- Nov 10, 2015
- 6
- 0
- 4,510
I built a "budget" gaming PC ($1100 total) back in late 2011, and it's just not cutting it anymore. Doesn't even meet the minimum for Fallout 4, so it's high time that I did some upgrading.
This was the first PC I ever built (had been using laptops before), and a lot of input came from a college buddy with more of a head for hardware than me so deciding what to upgrade things to is proving a bit daunting.
Current system specs:
I want to be able to keep the following, if possible:
Case, current HDD*, CPU cooling, media drives, power supply, and RAM.
I want to upgrade or replace the following:
Graphics card, processor, motherboard.
Keeping as many of those pieces as I can will keep my costs down while getting the most bang for my buck out the "core" components of gfx card, processor, and mobo. I know the case is a little small, but I've had no overheating issues and everything fits, so I like it. AMD vs Intel/Nvidia doesn't matter to me either, but it does seem like Nvidia supports more games? My buddy just suggested AMD so that's what I did.
*I really just want to be able to keep Win7, unless it's worth upgrading to Win10 (the horror stories of Win8 make me leery). My copy was an OEM license, which I still don't really know what that is.. but from what I read it can only be installed on one machine? I do have a new HDD that I bought this summer with the intention of adding as a second drive, but haven't gotten around to yet. It's 7200 RPM, so I could put Win10 on that and wipe the old drive.
So... that said, any suggestions? At the minimum I'm looking at graphics card, processor, and motherboard. I just don't know which to go with, especially with the mobo. And if I need to upgrade my power supply... I have no idea what to look for with that.
This was the first PC I ever built (had been using laptops before), and a lot of input came from a college buddy with more of a head for hardware than me so deciding what to upgrade things to is proving a bit daunting.
Current system specs:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
Processor - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz
GFX Card - HIS IceQ X Turbo Radeon HD 6790 1GB
RAM - CORSAIR Vengeance 2x 8GB DDR3 (16GB total)
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3
Power Supply - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 - 600W
CPU Cooling - CORSAIR Hydro Series H80
Case - COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
HDD - 2TB 5400 RPM
I want to be able to keep the following, if possible:
Case, current HDD*, CPU cooling, media drives, power supply, and RAM.
I want to upgrade or replace the following:
Graphics card, processor, motherboard.
Keeping as many of those pieces as I can will keep my costs down while getting the most bang for my buck out the "core" components of gfx card, processor, and mobo. I know the case is a little small, but I've had no overheating issues and everything fits, so I like it. AMD vs Intel/Nvidia doesn't matter to me either, but it does seem like Nvidia supports more games? My buddy just suggested AMD so that's what I did.
*I really just want to be able to keep Win7, unless it's worth upgrading to Win10 (the horror stories of Win8 make me leery). My copy was an OEM license, which I still don't really know what that is.. but from what I read it can only be installed on one machine? I do have a new HDD that I bought this summer with the intention of adding as a second drive, but haven't gotten around to yet. It's 7200 RPM, so I could put Win10 on that and wipe the old drive.
So... that said, any suggestions? At the minimum I'm looking at graphics card, processor, and motherboard. I just don't know which to go with, especially with the mobo. And if I need to upgrade my power supply... I have no idea what to look for with that.
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