Another guy wanting system upgrade advice...

callmejon · Mar 2, 2014

Hi, I've registered on here after using this site for a while now for tips and advice on my various computing needs.

To cut to the chase I need help with what to do next to my PC.

I bought a HP G5200uk a few years ago and have upgraded the power supply, graphics card and RAM.
I also bought a duplicate monitor for dual screen awesomeness.

It currently gives me good results playing Skyrim, Total War Rome II, Crysis 2 and Assassins Creed Black Flag.

It can also handle Adobe Premiere and Photoshop.

I have, over time, tinkered with it, sticking on a USB3 thingy, soundcard etc and intend on ultimately getting to the point where my little Frankenstein's monster no longer has any of the original parts.

So where do I start?

This is something I intend to do over time as I am not massively rich btu am happy to save for fancy parts to add/improve my system.

Would a upgrade of gpu and psu be my next step again?
Or invest in a crazy new motherboard and go from there?

My current PC specs

CPU : Athlon II X4 640

GPU : GeForce GTX 650 1GB

RAM : 8 GB DDR3 1600MHz

Monitor : HP S2031 20inch Screen Res : 1600x900 (x2)

Extra Internal Hard Drive : Western Digital WD20EZRX 2TB

OS Hard drive Storage : 1GB

Operating System : Win 8.1 Pro With Media Center 64bit

Direct X : DX11

Motherboard: M2N68-LA (Narra6)

Case: Default

PSU : Corsair CX 500M 500W
Gamepad : Microsoft XBox 360 controller

Thanks for looking

dustinhunt78 · Mar 6, 2014

There comes a time when it's best to stop trying to improve on what you have and to start all over from scratch. But in your case, you really won't be starting over from scratch because you can take several of the components in your current build to place them in a new build. And just to clarify, for me starting from scratch means new motherboard and CPU. That's the heart of the system and everything else has to be compatible with them.

In your case, the weakest link in your PC is definitely the CPU and motherboard. Your processor was released for sale in early 2010, making it 4 years old. Four years is FOREVER in computer terms. This is a link to a benchmark for your current CPU:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X4+640

Upgrading your CPU and motherboard will probably run anywhere from 300-600 dollars, depending on how much performance you're looking for. Whenever I upgrade, I like to "futureproof" my build a bit by getting components at or near the top of the line. I completed a build using an Intel i7-4770k CPU and Intel DZ87KLT-75k motherboard. While the processor is great, I don't suggest buying the motherboard. There are a lot better motherboards out there for around the same price.

That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. And as I was saying, you can use many of the components that you already have. Your DDR3 1600Mhz memory is certainly still competetive, as well as your GPU. Even the Corsair PSU is still respectable. The one thing that you could add to your system without replacing the CPU/Motherboard and see a huge performance increase would be to add an SSD. I/O is almost always where the "performance bottle neck" occurs. Adding a respectable SSD will give you far more than you probably think it would. I opted for the Samsung 840 Pro (512GB). I couldn't be happier with it. Boot time is literally around 10 seconds from a completely cold start. They have gone down significantly in price since I purchased mine nearly a year ago.

Good luck with your upgrade. I hope the best for you!

callmejon · Mar 9, 2014

dustinhunt78 :

There comes a time when it's best to stop trying to improve on what you have and to start all over from scratch. But in your case, you really won't be starting over from scratch because you can take several of the components in your current build to place them in a new build. And just to clarify, for me starting from scratch means new motherboard and CPU. That's the heart of the system and everything else has to be compatible with them.

In your case, the weakest link in your PC is definitely the CPU and motherboard. Your processor was released for sale in early 2010, making it 4 years old. Four years is FOREVER in computer terms. This is a link to a benchmark for your current CPU:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X4+640

Upgrading your CPU and motherboard will probably run anywhere from 300-600 dollars, depending on how much performance you're looking for. Whenever I upgrade, I like to "futureproof" my build a bit by getting components at or near the top of the line. I completed a build using an Intel i7-4770k CPU and Intel DZ87KLT-75k motherboard. While the processor is great, I don't suggest buying the motherboard. There are a lot better motherboards out there for around the same price.

That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. And as I was saying, you can use many of the components that you already have. Your DDR3 1600Mhz memory is certainly still competetive, as well as your GPU. Even the Corsair PSU is still respectable. The one thing that you could add to your system without replacing the CPU/Motherboard and see a huge performance increase would be to add an SSD. I/O is almost always where the "performance bottle neck" occurs. Adding a respectable SSD will give you far more than you probably think it would. I opted for the Samsung 840 Pro (512GB). I couldn't be happier with it. Boot time is literally around 10 seconds from a completely cold start. They have gone down significantly in price since I purchased mine nearly a year ago.

Good luck with your upgrade. I hope the best for you!

Thanks alot for the reply,

Is there any motherboard you would recommend?

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Another guy wanting system upgrade advice...

callmejon

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dustinhunt78

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callmejon

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