Looking to Upgrade CPU and GPU eventually for VR ready.

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scaremongering

Commendable
Jul 4, 2016
3
0
1,510
Hi everyone let me begin by thanking you all for this amazing resource and for the help!!

Ok so what I am trying to accomplish is to be able to run newer games like Elite Dangerous (or what ever else that comes out next that catches my eye) smoothly with barely any frame drops at high end (doesn't have to be max/ultra fine) graphics settings. Also get my rig into that VR ready threshold at the same time.

I am hoping I will be able to pull this off by only upgrading my CPU and GPU but if that requires a bigger power supply I wont be to surprised. How ever quiet and not turning my small unairconditioned room into a sauna is a huge plus.

My wishful thinking is hoping to pull this off spending maybe $350 for the GPU and up to $200-$250 for the CPU? I hope lol. Also plan on investing in a SSD after this series of upgrades when I find some more spare $$$ some day.

Here is some links to some screenshots of my pc's specs. I am not very experienced with custom builds hence why I am in this position now buying prefab'ed so I hope this all the info needed

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GPU :
C9o5cTv.jpg


Thank you once again for this site/resource and any ones help. It is much appreciated from a gamer with little know how of how to build a rig or what all the spec lingo refers to when trying to make these decisions once again but this time with knowledgeable expertise guiding him.


 
Solution
Barty1884
There are alternative components that'll work too. Prices fluctuate all the time, so what the best 'deal' is today, may not be tomorrow.

You're right with it essentially being a full rebuild though, there's not too much you can do (that'll be a worthwhile investment) with your existing setup.
On the plus side though, it doesn't have to break the bank - as evidenced. Those prices are pretty close to what you were considering spending on the CPU+GPU alone. While you certainly can just upgrade your CPU within the same socket, and get a much more powerful GPU, it would be extremely unbalanced & in all honesty, a waste of your hard-earned money.

P.S. welcome to the forum.
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Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
Pulling this off with a ~$600 budget is tough, but doable.
There's nothing really worthwhile upgrading to on the AM3+ socket (allowing you to reuse the motherboard/RAM), nor would I recommend using that PSU at all.

VR's minimum requirements are a GTX 970 or R9 290 and a 4th Gen i5. I don't believe there's any 'official' CPU from an AMD lineup that's deemed suitable for VR. While some will work (I believe minimum FX-6350), the ones that will/might are not worthwhile upgrades over what you have.

An RX 480 GPU (once the software update to fix power draw is released) should be a viable option - you sound like the exact consumer that card is intended for. Should be around $200-$250 but supply is minimal at best right now, due to the aforementioned power issues.

Options:

Allowing you to reuse your DDR3 RAM, using a 4th Gen i5, assuming the power issues are successfully address on the RX480, a new PSU to run it all, and even squeezing in an SSD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($201.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card ($250.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $592.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-04 17:06 EDT-0400

Investing in Haswell doesn't seem worth it though, when for ~$50 extra, you can have a Skylake i5 with DDR4.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($30.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card ($250.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $644.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-04 17:07 EDT-0400
 
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S

scaremongering

Commendable
Jul 4, 2016
3
0
1,510


Wow thank you very much your response is above and beyond what I ever expected! With all the parts itemized with price quotes and direct links to retail outlets with such offers. Unfortunately at this point its basically a complete rebuild since I will have to replace the motherboard and power supply on top of the CPU and GPU I was hoping to limit this to. To be honest though I am not surprised and figured that would of been the case.

Well I guess I am going to hold of for a bit before I undertake such a extensive rebuild but all the while I will be watch listing all your suggested parts. Hunting for that deal piece by piece. You have been a tremendous help and I appreciate it that much more considering your speedy/professional response on even a holiday.

I am new to the site but if there is anything other then up-voting your response just let me know. I will gladly do so.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
There are alternative components that'll work too. Prices fluctuate all the time, so what the best 'deal' is today, may not be tomorrow.

You're right with it essentially being a full rebuild though, there's not too much you can do (that'll be a worthwhile investment) with your existing setup.
On the plus side though, it doesn't have to break the bank - as evidenced. Those prices are pretty close to what you were considering spending on the CPU+GPU alone. While you certainly can just upgrade your CPU within the same socket, and get a much more powerful GPU, it would be extremely unbalanced & in all honesty, a waste of your hard-earned money.

P.S. welcome to the forum.
 
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Solution
S

scaremongering

Commendable
Jul 4, 2016
3
0
1,510
Ya if my loose grasp of knowledge on the subject is correct. I believe what your hinting to while describing them as unbalanced is what they call "bottle necking your build". I do know a tiny bit but no more experience then swapping out RAM lol and thanks again for your help
 
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