Looking to upgrade my rig! Any suggestions?

solisson · Jun 13, 2014

Price is a pretty big factor. I would like to be able to run World of Warcraft on ultra at decent fps.

My current Rig:
case-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233116
psu-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
motherboard-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130744
cpu-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113356
cpu cooler-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
gpu-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127709
hdd-1tb + 300ish gb
optical drive-CdRom
Ram-6gb(came with pc before upgrades so idk what brand) DDR3

My question is what should i upgrade and how far would i need to upgrade?

geofelt · Jun 13, 2014

What is your budget?
Do some testing.
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 70% and see how you do.

You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

solisson · Jun 13, 2014

geofelt :

What is your budget?
Do some testing.
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 70% and see how you do.

You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

The budget would be nothing more than 700. lower if possible.
I did what you said about the the cpu power and my fps only changed about 5 frames.

RazerZ · Jun 13, 2014

For $600 before rebates here's what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($143.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $561.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 21:45 EDT-0400

Should be able to play modern games on ultra without a problem.

geofelt · Jun 13, 2014

The 7750 is an entry level graphics card.
I was afraid that your A10 might be a problem, but I think it is ok to support a better graphics card.
Your psu is strong enough to support a GTX760 graphics card. That is a $250 card.
I would upgrade at least to a GTX750ti, a $150 card that is a nice jump over your 7750.
There are equivalent upgrades from the amd side but they tend to be more power hungry. The r9-270X
would be as strong as I would go.

Save the rest of your budget until you can evaluate the benefits of the graphics upgrade. It may be enough. Any graphics upgrade can be carried over to a future cpu/motherboard upgrade.

If your cpu/mobo budget is in the $400 range, that gets you a i5-4690K and a Z97 motherboard which is as good as it gets for a gamer.

solisson · Jun 13, 2014

hmmm i can afford all options presented by both of you. would it be better to get a new cpu, mobo, psu, and card like RazerZ said or just a card?

RazerZ · Jun 13, 2014

solisson :

The cheap way out would be to get a new Graphics card such as a GTX 760 or R9 280.

It would be a huge jump from your current 7750, and should be fine for most games around high settings. It's a great option to just upgrade the GPU if you're on a limited budget.

solisson · Jun 13, 2014

RazerZ :

I could definitely afford the parts you recommended though. Would your list of parts net me better long lasting results? I don't want to have to go back and upgrade little bits and pieces for a while.

RazerZ · Jun 13, 2014

solisson :

RazerZ :

I could definitely afford the parts you recommended though. Would your list of parts net me better long lasting results? I don't want to have to go back and upgrade little bits and pieces for a while.

Yes, long term it will last longer because of a more powerful CPU.

solisson · Jun 13, 2014

RazerZ :

solisson :

Yes, long term it will last longer because of a more powerful CPU.

Well then i think your parts list is what ill look into. Thanks for the help you guys!

RazerZ · Jun 13, 2014

solisson :

RazerZ :

Well then i think your parts list is what ill look into. Thanks for the help you guys!

No problem.

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