Upgrading for ~$100

[dragonhart6505]

So I've got about $100 to put towards a new CPU/Motherboard. Currently I've got a Phenom II X4 955 with 8gb random DDR3 RAM. This system does me pretty well with AAA titles next to my RX460, which is going to stay with me on the new system while the old HD 5770 I have will be passed down with the 955 system to be used mainly as an HTPC for the kids and wife. But here's my conundrum...

Can I upgrade for myself while sustaining better framerates with a new CPU/Mobo at around $100 or should I take that money and just build a system for them around the 5770? She likes to play Terraria and Sonic as well as some emulators, but I'd like to get her playing some more fun stuff with me over LAN play (I'm not big on resource management games). I've played GTA V and some racing games at about console quality with the 5770 and I want to be able to maintain that for their system. The things gotta run for now and we'll upgrade the GPU around tax time or Christmas.

I've found a couple more 955 CPU/board combos for about $70-90. Not a bad deal, but that would still leave me with a 955 myself. I'm not gonna complain, I love the thing! But I want just a little more juice while keeping the ability to overclock as well. I'm not trying to future proof myself necessarily just yet, but an upgrade is an upgrade.

Where can I go from here?

[Potato*Salad]

upgrade GPU, that CPU can still handle something like a GTX 1050Ti..

 

But i would go used.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/visiontek-Radeon-HD-7870-2-GB-GHz-edition-/263209832569?epid=129774071&hash=item3d48875079:g:234AAOSw3z5ZvI37

[dragonhart6505]

1 minute ago, Potato*Salad said:

upgrade GPU, that CPU can still handle something like a GTX 1050Ti..

 

But i would go used.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/visiontek-Radeon-HD-7870-2-GB-GHz-edition-/263209832569?epid=129774071&hash=item3d48875079:g:234AAOSw3z5ZvI37

No thanks. I've already said we'll get the GPU when we can. We need the secondary PC

[dragonhart6505]

I'm not just working this out for my own benefit here. Yes, I'm trying getting an upgrade. But they've gotta have something to use too. That's the main point of this project, aside from showing my son how a computer is put together. The family will be in on the build

[Potato*Salad]

Get this dual core.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-CPU-Phenom-II-X2-550-Black-Edition-3-1GHZ-Socket-AM3-HDZ550WFK2DGI-/182591688210?epid=77499546&hash=item2a83500e12:g:EngAAOSw-K9ZJ08L

 

This board.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-M4A87T-AMD-870-Chipset-AM3-Socket-ATX-Motherboard-Mainboard-/192166864197?epid=116400438&hash=item2cbe09a545:g:eb4AAOSwuspY~Upw

 

These chips can unlock to quad core, so worth a bash!

 

 

[Potato*Salad]

Better board but costs a bit more.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ASUS-M4A89GTD-PRO-USB3-Socket-AM3-Motherboard-/222428114388?epid=97034212&hash=item33c9bfadd4:g:EoEAAOSwLnBX871w

[Potato*Salad]

Ram.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-8GB-2X-4GB-DDR3-1333MHz-PC3-10600-CL9-240Pin-For-AMD-CPU-ONly-Pairs-/122667428489?hash=item1c8f8c6a89:g:M-4AAOSwVgZZqkzy

[dragonhart6505]

2 minutes ago, Potato*Salad said:

Get this dual core.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-CPU-Phenom-II-X2-550-Black-Edition-3-1GHZ-Socket-AM3-HDZ550WFK2DGI-/182591688210?epid=77499546&hash=item2a83500e12:g:EngAAOSw-K9ZJ08L

 

This board.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-M4A87T-AMD-870-Chipset-AM3-Socket-ATX-Motherboard-Mainboard-/192166864197?epid=116400438&hash=item2cbe09a545:g:eb4AAOSwuspY~Upw

 

These chips can unlock to quad core, so worth a bash!

 

 

Lmao, same board I already have in my system. I don't like it, 2 DIMMs are dead and doesn't overclock well without alot of voltage boost. Also, why that CPU? I already said I could get another 955 system for $70 but don't know if that's the BEST option for performance in my budget. There's gotta be something else.

[Potato*Salad]

1 minute ago, dragonhart6505 said:

Lmao, same board I already have in my system. I don't like it, 2 DIMMs are dead and doesn't overclock well without alot of voltage boost. Also, why that CPU? I already said I could get another 955 system for $70 but don't know if that's the BEST option for performance in my budget. There's gotta be something else.

You won't really find anything better because even the intel parts around this time did perform a lot faster, early gen i5 / i7 and even i3's took the cake over Phenom in gaming due to single core speed.

Though intel boards are not as cheap as AMD's AM series.

 

 

[dragonhart6505]

Just now, Potato*Salad said:

You won't really find anything better because even the intelk parts around this time did perform a lot faster, early gen i5 / i7 and even i3's took the cake over Phenom in gaming due to single core speed.

Though intel boards are not as cheap as AMD's AM series.

