Whats to upgrade?. . .

[skele]

I am trying to spend on a decent and budget friendly type of thing for whichever are needed to upgrade... [listed below] Playing BF 3 on Med/Low setting .

*CPU: AMD AthlonTII X2 250 Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology

*MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte MA770T-UD3P AM3 DDR3 770 Chipset 1666 /1333/1066 with PCIe slot SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN

*MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

*VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB DDR3 PCI-Express DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)

*POWERSUPPLY: 700 Watts Power Supplies [ 7] (SLI/CrossFire Ready Power Supply)

Anything that need an upgrade please stated your opinions and why. Thanks in advance!

 

[casualcolors]

What is the upper reach of your budget?

 

[skele]

I would like to spend under 300 dollars. Unless nessecary to get the recommended items. There're so MANY graphic cards and Processors to choose and its making it difficult to choose and compare the pros and cons if you know what I mean?

 

[casualcolors]

Well up to a certain point, you get what you pay for. The main issue is that things like a processor upgrade usually amounts to a mobo change as well, and there goes 250-400 bucks right out the door.

I think* that the phenom ii x4 955 BE cpu is compatible with your mobo. I would say make sure that is the case, and maybe look to grab one of those, and upgrade your GPU to an AMD 6950 gpu. That would put you at about 300 dollars after rebate.

After those upgrades, next 50 bucks I would put into another 4gigs of system memory personally.

 

[skele]

Which one is a must first? What about my power supply, i heard it's important for gaming.

 

[casualcolors]

You said you have a 700w power supply which is plenty of power, so long as it's of decent build quality. If you can post specifically what it is that would be helpful.

With your setup I would say that the GPU is the first thing to go, but your CPU will bottleneck anything of the 6950's caliber so it becomes the next change.

 

[skele]

I'll have to look at it when I get home. Once I get the graphic card, can I play it at high setting till I get new CPU? Or, its requires to get CPU to be able to play at high-ultra setting?

 

[casualcolors]

BF3 in particular not horribly CPU bound, I would presume with enough overclocking of your dual core you could run all high settings on a 2gb 6950 from the get go. The more immediate choke point might be that you don't have 6gb of ram, as sys ram gets used pretty heavily when you have BF3 going with any common processes in the background.

Basically overall, and in order of upgrade importance:

1rst. GPU-recommend an AMD 6950 2gb model personally, about 200 after rebate.
2nd Recommend phenom ii x4 955 BE, so long as it fits your socket which I believe it does (double check me here
3rd. another 4gig ramkit preferably the same make/model as what you currently have installed for compatibility purposes. never want to mix and match ram-types

Including the ram you come out at 350 approx, but you can hold off on the ram. The immediate purchase would be the gpu and the cpu imo.

 

[skele]

I'll let you know soon enough. Anything you want me to check while checking PSU?

 

[casualcolors]

Nah just a make/model and google can answer the rest =)

 

[Slava]

I'll let you know soon enough. Anything you want me to check while checking PSU?

In my experience, marginal upgrades almost never improve gaming experience. Even with suggested upgrades you will likely continue to play on medium/low settings. You may be better of waiting a couple of months so that you can save up another $200 or so and get a new computer. There are some out there which are fairly strong and cost around $500-600. For example this HP (I grabbed the first one that I saw on the site just as an example. You may want to research this a bit)

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...oslp/psg/desktops/High_performance/h8m_series

If you happen to find a model that suits you, you can also Google 'model' coupons and end up getting a fairly decent new system on the cheap.

 

[AntiZig]

I'm sorry, are you calling 4670 to 6950 a marginal upgrade?

I will assume the link and comment there after was a joke...

 

[Slava]

I'm sorry, are you calling 4670 to 6950 a marginal upgrade?

I will assume the link and comment there after was a joke...

My comment is an idea he should explore. The link I included is arbitrary, as I mentioned – just an example of a budget PC. While some games/apps benefit more from a video card others benefit from other components. I am talking about overall system balance. After all, the system is only as good as its weakest component. I stopped building my own PCs a few years ago but before that I had tinkered quite a bit. Upgrading the video card when the rest of the system is lagging behind is a marginal upgrade.

