PC Upgrade - First timer needing some help!

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

Hey guys, so i bought a pre-built system a couple years ago and it's been working great up until a few weeks ago, and mainly since i started playing Black Ops 3.

Now my questions might seem pretty stupid and if that's the case, i apologise in advance for them, so let's get on with it.

Current Specs :

CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K - Sandy Bridge
Max TDP : 95.0 W
Socket 1155 LGA
Core Voltage 0.968V

Specification - Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz
Family - 6 / Ext. Family - 6
Model - A / Ext. Model - 2A
Stepping - 7 / Revision - D2

Core Speed - 1647.54 MHz
Multiplyer - x 16.0 (16 - 37)
Bus Speed - 102.98 MHz

Mainboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model : P8H61-M LE / Rev x.0x[/code]
Chipset : Intel - Sandy Bridge / Rev. 09
Southbridge : Intel - H61 / Rev. B3
LPCIO : Nuvoton - NCT6776

BIOS:
Brand : American Megatrends Inc.
Version : 0704
Date : 07/18/2011

Graphic Interface:
Version : PCI-Express
Link Width : x16 / Max Supported : x16

Memory
Type : DDR3
Channel # : Dual
Size : 8 GB

Graphics
Name : AMD Radeon HD 6850
Board Manuf. : XFX Pine Group Inc.
Code Name : Barts
Technology: 40nm

CLOCKS:
Core : 300 MHz
Memory : 300 MHz

MEMORY:
Size : 1024 MBytes
Type : GDDR5

Now i'm not entirely sure how much of this is needed, so i just put in what i thought would hopefully be everything needed to give me some help on what needs replacing.

I'm getting quite a low amount of FPS in games, Especially in CoD BO 3 - And it's on low settings. I am feeling as if the MOBO and Graphics card need to be changed? And probably get some extra RAM ( as ram is always good to have an abundance of ).

I'm not so great at all this stuff, so i don't know if i am forced into changing CPU along side as the MOBO or not? Hopefully someone can answer that questions too.

What i'm aiming to spend :
Graphics Card - $150-$250 MAX
MOBO - $100-$150
CPU - $100-$200
RAM - $100

Would love to try and keep it under $500, though again i'm not 100% sure on what needs replacing, and what doesn't. There might be more or less, i don't know. Hoping to get as much help as i can from you great people here @ Toms Hardware!

Also i have 0 idea on what would and wouldn't be compatible with my current Graphics/CPU/MOBO if i were to keep something i have and replace it, So if anyone has some clue on what is and isn't compatible and has some links for suggestions on what i should look into getting to replace my current stuff, that would be awesome.

TLDR;

PC running Slow - Needs upgrades, Have no knowledge, Specs in depth up above. Quick run-down :

Windows 7 ( Should i upgrade to 10? I have the option for free )
AMD Radeon HD 6850 Graphics Card
8 GB DDR3 RAM
ASUSTEK Computer INC. Model P8H61-MLE MOBO
Intel Core i5 2500k @ 3.30 GHz CPU

Aiming to spend as little as possible to beef up the FPS on games and be able to play them at higher specs than LOW.
$500 is pretty much the limit, though will consider spending more if i really have to.

No knowledge of Compatability, Asking for help on that, and links/names to specific hardware you are suggesting.

Thanks in advance for reading and responding!

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

firsty yes upgrade to windows it is a very lightweight and pretty fast OS from my experience, I need to know what Power supply is currently installed on your computer to be able to give you recommendations on upgrades in all honesty would you be able to tell me that?

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

Hawkshot :

I have no idea how to tell what power supply i'm running currently, Any tips for me to figure it out? The PC is about 2 years old, sorry for my stupidity. Lol

Edit : Quick google search told me to look at the power supply in the PC - From what i can see ( Without turning it off ) Is it's a Master 650 - But all i can see other than that is a 240 V ( So i am assuming, 240 Vots? ) Though when i type in Master 650 Power Suppler on google, it comes up as 650 W - Should i take it out and have a look?

Edit 2 : I had another look and i do see a 650 WT after the model no.

