Will my following choices for a PC upgrade work well enough for what I need? i3 and GTX 950?

Silshadnic · Jul 10, 2016

I'm planning to upgrade my PC or I guess it's more of a new build than an upgrade.
The reason for new hardware I want is to be able to run 3D animation programs such as Source Filmmaker (SFM), Cinema4D and maybe even Blender and Maya with good performance.

This is what I'm planning to get:
-Intel Core i3-550 Processor 3.2 GHz 4 MB Cache Socket LGA1156
(can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-550-Processor-Socket-LGA1156/dp/B003LL1X1A/)

-EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB GAMING, Silent Cooling Graphics Card 02G-P4-2951-KR
(can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Cooling-Graphics-02G-P4-2951-KR/dp/B013WQCC8Q)

-16 GB Ram

And all that with a 64 bit Windows 7 (I personally prefer Win7 over the new ones so far)

Will this combo work well enough? I'm not reaching for that ultra perfection, I just want good rendering power for heavy editing work, 3d animations, etc. with a few good games like Fallout 4, Overwatch, and few others like it. I'm aiming for Nvidia Geforce 950 because it is cheap enough and has features like shadowplay and PhysX. And should I get a different version of the 950 other than the Silent Cooling one? What do the FTW ACX mean and would the normal one (The first in the style list on Amazon) be a good choice to avoid overclocking since overclocking consumes more power and is dangerous? I'm trying to not get much risky options so will the normal one do? And what about the ACX 2.0? I'm trying to avoid overclocking as much as possible. Please be explanatory on this concern.

Also, it would be really nice of all of you if you could suggest a good motherboard for the hardware pieces I mentioned above at a decent price for good performance.

Thank you.

Hi Im Lenny · Jul 10, 2016

First let me say I'm far from an expert so if someone else chimes in and says I'm wrong on something they (probably) are right. That said I think the parts you are describing would work okay for what you are talking about. Not great but not terrible either.

However,
I will suggest another processor because the i3 you listed is considered pretty old by intel even. "end of life released Q2 2010" http://ark.intel.com/products/48505/Intel-Core-i3-550-Processor-4M-Cache-3_20-GHz

(if you did want to go up a notch on processor I would recommend a newer one and different motherboard happy to do so if so)

If you are sticking with the listed processor and need a motherboard here is one that would work MSI P55-CD53 It can be found on ebay around 70 dollars and would work with your cpu and a gpu.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-P55-CD53-ATX-Motherboard-MS-7586-VER-1-1-i3-i5-i7-includes-io-shield-/272292602434?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

As for your choice of GPU I think you would be fine with a 950. I own one and play fallout 4 and ARMA 3 all the time. okay frame rates if you are okay with 25 - 45fps 1080p you can crank the settings to medium/high in both games but. With all that said, I would still recommend shelling out a few more bucks for a GTX 960 with 4gb total vram.

Ftw is "for the win" and I believe it is a built in overclock of the gpu. A good option.
The silent cooling would also be a good option over the stock 950 anything with the acx fans etc.

windows 7 would be adaquate though windows 10 home is pretty decent too.

For overclocking I know little but I will say that in your case you are likely better off getting a better newer processor in the 3.0ghz and up range and not overclocking. If you change your mind and want to learn about it there are special models meant to be slightly overclocked too.

ram? Id get four 4gb 1333mhz ddr3 Ram. Gskill is good so is Corsair

this link is to a part list I would recommend for you using the processor listed above. Any other questions I'll do what I can.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/f7h9JV

Silshadnic · Jul 11, 2016

Hi Im Lenny :

First let me say I'm far from an expert so if someone else chimes in and says I'm wrong on something they (probably) are right. That said I think the parts you are describing would work okay for what you are talking about. Not great but not terrible either.

However,
I will suggest another processor because the i3 you listed is considered pretty old by intel even. "end of life released Q2 2010" http://ark.intel.com/products/48505/Intel-Core-i3-550-Processor-4M-Cache-3_20-GHz

(if you did want to go up a notch on processor I would recommend a newer one and different motherboard happy to do so if so)

If you are sticking with the listed processor and need a motherboard here is one that would work MSI P55-CD53 It can be found on ebay around 70 dollars and would work with your cpu and a gpu.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-P55-CD53-ATX-Motherboard-MS-7586-VER-1-1-i3-i5-i7-includes-io-shield-/272292602434?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

As for your choice of GPU I think you would be fine with a 950. I own one and play fallout 4 and ARMA 3 all the time. okay frame rates if you are okay with 25 - 45fps 1080p you can crank the settings to medium/high in both games but. With all that said, I would still recommend shelling out a few more bucks for a GTX 960 with 4gb total vram.

Ftw is "for the win" and I believe it is a built in overclock of the gpu. A good option.
The silent cooling would also be a good option over the stock 950 anything with the acx fans etc.

windows 7 would be adaquate though windows 10 home is pretty decent too.

For overclocking I know little but I will say that in your case you are likely better off getting a better newer processor in the 3.0ghz and up range and not overclocking. If you change your mind and want to learn about it there are special models meant to be slightly overclocked too.

ram? Id get four 4gb 1333mhz ddr3 Ram. Gskill is good so is Corsair

this link is to a part list I would recommend for you using the processor listed above. Any other questions I'll do what I can.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/f7h9JV

Thank you so much for the reply. So if what would you recommend over the i3 550? And would that change what motherboard would go well? If so then what other motherboard would work with your other suggestion for a CPU? Again, thanks so much.

Hi Im Lenny · Jul 11, 2016

"Thank you so much for the reply. So if what would you recommend over the i3 550? And would that change what motherboard would go well? If so then what other motherboard would work with your other suggestion for a CPU? Again, thanks so much."

No problem. So here is a build that I would recommend for what you are asking about doing while staying somewhat within range of the cost of the parts you listed.

Basically its
- A newer cpu (an i5 4460 3.2Ghz Quadcore)
- A different socket motherboard for the newer cpu (LGA 1150)
- Enough good RAM to do what you want (16GB / Cas 9)
-A GTX-960 gpu with 4gb video ram (
-A solid power supply with more than enough juice but not crazy (650watt EVGA)
-Windows 10 home but windows 7 would work too for sure if that's your preference

Here's the list. http://pcpartpicker.com/list/V7yV6X

Just a word of caution
I would encourage you to look up the parts and maybe mess around with the pcpartpicker site making sure the compatibility filter is on, read up on whatever part compatibility around the web and you will learn a lot. Read reviews of the parts too and you will get a feel for what you need vs what you want.

Hi Im Lenny · Jul 11, 2016

Just noticed, you could switch that ram for 1600mhz of the same type as it is supported by that cpu. and you can read up on it here if you like

http://ark.intel.com/products/80817/Intel-Core-i5-4460-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

Search

Will my following choices for a PC upgrade work well enough for what I need? i3 and GTX 950?

Silshadnic

Commendable

Hi Im Lenny

Hi Im Lenny

Commendable

Silshadnic

Commendable

Hi Im Lenny

Commendable

Hi Im Lenny

Commendable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page