Since it was suggested that he upgrade the GPU, the CPU and RAM it seems logical that he consider getting a new PC altogether. As I previously mentioned, he should do additional research.

 

[casualcolors]

He wants to get the most out of 300 dollars and already has a 700w PSU and a mobo that will support a quad core unlocked multiplier CPU, and a case.

Also you never get the best bang for your buck from a pre-built computer. Those are for people who aren't willing to trust themselves with assembly, or simply don't care for more than a PC that turns on, browses the internet, and works within the bound of reason.

The computer that you linked is twice-over out of his budget range and doesn't offer a single gaming-GPU as an option. Antizig is right to question your logic here.

Moreover, dollar per performance when it comes to gaming, the 955 BE is a better CPU than the FX 6k bulldozer. The bulldozer isn't a real hex-core, and is built on tech principles that almost no program (and absolutely no games) currently take advantage of.

 

[Slava]

He wants to get the most out of 300 dollars and already has a 700w PSU and a mobo that will support a quad core unlocked multiplier CPU, and a case.

Also you never get the best bang for your buck from a pre-built computer. Those are for people who aren't willing to trust themselves with assembly, or simply don't care for more than a PC that turns on, browses the internet, and works within the bound of reason.

The computer that you linked is twice-over out of his budget range and doesn't offer a single gaming-GPU as an option. Antizig is right to question your logic here.

Moreover, dollar per performance when it comes to gaming, the 955 BE is a better CPU than the FX 6k bulldozer. The bulldozer isn't a real hex-core, and is built on tech principles that almost no program (and absolutely no games) currently take advantage of.

Again you are talking about the link. I said TWICE it was an arbitrary link pointing at a budget PC. The PC linked is not a gaming PC. He could Google 'budget gaming PC' and take it from there.

You made your suggestion, I made mine. He can look into both and pick the one he believes is a better one for him.

More importantly, since he has no idea what to upgrade, I imagine he is not supremely skilled at tinkering with hardware components. In his case it may be a better idea to research and get a pre-built.

 

[casualcolors]

Again you are talking about the link. I said TWICE it was an arbitrary link pointing at a budget PC. The PC linked is not a gaming PC. He could Google 'budget gaming PC' and take it from there.

You made your suggestion, I made mine. He can look into both and pick the one he believes is a better one for him.

More importantly, since he has no idea what to upgrade, I imagine he is not supremely skilled at tinkering with hardware components. In his case it may be a better idea to research and get a pre-built.

So what you're saying is that you supplied an arbitrary link to a computer that won't perform the task that he requests in the OP, just to show him that "budget pc's" are overpriced and won't function as well as something he could build himself? If so I agree, and thanks for supporting the views of every single poster on tomshardware.

But since that isn't what you were going for...

...you're floundering in the midst of absolutely no logic. I could probably stop posting now because I'm sure Antizig is going to grace this thread again and be completely confused with where you're trying to go.

Edit: I hate to have to come back and edit my posts, but often it's necessary. Didn't you tell me in private messages that you're a self-professed tech-expert? If so I can only assume that a suggestion as literally awful as recommending someone on a limited budget with viable components, should instead explore buying a new pre-built PC, is something that you're doing out of malice. That is how egregiously inappropriate your advice is.

 

[Slava]

So what you're saying is that you supplied an arbitrary link to a computer that won't perform the task that he requests in the OP, just to show him that "budget pc's" are overpriced and won't function as well as something he could build himself? If so I agree, and thanks for supporting the views of every single poster on tomshardware.

But since that isn't what you were going for...

...you're floundering in the midst of absolutely no logic. I could probably stop posting now because I'm sure Antizig is going to grace this thread again and be completely confused with where you're trying to go.

Edit: I hate to have to come back and edit my posts, but often it's necessary. Didn't you tell me in private messages that you're a self-professed tech-expert? If so I can only assume that a suggestion as literally awful as recommending someone on a limited budget with viable components, should instead explore buying a new pre-built PC, is something that you're doing out of malice. That is how egregiously inappropriate your advice is.

Well, it seems you are unable to tolerate alternative ideas. Whatever.

