Help Upgrading Pc To Gaming PC

WoodimusPrime · Sep 4, 2013

I built this system three years ago, when I was not at all interested in PC gaming. Now I am very into it, and I want to turn this machine into a great (but not extreme) gaming machine. I need help figuring which components I need to upgrade.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 3 months

Budget Range: Less than $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Streaming Media, Surfing

Are you buying a monitor: No

Current Config:

CPU: Intel Core i7 950
MOBO: EVGA X58 SLI FTW3 Tylersburg
RAM: 12GB G.SKILL DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9500 GT

Parts to Upgrade: Definitely the GPU, hoping for advice on the rest. My current power supply is an OCZ OCZ550FTY FATAL1TY Series 550W Power Supply. Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MTYS06/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Do you need to buy OS: No. Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit Retail Version.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any

Location: Maryville, TN USA

Parts Preferences: I like Intel and NVIDIA

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, but I'm hoping to plug the machine into my TV, which will do 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I want to play the latest games, and stream media to my television. I'm hoping to plug it in to the TV directly, so that part shouldn't be hard.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I want to have a great gaming machine.

MysteryINC · Sep 4, 2013

The GPU really...you've got a nice i7 in there so I don't see a point of that, what is your budget?? If it's not very big then the GTX 760 should be enough.

dingo07 · Sep 4, 2013

why not build a brand new computer with the ~$1K... it really makes more sense than "upgrading" your old hardware

you can get into a new Haswell i5-4570S with Z87 motherboard, GPU of your choice, SSD and case for well under a grand

in fact, I placed my order yesterday at newegg, including a new Dell U2412M monitor, 8GB gSkill X RAM, APC UPS, 600W PS, Win7 and a 7850 GPU for ~$1300 including shipping

tiny voices · Sep 4, 2013

That PSu isn't great but it will do. OCZ makes questionable PSUs. It should be alright though.

Just get a gtx760 and add it to your machine.

houldendub · Sep 4, 2013

Honestly, I reckon just upgrading your graphics card is the only thing you really need to do.

An upgrade to the CPU might be nice if you want to do it now rather than a year or two down the line, but of course going for a new processor will take money out of a graphics card budget; things to consider.

You could for instance go for an i5 4670k, but then you say you don't want to overclock (madness, it's free performance!), but going for the non-overclock version is still an upgrade on your 950 and will save you a few bucks.

A fantastic rig for you would be a Haswell i5 and an Nvidia 770 (or even a 780 if you've got the cash).

The RAM you can keep, no reason to get rid of it at all.

Same as the power supply, you won't be able to do a dual-GPU configuration if you wanted in the future without upgrading but it'll do you just fine for even a 780.

(On a personal level, I would suggest 2x 760s, mainly because of the insane performance they give, I mean they're better than a Titan which costs something like $600 more or so)

I would really just suggest overclocking your processor and getting a good graphics card, those i7's still have some life left in 'em and the cost to upgrade doesn't really justify the performance increase.

ram1009 · Sep 4, 2013

You can get by with just upgrading your GPU to whatever you can afford, however I would get a high wattage Seasonic PSU if I were you.

tiny voices · Sep 4, 2013

ram1009 :

550w is more than plenty for this build. A better quality 550w PSU would definitely be recommended.

WoodimusPrime · Sep 4, 2013

I had been looking at getting a 770, and if I can get by with just upgrading the GPU, obviously that's what I'd like to do. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I wanted to upgrade the CPU to a Haswell, wouldn't that also require a MOBO upgrade? Those sockets don't match, do they? Thanks for all the help so far, guys!

houldendub · Sep 4, 2013

WoodimusPrime :

That's right, you'd need a new motherboard. Having to get a new mobo and processor will obviously downgrade the graphics card you can afford.

If $1000 is your budget, I'd suggest going full whack with a 780 and an SSD (if you don't already have one), you will see MASSIVE performance increases with that.

ram1009 · Sep 4, 2013

tiny voices :

You're right, 550W will get him by but I'm a strong believer in insurance and the bigger the PSU the less it is stressed. Stress reduces the life expectancy of all electrical components. For a few dollars more he'll never have to worry about stressing his PSU. An excellent investment for my money. You can run your PSUs maxed out if that's what suits you but remember this post the first time you burn one up prematurely.

tiny voices · Sep 4, 2013

ram1009 :

A gtx760 will pull maximum 150w. Everyone always thinks computers use way more power than they actually do. This rig WITH a gtx760 in it will likely use no more than 350w under FULL LOAD. 550w is plenty. With room to expand. There is a reason you can SLI on 650w easily. ANY single GPU can easily run on a 500w PSU and not come close to pulling 500w.

ram1009 · Sep 4, 2013

tiny voices :

ram1009 :

A gtx760 will pull maximum 150w. Everyone always thinks computers use way more power than they actually do. This rig WITH a gtx760 in it will likely use no more than 350w under FULL LOAD. 550w is plenty. With room to expand. There is a reason you can SLI on 650w easily. ANY single GPU can easily run on a 500w PSU and not come close to pulling 500w.

I NEVER stress a PSU beyond 50% of its rated capacity.

tiny voices · Sep 4, 2013

ram1009 :

tiny voices :

I NEVER stress a PSU beyond 50% of its rated capacity.

That is a huge waste of money. A non-stressed PSU will wear at the same or basically the same rate as a stressed one. 5 years down the road you will be replacing it weather it was 500 or 750 watts.

coastie65 · Sep 4, 2013

WoodimusPrime :

First, I have a desktop that is running an i7 960 and it does fine. If you want to go to the GTX 770, plan on uograding the Power supply as it requires a 600w PSU at the minimum. I would go withg a Corsair 650M as it is modular and you will have plenty on the rail for that card.

tiny voices · Sep 4, 2013

A gtx770 pulls MAX 220w during BURN IN TEST. Add that to the 130w MAX for the CPU and you have 350w. Add that to the rest of everything and you have about 400w MAX FULL LOAD.

The reason GPU companies list such outrageous numbers for PSU requirements is because they have to make up for poor quality PSUs. There are plenty of 700w PSUs out there that make no more than 450w.

This system could run easily on a 550w PSU. If you want, you can get a 650w but it is by no means at all required.

nvidia specify that 42apms are required on the 12v RAIL for a whole system with a gtx770. This is to cover their ass as well. 40a x12v= 480w. the TDP of the gtx770 is only 230w.

All in all, if you really wanted to, a good quality 450w PSU would run this system. Do I recommend this? No. I recommend something in the range of 550w. By no means at all is a 650w PSU 'required' for this build.

coastie65 · Sep 4, 2013

If I remember, the PSU he has in there has 24a on the +12v rail and in my opinion, not near enough for that card. Then again, I am known for my PSU excess.

Example, Some years ago, I installed a card that required 18a on the rails. I got a PSU that was 500w, but had 18a on the rails. All was fine until a gamie I was was playing got graphically intense, then I realized that I didn't have enough at 18a. I then replaced the PSU with a Corsair TX650w that had some 34a or so on the rails. That was plenty with some headroom, but I did have more wattage than I needed by far. Point is, I look at what is on the rail and what the card needs and give myself some headroom by not going with the Minimum. It has served well up to this point. I do get ragged about it on another board, but that is fine and I get a chuckle from it.

WoodimusPrime · Sep 4, 2013

Thanks for all the help. It looks like I'm just going to go ahead and get the 770. I'll also upgrade to the Corsair power supply, since it's not too expensive. I'll hold off on the MOBO and CPU upgrades until next year. Again, thanks a lot.

Help Upgrading Pc To Gaming PC

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