Should I upgrade from stock AMD cooler or upgrade other stuff?

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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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Hi! I built a budget gaming pc around 2 months ago. Specs are as following. Fx4300(w/ stock cooler @4.1ghz), ga78lmt-usb3, cx430 v2, hd 7770 asus 2gb, 2tb seagate green (had it laying around), 8gb ddr3 1333, rosewill ranger m (scratched it :( ), 1680x1050 22" monitor, microsoft sidewinder x4, some dell mouse that I spray painted half white. Yeah. So should I upgrade to an arctic alpine 64 plus, or a hyper 101a? I don't know if I should upgrade because I use noise cancelling bose qc 15 headphones and my temps are okay, so upgrade or no? I could just upgrade my mouse for 10$, or get a fan controller or something like that instead.
 
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Jake Lloyd
Here's my specs:

Intel i5 2500k OCed to 4.2
EVGA PSU
EVGA GTX 760 OCed
MSI Z77 motherboard
16gigs RAM
Samsung 830 256gig SSD, Seagate 2TB internal HDD (storage), Seagate 2TB USB3 external HDD(movies, music)
Dual 24in Asus 1080 monitors
Razer Naga Mouse
Logietch G110 Keyboard
Logitech G930 headset

The only big difference in a good mouse pad that you'll really notice is size. Having a larger one that does a good job sticking to your desk allows you to move more before you have to pick up. Not a huge difference, especially in FPSs where you usually have your DPI set high enough to where 4-5 inches is all you need to do a 360. Good on things like StarCraft though.

I've also built this PC for a long, long time. I Spent about $800 almost 7...
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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd

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If you're running good temps with the stock fan and don't plan on overclocking anytime soon then I'd look for other upgrades. If you game often then you'd be surprised on how much a good mouse makes a difference. Although if your "upgrading" your mouse for $10 then it seems you'll end up with the same mouse, just 10$ poorer. A good 2k monitor is also good for gaming.

Also if you wanted to spend the cash then a SSD is really nice, but I'm not a fan of the small SSD with only OS and everything else on HDD thing people seem to do, so you'd be looking at $200ish for a 256 or more for bigger (storage on HDD is good though).

It's kinda hard to think of a upgrade if we don't know what you do on your machine. Gaming? Interneting? Graphic design?
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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Hello! I game on my pc at 1680x1050 with games such as just cause 2, bioshock inf, bf3/4, gta 4, skyrim, and other triple aaa games. I am only 13, turning 14 ( got the 7770 on Saturday as my birthday gift) and won't be able to make any major upgrades till Christmas. I plan on probably upgrading to a 24 inch 1080p monitor then. What would a ssd really improve? Loading games and turning on my computer? Sounds a bit over rated. (Never used one on a desktop pc before). I do use a wireless xbox 360 controller to play all of my games besides the fps games. The mouse I was looking at was the e3lue blue mazer ii 2500 dpi optical gaming mouse.
 
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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd

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A SSD simply makes everything load faster, games included. It won't increase FPS in actual gaming, but loading that next BF4 map, and the game itself will be much faster. It just makes your whole machine run smoother and more fluid. You click something, it's there. I'll never go back to a HDD.

A new monitor would be a great xmas gift for you, bigger and 1080 will look very nice. Who knows, by then maybe you can move up to a 27in for a good price.

That mouse LOOKS neat but is still just a cheap mouse with pretty lights. I also stopped using a wireless mouse and keyboard sometime ago. Had a wireless setup playing BF3 a lot, then changed to a wired setup (Razer Naga Mouse and Logitech G110 keyboard) and it made a huge different not having any input lag. Rather then spending $20 now, you should save up for a while until you can spend $50-60 on something like a Razer Death Adder or Corsair Vengeance or even a Logitech G400.

Another thing you didn't mention was a headset. If you game a lot a decent headset is always nice.
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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I used to use a turtle beach x 12 but the wire only worked at a certain angle so I started using the Bose QuietComfort 15 which I got as a gift. So what part would you recommend buying under $20? This mouse looks pretty good. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F3L19KQ?pc_redir=1398284759&robot_redir=1
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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Here are some pics of my pc and setup

http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/jotbajwa75/media/IMG_9235_zps88bc3630.jpg.html
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/jotbajwa75/media/IMG_9236_zps4a5d5d21.jpg.html
http://s1357.photobucket.com/user/jotbajwa75/media/IMG_9238_zpsdf6eb089.jpg.html
 
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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd

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There is nothing I can think of that would be a upgrade for $20. I'm telling you, if you want a mouse then buying a $20 mouse to replace your $15 dollar mouse just because the new one has lights is pretty much a waste. The 3 that I posted will actually make a bit of a difference in use AND looks, rather then just looks.

My machine is a budget PC and I can't find anything on it that's $20 other then my mouse pad lol (Razer Goliathus, $21).

If you really NEED to spend $20 right now then buy a game on Steam :)
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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Yeah, I think you are right. I just overclocked cpu from 3.8 to 4.2 ghz, and overclocked my graphics card and my temps are fine. Considering I have noise cancelling headphones, and the fact that I am almost always listening to some content, I don't think that I really need the cooler. I suppose the mouse upgrade wont help too much, and my fans are already running with a resistor cable at 7v's so the fan controller wont really help. Out of curiosity, what are your specs? I think it will be smarter to wait for the summer sale on steam, and buy a couple of games. Does a mouse pad help? Something like a 10$ steel series mouse pad?
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
2,273
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11,860



Yeah, I think you are right. I just overclocked cpu from 3.8 to 4.2 ghz, and overclocked my graphics card and my temps are fine. Considering I have noise cancelling headphones, and the fact that I am almost always listening to some content, I don't think that I really need the cooler. I suppose the mouse upgrade wont help too much, and my fans are already running with a resistor cable at 7v's so the fan controller wont really help. Out of curiosity, what are your specs? I think it will be smarter to wait for the summer sale on steam, and buy a couple of games. Does a mouse pad help? Something like a 10$ steel series mouse pad?
 
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Jake Lloyd

Jake Lloyd

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Feb 27, 2014
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Here's my specs:

Intel i5 2500k OCed to 4.2
EVGA PSU
EVGA GTX 760 OCed
MSI Z77 motherboard
16gigs RAM
Samsung 830 256gig SSD, Seagate 2TB internal HDD (storage), Seagate 2TB USB3 external HDD(movies, music)
Dual 24in Asus 1080 monitors
Razer Naga Mouse
Logietch G110 Keyboard
Logitech G930 headset

The only big difference in a good mouse pad that you'll really notice is size. Having a larger one that does a good job sticking to your desk allows you to move more before you have to pick up. Not a huge difference, especially in FPSs where you usually have your DPI set high enough to where 4-5 inches is all you need to do a 360. Good on things like StarCraft though.

I've also built this PC for a long, long time. I Spent about $800 almost 7 years ago to build a machine and have upgraded it over the years, saving up and buying one part at a time usually. Only big spending times are when I need a new MB, then a new CPU and RAM to match.
 
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