Help Upgrading System

blueshirt38 · Mar 1, 2016

Hello, everyone. I'm William. I've been a browser here for a while, but only recently had the time to type up some posts (other question).

I would really appreciate your help with advice on upgrading my computer. I know this question has probably been asked 1,000 different ways, 1,000 different times, but I just don't have the time to do all the research required to get the best deal. I have even seen other threads about my specific computer, but most are two or three years old, and I bet the info is somewhat outdated at this point. I'm a Naval Reservist, and a stay-at-home dad, so I really don't have the time to learn all of this on my own, between studying, dishes, laundry, cooking, exercise, etc... so any help would be much appreciated.

I have a HP 500-164 which I already took upon myself to put in a CX-600W power supply, and a R7 240 a year or two ago. I of course should have just opted for a better GPU to begin with, and saved the headache of a second upgrade down the line, but I plan on saving the 240 for a second computer aimed towards my wife and kids. I am already buying a new keyboard and mouse combo (beer seems to have found my keyboard very appealing).

I want to be able to at least play most any game reasonably, not max them out at 60fps; I'm not a huge gamer as is. I am looking to keep my full purchase under, or around $300 (meaning, taking the $60 for the keyboard/mouse into account), so that's where I need your help. I don't know jack about benchmarks, and clock speeds, but I figure a good upgrade that I won't regret for a few years would be a R9 380X. I'm not attached to the card, I just figured since I have an AMD CPU, it would be best to stick with them, rather than get a NVIDIA. Is that a smart move? Is there a better price/performance option I don't know about? Will this even work in my system as is? Should I be looking to upgrade my CPU at the moment also?

zallim · Mar 1, 2016

Your choice for the gpu is excellent, also the nitro edition is a perfect one, if budget is a primal concern here you can even take a look at the none X of r9 380 it would cost you 200 USD on amazon and there isn't much difference in terms of performance between the two cards, and in any case I would recommend R9 380/X whether you are having Intel or AMD cpu, it does not make a difference, the cpu will suffice for now, the psu is good and will do the job for your new upgrade, the only thing that I would double check is the space inside your case, just to be certain that the new gpu will fit inside it, other than that you are good to go.

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-DL-DVI-D-Graphics-11242-13-20G/dp/B016LE95TK

blueshirt38 · Mar 2, 2016

Ok, that works great. It doesn't look much bigger, from the technical specs alone, but I will get my tape and measure when I find the time. My only other real concern is ports. I only really know about HDMI, and the only monitor I use now only has HDMI, none of this DVI, DVI-D, Display port. I do plan on getting a second monitor at some point, so do I need to worry about this kind of stuff? Are these ports common now on most monitors? I feel like having a GPU with two HDMI would be so much simpler.

Epicness937 · Mar 2, 2016

a 380 is a great card you may get a little bit of a bottleneck on some games but not being a huge gamer you may not notice or care. if you are on a budget a r7 370 is also a good card that would work for you

zallim · Mar 2, 2016

blueshirt38 :

Unfortunately GPUs tend to have only one hdmi slot, but rest assured that even if you are buying an hdmi only monitor you can get hdmi-to-dvi cable for example, and you won't notice any difference between using strictly hdmi cable or a converter, just make sure that it would be nice quality cable/converter, and if you need assistance when you decide to buy your second monitor just ask and you will find the most suitable solution for you

In case 2x hdmi slots is a must have for you then you have a lower power card suggestion compared to the R9 380/X and an exaggerating one, don't blame me but you asked for it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125813
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487227

blueshirt38 · Mar 2, 2016

So I measured in my case. I might have to hack away some useless metal on the case, but I can fit the 380X in my case. I will probably forgo multiple HDMI. It does seem like either a much higher, or lower price point, and if you say I won't notice a difference in quality, then I trust that. I think I will purchase the 380X. Like $20 more for a little bump, I don't see why not.

But, just to be sure, I should still be able to reasonably play games down the line, right? I don't mind not being able to play Last Light maxed at 60fps right now, but I would mind going below 30fps on modern games at reasonable quality in the next year or so. The next upgrade would be my CPU, right?

hang-the-9 · Mar 2, 2016

Your CPU is too weak to match the 380X, you don't need to go past the mid range cards, R7-360 or 370 is fine for your system. With that chipset you will not be able to upgrade the CPU much past what it is in the future either. For the 380x to make sense you'd have to replace the full system pretty much, new motherboard and CPU, which likely means a new case as some OEM cases and motherboards have custom connections that don't match standard motherboards.

zallim · Mar 2, 2016

blueshirt38 :

In order to get below 30 fps with the R9 380x you need like playing the game on ultra quality on 1440p resolution, even then only very few games will dip below 30 fps, like witcher 3 and crysis 3, metro last light might dip below 30 fps on ultra quality on 1440p, so yes the R9 380x will give you an amazing performance in the next years for modern games.

Correct your next upgrade would be the CPU, but note that upgrading the CPU will lead for a Motherboard upgrade and that's because CPUs requires certain socket comptability, and with your current motherboard if you decided to upgrade the CPU only you will be limited with AMD A-series Richland for FM2 socket CPUs, and if you looked at it you will find that it won't be worth it at all, as you already have quad core cpu anything more than a8 6500 say A10-6700 will only give you few extra mhz and better integrated gpu so honestly if you thinked about upgrading the cpu consider upgrading the motherboard along with it in order to get a worthy result, you know something like getting a quad core intel i5 cpu that would be a real upgrade, but let's not get ahead of things, one thing at a time, just get the R9 380x for now, don't worry about the cpu as it wil be capable enough to keep up with the new card.

I see that you have made your measurements so you are good to go, always make sure to have a good venitlation system and from the looks of your case you may be able to install side intake fan ( left side of the case, unusual place ) and a rear exhaust fan, you can also check your case for confirmation on this matter, second thing is to keep you rig clean from dust, with that you will assure for yourself a healthy PC system.

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