So, it is a 650 Watts Power Supply, sorry for the mess around.

bolosfura · Nov 20, 2015

the only way to know what PSU you have is opening the case and look. but since it's a pre-built syste probably it will be a very bad one. :S

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

bolosfura :

Yep i found out it is a 650 Watt Power Supply. Took me long enough

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

ok then my suggestion is keep the CPU and over clock is as the i5-2500k is still more than capable of running pretty much any game you want paired with the right GPU as in the following, ive got you another 8gb of RAM bringing you upto a nice 16GB (recommended for some of the newest AAA games) also given you a GTX 970! this is the sweet spot for 1080p gaming on ultra, ontop of that I got you a new top of the range power supply, I don't trust the one you already have in the system so I got you an amazing one, also a new CPU cooler so you can overclock the CPU with no worries of overheating, all within your $500 budget, if you get all this your performance increase will be huge on newer games

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($307.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($93.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $465.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-20 06:10 EST-0500

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

So basically i should just upgrade my ram and my graphics card? Grab a power better/newer power supply and throw in a new cooling fan and it should go good?

I have no idea how i even over clock my CPU, can you tell me how?

Edit 1 : Will all of these be compatible? Just install and update software and should be working straight away?

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

X-E-R-O :

yeah all should be good

, to overclock your computer you will need to enter the BIOS usually by hitting either the ESC key/Delete key/ F12 key it kind of depends on the motherboard as to what one it is from here you can overclock your CPU I would say watch a video on youtube on how to do it they explain it better than I can by just typing it, also yes you just install the parts, download the drivers for the GPU and you will be good to go

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

Would i also be able to purchase all of these items at seperate times and install them once i buy them? AkA prioritizing which item i purchase first due to cost?

Because i live in australia, everything on that list is slightly more expensive for me, So i'll probably be buying from somewhere down here. Centrecom is usually where i go, though i will keep a look out on other websites and stores for a better deal.

However i have found something similar in this. http://www.centrecom.com.au/asus-strix-directcu-ii-gtx-970-4gb-graphics-card - It will cost me about $500 AU ( though i get a free game too, bonus! ) If i'm able to buy and install all the items individualy at seperate times, i don't mind perhaps splurging a bit on the graphics card to get me through until i can buy the rest of the cheaper items? ( Or would you suggest me purchasing the cheaper items first? )

If you go to this link : http://www.centrecom.com.au/buildpc - And scroll down to the Graphics area, there is a list of other graphics cards that i could also purchase from these guys, If you don't mind and have the time to do so, could you perhaps go through it quickly and pick out a few different cards that would also benefit me in gaining higher FPS and over all better performance than what i get now.

It would be good to see a variety of cards from say $200-$500 from that list just so i know which of the lower tier cards i could potentially get and see a good boost from.

Thanks again for your help, i'll check out a youtube vid of over clocking.

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

Yes, with the parts I have given you there are able to be installed 1 bit at a time, if you're going to do that your main priority should be the PSU then the GPU. either of these cards will do really well on 720 or 1080p gaming they wont get you ultra at 60+fps on AAA titles but you will be able to play anything on medium-high with no problem.
Card 1: http://www.centrecom.com.au/sapphire-amd-r9-380-2gb-dual-x
Card 2: http://www.centrecom.com.au/msi-geforce-gtx-960-limited-edition-100me-2gb-gddr5-gaming-graphics-card

if you don't mind waiting to get the best performance and you're happy to spend more go with the card that you linked the GTX 970, but if you want to buy it all now and have a nice instant performance increase choose one of the cards that I linked above you will get less performance than the 970 but they are still very good cards and will be a huge upgrade for you.

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

And all 3 of the cards, the 2 you linked and the previous 1 i linked will all be compatible with my current specs?

Could i get away with using my current PSU with the $500 Card i linked? Or would that be a bad idea? It is a 650W same as the one you found for me on the pickparts site.

Edit 1 : Also i am not playing any thing on like 4k or anything like that, just 1920x1080 . Would i be better off purchasing the MSI GeForce GTX 960 card for that kind of thing? Will it play games like RB 6 and CoD Black Ops 3 on Max or High with good FPS? Even at medium with max FPS would suit me well. I could always purchase a second one of these cards and run 2 of them right? making it as good if not better than that 970?

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

yeah you will never really get a compatibility issues with GPU's as all modern ATX intended GPU's come with the PCI-e slot in mind and pretty much all Motherboard have this connection on them so you wont have a problem, it would be a very bad idea the GTX 970 has a fairly high power draw when its under load and it would blow up the PSU lol, its not the W that you want to look at its the parts that make up that PSU the quality of the unit is so important when it comes to gaming computers.

