Computer Upgrades

[Patrickwilkinson]

Hello everyone, my current pc build is as follows
 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QzsJM8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QzsJM8/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($127.26 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard 
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.14 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card  (Purchased For $139.99) 
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Solid Gear 650W ATX Power Supply  ($32.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $436.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-25 00:33 EDT-0400

 

So I was wondering with $200 what is the best upgrades I should get for price/performance ratios. All help is highly apreaciated.

[FurdTurgeson]

5 minutes ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

Hello everyone, my current pc build is as follows
 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QzsJM8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QzsJM8/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($127.26 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard 
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.14 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card  (Purchased For $139.99) 
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Solid Gear 650W ATX Power Supply  ($32.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $436.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-25 00:33 EDT-0400

 

So I was wondering with $200 what is the best upgrades I should get for price/performance ratios. All help is highly apreaciated.

I'd return the 950 and A8 and replace it with a 1060 and an FX 6300. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

Just now, WSADKeysGaming said:

I'd return the 950 and A8 and replace it with a 1060 and an FX 6300. 

I bought the 950 in june and the a8 back in january 2015

[Fungal]

I'd get a new processor and motherboard, you could probably get better performance buying a new gpu but I think you have a good gpu for 1080p but that your processor is a bottleneck

[FurdTurgeson]

Just now, Patrickwilkinson said:

I bought the 950 in june and the a8 back in january 2015

Then I can't really help you other than you could try selling and getting the parts I listed. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

Just now, Fungal said:

I'd get a new processor and motherboard, you could probably get better performance buying a new gpu but I think you have a good gpu for 1080p but that your processor is a bottleneck

I know I'm just trying to figure out what processor/motherboard to get

[GDRRiley]

wait for zen and see how it does

[Captain_WD]

3 hours ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

~snip~

Hey there Welcome to the community! 

 

What is the PC used for? This should matter when you consider upgrades. 

 

My suggestion would be to consider adding a SSD as a boot drive and for the most demanding things on the system as this should give you the biggest boost in everyday performance, responsiveness and loading/boot times. Also, it's a good idea to run diagnostic tests on your drives in such moments so you know your data is safe. Running WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic on the WD Blue should give you good information regarding its condition.  

 

Captain_WD. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

13 hours ago, Captain_WD said:

Hey there Welcome to the community! 

 

What is the PC used for? This should matter when you consider upgrades. 

 

My suggestion would be to consider adding a SSD as a boot drive and for the most demanding things on the system as this should give you the biggest boost in everyday performance, responsiveness and loading/boot times. Also, it's a good idea to run diagnostic tests on your drives in such moments so you know your data is safe. Running WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic on the WD Blue should give you good information regarding its condition.  

 

Captain_WD. 

It's used for gaming and an SSD right now won't really increase performance in games

 

[Captain_WD]

10 hours ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

~snip~

What a SSD can do for gaming is to decrease initial and in-game loading times, improve the way surrounding textures load in MMOs and Open World games (but won't affect the textures' quality nor the FPS). Adding a SSD to your system would improve the general responsiveness of the system and the genera feel from using it.

 

Captain_WD. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

9 hours ago, Captain_WD said:

What a SSD can do for gaming is to decrease initial and in-game loading times, improve the way surrounding textures load in MMOs and Open World games (but won't affect the textures' quality nor the FPS). Adding a SSD to your system would improve the general responsiveness of the system and the genera feel from using it.

 

Captain_WD. 

I'd rather do whatever I can to get the most performance in games

[Captain_WD]

On 26.08.2016 г. at 8:32 PM, Patrickwilkinson said:

~snip~

In that case you should be all set to go.

One thing you could consider is going for a single 8GB memory stick instead of the 2x4GB in order to save some funds for other parts (you shouldn't really notice any difference when gaming). This can also give you more room for expanding your memory in the long run. 

 

Captain_WD. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

8 hours ago, Captain_WD said:

In that case you should be all set to go.

One thing you could consider is going for a single 8GB memory stick instead of the 2x4GB in order to save some funds for other parts (you shouldn't really notice any difference when gaming). This can also give you more room for expanding your memory in the long run. 

 

Captain_WD. 

I think you're misunderstanding the post, this is my current computer and I'm trying to upgrade the parts not build a new pc now.

[Captain_WD]

15 hours ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

~snip~

Apologies, you are correct. 

 

You can check out which part is hitting 100% usage during gaming and see which should be the first to upgrade. If you go for a new CPU you would need to change the motherboard and probably the memory (if you move to DDR4). This may go above your planned budget. The other thing would be the GPU which may get bottenecked by the CPU at some specific games.  I would check the requirements and the recommended hardware for the games that you are playing and then decide on what needs to be upgraded first. 

 

Captain_WD. 

[Patrickwilkinson]

6 hours ago, Captain_WD said:

Apologies, you are correct. 

 

You can check out which part is hitting 100% usage during gaming and see which should be the first to upgrade. If you go for a new CPU you would need to change the motherboard and probably the memory (if you move to DDR4). This may go above your planned budget. The other thing would be the GPU which may get bottenecked by the CPU at some specific games.  I would check the requirements and the recommended hardware for the games that you are playing and then decide on what needs to be upgraded first. 

 

Captain_WD. 

I could also pull some scrapyard wars and go used.

[Dackzy]

3 minutes ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

I could also pull some scrapyard wars and go used.

that would give the best bang for the buck, BUT there is also a danger with buying used.

[Patrickwilkinson]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

that would give the best bang for the buck, BUT there is also a danger with buying used.

Yeah I understand that. But I think I can handle it. And hopefully I won't have any issues.

[Patrickwilkinson]

5 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

that would give the best bang for the buck, BUT there is also a danger with buying used.

I kind of thought of this idea after re-watching every season lol.

[Dackzy]

Just now, Patrickwilkinson said:

I kind of thought of this idea after re-watching every season lol.

Well see if you can get a nice cheap 280x or 280, that should be a fair upgrade and that CPU should be able to handle it and then get a 250gb ssd if you can. A ssd makes a huge difference in how you experiance things

[Patrickwilkinson]

Just now, Dackzy said:

Well see if you can get a nice cheap 280x or 280, that should be a fair upgrade and that CPU should be able to handle it and then get a 250gb ssd if you can. A ssd makes a huge difference in how you experiance things

I found this on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/351735409594

[Dackzy]

Just now, Patrickwilkinson said:

I found this on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/351735409594

then you need to find a new mobo and more ram, because that wants quad channel not dual, but a new GPU should give you a bigger FPS boost than a CPU upgrade, but that CPU would do so that you can upgrade to even more powerfull GPUs in the future.

 

I am also not sure that I trust your PSU

[Patrickwilkinson]

1 minute ago, Dackzy said:

then you need to find a new mobo and more ram, because that wants quad channel not dual, but a new GPU should give you a bigger FPS boost than a CPU upgrade, but that CPU would do so that you can upgrade to even more powerfull GPUs in the future.

 

I am also not sure that I trust your PSU

Yeah but I think the power supply would be fine. I might upgrade it in the future but I haven't noticed any problems with it so far for the past almost 2 years I've had it.

[Captain_WD]

18 hours ago, Patrickwilkinson said:

~snip~

I would second the opinion regarding second-hand parts. You are risking to get used parts that have some issues, are out of warranty and may not be eligible for support. Be very careful when getting such parts and always ask for results from stress tests and diagnostic tests and make sure you are able to verify that the tests belong to the parts being sold. You can do this by comparing the serial number of a part with the serial number listed on the test. 

 

Captain_WD.