Upgrading PC For Under $500 (Excluding the GPU)

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

I am looking to have a custom built PC with the budget of under $500 since I am currently using my nVidia GTX 750 Ti. I will need an upgrade for my processor (current: Intel Core i5-3330S) and I am fine with any motherboard as well as 8 Gb of any RAM. I won't need a monitor included this this build but I will also prefer Windows 8 as my OS. I will mostly use this system for Gaming as well as video editing. Any case is fine as well as the power supply, I will also need a Wireless LAN Card if not included. Storage doesn't matter as long as I have at least 1TB of space.
Oh, and I forgot to mention where I prefer to get the parts at.. I'd rather have them on NCIX Canada, Canada Computers, and probably Newegg

Thanks.

MalakiArtook · May 10, 2014

what is this computer for?

AgentTran · May 10, 2014

Building a computer for $500 is very cheap, and it will be very tight.
I would recommend you just stick with your current processor and not upgrade, it's a 3rd-generation i5 and is still viable in today's standards.

I think your system will only ever pull about 400W, but I'll include a 450W+ for possibility to upgrade the GPU or CPU later on.

Considering now that you have the GPU, CPU, MOBO and RAM, we can focus on building the other components with a now, decent budget.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $262.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 16:04 EDT-0400)

This includes a great Hard Drive, Power Supply and has the Windows 8 you wanted.

You still have lots of money though, to upgrade your other components. Since your i5 currently is still a great processor, we should be looking to put the extra money into a nice graphics card. I know that you already have your 750ti, but for the money you've saved you can invest in a GPU which is much stronger than it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $485.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 16:07 EDT-0400)

In this build I've added a R9 270X, which is a much stronger card than the 750ti, and also a CPU cooler.

swifty_morgan · May 10, 2014

what motherboard do you have now....... what ram do you have now?

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

swifty_morgan :

This is the full specs of my current PC: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03826060&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=ca&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5394645#N1496

I bought it for around $500

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

AgentTran :

Building a computer for $500 is very cheap, and it will be very tight.
I would recommend you just stick with your current processor and not upgrade, it's a 3rd-generation i5 and is still viable in today's standards.

I think your system will only ever pull about 400W, but I'll include a 450W+ for possibility to upgrade the GPU or CPU later on.

Considering now that you have the GPU, CPU, MOBO and RAM, we can focus on building the other components with a now, decent budget.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $262.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 16:04 EDT-0400)

This includes a great Hard Drive, Power Supply and has the Windows 8 you wanted.

You still have lots of money though, to upgrade your other components. Since your i5 currently is still a great processor, we should be looking to put the extra money into a nice graphics card. I know that you already have your 750ti, but for the money you've saved you can invest in a GPU which is much stronger than it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $485.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-10 16:07 EDT-0400)

In this build I've added a R9 270X, which is a much stronger card than the 750ti, and also a CPU cooler.

For the CPU, it doesn't have to be and upgrade for my i5 since I want to keep my current system and just replace the GPU. The CPU can be anything around the same performance.

swifty_morgan · May 10, 2014

i only see one 95watt sandy bridge at newegg, 2600k and it's $340............
another site needs to be looked at. ( has to be 95 WATTS OR LESS ).

16gigs of ddr3 1600 ( video editing )

this is going to take more time than I have right now. will try and look, into this more later. thanks for the link.

trying to figure out if we can salvage your current mobo/case to save a little. so far so good. back later.

AgentTran · May 10, 2014

In that case, then I would recommend the i5 4440 or 4570.
If you have the money then you should look for the i5 4670K.

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

swifty_morgan :

Alright, thanks for your help, I won't need this system ASAP so I am fine to wait about a few months since I will actually start buying parts and assembling it later on this year.

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

AgentTran :

Alright, I will keep that in mind, thanks!

ArticFox · May 10, 2014

MalakiArtook :

Gaming, and light video editing

hang-the-9 · Jun 4, 2014

The system you have now with the 750 Ti is fine for playing games. Exactly why are you wanting to upgrade aside from just having $500 lying around? For $500 you won't really get a good upgrade over what you have now. You'd probably need $7-800 to really notice any difference in performance and to allow you to run games on higher settings and resolutions.

ArticFox · Jun 4, 2014

hang-the-9 :

Well, right now I'm not really looking for an upgrade then, but I want something that is equivalent or something close to the performance to my old PC since I will be giving that to someone else. I have also considered the prices and will probably bump my budget up to 600.

hang-the-9 · Jun 5, 2014

ArticFox :

Ah, for NOT an upgrade but a new system, $600 would get you about in the same range as yours is now, maybe a bit faster on the video side. Plenty of systems to look at in the systems section sticky posts.

ArticFox · Jun 8, 2014

hang-the-9 :

ArticFox :

Ah, for NOT an upgrade but a new system, $600 would get you about in the same range as yours is now, maybe a bit faster on the video side. Plenty of systems to look at in the systems section sticky posts.

Alright, so let's say I choose the AMD FX-8320 as my processor, will I have the same performance as my i5?

hang-the-9 · Jun 9, 2014

ArticFox :

hang-the-9 :

Alright, so let's say I choose the AMD FX-8320 as my processor, will I have the same performance as my i5?

You should not lose performance, if any games run slower it should not be enough to notice.

ArticFox · Jun 9, 2014

hang-the-9 :

Oh, okay, thanks for your input

Upgrading PC For Under $500 (Excluding the GPU)

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