What should I upgrade?

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meyerfizzle

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I play a few demanding PC games, as well as 3D modeling and video-editing. I would like to know which hardware component I should upgrade for PC gaming. Games like Battlefield 3, Dead Island, Skyrim, etc. are usually what i'm playing. I have a feeling that I should really upgrade my graphics card, as it is a little outdated.

Specs:
AMD FX-6100
4GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Geforce GT430
Western Digital WD3200AAJS-60Z0A0 320GB
MSI 970A-G45 Motherboard

My budget is a little low for the graphics card, ~$150. I installed the hotfix released by Microsoft for my CPU, as people were saying that the performance was awful, and I noticed an improvement after that, but in-game graphics are still lacking.
 
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4 gb RAM is enough for editing software, unless your doing top of the line PIXAR-type stuff as well as using other editing software simultaneously(excuse my ignorance -.-), then you would definitely need to get more RAM. But this would mean getting a higher end graphics card, like the GTX 560 ti or GTX 460 by EVGA(the way to go for nvidia cards). So, I would defintely ugrade the graphics card, especially for games. if you want to run skyrim on full settings as well as bf3 with no fps lag/drop, then go for the gtx 560 ti.
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diellur

diellur

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Why? 4GB RAM is fine for a gaming system...it wouldn't be fully utilised, so why are you recommending he increases it when he's on a budget?

OP, I'd go for the GPU. A 560Ti would be a good bet...the 560 is only a little cheaper but the performance is lower, so it tends to be more cost-effective to get the 560Ti.
 
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Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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Agreed.

4GB is fine for gaming. Upragding your RAM and HDD will give you no benfit for gaming what so ever and would be a waste of money for the time being. Your GPU is the weakest part of your computer for gaming.

I would recomend spending a little more than $150 and get a 560Ti.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

 
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diellur

diellur

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If it was just for that, then upgrading RAM might be better. But when considering gaming, overall the system will be improved with a better GPU as modern games will put the most demand on the OP's system.
 
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shad3s0fGravy

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4 gb RAM is enough for editing software, unless your doing top of the line PIXAR-type stuff as well as using other editing software simultaneously(excuse my ignorance -.-), then you would definitely need to get more RAM. But this would mean getting a higher end graphics card, like the GTX 560 ti or GTX 460 by EVGA(the way to go for nvidia cards). So, I would defintely ugrade the graphics card, especially for games. if you want to run skyrim on full settings as well as bf3 with no fps lag/drop, then go for the gtx 560 ti.
 
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shad3s0fGravy

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meyerfizzle

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I was thinking about the 550ti, but it's hard these days to determine which gpu is actually better.

By the way, i'm running two monitors, one 32-inch at 1360x768 (Yes, it's just a TV) and a VGA monitor at 1280x1024. I normally game at 1360x768, and when playing BF3 on low graphics, i get about 40fps.

When I mentioned 3D modeling and editing, that's something I seldom do, so it's fine if I have a slightly long render time; it's not that big of a deal. I just wanted to tell you what I really use my computer for.

Oh, and I also need a card with an HDMI and VGA. Yes, I know VGA is outdated, but I have so many extra VGA monitors laying around.
 
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Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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The best way to determine which GPU is better is by using benchmarks.

A 550Ti should be ok at your resolution and will be a nice upgrade from your GT430, however I still recommend going for a 560Ti as it is only around $50 over your budget and would be a much wiser upgrade.

If you ever decided to upgrade your monitor to 1920x1080 a 560Ti will handle BF3 on high settings, no problems where as a 550Ti wouldn't.

In short, evan though in the world of computers there is no such thing as "future proof" a 560Ti would be a much better investment.




 
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