 

 

So basically pick up the 955 combo and get a case/PSU with the remains

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

So basically pick up the 955 combo and get a case/PSU with the remains

Pretty much dude.

 

Being honest it's a great deal for 70.

[dragonhart6505]

2 minutes ago, Potato*Salad said:

Pretty much dude.

 

Being honest it's a great deal for 70.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/322592660090

 

Here's the system I'm talking about. Idk about the motherboard though. OCable? And I'm sure it won't be up too much longer

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

https://m.ebay.com/itm/322592660090

 

Here's the system I'm talking about. Idk about the motherboard though. OCable? And I'm sure it won't be up too much longer

You may squeeze a very small OC out of it, but that board clearly does not have a great VRM area..

 

If you can replace that cooler with something that has a downwards facing fan something like those low profile Noctua coolers, it would help keep the board cooler.

[dragonhart6505]

Just now, Potato*Salad said:

You may squeeze a very small OC out of it, but that board clearly does not have a great VRM area..

 

If you can replace that cooler with something that has a downwards facing fan something like those low profile Noctua coolers, it would help keep the board cooler.

Seller has an FX 4130 system for a couple bucks more. How would it compare?

[Potato*Salad]

1 minute ago, dragonhart6505 said:

Seller has an FX 4130 system for a couple bucks more. How would it compare?

'Link me!

[dragonhart6505]

Just now, Potato*Salad said:

'Link me!

https://m.ebay.com/itm/MSI-760GM-E51-Motherboard-w-AMD-FX-4130-3-8GHz-Quad-Core-Heat-Sink-and-Fan-/322732842084?hash=item4b24605c64%3Ag%3A-t0AAOSws1ZZtbDj&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab39be40b-9f8e-11e7-9516-74dbd1803c1b%7Cparentrq%3Aa97cee0115e0a9cc5eca9f97ffe42af1%7Ciid%3A4

 

Sounds like you want it more than I do lmao

[Potato*Salad]

2 minutes ago, dragonhart6505 said:

https://m.ebay.com/itm/MSI-760GM-E51-Motherboard-w-AMD-FX-4130-3-8GHz-Quad-Core-Heat-Sink-and-Fan-/322732842084?hash=item4b24605c64%3Ag%3A-t0AAOSws1ZZtbDj&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab39be40b-9f8e-11e7-9516-74dbd1803c1b%7Cparentrq%3Aa97cee0115e0a9cc5eca9f97ffe42af1%7Ciid%3A4

 

Sounds like you want it more than I do lmao

Grab that, the advantage this has is the fact that the 4170 is 32nm, the board it is with is newer and has aged less.

 

Plus much higher clock speed.

[dragonhart6505]

1 minute ago, Potato*Salad said:

Grab that, the advantage this has is the fact that the 4170 is 32nm, the board it is with is newer and has aged less.

Not a 4170 m8

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

Not a 4170 m8

4130 my bad, still.. higher clock speed, 32nm process.. newer board.

[dragonhart6505]

1 minute ago, Potato*Salad said:

4130 my bad, still.. higher clock speed, 32nm process.. newer board.

Higher clocks off the bat, yeah. But my current system reaches that stable and even then gaming is on par with my 955 + 460.

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

Higher clocks off the bat, yeah. But my current system reaches that stable and even then gaming is on par with my 955 + 460.

The FX can go easily to 4.5ghz+ but honestly on that board.. that's pushing it a bit...

[dragonhart6505]

1 minute ago, Potato*Salad said:

The FX can go easily to 4.5ghz+ but honestly on that board.. that's pushing it a bit...

I understand. Im thinking maybe I could talk him down on the 955 board, I've already got a cooler for it. Not easy to do on eBay, but worth a shot? Hitting higher clocks is fun and all but for only a few frames at a time (from experience with my 955)...eh...

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

I understand. Im thinking maybe I could talk him down on the 955 board, I've already got a cooler for it. Not easy to do on eBay, but worth a shot? Hitting higher clocks is fun and all but for only a few frames at a time (from experience with my 955)...eh...

Worth a shot definitely!

[dragonhart6505]

26 minutes ago, Potato*Salad said:

Worth a shot definitely!

Another option has occurred to me. A buddy of mine has a really old Pentium 4 dual core system I was gonna grab off him to throw the 5770 in (with my molex-6pin connector) for them to just use for a little bit. Should I just take my cash and get an SSD for myself? I know they'll be seriously down on performance and she will probably barely be able to play her Terraria, but I COULD use the better drive. Feels selfish to do so however when I promised them a capable PC for the money...

[Potato*Salad]

Just now, dragonhart6505 said:

Another option has occurred to me. A buddy of mine has a really old Pentium 4 dual core system I was gonna grab off him to throw the 5770 in (with my molex-6pin connector) for them to just use for a little bit. Should I just take my cash and get an SSD for myself? I know they'll be seriously down on performance and she will probably barely be able to play her Terraria, but I COULD use the better drive. Feels selfish to do so however when I promised them a capable PC for the money...

Hell no steer well clear of that...