Upgrading my bad PC

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

Okay, so I made a bad decision by purchasing this PC from Walmart.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/iBUYPOWER-Black-Gamer-Power-WA550B-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-Quad-Core-FX-4300-Processor-8GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-10-Home-Monitor-Not-Includ/23745948

Right now, just so I can run some high end games, (GTA V, Rust - also, bear with me as I'm somewhat technologically impaired) would I be able to upgrade it with the following components?

-New AMD FX-6300 Processor (6-Core 3.5 GHz)
-New Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 (4 gigabyte)
-Elite Power 550W ATX12V 2.3 PS

Please keep suggestions within reason since I'm on a tight budget. Thanks either way. (Oh yeah, sorry if this was misplaced-I have no idea where to put it)

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 20, 2016

the best you can do, is to buy used 4th gen i5 + new compatible MB. That way you can reuse the RAM. total cost will be under 150$.
upgrading to the FX-6300 (and even FX 8xxx) is not much of an upgrade for gaming. you can sell the MB and CPU on ebay.
Next step will be buying the GPU - don't get GTX 960. your options are:
* GTX 1050Ti - 140$
* RX 470 4 GB - 170$
* GTX 1060 3GB - 200$
* GTX 1060 6GB - 240$
The cards are ordered by the performance level - see what fits your budget

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

n0ns3ns3 :

Would I be able to use the PSU the PC comes with? Or do I need to upgrade to higher wattage?

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 20, 2016

depends on your GPU choice.
The GTX 1050ti does not require new PSU, for other cards you will need a new one. there are quite a few good options for 40-50$. Especially with black friday deals.

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

n0ns3ns3 :

So, this is really situational regarding the CPU. The thing is, this is all coming from Christmas gifts from my parents so I don't think used is an option as of now

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

n0ns3ns3 :

Would this be a viable option?
http://

If so, can you recommend a motherboard to match it?

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 20, 2016

if you chose to go for the new parts, you are looking at 300$ for CPU + MB + 8GB of RAM. IMHO, it's less rational solution as you can get similar gaming performance for much less. The only "used" part is CPU - because it's easy to test, just play some game. If it runs, the CPU is fine. So you might want to talk about it with your parents. The 200$ would be much better spent on GPU and PSU and even SSD.

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

n0ns3ns3 :

Sorry for being a pain. I'm just not too great at techy stuff. Why does everyone recommend intel, if I may ask? Wouldn't an FX-6300 be enough to run newer games?

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 20, 2016

you want desktop processors. no M or U or S or T in naming. K is good, but usually more expensive.
here are examples:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=4570&_sop=15&_osacat=164&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X4590.TRS0&_nkw=4590&_sacat=164
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i5-4570-906-4992-3-2GHz-6MB-5GT-s-SR14E-LGA1150-CPU-Processor-/291943987155?hash=item43f937b7d3:g:Zx4AAOSwA3dYES1z
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i5-4590-3-3GHz-Quad-Core-BX80646I54590-Processor-/282260690975?hash=item41b80c581f:g:I60AAOSwA3dYL5En
a complete list of suitable i5 is : 4670, 4670K, 4690, 4690K, 4590. 4570 is fine too, but it's a bit slower.

a mother board depends on what you have in store and which CPU you choose. for K versions, you want the MB based on Z87 or Z97 chipset.
for others, there are cheaper options.
Where are you from ? can you link you preferred online store ? i'll have a look what you can find there.

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 20, 2016

the FX is based on very old architecture and in games outperformed by i3 in some cases. more over, some games can't get 60FPS with AMD CPUs and other will have stuttering.
You can get FX-6300, it's just less practical and you might experience performance issues with your games. especially if you plan to play modern AAA titles.

KG0417 · Nov 20, 2016

n0ns3ns3 :

you want desktop processors. no M or U or S or T in naming. K is good, but usually more expensive.
here are examples:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=4570&_sop=15&_osacat=164&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X4590.TRS0&_nkw=4590&_sacat=164
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i5-4570-906-4992-3-2GHz-6MB-5GT-s-SR14E-LGA1150-CPU-Processor-/291943987155?hash=item43f937b7d3:g:Zx4AAOSwA3dYES1z
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i5-4590-3-3GHz-Quad-Core-BX80646I54590-Processor-/282260690975?hash=item41b80c581f:g:I60AAOSwA3dYL5En
a complete list of suitable i5 is : 4670, 4670K, 4690, 4690K, 4590. 4570 is fine too, but it's a bit slower.

a mother board depends on what you have in store and which CPU you choose. for K versions, you want the MB based on Z87 or Z97 chipset.
for others, there are cheaper options.
Where are you from ? can you link you preferred online store ? i'll have a look what you can find there.

Michigan, no preferred online store, but newegg is a store we're familiar with.

n0ns3ns3 · Nov 21, 2016

this seems to be the best all around MB.
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/gfYXsY/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97mxgaming5

hang-the-9 · Nov 22, 2016

KG0417 :

Sell this, start again with a clean system with new parts.

Your upgrades plus the original cost would be as much or more than just replacing the thing.

Intel i3-6100, MSI H110M PRO-D LGA 1151 Intel H110 motherboard, Ballistix Sport LT 8GB stick so you can upgrade to 16 GB at some point, GTX 1050 Ti video card.

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