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Looking For Advice on Upgrading My Gaming PC

Tags:
  • Games
  • Systems
  • PC gaming
Last response: in Systems
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April 29, 2014 12:38:33 PM

Hey all, I am someone who enjoys to play games with high attention to detail, whilst not dropping many frames. I enjoy games such as Skyrim and the Battlefield series, which both are games that I really want to be able to potentially max out :) 

I purchased my computer a few years ago, so some of the components are quite old, yet i am unsure of the priorities of upgrading my system when looking at my specs, as i have recently noticed a decrease in performance since newer games.

Here is all the specs that I can remember:

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Motherboard: ASUS M5A99x EVO

CPU: AMD FX 6100 (Overclocked to 4Ghz)

RAM: 2 x 4GB (Unsure of brand sorry)

Hard Drive: HDD - SATA 3 - 6Gb/s - 1TB

Graphics Card: AMD HD 7970 - MSI OC version

PSU: Xigmatek 700w

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I currently have a £400 maximum budget, and would not be willing to upgrade the graphics card, as it is a new upgrade of mine. I am also kind of weary of upgrading my motherboard, but if it is essential, I will look into it!

Please can someone help me to find out the components that need to be upgraded, and possibly a product that is within my price range in order to upgrade my rig? (Products available on SCAN.co.uk are preferable)

Thanks,
Jake~

More about : advice upgrading gaming

April 29, 2014 12:49:53 PM

AMD hasnt changed things much since you built that rig. lol.

adding a second 7970 is probably your best bet. grab a matching card from ebay and get as many fans in your case blowing on them as you can.
you also need to upgrade your PSU... 700watt is not enough with OCd CPU and two OCd 7970s.

so 1000w PSU and a used 7970 - resell your xigmatek 700w

amd is still selling the 7970, the 280x is basically a 7970
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April 29, 2014 12:53:36 PM

Thanks for the answer, I appreciate it :) 

I was also wondering also about upgrading my CPU as multiple people have commented in other forum posts on how it is a ''bad choice' for a setup, Should i prioritize the PSU and graphics card over the processor?
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April 29, 2014 12:57:31 PM

Here are some options:

Keeping your mobo and sticking w/ AMD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£104.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 EVO ATX AM3+ Motherboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£59.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £189.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 20:55 BST+0100)
-Not much to change here, get the 8320 or 8350 (8350=8320 w/ stock oc but has higher standard for QC so can be OC'd higher), SSD for boot up
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April 29, 2014 12:59:31 PM

If you wanted to switch over to intel:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£151.14 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£107.93 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£59.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £344.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 20:59 BST+0100)
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April 29, 2014 1:04:16 PM

Thanks, Ill probably stay with AMD, and upgrade the CPU along with possibly storage SSD/PSU, probably wont upgrade to dual graphics cards yet though.

Thanks for the answers!
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April 29, 2014 1:04:52 PM

If you wanted to CF your cards:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£295.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£82.21 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £377.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 21:02 BST+0100)

850w is enough for dual 290x so it can handle dual 7790s. Your cpu will probably start holding you back with this and it would probably be overkill if you are playing at 1080p.

I would probably go with one of the CPU upgrades, dual 7970s on a fx 6100 is just way unbalanced.

Edit: No Problem!
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April 29, 2014 1:11:01 PM

This would be the best option within your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£104.39 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card (£216.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £401.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 21:09 BST+0100)

You can swap the gpu for the same model you have,but this one will work fine in crossfire. If it's too much then just upgrade to a 8320. Then later on get a stronger PSU and a second 7970 ( same as a 280x), or sell your current GPU and buy a faster single gpu.
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April 29, 2014 9:26:38 PM

numanator said:
If you wanted to CF your cards:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£295.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£82.21 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £377.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-29 21:02 BST+0100)

850w is enough for dual 290x so it can handle dual 7790s. Your cpu will probably start holding you back with this and it would probably be overkill if you are playing at 1080p.

I would probably go with one of the CPU upgrades, dual 7970s on a fx 6100 is just way unbalanced.

Edit: No Problem!

+1. Dual 7970s would be pretty powerful.

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