Here's where I am going and what I am saying: Had he been good at replacing hardware he would have a vague idea that he should begin with the video card. It does not appear that he is good at building/upgrading the PC on his own. Any number of things could go wrong and he could end up spending more money while also experiencing major headaches. Say his one or more of his RAM upgrade chips comes defective. Will he know how to diagnose it and get it replaced? Probably not + a major headache. Say he does not sit his new video card properly or messes up power connections or something. Will he know what to do? Judging by the questions he asks – probably not. Have you seen the inside of his case? Nor have I. Is it possible that the upgrade CPU will not fit or he fails to install/connect it properly? Possible. Definitely. Say he breaks something in the process and becomes unable to RMA the item. He will then have to buy a replacement item.

Bottom line is this: It IS possible to find a decent gaming PC on a budget. Yes. I am aware he wants to stretch his $300 as far as possible but it may blow up in his face. I have seen this happen to many people bazillions of times. It happened to me a couple of times over the last 10 years or so.

 

[skele]

I'm good with PC in some sorts but after researching, that's where I decided to sign up for this site and hopefully that will reduce my headache. All of you guys opinions matters to me so whichever you stated tour opinions I will look into it. Thank you. I am still getting onto the PSU part when I get home. I bought the PC and custom built it into my budgets from CyberPower.

 

[skele]

Thats where I got the PC(Cyberpower) from 3 years ago is what I meant to say. Google is our friend, if I need knowledge, I go to that site. If I need expert opinions I'll come to you guys which comes with varieties of opinions.

 

[Slava]

I'm good with PC in some sorts but after researching, that's where I decided to sign up for this site and hopefully that will reduce my headache. All of you guys opinions matters to me so whichever you stated tour opinions I will look into it. Thank you. I am still getting onto the PSU part when I get home. I bought the PC and custom built it into my budgets from CyberPower.

You are welcome. I am glad that you are comfortable with replacing hardware. If so, then upgrading components may be your best bet. However things can and on occasion do go wrong.

Give you two examples:

1. A good friend of mine has been building his PCs all his life. He knows what he is doing. Recently, instead of going with a top of the line single card he chose to SLI two lesser cards which would actually outperform the single card solution. He also decided to go with an AMD CPU and planned to overclock it like there's no tomorrow. For that he chose a liquid cooling system. Well, he ended up RMAing one of the video cards and either the cooling kit was defective out of the box or he messed something up as a couple of weeks later it leaked and fried his motherboard.

2. About six years ago, not willing to upgrade my the CPU in one of my machines but wanting more performance, I decided to overclock the CPU but I needed a better than stock sink/fan, so I did some research and chose some monstrous copper sink/fan from Gigabyte. I measured everything and figured it would fit in my case. When it arrived, it was too large and did not fit. I had to move some of my cards into different slots. One of the slots on the motherboard (which had never been used before) turned out to be dead. So I ended up with a nice paperweight of a heat sink and ended up upgrading the CPU.

 

[casualcolors]

Well, it seems you are unable to tolerate alternative ideas. Whatever.

Here's where I am going and what I am saying: Had he been good at replacing hardware he would have a vague idea that he should begin with the video card. It does not appear that he is good at building/upgrading the PC on his own. Any number of things could go wrong and he could end up spending more money while also experiencing major headaches. Say his one or more of his RAM upgrade chips comes defective. Will he know how to diagnose it and get it replaced? Probably not + a major headache. Say he does not sit his new video card properly or messes up power connections or something. Will he know what to do? Judging by the questions he asks – probably not. Have you seen the inside of his case? Nor have I. Is it possible that the upgrade CPU will not fit or he fails to install/connect it properly? Possible. Definitely. Say he breaks something in the process and becomes unable to RMA the item. He will then have to buy a replacement item.

Bottom line is this: It IS possible to find a decent gaming PC on a budget. Yes. I am aware he wants to stretch his $300 as far as possible but it may blow up in his face. I have seen this happen to many people bazillions of times. It happened to me a couple of times over the last 10 years or so.

Messes up the power connection to the GPU, doesn't seat it correctly? Do you even read the things that you post? You're talking about him like he's an infant, as opposed to a human being living in a world with thousands of websites and instructional videos dedicated to the installation and maintenance of every single component in a standard desktop. For christ's sake my own 70 year old mother with next to no technology-background just built a computer herself last year. And she even used cable-ties to clean up the interior. She didn't even have to call for any help. She just used youtube lol.