Yes the 960 will get you good framerates on all of those games on high settings without a problem some things could be on ultra with those games in all honesty, and you could buy a 2nd one but its better to use a more powerful single card than 2 ok GPUs as when you SLI GPU's you don't get 200% performance from them you usually end up getting around 140-160% performance due to games not handling SLI very well yet, so if you want to upgrade in the future sell your 960 and get a better single card

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

Yeah cool, it's starting to make alot more sense now. So you would suggest replacing my current PSU if i do get the 970? Is 650W Good enough to handle the 970? As my current one is 650W - Granted it is like 2 years old, do you think it wont handle it very well?

I am 90% Sure that this is the current PSU i am using - http://www.centrecom.com.au/thermaltake-smart-power-650w-80-plus-bronze
No good?

I'm currently leaning towards the 960 due to it being about 50% cheaper than the 970, and i'm assuming the games i'm playing should do fine on Medium/High with hopefully outstanding FPS. I'll sleep on it and think about it. Compromised Scenario is i purchase the 960 + some extra RAM, and should be sweet for a while & Still be cheaper than the 970.

Just to clarify, my current CPU and MOBO is FINE for gaming and running both the 960 and 970? Also the 8g RAM is Manageable? ( but an extra 4 or 8 would be beneficial? )

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

yeah with gaming computer its always better to have well made PSU's because if these go it can cause series harm to the rest of the computer fairly easily, so the more reliable the PSU the better. that psu is Built down to a low price. Not exactly the most stable units ever created. Very basic safety circuitry or even thin gauge wiring used. Not for gaming rigs or overclocking systems of any kind. Avoid unless your budget dictates your choice.

yep I would say go for the GTX 960 and more ram due to the kind of games you said you played with that you will be fine and should see a big jump in FPS

.

CPU and ur motherboard are fine for now, no reason to update these GPU far more important, 8GB of RAM is fine but some of the newer games like the new star wars game recommends 16GB of ram to play at its best but you can still play it off 8gb without much problems.

uberman · Nov 20, 2015

That's not a bad system and is still quite capable. the PSU would probably work but don't trust it like most crappy oem PSUs. 8gigs ram is plenty for gaming right now. Cpu is ok even without OC until you could save up for a new platform. 212 Evo is a big honking cooler so check to see if it would fit your case. There are other coolers that are smaller and still a lot better than stock. Agree a 960 or 970 is going to give you the biggest boost. So one of those cards and a good PSU and you should be set.

X-E-R-O · Nov 20, 2015

Cool thanks guys, much appriciated for the info & help, especially you Hawkshot, i imagine it must be frustrating dealing with illiterate hardware noobs lol.

I'll grab the 960 for now, and get a better PSU in a few weeks/months, will see how it's going with the new GPU. I was under the impression at first that it was my MOBO that was the issue for the fps drops, but i was sus on my graphics cards because i knew it wasn't that great of a card even when i first got the rig.

I knew my CPU was still in good nick considering it's i5, but wasn't sure if i could replace the MOBO without replacing the CPU and blah, was all a bit confusing at the start of the night.

I might pick up some extra ram when i get the new GPU or i'll wait and see how it goes with the 8gb and if need be pick up the RAM with the new PSU. I'll be glad to get rid of the AMD GPU and try my first ever nVidia card, i've only heard good things about that side of the fence. ( Plus i hear that AMD is having major issues with CoD BO 3 ATM. which isn't helping my fps drops ).

Thanks again guys for all the patience and help/info on everything, very much appriciated. Will give an update her in the next week or two ( depending when i can pick up the card ) and let y'all know how everything is going with it installed!

Thanks again guys, MUCHO HAPPY.

Hawkshot · Nov 20, 2015

God no, that's why I'm on here I like helping people it is what I do

No your motherboard should be fine for now maybe something to consider when you retire the CPU at the same time but this shouldn't have to be done for a while.

you could replace the mobo without the CPU but there isn't much point in doing this at the moment.

Yeah AMD drivers don't react well to some games speaking as an owner of an R9 290x wish I would of got a GTX 970 rookie move on my part

Sounds good to me, if there is anything else you want to know you can always PM me and ill responded asap, Good luck friend!.

PC Upgrade - First timer needing some help!

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