upgrading PC, 350$ budget(before rebates preferably)

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

Approximate Purchase Date: today, tomorrow, this week, soon!! lol

Budget Range: 350 at most

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, movies.

Are you buying a monitor: No, already have a BenQ.

Parts to Upgrade: CPU(?), GPU(?), RAM(?), MOBO(?)

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Parts Preferences: Whatever gives me the most bang for my buck

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I mainly play counter-strike global offensive, right now I'm getting around 60-110 FPS

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Better FPS and game performance.

Also, here are my current specifications to be upgraded upon:

Case will take any ATX mobo.

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA785G3HD AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD

PSU: 600W

CPU: AMD Athlon II x3 440(3.0Ghz) - T

Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series

Sound Card: Onboard Realtek(HD) 7.1

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

Which 5700 series card is it? the 5750? the 5770? the 5790?

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

Woops!! sorry, it's a 5770.

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

Brand and model of the psu?

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

Have you ever tried unlocking the 4th core on your Athlon II 440?

griptwister · Jul 30, 2013

BEST POSSIBLE USAGE of your money for upgrading.

Your graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202004

Your CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894

Your RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

griptwister :

If he can unlock his 4th core though he can spend even more on a graphics card

If you manage to unlock the fourth core:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $296.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-30 20:23 EDT-0400)

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

realchaos :

Thermaltake TR2

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

ps3hacker12 :

How can this be done and is it worth it? I was told that a new CPU would be a better choice than GPU in terms of getting higher FPS in the games I play.

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

squeege :

heres how you unlock:
http://www.lostcircuits.com/mambo//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=1

If you go in your BIOS and see if you can change "3 active cores" to "4 active cores" then test the system with a prime95 load and everything is fine, they you will have successfully unlocked your Athlon into a Phenom II x4

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

Get a new psu. That should be your first upgrade. Thermaltake psus are trash. Here's a great psu at a good price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013&Tpk=xfx%20550w

This leaves you $280 left. I wouldn't focus on upgrading the ram yet, since not many games, if any, actually use over 4gb.
The phenom processor listed above is a nice processor upgrade.

That leaves about $155 for a new gpu.
Try to get this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r78702gd5toc

Edit: If you can manage to unlock the 4th core, I would buy a cpu cooler and overclock that thing. That way you don't need a processor upgrade.

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

realchaos :

Its not that bad actually:
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/thermaltake-tr2-bronze-600wtr-600p-review/4/

the TR2 700W has actually got a great johnny guru reccommendation, the 600W TR2 is good but not great, but its safe so the OP doesnt really need to change out his PSU.

The rest of thermaltakes PSUs are pretty bad i agree

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

ps3hacker12 :

squeege :

heres how you unlock:
http://www.lostcircuits.com/mambo//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=1

If you go in your BIOS and see if you can change "3 active cores" to "4 active cores" then test the system with a prime95 load and everything is fine, they you will have successfully unlocked your Athlon into a Phenom II x4

Success!

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

squeege :

You successfully unlocked it?? Wow nice, did you stress test it to see if it was stable?

after you've done that, check with CPU-Z to see what does it list your processor as (a screenshot would be most useful, but saying what it says would be fine also

)

CPU-Z:
http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/cpu-z/1.65-setup-en.exe

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Thermaltake TR2 is listed under Tier 5, which basically means replace.

@OP: Congrats on unlocking the 4th core. Now put it under load via Prime95 and make sure it doesn't crash. If everything is well and it doesn't crash, grab the Hyper 212 EVO and overclock that thing so you don't have to buy a new processor.

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

realchaos :

As i said before some TR2s are complete trash but some arent, eg:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-TR2-700-W-Power-Supply-Review/1422/11

is a great TR2 PSU.

griptwister · Jul 30, 2013

I have a Phenom II x4 840 which is a rebranded Athlon II x4. BAD IDEA, UPGRADE THAT CPU. Trust me, The lack of L3 Cache kills your FPS!!! I've seen a massive difference between my CPU OC'd and my friends 970 at the same speed. about 10-15 FPS. Trust me on this. I posted best usage of your money!!!

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

No...if some are not trash they will list it with the watts (i.e. list the TR2 600w in a higher tier with the other TR2 in the lower tier).
It's best to just get a new, higher quality psu.

squeege · Jul 30, 2013

realchaos :

Unfortunately the computer crashed during the stress test.

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

squeege :

in that case, its not a stable core, you should lock it again :/ unlucky.

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

That means it's unstable. That being said, ditch the Athlon and upgrade your processor to the Phenom one that griptwister posted above and grab the XFX psu I listed above.
Then, try to squeeze the 7870 into your upgrade.
It should be a great upgrade and you'll notice a huge fps boost. You can always grab more ram later.

ps3hacker12 · Jul 30, 2013

Upgrades:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($166.10 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $313.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-30 21:05 EDT-0400)

But since your PSU is reviewed as a fairly good/average PSU, and has been running for over 2 years with no problems its a fully functional PSU that doesn't need replacing IMO:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $351.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-30 21:07 EDT-0400)

the hyper 212 plus is for OCing that 955BE

griptwister · Jul 30, 2013

Go with the Phenom II x4 970. You will thank yourself later. I have a similar rig with a HD 7870 and I can tell you that you will be stoked on the performance of that combo.

Also, you want a good PSU, get this one! I have it, and it works perfectly!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182278

realchaos · Jul 30, 2013

Just because it's been running for over 2years doesn't mean anything.
His current gpu doesn't take that many watts. Now that he's actually going to get a stronger gpu, which will take up more watts, the psu may show its true colors.
The XFX psu I posted above is by far the best for your money. High quality (better than the Corsair CX and Rosewill) at a considerably cheap price.

The Phenom ii x4 955 is a great processor. I would recommend it over the 970 because of the price, but you can't buy it anywhere. It's out of stock on Superbiiz, so you can't buy it anywhere.

upgrading PC, 350$ budget(before rebates preferably)

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