Upgrading old system to play newer games

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Abaddon879

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
2
0
1,510
It has been several years since I last performed any upgrades to my PC (Something like 2010), and I am finally considering an upgrade due to limitations playing some of the newer games.

I don't game too heavily on it. In fact, I'm more a fan of indie sandbox building games (Factorio, Prison Architect, TerraTech). I am a huge fan of Football Manager however, which while it is not very graphically intensive, it does place a huge strain on the CPU and for this reason the CPU is one of my main concerns.
I have just tried to run XCOM 2 however, and my dated graphics card is no longer capable as it is only DX10 compatible. Here is the min/recommended spec for XCOM 2

MINIMUM:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 2.6 GHz or AMD Phenom 9950 Quad Core 2.6 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5770, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or better
DirectX: Version 11

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows® 7, 64-bit
Processor: 3GHz Quad Core
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: 2GB ATI Radeon HD 7970, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 or better


My current PC spec is as follows:

CPU: Intel i5-750 (OC to 3.6GHz)
Mobo: Asus P7P55D
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 4850
PSU: OCZ 500W
Dual 1080p monitors

I am only running 1080p, so no insanely high resolution required.

What I am looking for is either a simple graphics upgrade that would allow me to play some of the newly released titles (even on lower settings), or a complete system overhaul on a budget of around £500.

What would be the most beneficial and cost effective route? Other than trying to play this latest game, I've not had any problems with the computer playing any games.
 
Solution
why_wolf
you could probably just slap in a GTX 960 and squeeze a bit more life out of that, maybe a 970 if you wanted to partially prepare you system for a full upgrade later on down the road.
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Abaddon879

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
2
0
1,510
Looking at prices for the two, there seems to be a £80-100 different between a 960 and a 970 new, depending on make. I might be able to find better value in the used market however.

Getting a 970 does seem like the better choice if I can get one at a reasonable price as it should future proof in anticipation of a future CPU/MOBO upgrade. Are there any particular makes that are better?

Will my 500W PSU be enough for a 970?
 
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why_wolf

why_wolf

Splendid
Aug 28, 2015
3,532
26
26,940
The 970 recommends a 500w, though personally I prefer to get a 600w. Gives you enough headroom for spikes and keeps the average usage kind of in the middle of the PSUs performance range so you get the best efficiency out of it.

As for the OEM, I like EVGA but realistically there really isn't much of a difference between the different OEMs so it's really more of a personal choice.

For a discount you can try looking at EVGA B-Stock, that's where they sell their refurb units. I think they knock off something like $50 or $75 off list price. The stock fluctuates randomly though so if you see something you want, buy it quickly as it could go away tomorrow and not show back up again for months. US and I think EU available. http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8

I got my 980 from there, they knocked off $150 which made the price fall down to the price range of a new 970.
 
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