And beyond that (which is already enough to convince me that you have literally no idea what you are talking about) you're suggesting that he purchase a pre-built PC to run ***Battlefield 3*** when his budget is ***$300.00***. You can't find a prebuilt PC under even Six Hundred Dollars that will run the game adequately enough to justify the investment.

Hands down, of all the tech sites I have ever visited and contributed on you are one of the most absolutely crazy, and ill-informed people that I have ever come across.

 

[AntiZig]

... I don't even...

@OP: I'll try to explain, if your immediate upgrade in question is not an urgent matter, you should consider to wait a little bit, save up some more money and get a new build done, via whichever venue you feel more comfortable with (prebuilt or homebuilt).

that said, if waiting isn't really an option, going with casualcolors has outlined so far is your best bang for the buck.

 

[Slava]

Messes up the power connection to the GPU, doesn't seat it correctly? Do you even read the things that you post? You're talking about him like he's an infant, as opposed to a human being living in a world with thousands of websites and instructional videos dedicated to the installation and maintenance of every single component in a standard desktop. For christ's sake my own 70 year old mother with next to no technology-background just built a computer herself last year. And she even used cable-ties to clean up the interior. She didn't even have to call for any help. She just used youtube lol.

And beyond that (which is already enough to convince me that you have literally no idea what you are talking about) you're suggesting that he purchase a pre-built PC to run ***Battlefield 3*** when his budget is ***$300.00***. You can't find a prebuilt PC under even Six Hundred Dollars that will run the game adequately enough to justify the investment.

Hands down, of all the tech sites I have ever visited and contributed on you are one of the most absolutely crazy, and ill-informed people that I have ever come across.

You should listen to yourself. It is none of your business what I suggest. It is Skele's business. Moreover, Battlefield 3 is not the only game in the world. Three months from now something else will come out and he may have to upgrade again. So, it may be better for him to wait a little (as suggested in my original reply to him), save up some cash and get a new PC. He cannot get a top of the line machine on a budget but it is very possible to get a decent prebuilt on a budget. It should be his decision whose suggestion to follow. If you don't see any merit in what I say whatsoever, then go have your head checked. I am really getting tired of your attacks.

EDIT:
There is a reason why I stopped building my own PCs a while back. In the good old days you could save massive amounts of money if you bought all top of the line components and built the machine yourself. I recall I built some monster (at the time) for around $1500 while comparable prebuilds went for nearly $3000. That was totally worth it. These days, the difference in price between prebuilds (especially budget prebuilds) and what you can build yourself is far less than 100%, so it becomes questionable whether building your own machines makes as much sense as it used to, unless you do it for fun and bragging rights.

 

[skele]

I am willing to pay more than 300 as long its necessary, but for me, I would rather to pay budget wise, if there isn't a good cards/CPU within my budgets then I guess that leave me no choice but to pay what has to be done. Yeah I am going to save up money for something I actually will save up for. That's why I want to know what to get then save up ahead of time knowing what exactly to get. I usually wait till the new items come out and the one I will like to get will have price dropped. Hope that make sense.

 

[casualcolors]

These days, the difference in price between prebuilds (especially budget prebuilds) and what you can build yourself is far less than 100%, so it becomes questionable whether building your own machines makes as much sense as it used to, unless you do it for fun and bragging rights.

This is completely and utterly wrong.

@Skele, 300-350 will get you a quad core cpu with an unlocked multiplier for overclocking, a 6950 2gb graphics card (good card, one of the best price vs. performance you will see in the sub 250 range and also specifically it is good in BF3, which you mentioned by name), and on the upper end of that 350, get you a little extra system memory as well. Slava at this point is just trying to salvage his stance so that he doesn't look completely incompetent. It's your money, but my best advice would be to pay attention to what people on this website overall will have to say and disregard Slava. He really doesn't have the background or the knowledge to adequately inform you on this topic. His first link to an alternative computer was completely under the threshold for gaming, twice-over out of your budget, and he linked it anyway because he is neither a good nor responsible contributor. Best of luck with your build, and get back to me about what PSU you have specifically when you can.