Upgrading all except GPU for 300$ and under - worth it?

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A

Andrey Penchev

Honorable
Apr 3, 2013
3
0
10,510
Hi guys :)
To keep it short:

I have a P4 Dual-Core E6300 (not Core2 Duo) with 4GB DDR2-800 an old 1TB Seagate (i guess 16mb/7200) and GeForce 9600GT. I'm on a very tight budget so I thought about investing:

~70$ on 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM
~150$ on a i3 3220
~80$ on a Motherboard
~70 on a 32 or 64 7200 HDD

My primary use is for gaming, where I don't really play the new graphics-intense titles, I dislike FPSs so it would be really used for MMORPGs, MOBAs and RPGs like AC, where a medium graphic quality and a fair FPS count is totally sufficient for me.

So my questions are:
1. What are your general thoughts on my little project
2. I could throw in additional 100-130$ for a new GPU if you think I would really get a significant upgrade in performance.
3. Any specific suggestions on products like MB, HDD, RAM and evntl. GPU are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
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stickmansam

stickmansam

Splendid
Oct 30, 2011
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1. I have some suggestions below :) but what PSU are you running and how old is it? (don't want an old PSU to take out your shiny new rig)

2. Depends on your resolution, the 9600GT should be good for 1600x900p medium/high

MMO's tend to be limited by CPU the most. The FX6300 at stock is slightly weaker than the i3 in low threaded tasks but with a slight OC, it will ace.

8gb of 1866mhz ram as ther is currently a really cheap sale
FX6300 with a nice cheap baord that can OC and has USB3
(steamroller in fall 2013 will boost the AMD IPC and should be a viable upgrade path)
Nice 1tb 64mb cache HDD with 1tb platters

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $317.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-03 03:03 EDT-0400)

Here is an build with a 7850 included, a nice upgrade from a 9600GT (should your resolution and quality settings demand it)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($169.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $487.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-03 03:07 EDT-0400)


With an SSD instead of HDD (will help level and match load times) and 7850
[SSD can also replace the HDD from the first build]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($169.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $515.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-03 03:08 EDT-0400)

i5 whcih is faster than OC FX6300 though FX6300 is sorta close [ssd no option due to budget] [i5 3350p which is $10 less is not an option due to it's low turbo which will hurt its MMO performance due to single/dual threaded nature of MMO's [as in not much faster than i3]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $365.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-03 03:13 EDT-0400)

i5 with only a 650ti, agian due to cost of i5

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($122.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $488.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-03 03:12 EDT-0400)
 
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batuchka

batuchka

Splendid
Dec 31, 2007
7,972
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31,960
Hmm scanning a lot of the gaming titles as of today i think now more than ever, we have to move away from dual cores for a gaming rig because unlike previous years these are no longer "just enuff" and might start to bite u back sooner rather than later so ya i would fo with a Vishera X4/X6 for a lower budget config and at least a i5 3xxx non k if you just sticking to non OC builds (and pumping more towards GPU)
 
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A

Andrey Penchev

Honorable
Apr 3, 2013
3
0
10,510


As said above if you stick to the 300$ budget it should be fine :) Sadly it's hard to find a BG site that has a proper english translation and offers online shopping with prices in USD
 
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