Opportunities for upgrades in previous budget build?

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Brunell4070

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Sep 13, 2013
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Hi all,

Was hoping to get recommendations on some easy quick wins for performance upgrades in my budget build I built back in Q4 2013. My notable hardware components are listed below:

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (or similar, can't find exact model and computer wasn't displaying it)
Intel® Pentium® Processor G645, 2.90 GHz
XFX AMD Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5
8 GB DDR3 RAM
550 W corsair psu

I know an updated graphics card will provide the most performance improvement, followed by CPU, but just wanted to ask the experts as I'm always afraid my MOBO or processor won't support a model I bought. Any recommendations on quick improvements I can make? Primarily interested in getting Overwatch to run smooth on High +

Thanks,
Miles
 
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theyeti87

theyeti87

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Sep 15, 2012
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Either your CPU or Motherboard you listed are incorrect. The AM3+ is an AMD board. There's a very lightweight application called CPU-Z that can give you make/model of your hardware. Check with that and get the right mobo in there so we can accurately help you with your question.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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You can upgrade to most any graphics card you want, perhaps as high as a GTX1070.
That will be a massive upgrade over a 7750 card.
It can easily be moved to a new build.

On the cpu, I am confused.
A Intel G645 processor will not run on a AMD am3+ motherboard.
 
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Brunell4070

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Sep 13, 2013
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Yeah, as Theyeti87 noted the MOBO listed is incorrect. I'll download the CPU-Z application tonight and run it (however whatever MOBO model it is, is very similar in quality and specs as the one listed)

Thanks. Surprised to hear the CPU and a motherboard of that quality could support modern graphics cards.
 
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theyeti87

theyeti87

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Maybe a 470. I'm leaning toward a GTX 1050 Ti for you, but let's get that motherboard make and model first
 
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Brunell4070

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Sep 13, 2013
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No real budget, just curious what my options would be based on current specs so I can weigh pros/cons against price. Eventually I'll build a new PC with top of line components but want to leverage my current PC to get through next 2-3 years with a decent experience (like I said mostly OW and Blizzard games)
 
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theyeti87

theyeti87

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Fair enough.

In my opinion, your CPU is the weakest link here. However, I was looking at sandy bridge i5 for your system as an upgrade, but the prices on those are high for being older tech. I can't recommend you buy an i5 or i7 for your existing motherboard because they're running $200+, comparable to current gen chips that perform better.

You can get away with a current-generation hardware on a low budget. A Kaby Lake system built around the Pentium G4560 would be a tremendous upgrade for you. Something like this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8f2CM8

Something like what is in that link would give you an upgrade path in the future, and a good leap in performance gains over your existing system. To save on cost up-front you could reuse your current GPU, but imo you'll be wanting to replace that in the near future as well.

Overwatch isn't too demanding. I ran it on high with a GTX660, but can max it out with a GTX 1060 6GB (which is overkill for OW).
 
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Brunell4070

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Sep 13, 2013
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Thanks for the recommended build. After adding a quality GPU into that build it's going to be around $400 and would rather not invest in a new build unless going with higher quality parts.

Would you not recommend adding something like a RX 470 into my current build?
 
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alceryes

alceryes

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Jun 11, 2004
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