Got $500 to upgrade gaming PC, help

squintz69

Distinguished
Nov 13, 2010
3
0
18,510
In 2010 I didn't know much about building computers. So what I did was buy a pre-build and added a new PSU and Graphics Card. Now I have around $500 to upgrade it.

**My build right now:**

* Processor

2.80 gigahertz AMD Phenom II X4 925

512 kilobyte primary memory cache

2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache

6144 kilobyte tertiary memory cache

64-bit ready

Multi-core (4 total)

Not hyper-threaded

* Motherboard

Board: FOXCONN 2AB1 1.00

Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 6.04 09/07/2010

* Ram

8GB DDR3

* Hardrives

Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 SATA Disk Device (1000.20 GB) -- drive 0, s/n JP2940HD2M1RAC

INTEL SS DSC2CW120A3 SATA Disk Device (120.03 GB) -- drive 1, s/n CVCV203502UB120BG

* Video Card

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768mb

* Power Supply

500W I think

* Case

http://imgur.com/C7HBrRs

* OS

Windows 8 Professional

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As you can see from all this, I don't really have an upgrade path, so I wanted to upgrade the processor, cpu, and video card (and whatever else is necessary).

**What I am thinking about doing (just ideas)**
[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1joXO) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1joXO/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1joXO/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54670k) | $199.99 @ Microcenter
**Motherboard** | [ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-b85pro4) | $85.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 660 3GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-03gp42666kr) | $244.99 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $530.96
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-22 12:24 EDT-0400 |

or

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1b8mr) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1b8mr/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1b8mr/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8350frhkbox) | $179.99 @ Microcenter
**Motherboard** | [ASRock 770iCafe ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-770icafe) | $62.55 @ Newegg
**Video Card** | [Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx760dc2oc2gd5) | $259.99 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $502.53
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-22 12:28 EDT-0400 |

**So here are my main questions**

* Do I go with the AMD or Intel Processor?

* Do I get an ATX Mobo or mirco ATX

* 760 2GB or 660 3GB or something else?

If you want to change my build completely, feel free. I'm not the best at this so any help would be amazing!
 
Solution
Option 1 issues:
Intel K series with b85 motherboard is counter productive, the B85 cannot overclock
The 760 is a better option over the 660
Option 2 issues:
AMD is not the best option at that price point, and might result in bottlenecking

Answers:
-Intel
-Micro, as the case most likely fits only that
-760 2gb

You will need a new windows license as it sticks to the motherboard, so taking it out means the windows will stick to it (if you decide to upgrade another build with the parts you have, you can use that activated key)

Upgrade (without windows):
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1jqn8

Make sure your current case supports the video card length, also you will need to disabled the new intel low power state because most likely your power...

anything4this

Honorable
Jun 25, 2013
65
0
10,660
Option 1 issues:
Intel K series with b85 motherboard is counter productive, the B85 cannot overclock
The 760 is a better option over the 660
Option 2 issues:
AMD is not the best option at that price point, and might result in bottlenecking

Answers:
-Intel
-Micro, as the case most likely fits only that
-760 2gb

You will need a new windows license as it sticks to the motherboard, so taking it out means the windows will stick to it (if you decide to upgrade another build with the parts you have, you can use that activated key)

Upgrade (without windows):
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1jqn8

Make sure your current case supports the video card length, also you will need to disabled the new intel low power state because most likely your power supply wont work with it.
 
Solution