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Looking for advice on the parts for upgrading my PC.

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • RAM
  • Processors
  • Rebuild
  • Computers
  • Systems
  • Motherboards
  • Graphics Cards
  • Hard Drives
  • New Build
Last response: in Systems
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April 22, 2014 3:58:53 AM

Well this is my first post on this site so hello there!
I'm looking for (as the title says) advice on the parts I should get for upgrading my semi-old PC.
( I'm planning to use it for gaming. )

The specs of my current (semi-old) computer that I'm writing this on, is:

Motherboard: Asrock 870 EXTREME3
Graf. Card: Geforce GTS 250 (1GB version)
Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630
RAM: Mushkin 2*2GB DDR3
Hard drive: Hitatchi 1TB SATA2
Power: NAP LC Power 460W GREE

My plan first was to replace the graf. card and the processor, but the motherboard I'm using dosent support AM3+ Only AM3, so I have to replace that aswell. And if I'm getting a better graf. card 460w probably wont be enough, so I have to get a new power supply too.

After all that I came up with a new build:

Kept parts
Changed parts

Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME3
Graf. Card: XFX AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB
Processor: AMD X8 FX-8350
RAM: Mushkin 2*2GB DDR3
Hard drive: Hitatchi 1TB SATA2
Power: CORSAIR Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze, 600 Watt

What do you think about about the build new in general, would you recommend better parts?
(I have my doubts on the motherboard and processor.)
Do you think that 600W is required?
What do you think about leaving the 4GB of RAM? (My thought process in that is that I would have to throw away the old 4 gigs if I wanted to upgrade.)
What do you think about the graf. card/processor combination?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!
:D 


EDIT:

The cost of the new parts is 1000$ here but as I live in Croatia, you cant compare the prices if you're from other parts of the world.
So my budget is around 1000$ but it is flexible.
583$ for the graf. card,
278$ for the processor,
100$ for the power supply,
120$ for the motherboard.

More about : advice parts upgrading

a c 122 ) Power supply
a c 374 V Motherboard
a c 250 U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 4:09:28 AM

Looks OK. The system as proposed needs 31A on the 12V rail and a total minimum of 550W

Yes you could use better parts eg Corsair RM550W PSU instead of the CX 600.

But what is your complete build lsit now and cost then what is your maximum budget. Can you use PartPicker to do this?
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April 22, 2014 4:12:07 AM

Get Corsair Vengence/ Gskill Ripjws 4 gb x2 1600 mhz, ram 'atleast'... You hvn't mentioned ur budget. But every thing else is ok. Amd cpu Amd gpu is good combination. "BUT" you will using a outdated socket Am3 , so don't expect too much.
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a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 4:40:04 AM


Upgrade your motherboard to an Asus M5A97 (not LE) or a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P --- consider the FX-8320 or even the FX-6300 to save some cash.

Take the extra cash and invest in an SSD for your OS and some aftermarket cooling.

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April 22, 2014 12:18:27 PM

i7Baby said:
Looks OK. The system as proposed needs 31A on the 12V rail and a total minimum of 550W

Yes you could use better parts eg Corsair RM550W PSU instead of the CX 600.

But what is your complete build lsit now and cost then what is your maximum budget. Can you use PartPicker to do this?


I did as you said and I got around 500W. I did a bit of searching around and I found:
Corsair PSU Builder Series CS550M, 550 Watt to be about 20$ more expensive then the
CORSAIR Power Supply, Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze, 600 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2
Not sure why...

akash911 said:
Get Corsair Vengence/ Gskill Ripjws 4 gb x2 1600 mhz, ram 'atleast'... You hvn't mentioned ur budget. But every thing else is ok. Amd cpu Amd gpu is good combination. "BUT" you will using a outdated socket Am3 , so don't expect too much.


Could you elaborate on the "But you will be using a outdated socket"?
The ASRock 970 EXTREME3 supports AM3+ and the AMD X8 FX-8350 is a AM3+ processor as far as I know.

Wisecracker said:

Upgrade your motherboard to an Asus M5A97 (not LE) or a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P --- consider the FX-8320 or even the FX-6300 to save some cash.

Take the extra cash and invest in an SSD for your OS and some aftermarket cooling.



I have read up on the EXTREME3 and apparently it isn't that good with 8-core processors. Is that correct?
Also I have looked up the motherboards that you have recommended on my local online shop.
They have the :
Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0,
Asus M5A97 R2.0
Which one would you recommend more?

Also they have the:
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
but not the
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P.

And I think I'll stick with the AMD X8 FX-8350.

Thanks everyone!
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Best solution

a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 2:19:21 PM


Quote:
Upgrade your motherboard to an Asus M5A97 (not LE) or a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P
...


Either has 8+2 (or technically 4+1(x2) ) PWM 'electricals' for more stable power delivery and OC'ing, and will likely have better long-term BIOS support.

The Asus is likely a bit more 'RAM friendly' (as in, mixing another 2x2GB kit of memory with your Mushkins for 8GB total) being that your memory may or may not be on the Asus QVL list.

Each has a UEFI BIOS. The Gigabyte might have a 'dual-BIOS' Read the manual to sync-up the primary and back-up BIOSs for best performance (not sure why but my 990FX-UD3 was a bit unstable after I updated the primary BIOS -- until I updated the backup BIOS, too).

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April 22, 2014 2:45:01 PM

Wisecracker said:

Quote:
Upgrade your motherboard to an Asus M5A97 (not LE) or a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P
...


Either has 8+2 (or technically 4+1(x2) ) PWM 'electricals' for more stable power delivery and OC'ing, and will likely have better long-term BIOS support.

The Asus is likely a bit more 'RAM friendly' (as in, mixing another 2x2GB kit of memory with your Mushkins for 8GB total) being that your memory may or may not be on the Asus QVL list.

Each has a UEFI BIOS. The Gigabyte might have a 'dual-BIOS' Read the manual to sync-up the primary and back-up BIOSs for best performance (not sure why but my 990FX-UD3 was a bit unstable after I updated the primary BIOS -- until I updated the backup BIOS, too).



Thanks!
I will most likely get the Asus M5A97 R2.0.

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