My wife had this PC built by ibuypower back in late 2009, before we were even together and before I knew what little I do about PC gaming and components. I'm aiming to spend 200ish a week on parts until I'm finished, and I'm adding them as I go. Here are its specs:
-MSI H55m-P31 mobo
-Intel Core i3 530 OC @ 3.8GHz and can go higher no problem (loved this little trooper)
-Liquid cooling without a brand anywhere to be found, but did an EPIC job, keeping this i3 under 55C even at 4.4 GHz. 28C under load at stock. Wish I didn't have to part with it.
-9800GT 1GB Green Edition
-700W Xion PSU (more on this later, and what it is doing in this system with a 9800GT GE is beyond me, lol)
-4GB Corsair Dominator ddr3 1333
-Standard 500GB Hard Drive
-1600x900 HP s2021 Monitor
-Mid-sized case, way too big for this micro ATX mobo.
So, the story up to this point. We wanted to play Dragon Age Inquisition. I knew it was "possible" with this setup, but the experience would be terrible. Tried it anyway, and was surprised to get 20-30 fps on low-mid settings. My first thought was, "upgrade the gpu! We have enough power in this machine for a decent card!" So I look this PSU up and find hardly anything on the Brand "Xion." What I did find was that it's supposedly crap, and others swore by it, but it's held up for nearly 6 years with NO issues for me. However, it's never had to power a GPU at all, those 6 pin adapters have never been used lol. I'm going to go ahead and try a new card on it and see what happens, just to save a bit of money until my plans are complete, then replace it. If it dies, I'm replacing everything anyway. Hopefully it doesn't explode.
That said, I've been looking at an asus strix gtx 960 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121913
I'll be gaming at 900p, I THINK 2GB of vram will be enough (everyone says different things, but most say 2GB vram is great for 1080p gaming), but I wonder about games like Far Cry 4. If I just have to turn off MSAA and/or FXAA, I can easily deal. I plan on plopping this baby in my machine by Sunday, even though the i3 will most likely bottleneck it to hell and back. Also, this card fit my budget. I'm aiming to spend 200ish a week on parts until I'm finished.
For the next upgrade: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
I'm not great with shopping for RAM, honestly, so if there's something better without going over 80 bucks, remember, this entire "build" is open to suggestions.
Now, my final upgrade WAS going to be this bundle: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2141274
After looking up that cpu, I think I'd like to try something else, even if I have to save up a bit more. This seemed like a better deal http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284
Again, I'm 100% open to suggestions. If this PSU holds up throughout all this, I'll replace it anyway. I honestly think it'll be fine, though. I may just wait and see what I get with the i3, 8gb RAM, and the 960 installed and buy the new PSU before installing the new mobo and cpu. I wanted to go Intel, but couldn't find an i5 priced nicely enough.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as thorough as possible.
-MSI H55m-P31 mobo
-Intel Core i3 530 OC @ 3.8GHz and can go higher no problem (loved this little trooper)
-Liquid cooling without a brand anywhere to be found, but did an EPIC job, keeping this i3 under 55C even at 4.4 GHz. 28C under load at stock. Wish I didn't have to part with it.
-9800GT 1GB Green Edition
-700W Xion PSU (more on this later, and what it is doing in this system with a 9800GT GE is beyond me, lol)
-4GB Corsair Dominator ddr3 1333
-Standard 500GB Hard Drive
-1600x900 HP s2021 Monitor
-Mid-sized case, way too big for this micro ATX mobo.
So, the story up to this point. We wanted to play Dragon Age Inquisition. I knew it was "possible" with this setup, but the experience would be terrible. Tried it anyway, and was surprised to get 20-30 fps on low-mid settings. My first thought was, "upgrade the gpu! We have enough power in this machine for a decent card!" So I look this PSU up and find hardly anything on the Brand "Xion." What I did find was that it's supposedly crap, and others swore by it, but it's held up for nearly 6 years with NO issues for me. However, it's never had to power a GPU at all, those 6 pin adapters have never been used lol. I'm going to go ahead and try a new card on it and see what happens, just to save a bit of money until my plans are complete, then replace it. If it dies, I'm replacing everything anyway. Hopefully it doesn't explode.
That said, I've been looking at an asus strix gtx 960 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121913
I'll be gaming at 900p, I THINK 2GB of vram will be enough (everyone says different things, but most say 2GB vram is great for 1080p gaming), but I wonder about games like Far Cry 4. If I just have to turn off MSAA and/or FXAA, I can easily deal. I plan on plopping this baby in my machine by Sunday, even though the i3 will most likely bottleneck it to hell and back. Also, this card fit my budget. I'm aiming to spend 200ish a week on parts until I'm finished.
For the next upgrade: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
I'm not great with shopping for RAM, honestly, so if there's something better without going over 80 bucks, remember, this entire "build" is open to suggestions.
Now, my final upgrade WAS going to be this bundle: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2141274
After looking up that cpu, I think I'd like to try something else, even if I have to save up a bit more. This seemed like a better deal http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284
Again, I'm 100% open to suggestions. If this PSU holds up throughout all this, I'll replace it anyway. I honestly think it'll be fine, though. I may just wait and see what I get with the i3, 8gb RAM, and the 960 installed and buy the new PSU before installing the new mobo and cpu. I wanted to go Intel, but couldn't find an i5 priced nicely enough.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as thorough as possible.
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