Help Upgrading Computer

[TempSol]

Hey guys, 

 

New to forum but look forward to learning a lot from this community, but to get on with it I was hoping you guys could help me a gain some insight and recommendations on upgrading my computer.

 

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965

Motherboard: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD 790FX-GD70(MS-7577) (CPU1)

Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM v1.1) (XFX Pine Group)

***Power Supply Unit. CORSAIR CX600 

***Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R 

 

So i was hoping to invest into a new system especially since certain components are out of date, the sections I noted in *** I want to keep the same but consider the price to upgrade those I could make a change if it's worth it. 

 

Uses/My background: I've done a lot of work with novice IT hardware and software support but usually worked with mediocre parts, work at a community college part time during highschool. I'm a big gamer but I really never needed much as long as the games ran smooth enough. My computer has never needed to be amazing to do what I needed it to do with my photography and indesign work. I've just needed my computer to just have enough CPU processing speed and RAM to be adequate. I don't understand what overclocking is and the need for it since the games I have played have never been that intensive other than maybe PS2 but with my current build it still play the game relatively smoothly at the cost of graphics. 

 

So why am I asking you guys for help? Well I'm a complete novice at computer hardware and the last I was involved with hardware with was with my highschool years about 3 year. My current build is a hand me down parts from friends. I started to intern for twitch and IGN and they have exposed me to a lot of high end builds and I see a different side of the spectum. I'm still in college and don't want to spend extra money if I don't have to but I value paying for more if it's a smart investment. So considering that I want to keep my build powered by 600w and fits inside a 500R could you guys give me some advice on what to looks for.

 

I've lived poor for a long time and not expose to much high-grade hardware in my life so there a lot I have yet to learn.

My main questions that I have no idea are what motherboards and graphics cards do at their different levels; what do motherboards do for you and why people invest in stronger graphics cards, why use two graphics cards? I have never needed that much but I'm willing to splurge a bit and invest in my own build that can last me a few years. 

 

excuse me if there are guides within this forum that I haven't notice yet I've just been watching linus videos and just started to explore the forums. 

[TheRoss0411]

I advise you go to carey holzman on youtube 

Welcome to the forum

[JAKEBAB]

i would probably go for a 4670 and a gtx 770 or 760

[Fate]

If you get a 760 graphics card it'll last you a few years, today you can play any game you want to on ultra with it and it's only around $240.

[voaz]

The processor is perfectly fine, replace the stock cooler with a Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo so you can slightly overclock that one, you don't need a 4670(K) without a doubt.

For the motherboard, you don't need a new one, you also do NOT need a new case or anything.

I do recommend getting a new GPU, a GeForce GTX 760/770 or an AMD R9 280(X) for the maximum performance without the CPU being the bottleneck.

For more productivity and less issues when playing games with Skype, Teamspeak and some other things being open: Go for 8GB DDR3 Ram, at the highest supported speed of your motherboard overclocked which is 2133Mhz. ( overclocked )

8GB 2133Mhz memory is around 80 bucks give or take.

 

These upgrades would cost you around  310 bucks and it will definitely improve your performance and will keep you going for the next 2 or 3 years without a problem.
If you have a little money left you could go for 16GB 2133Mhz ram ( once again, with the ram bus overclocked ), or get any SSD ( I do prefer a Samsung 840 Evo 120GB ).

 

Good luck with your build!

[bmxtricky5]

Okay... people use 2 graphics cards for more performance lets just say it doubles it because of the second card.

 

motherboards dont really do that much between models, the main reason people get high end motherboards is for the quality and build strength of them.... 

 

and finally people get stronger graphics cards for more FPS(Frames Per Second) in games. i would also recommend a 760/770 for you.

 

Please feel free to correct me if im wrong

[WoodenMarker]

Motherboards provide connection for the parts and may have more or less features like expansion parts for more slots. They don't affect performance.

Graphic cards render images out. As games become more intensive, a more powerful graphics card is needed to keep pushing out the same number or frames at higher detail. They aren't only for gaming and can help accelerate video encoding and such and will be more powerful than a cpu because a gpu has many more, but less powerful cores while a cpu has less, but more powerful cores for more complicated calculations. Here's a bit of a silly video to show that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJeYFxpUyQ

 

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. If you have a lot, keep it to one topic and just list a bunch of questions. If you are asking for part suggestions, where you're shopping/located, and your budget would be very useful. 

[TempSol]

Thanks a lot of all this information guys , really helpful.

[WoodenMarker]

Thanks a lot of all this information guys , really helpful.

Btw, you need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

[frikktion]

Hi there!

 

I'll just borrow this thread. I don't really know what to grab and if my CPU will be the bottleneck and if my power supply can handle it. I am looking to get a GTX 770/780 or 290/290X. Or should i just wait for a year and replace it all?

 

My specs:

Case: Corsair Carbide 400R

CPU: Intel i5 3330

CPU cooler: Corsair H100i

Motherboard: Asus p8h77-m

RAM: 16Gb 1600Mhz Corsair Vengeance

GPU: GTX 660

Power supply: Corsair GS600

Storage: Samsung 840 SSD 120Gb, WD 3Tb RED, WD 2Tb Green, WD 500Gb Green 

Monitor: BenQ XL2411T and a Asus VW222

[TempSol]

Looks like your computer has some pretty solid part already. 

I mean other than your CPU, motherboard, and gpu i say your other parts will hold there own for awhile. A lot of the research I've been doing been floating around whether or not you want to build for AMD/Nvidia. From my opinion you wouldn't need to build around your graphics card so picking one up wouldn't cause you any trouble for when you want to upgrade.