Upgrade or wait! Need Guidance

Ishan Naithani · Aug 11, 2013

Hi,

Hope all are doing great! I had my system built in June, 2010 and am thinking whether an upgrade is in the books or not.

My specs are listed below :

CPU : AMD Phenon II X4 965 Black Edition
Mobo : MSI 880 GMA E45
RAM : 2GB DDR3
Graphics Card : ATI Radeon HD 5670

My current requirements : Casual/Weekend Gaming but I am big fan of and looking forward to Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghost and their future franchise as well.

It would be great if you guys can advise on the following questions I have :

Keeping my requirements in mind, should I upgrade?
If yes, can you please suggest a configuration that will fit my needs?

Finally, thanks a ton in advance! I really appreciate any help!

Best,
Ishan

thasan1 · Aug 11, 2013

first of all change your ram to atleast 4GB., then you should upgrade ypur GPU to something powerful like HD 7730 if you want to max out those games[ well it depends on monitor res though] that CPU is about 10-15% slower than a i3-3220 so you probably won't have to change the CPU.

getochkn · Aug 11, 2013

Bigest thing is budget and where do you live.

geofelt · Aug 11, 2013

If you are happy now, wait.
Components only get cheaper over time.
Try out the new games and see how you do.

Your cpu is very capable.
If you want t upgrade now, I would look at the graphics card and the amount of ram.
Both such upgrades could be carried forward if you later decided to upgrade the motherboard and cpu.

What psu do you have? That might be a limiting factor if you pick a big graphics upgrade.

Maxime506 · Aug 11, 2013

At least if u wanna handle BF4 or COD10 (heard COD10 will use new engine so the requirement will go up for sure), at least u should sport 8GB (at least 4GB-6GB) RAM and AT LEAST get a HD 7770/GTX 650 ti gfx for now (I would recommend GTX 660 or HD 7870 for smooth gaming in high settings), and as these games come out, at least using FX-6300 CPU to handle them. Also u need to change your PSU if it's under 400W.

DannyBoy312 · Aug 11, 2013

Hello!

What is your PSU Wattage?

Onus · Aug 11, 2013

What is the brand and model (not just wattage) of your PSU? What is your upgrade budget?
The two changes I'd make right off would be to get more RAM (at least 4GB, but preferably 8GB), and upgrade the video card. A HD7750 (GDDR5 version!) should run on your current PSU. You'll need to specify that (and your budget) before I can suggest anything stronger.
Your exact board is not listed on https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=0 but many [cheap] MSI boards are, and they are not safe for overclocking; I won't recommend that then.

Ishan Naithani · Aug 11, 2013

Onus :

Thanks all for the responses!! My answers to your questions below—

1. PSU : Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W
2. Location : I live in New Delhi, India
3. Budget : I can work with it. I was thinking of upgrading the RAM to 8 GB but had questions around the GPUs supported with my current Mobo and PSU.

I am a total noob when it comes to overclocking but my board does have an easy OC switch which I have never used.
Here is a link to my mobo's product page.

Onus · Aug 11, 2013

Yuck, a CM. It isn't their worst though, particularly if you treat it like a 400W PSU: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-500-W-Power-Supply-Review/728/10
It should be able to handle a HD7770 or GTX650Ti without issue, probably a HD7790 or GTX650Ti Boost Edition. In each of those pairs, the GTX is the stronger card.
I would not overclock on that board; as the spreadsheet indicates, most cheap MSI AMD boards have weak VRMs which may pop under load.

geofelt · Aug 11, 2013

In theory, a 500w psu can support a graphics card as good as a GTX760 or 7950.
But, your psu shows up on this lemon list, so I would be suspicious of it's capabilities:
http://www.johnnylucky.org/power-supplies/psu-lemon-list.html
Since the psu has been working ok, I would not rush out to replace it.
If you scale back your maximum graphics upgrade to something less power hungry like a GTX660ti or 7850 you should be OK.

Ishan Naithani · Aug 11, 2013

Thanks Onus & Geofelt! This is really helpful. Honestly, I didn't do much research on a PSU when I bought the parts back in 2010. I might replace it a few months down the line. Re the GPUs, I was thinking of upgrading to the GTX 650 Ti or GTX650Ti Boost Edition along with 8 Gigs of RAM. I hope that would suffice.

Can you suggest a good PSU that I should look forward to? [I believe the mobo does not need an upgrade as of now]

Thanks a bunch again!

DannyBoy312 · Aug 11, 2013

Any good brand name PSU, XFX. Corsair, OCZ, etc. Here is one for example that I would reccomend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207022
newegg has a great search tool for finding the features you want. Not trying to rep a company, I just really like the site XP

Onus · Aug 11, 2013

If you go to the site Geofelt linked, he's got a recommended list as well. Short answer, I'd get a Seasonic "X" series or "G" series and be done. Those are 80+ gold and have received excellent competent technical reviews.
In any case, a GTX650Ti Boost Edition would be a nice upgrade for you. After you've replaced the PSU (probably in the 550W-600W range, for comfort margin, efficiency, and longevity), you could then get a GTX760.
In any case, if you've been happy with your HD5670 until now, you might like the GTX650Ti Boost just fine for quite some time, especially if you don't believe that every setting needs to be on "UltrMaxOhWOW!" to enjoy a game.

geofelt · Aug 11, 2013

It is hard to beat Seasonic for quality.
You might look at this SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
It will run a card as good as a Titan.
A psu will only consume the wattage that is demanded of it, regardless of it's maximum capability.

Ishan Naithani · Aug 11, 2013

Thanks!! I checked Seasonic (S12II 620) out and it has some pretty happy owners. I'll certainly get that sometime in future! I think it woul be a goo idea upgrading at one go. Below are the links from an online seller in India

ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2 GB GDDR5 + Seasonic S12II 620 Watts PSU + G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) PC RAM

Also, I will like to change my case as well since it collects a lot of dust. Currently, I have a Cooler Master Elite 311. I have a Labradore and he sheds all round year and dust is a common issue where I live. Can you guys suggest a case that can be suitable for the "hardware hostile" enviornment?

geofelt · Aug 11, 2013

To minimize dust collection set up the case as a positive pressure case with a air filter .
That would be two 120mm intake fans in front behind a washable air filter.
That will give you good cooling, and the filter will trap incoming dog hairs and whatever.
Here is one example of an inexpensive case with those features:
http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=2364&fid=4

Look for a 2 x 4gb ram kit. two sticks will give you dual channel capability.

Ishan Naithani · Aug 11, 2013

Thanks Geofelt! This is really helpful! Thanks for sharing the link as well, I will look at more cases with washable air filters!

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