A $400 Gift

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MrPickles

MrPickles

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Howdy, Birthday time and received the gift of a computer upgrade to the tune of $400. I have been studying and comparing for months on how to cheaply upgrade my old Desktop to a 60 fps Grand Theft Auto/Server.

Current Specs:
I3 3220
Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV
8GB Ram
500GB 7200rpm HD
Cheep 450 Power Supply with no PCIe cables
And that's it.

Racking my brain to come up with a solution. Here is what I have come up with so far...

Switch out the Motherboard to a z77, CPU-i5 2500k or i5 3470 , power supply-Bronze 350, and slap in a gtx 1050ti or 1060. I think I can get used and new parts for about $400.

Questions I am struggling with... Should I keep my mobo get an used CPU and just slap a GTX 1050ti? Would it be better to go Ryzen? Any other suggestions.

Thank you for your time!

 
Solution
madmatt30
^ absutely wolfshdws second option , exactly what I'd say too

I5 3450/3470/3570 or maybe an i7 3770 depending on prices.

A decent PSU (a corsair cx450m/550m can be had for $40-50)

& a 1050ti or 1060 depending on budget.

You may also want to think about a new 1tb (or bigger) hard drive.

Once you get into PC gaming for the first time that 500gb drive is going to fill up fast , GTA v install currently sits at around 70gb alone.
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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If you can spare a few extra bucks and if you can transfer your Windows license to a new system (Windows 10 and an MS account), then I'd probably consider something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.29 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Total: $394.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-22 09:34 EDT-0400

Of course, you didn't mention what your current graphics solution was. If you don't currently have a discrete graphics card, then I'd probably recommend going with your current motherboard, a used Intel Core I7-3770 from E-Bay, a better power supply and a GTX 1050Ti.

-Wolf sends
 
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K

Kasper Jorgensen

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Jun 10, 2017
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These are my suggestions..

1. If you are going to get a new mobo, it's stupid to waste money on an old platform. You might as well jump on to a newer platform or keep current mobo until you can afford a new platform. Until then, you could switch CPU for an I5 or I7 from same generation.
2. Don't ever buy a cheap crap quality PSU. At least get a half decent one like Corsair CMx series or Seasonic S12II.
3. A GTX 1050TI or 1060 are good choices for 1080p 60Hz gaming. The 1060 will last you longer though. Just note that a cheap 350w PSU is not what you want for these GPUs.
4. Going Ryzen or new Intel platform, you will need new DDR4 RAM as well.
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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as black friday/cyber monday here soon. may want to wait for the ads see if one of the stores/newegg has all in one pre built that has the newer cpu in your price range. then buy new pc and over time swap out the power supply (seasonic 620w unit when there on sale). the 620 have the output to take a larger gpu without you needing to swap out the power supply. then wait for nvidia new gpu dropping around april. use your old gpu if you have one. if not see if a friend has a spare gaming gpu he can let you use. if you can wait see if there a place you can donate your old pc too or sell it for some cash. then use that money with the b-ay money to buy a better gaming pc.
 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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I do not have a gpu.
That means you second option would be preferable. TY


 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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^ absutely wolfshdws second option , exactly what I'd say too

I5 3450/3470/3570 or maybe an i7 3770 depending on prices.

A decent PSU (a corsair cx450m/550m can be had for $40-50)

& a 1050ti or 1060 depending on budget.

You may also want to think about a new 1tb (or bigger) hard drive.

Once you get into PC gaming for the first time that 500gb drive is going to fill up fast , GTA v install currently sits at around 70gb alone.
 
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Solution
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Kasper Jorgensen

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I second this. Seems to be the best option within your given budget as going for newer generation Intel or a Ryzen system would require a complete system upgrade.
 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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Thank you for your suggestions. One last question. This is an old board, will it limit the throughput of the graphics card?


 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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Yes I was referring to my old board. Thank you.


 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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So I think I will wait for the sales next month and see what I can nab. Maybe Craigslist too. Shooting for a i5 3470/3570 or i7 3770 (Don't want to mess with K chips which have most likely been overclocked and beat down), the new Cooler Master MasterWatt 450, 8 more gigs of ram and the GTX 1060; that should put me right around the $400 budget limit.
 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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Noted. And thanks for the hardwareswap reference. Ill take a look.


 
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MrPickles

MrPickles

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Thank you. If I don't pull the trigger now, I will never get around to the new platform.


 
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