget limit, I would have picked the 7950 or the 660ti[which happen to be double the price of my current budget], they were my primary choice until I had to lower my budget. The 6950 or anything of that generation is non-existent here as well, however i found a Sapphire Radeon HD7770 1GB GDDR5 Toxic priced similarly to the MSI GeForce N650Ti TF 2GD5/OC BE GTX 650Ti 2GB DDR5 OC Boost Twin Frozr. Isn't the latter better since it also has twice the RAM?

[wkronbaek]

Don't buy Gigabyte PSU's, get something like a CX or a TX v2

Then get the Biggest gpu possible. oh, and 7850 Beats 650 TI if you got the choice. And TF is good.

[zheavy]

The only PSU brands worth mentioning that are sold here are: thermaltake, cooler master, InWin, gigabyte and XFX. I'm guessing XFX is the best one out of all those, so i guess It's just as one my friends suggested in the first place to get the XFX 550W.

As for the GPU, i decided i'm gonna stick to the MSI GeForce N650Ti TF 2GD5/OC BE GTX 650Ti 2GB DDR5 OC Boost Twin Frozr due to budget limitations.

 

Which brings me to my last embarrassing question, anything I gotta do to replace these parts software wise? [meaning the GPU driver]

[wkronbaek]

The only PSU brands worth mentioning that are sold here are: thermaltake, cooler master, InWin, gigabyte and XFX. I'm guessing XFX is the best one out of all those, so i guess It's just as one my friends suggested in the first place to get the XFX 550W.

As for the GPU, i decided i'm gonna stick to the MSI GeForce N650Ti TF 2GD5/OC BE GTX 650Ti 2GB DDR5 OC Boost Twin Frozr due to budget limitations.

 

Which brings me to my last embarrassing question, anything I gotta do to replace these parts software wise? [meaning the GPU driver]

Not unless you run XP SP2 or something.

Seems like a good idea to do that.

[zheavy]

Thanks a lot then everyone

[WoodenMarker]

Here you go: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19wrl

The 7870 comes with the necessary 6 pin to 4 pin power cables. 

[Blade of Grass]

my concern with pairing the i5 and 650 ti is if the gpu will bottleneck the cpu...

It's a video game, the CPU isn't doing much. I have a 3570K with a 7770.

[Cad6500]

It's a video game, the CPU isn't doing much. I have a 3570K with a 7770.

Well you would want to get the performance you paid for right? and what if he goes into things like editing later on?

[WoodenMarker]

Well you would want to get the performance you paid for right? and what if he goes into things like editing later on?

I don't see how this is relevant.

 

I'm thinking you misunderstood the bottlenecking of the cpu. The bottlenecking applies no matter what single gpu you use--even the Titan. The cpu isn't slowed down but is instead just not maxing out for a perfect-fit gpu. There will always be a bottleneck. A gpu bottlenecking the cpu is almost always preferred over the reversed situation.