Help me Upgrade

nguyentony2012 · Feb 4, 2014

I got a custom built tower thought I bought on craigslist and I want to upgrade it but not sure what parts to buy. Trying to build something for high-quality gaming or at least second highest.Trying not to break the bank.

Case:Thermaltake V3 Black Edition
Power Supply: Lepa 500 watt gamer psu
Processor: 6 core amd @ 3.3ghz
Mothererboard: Biostar Matx
Memory: A-Data 8Gb 1600mhz (4gb x 2)
Hard Drive: 1tb 7200 rpm
Video card: Nvidia Gt 440 1gb gddr5
Dvd Drive: LG DVD reader/ writer

So any recommended parts?

HiTechObsessed · Feb 4, 2014

Definitely a new PSU and GPU would be my start. Your RAM, HDD are fine, would like to get you a new motherboard though. What is your overall budget?

Oleonius · Feb 4, 2014

What is your budget ?

First, I would change the GPU. Because newer cards consume more power, you may also need to change your power supply.

ASUS, Gigabyte and EVGA are among the best manufacturers for GPUs.

For the PSU, be sure to pick a good quality unit with at least an 80+ certification and if possible, modular cabling. It will help reduce the clutter inside your case and improves the airflow.

Second, I would make sure your airflow is okay. Make sure you have at least one intake fan and one exhaust fan. Because you have an older CPU, you could also do some overlocking. In this case, I suggest picking a better CPU cooler. I assume this PC have the stock cooler from AMD, which is cheap and don't performs well. For around 30-40$, an Hyper 212 EVO from Coolermaster would be great.

Feel free to ask questions !

nguyentony2012 · Feb 5, 2014

Right now i dont exactly have a limit on my budget. I just want to get stuff that would FIT the upgrade. What kind of motherboard would you recommend? For the power supply how many watts and what brand? I can get the water cooling fan but not sure which one would fit the the build or the changes I am about to do

HiTechObsessed · Feb 5, 2014

These would be my recommendations:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($65.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Total: $377.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-05 09:40 EST-0500)

The Noctua cooler is actually better at cooling that the $100+ all-in-one water coolers you can buy, and is dead quiet.

Also, the 760 is a great card for the money at 1080p. I have a 760 and max everything out pretty much. And the SeaSonic is one of the best PSUs for that kind of money out there.

nguyentony2012 · Feb 5, 2014

Thanks. At the back of my tower theres audio port but they seem to not work. What can i get to fix that? What brand and model?

nguyentony2012 · Feb 5, 2014

Also I am planning to buy these parts one at a time. When I buy the Graphics Card should I wait to get the new power supply to install it? Also CPU?

HiTechObsessed · Feb 5, 2014

I would actually buy the PSU first. People often write off the PSU as being the least needed, when it is actually the most important part of the PC.

You can buy any kind of sound card to replace it, especially if you're not going to be using high-end audio equipment. If you're looking to upgrade the CPU though, might as well get a better board! Your CPU is fine for now, though, wouldn't be my biggest concern. By your description, looks like an Athlon x6, which is pretty good.

Order to buy in my opinion:

1)PSU
2)GPU
3)Cooler

If you are looking to upgrade the CPU as well, I would look at the i5-4670k and a Z87 board.

Oleonius · Feb 5, 2014

HiTechObsessed :

+1 to these parts. Despite the fact that the Noctua cooler is better, I would pick the Hyper 212 EVO for the CPU cooler instead because it's cheaper and still performs very well.

Change the power supply first, then the cooler and GPU.

Only change your board if you need to buy a new CPU. It is fine for now.

From what I see, your case supports 3 exhausts (1x rear and 2x top) and 3 intakes (1x front, 1x side and 1x bottom). If you want to have proper cooling, you need to have more intakes than exhaust in your case. I would install one fan in front, one fan on the side and one at the back.

Corsair SP/AF fans and Enermax TB are great choices. If you want to spend more money (and like the color scheme), I suggest Noctua NF-P12

nguyentony2012 · Feb 5, 2014

Thanks

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