How out of date am I, and what should I upgrade on a low budget?

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A

AidenSt

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
7
0
1,510
GPU: AMD Radeon R7 370 Series

CPU: Intel® Xeon® Processor W3565

RAM: 8.0 GB DDR3

I know for a fact that these specs are downright terrible. I can play older, easier to play games like CS:GO, Garry's Mod, shit like that, at like 200 fps. In relatively newer games, such as Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege, I run a smooth 60-70 fps. Though lately, I've been wanting to stream, and with these 60-70 fps cutting in half (and CS:GO for some reason going from 120 to 30), it makes it very difficult to play.

My question is, what do I upgrade? Would it be easier/cheaper to just build a new comp? Say I have a 500-ish dollar budget, what kind of PC can I build that would let me ride comfortably in this age of gaming?

Also, take note that I'm 16 and know next to nothing about PCs and PC building. Thank you for your help!
 
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ScrewySqrl

ScrewySqrl

Champion
Aug 2, 2010
11,199
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wel,, that CPU dates from 2009. the 370 shoudl be OK for medium/high settings at 1920x1080, so we shoudl try to update the rest of your system:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Total: $506.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 10:59 EST-0500

this woudl keep your hard drive and case and 370 GPU.

aim to replace the 370 when the next generatiion appears.

the i7's 4 core/8 threads will be better able to handle streaming
 
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imsqam

imsqam

Splendid
Mar 25, 2011
1,912
1
23,960
Here is a partial build using the newest tech. Just click on the links to see the build.

But to really give you answer we need some more information. Can you respond with everything you currently have. If you want you can go to PCPartPicker to enter everything and then you click on the "T" symbol at the top and paste what is highlighted. Also, what country do you live in, it affects availability and price.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bkNFHN
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bkNFHN/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($232.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z270 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $444.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 10:56 EST-0500
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Apr 27, 2009
37,552
3,221
143,290
If you want something current, with upgrade potential.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $496.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 11:07 EST-0500



Another option, is a Haswell based setup, reusing your DDR3, if it is not ECC ram. This would allow for an SSD.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.89 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $515.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 11:10 EST-0500
 
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A

AidenSt

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
7
0
1,510


Thanks for your response, I went on some sites to figure out how to check all my stuff and I'm pretty sure I have a version of this PC. http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c01709671
I googled the HP OB3Ch motherboard and that's what came up. The case is the same and the processor is the same, the difference is I upgraded my GPU myself like a year ago.
Hopefully, whatever this provides can help!
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Apr 27, 2009
37,552
3,221
143,290
Yea, that case would be proprietary, so you will need a case too. The ram cannot be reused, as it is ECC based.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-E/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $515.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 12:17 EST-0500
 
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ScrewySqrl

ScrewySqrl

Champion
Aug 2, 2010
11,199
232
53,540
a modification of my build: dropped to 8 gb to fit in the case:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Total: $497.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 12:32 EST-0500

the DDR4-2800 is on sale, but will step down to 2400 in the mobo (probly with tighter timings, likely CAS 13 or 14)


---

Alternately, this uses a SKylake Xeon CPU (and at 3.5 GHz it will be very similarto the i7-7700's 3.6 GHz in performance), and keps 16 GB of RAM:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 V5 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($272.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X150M-PLUS WS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($80.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Total: $503.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 12:35 EST-0500

this would be slightly faster than Logain's 6700 build
 
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A

AidenSt

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
7
0
1,510


could it be worth it to squeeze out a little extra for a better case? I don't know much, but I've seen that it's easier to physically build the PC with a better designed case. I was looking at a few and the Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case looked nice. (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fGvRsY/thermaltake-case-ca1b800s1wn00)
 
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A

AidenSt

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
7
0
1,510
I was talking to my dad about this and he suggested a barebones kit that comes with a case, motherboard, etc all of that installed already with the customization of gpu and cpu. is this wise, or would it be better to just build my own from scratch? if yes on the kit, are there any you would recommend?
 
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imsqam

imsqam

Splendid
Mar 25, 2011
1,912
1
23,960
Most kits do not come assembled and pre-builts that you order from websites come at a premium price and often have low quality components. If the assembly is an issue, if you order your parts from NCIX they have an assembly option, about $50.

US: http://www.ncixus.com/
Canada: http://www.ncix.com/

 
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