Pre-Build Needs Upgrading

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McGlone

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Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 Motherboard
AMD A6-6400k APU with Radeon HD Graphics
8GB DDR3 1600mhz Performance Ram
Onboard AMD Radeon HD 8470D
500 Watt Power Supply With 12cm Fan

Above is some of my specs, (the "Stock" version) I have since upgraded my graphics card to a GTX 750 TI.

I am now looking to upgrade the CPU, PSU and RAM. As I'm new to all this Hardware upgrading, I'm not sure what the best angle of attack is.

I was looking at the AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor and the Corsair CX750 PSU and not sure whether or not they'll be compatible with the current build. I figured I could just grab some extra RAM along the way. I'm eventually going to go for the AMD R9 280X Graphics Card some point in the year.

Do you guys have any suggestions on what to upgrade and what to?


EDIT:

Current Upgrades:

GTX 750ti
A10-6800K
2x8GB 1600mhz RAM
750 PSU
 
Solution
DonkeyOatie
I see that you have edited your original post to clarify what your CPU is. I did not realize that it was an overclockable APU.

The 860K is an overclockable quad core processor that should reach 4.6Ghz easily, and can probably go higher.
The A6 6400K is only dual core, so the 860K will have similar single and dual thread performance and much greater three and four thread performance.

If you want to upgrade your CPU, the 860K is as good as it gets on that motherboard today (and likely ever) (excluding a similar APU which costs mote and you will be not using the iGPU part, so why pay for it?)

To check if a CPU is compatible with a motherboard, the first thing to check is that they both have the same socket.

If you want to go to an FX...
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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That motherboard has FM2+ socket, so the FX range of processors will not run. Something like the good Athlon X4 860K, which can be overclocked quite a bit would be best. I would go with a more robust PSU than that; something like the EVGA B2 750W semi-modular. It costs about $60 in the US at the moment.
 
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McGlone

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Thank you for replying.

See, this is what I mean. I'd of simply bought FX unaware that it wouldn't of worked with the motherboard (couldn't find out if it was compatible on google)

After looking up the Athlon X4 860K and comparing it with the AMD A6-6400K (http://goo.gl/rJZpNz - Link Shortened)
It says 3.7Ghz/4Ghz while the A6 is 3.9/4,1, meaning it is weaker than my current CPU?

The EVGA B2 750W semi-modular is more expensive in the UK for some reason, £80 (Amazon). Whats the difference between Semi-Modular and Fixed Cables? is it just that one of them you have more choice of cabling etc?
 
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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I see that you have edited your original post to clarify what your CPU is. I did not realize that it was an overclockable APU.

The 860K is an overclockable quad core processor that should reach 4.6Ghz easily, and can probably go higher.
The A6 6400K is only dual core, so the 860K will have similar single and dual thread performance and much greater three and four thread performance.

If you want to upgrade your CPU, the 860K is as good as it gets on that motherboard today (and likely ever) (excluding a similar APU which costs mote and you will be not using the iGPU part, so why pay for it?)

To check if a CPU is compatible with a motherboard, the first thing to check is that they both have the same socket.

If you want to go to an FX 8 (and I'd suggest the 8320, it's cheaper), you need a new motherboard as well. You also need to re-install the OS or, more likely, with a pre-built, get a new OS. The old OS is keyed to your motherboard and the license is likely not transferable.

Knowing that you are in the UK changes recommendations, but this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr is the PSU and it is about 65 pounds from Novatech. Any XFX PSU of sufficient wattage would be good too. Semi-modular means that cables you do not use are left out of the build and do not absorb heat, occupy space, and interfere with air flow.
 
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McGlone

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Hello again,
Yes, when i checked back on this site I saw what it said so I checked my CPU on my system and it said something completely different (I think i previously copied and pasted from the Amazon listing) - sorry for the confusion

If i upgraded to the 860K, would I need to upgrade my PSU as well, or would I be able use my 500w?

And regarding the OS, I installed Windows 10 Preview on it. But considering it has a retail release now, I may not be able to do the same if i changed Motherboards (I'll figure it out)

On a side note, thank you a lot for your help, I really appreciate it
 
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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You don't need a new PSU because of the 860K, you will need it to run the R9 280X. Also, pre-builts usually have sketchy PSUs. Its one of the easiest places for them to save money. Do you know exactly which PSU you have? (Brand or OEM) If you plan to overclock, and you should do at least a mild overclock on any AMD chip that is overclockable, you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler too.
 
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McGlone

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Without checking, I can honestly say I'm not sure what PSU I have. Even when i contacted the seller I bought it off, he said it was "just a generic 500W PSU", he did give me some good advice regarding the graphics card though.

The system has a nice decent side fan built into the case, for reference I'll add some links to the Pre-Build (http://goo.gl/02Y68d - Amazon Listing) (http://goo.gl/p0Qt6j - Graphics Card i added)

I genuinely thought i knew how to build computers, but now im just confused by everything lol.

Also, bare in mind that this is solely used for gaming (if that matters)
 
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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Might be a Zalman PSU, since the case, keyboard and mouse are too. Confusion is what our mind makes sense out of. It will pass, your dtaa input rate is a bit high and you need some processing time.

If you take the side off the case or look inside, you may be able to read what it says. I know nothing about Zalman PSUs, except the old ZM500-RS which is quite good.
 
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McGlone

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you have a good point, im going to assume its Zalman. I'll check tomorrow. (its nearly 3am)

I'll order the Athlon X4 860K soon and hopefully that'll be an improvement :)
 
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McGlone

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I have tried, but not no avail. I have tried the BIOS way and managed to change it to 4.2Ghz (Shows up like that in task manager) though, it never uses 4.2 for some reason. (Can't seem to get back into the BIOS either)

I've tried AMD OverDrive and that seemingly did nothing too
 
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