Advice on Ultra Budget Upgrade

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mrvertigo

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Jan 2, 2009
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I have an old build (approx. 6 years) that I've updated a bit a long the way, but I think the time has come to say goodbye to most of the parts and replace them with something better (and also ditching my old uglier-than-you-can-imagine pre-2000 micro-atx case for a mini-itx)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 2.68GHz
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3
GPU: Radeon HD 6670 1 GB
RAM: 8 GB DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400
PSU: Corsair 450W VX Series
HDD: 2 x 7200 RPM (500 GB, 750 GB)

I use my computer for a lot of different things (music production, web design, light programming, browsing and some gaming). It handles most things I throw at it remarkably well except gaming, where it's starting to struggle. As you can probably guess I don't need high or ultra settings, but it would be nice to be able to play new games without first spending an evening fiddling with settings to get 30+ fps.

I am looking to keep the HDDs, the PSU and for starters the GPU, (but if it makes more sense to spend all the money on a new GPU, please let me know)

I am considering one of the Trinity based APUs or the Athlon X4 750K, but I have a sweet spot for Intel CPUs (I just can't afford a quality i5 or i7).

Budget is 200-300 USD. Please help!
 
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Marcopolo123

Marcopolo123

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Jan 31, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($116.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $336.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-24 17:57 EST-0500)




PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $324.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-24 18:03 EST-0500)
 
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mrvertigo

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Jan 2, 2009
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Thanks for the answers. Trouble is budget is blown and I still need ITX case and RAM (right?).

The LGA1150 motherboard seems like a good choice, but I was thinking about pairing it with a cheaper CPU and GPU for starters (eg. Celeron G1820 or Pentium G3220 with a Radeon R7 250 or a Radeon HD 7750)

That would leave me with a little amount to buy case and memory (and the ability to upgrade to a better cpu & gpu later)

What do you think?
 
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rhapdog

rhapdog

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Jan 14, 2014
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Looks like no one is actually reading your opening post carefully. You did state you wanted to ditch your current case, and would only be keeping your PSU, HDDs, and GPU. I assume you'll also be keeping monitor, keyboard, mouse.

Just to clarify, you need: Case, Mobo, RAM, and CPU.

That's tough to fill under 300 USD.

I see everyone is immediately thinking you need to replace your GPU right off the bat. However, I think it would be best to keep it so you can afford what you really need. Your DDR2 RAM is really holding you back, as is your CPU.

If you were to get an A10-5800 or A10-6800, you could use Dual Graphics with your existing card for a boost in more modern games. Budget wise, this will give you the biggest performance increase for the number of dollars you have to spend.

Another issue is that I will not recommend less than 1866MHz DDR3 RAM for an APU, because they need the speed. Especially if you're going to do the dual graphics, which is what I recommend.

Here's what I came up with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $284.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-27 16:03 EST-0500)
 
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