Upgrade advice on 5 year old PC

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

bob70932

Reputable
Apr 27, 2014
69
0
4,630
Chaps,

I am looking for some advice, I want to upgrade my aging PC system but not sure where to spend my £250.

My Specs are: Intel I 5 750 2.6 mhz, Mobo Gigabyte GA P55 US3L rev 2.0, XFX 55o PSU, Crucial 240 SSD, 1 TB hdd, ATI 5770 and 4 GB V Data Ram 1333mhz. Running win 7 64 bit.

So I have added the ssd which made a massive difference, I did change the ram to 8 GB crucial sport ram 1600 MHz but had issue with the pc not booting up. I had to under clock the ram to 1333, it was stable for a few weeks but again started not booting up, so had to revert back to the old stuff.

I have been temped with a new GPU but when I try and find out if a R 9 270 would be compatible Gigabyte wouldn't say or the GPU maker.

I am now toying with a CPU and mobo upgrade ( although sounds scary). I was looking at a 1 5 4690k with a z 97 Msi thing

I use my PC to play world of Tank, war thunder etc

I am not into the OC thing but and eager to hear you r thoughts.

Thanks in advance
 
Solution
geofelt
------------------------------------------------------------
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%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You...
Sort by date Sort by votes
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,298
4,146
174,240
------------------------------------------------------------
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%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You could also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option. set the number of processors to less than you have.
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.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I suspect the graphics card might be the most productive upgrade.
A R9-270 or a GTX960 would be a good upgrade.
Your psu is excellent and will support a card as strong as a GTX980.
Both graphics cards use a pcie-X16 slot which your motherboard has.

If you think cpu, there is no better gaming cpu than a 4690K.
Any Z97 motherboard will work equally well.
"gaming" as a descriptor is just marketing fluff.

The gold standard for ram testing is memtest86+
Test each stick individually. If you find a defective one rma the whole kit.

 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
B

bob70932

Reputable
Apr 27, 2014
69
0
4,630
Ok I did the above test. When I dropped all the graphic settings the GPs went up from 30 -40 to 70 - 100. I then turn of vertical syn which shot the fps passed 100.

So I then returned setting to normal use and lowered the cpu limit to 70% . I don't there was no real change to fps, the game seemed to load slower but I guess that's expected.

So I think I am going to go the gpu way so my q now is which one? Amd R 9 270 etc or nivida ? Plus any thoughts on the 660? Seemed God price. Price wise I have £245. Probably won't spend the whole amount on gpu may look at a cpu fan or something. Thanks for help
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,298
4,146
174,240
Your tests tell me that your cpu is still very capable and is still good to run a much stronger graphics card.
GTX660 will be a nice boost in capability, and because it is an older tech, the price seems quite good.
For reference, here is a ranking of graphics card capabilities:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
If you are using the stock intel cooler, it is reasonable to replace it with a quieter cooler.
Look for a tower type cooler with a 120mm fan.
CM hyper212 is a good value.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cooling/cpucoolers/multicpucoolers/rr-212e-16pk-r1.html
Since you have the budget, I suggest a GTX960. It is a newer Maxwell card that is much stronger and fits your budget.
Here is one:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtx960series/02g-p4-2962-kr.html
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom