CPU, RAM and GPU Upgrades on AMD A75 Mobo

kewlguitar

Commendable
May 20, 2018
3
0
1,510
Hello everyone,

I would greatly appreciate your help with the following.

What is the most optimal setup for my Mobo?

I have an Acer Aspire M3420 Desktop with these specs:

- AMD A75 mobo
- AMD A8-5500 APU
- 10 GB DDR3 RAM
- 1 TB HDD
- AMD Radeon HD 7870 GPU (added aftermarket)
- PSU 500 W

I wish to keep the mobo.

What is the most powerful CPU that can be obtained which is compatible with the AMD A75 mobo?

I wish to upgrade to maximum RAM. For DDR3, I understand that the maximum is 16 GB, correct?

Will any type and speed of DDR3 RAM work?

Is it better to buy another Radeon HD GPU and connect in Crossfire or is it better to outright buy a newer model GPU to replace the existing Radeon HD 7870?

Will I need to upgrade my PSU as well?

I'm looking forward to your answers.

Thank you so much!
 

maxalge

Champion
Ambassador


crossfire is not recommended, especially with lower end cpu's like what you can get

16gb is the limit on ram, you want ddr3 1600


the best cpu you can get for it is the Athlon X4 880K

max gpu is a gtx 1050 ti



 

kewlguitar

Commendable
May 20, 2018
3
0
1,510
[/quotemsg]

crossfire is not recommended, especially with lower end cpu's like what you can get

16gb is the limit on ram, you want ddr3 1600


the best cpu you can get for it is the Athlon X4 880K

max gpu is a gtx 1050 ti



[/quotemsg]

Thank you so much for your answer maxalge. It helped tremendously! It also put me in the right direction to do a bit more research of my own. I learned that the mobo is an Acer AAHD3-VC. The Athlon x4 880K and the mobo will support a max RAM speed of 1866 MHz. Currently installed, I have 10 GB of 1333 MHz.

With the info you provided, a max upgrade would be 2 brand new sticks of 8 GB of 1866 MHZ RAM, a 512 SATA SSD, the Athlon CPU and the GTX 1050 Ti GPU... That would amount to about $800..

$800 is a consequential sum of money which would offer me marginal improvement over a build that currently breezes through day-to-day work and plays 90% of the latest games at good settings (which I use my PS4 Pro for anyway).

As such, I believe I'm better off putting aside another $2K and build a beast. Sure, $3K is a lot more than $800, but a top gaming build would last me years probably like 6 years before any upgrade, and a top-tiered mobo would likely be compatible with technology for years to come so even when it's time to upgrade, I can then slowly work on individual components as needed, as opposed to a completely new PC. At least that's the way I see it :) Live and learn.

Nevertheless, again thank you so much for your help! It did help me come to a decision I'd spent hours upon hours researching and pondering. It's super impressive how fast you got the info!

And according to what you provided, I might still add an 8 GB 1333 MHz RAM stick (for a total of 16 GB) and an SSD for now until I get down with putting together a monster gaming rig. Low FPS in a game bums you out while lagging and freezing while browsing the internet or working on a spreadsheet makes you pull your hair off your head :-D