Need to upgrade computer for gaming

[sobaz3]

Well I spent around 700$ on my first rig and decided to go for AMD, big mistake... not bad for my first build, but I feel like my computer could've been significantly better.

Here are the parts.

1 x COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
1 x GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
1 x HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
1 x CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
1 x AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX840WFGMBOX
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
1 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I really should've done more research instead of just going, "*** it it looks good enough". This PC has served me well for about 7-8 months now, so can't complain too much about it. However, I believe it is time to upgrade.

For $350 what should I purchase to make it better?

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

An 1100T if you can find one....and a better graphics card (your choice but at LEAST 2 gb)

All the best Brett

 

[Robi_g]

Intel CPU (i5 of some sort) and motherboard for better general PC or...
Crossfire the 6870 (if uspported) or new single card for gaming

 

[Uther39]

Well I spent around 700$ on my first rig and decided to go for AMD, big mistake... not bad for my first build, but I feel like my computer could've been significantly better.

Here are the parts.

1 x COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
1 x GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
1 x HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
1 x CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
1 x AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX840WFGMBOX
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
1 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I really should've done more research instead of just going, "*** it it looks good enough". This PC has served me well for about 7-8 months now, so can't complain too much about it. However, I believe it is time to upgrade.

For $350 what should I purchase to make it better?

Heres what i would do...

Buy this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
With this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Which will allow you to OC that CPU to at least 3.8ghz on your mobo if not 4ghz.

Then sell the 840 and the 6870, you should get at least $150 for both, put that money together with the $200 left from your original $350 and buy this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102981

The OC on the new 965 + its L3 cache + the new 7870 will give you a massive boost in games.

 

[sobaz3]

Heres what i would do...

Buy this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
With this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Which will allow you to OC that CPU to at least 3.8ghz on your mobo if not 4ghz.

Then sell the 840 and the 6870, you should get at least $150 for both, put that money together with the $200 left from your original $350 and buy this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102981

The OC on the new 965 + its L3 cache + the new 7870 will give you a massive boost in games.

Hmm.... I wasn't expecting that. You're the first to suggest upgrading to a better AMD processor. One question I have is how big of a difference the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 is from

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040Xb7b338c22a837470f52533eb1cecf4f0

would be.

They both are roughly the same but, why is the i5 so much more money? Is it because you can OC it higher? If they were both just running on a mb straight out of the box with no modifications would they be both about the same?

Also, that's a great idea to sell the GPU I currently have to have more money to get a new one, where do I go to sell it?

 

[wr6133]

+1 to Uther's suggestion you would see a good boost there.

Sell the old stuff on Ebay

 

[HEXiT]

personally i would sell the motherboard and cpu you have for around 120 and add that to your 350. which will allow you to get a 2500k at the very least.
as ivy is here this next week i would look at them 2 as you may get similar to 2500k performance for a few bux less.
but either way i would swap platforms to an intel based 1

 

[sobaz3]

+1 to Uther's suggestion you would see a good boost there.

Sell the old stuff on Ebay

How much bigger than the i5? Or is it negligible?

 

[Uther39]

Hmm.... I wasn't expecting that. You're the first to suggest upgrading to a better AMD processor. One question I have is how big of a difference the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 is from

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040Xb7b338c22a837470f52533eb1cecf4f0

would be.

They both are roughly the same but, why is the i5 so much more money? Is it because you can OC it higher? If they were both just running on a mb straight out of the box with no modifications would they be both about the same?

Also, that's a great idea to sell the GPU I currently have to have more money to get a new one, where do I go to sell it?

While it is also a good idea to upgrade to an 1155 intel based system, the caveat here is that a good gaming system is all about balance, and spending all your money on a new mobo and cpu would not enable you to get a GPU that is equal to them, where as the AMD CPU i suggested is more than a measure to run the new 7870 and give you all round system balance and at the same time give you one hell of a healthy performance boost in your games @ 1080p, and that just at stock settings, but on your board its easy to OC that 965 just like flipping a switch and that would enable you to balance out even a GTX680.

 

[wr6133]

In benchmark figures the i5 would give you more than the Phenom II 965, thats why the i5 costs alot more.

Real world I think Uther's suggestion is better as you upgrade both CPU and GPU and outside of benchmarks you won't see a massive gain in having the i5 over the 965BE

Basically to go i5 you are going to blow your entire budget (+ whatever you sell the old kit for) on the CPU and mobo. Uthers way you get a upgraded CPU, GPU and a good cooler that with your current mobo will let you punch for a 4GHZ OC and will show you significant gains cross board.

You get more staying AMD right now with your setup than you would changing to Intel platform.

 

[sobaz3]

In benchmark figures the i5 would give you more than the Phenom II 965, thats why the i5 costs alot more.

Real world I think Uther's suggestion is better as you upgrade both CPU and GPU and outside of benchmarks you won't see a massive gain in having the i5 over the 965BE

Basically to go i5 you are going to blow your entire budget (+ whatever you sell the old kit for) on the CPU and mobo. Uthers way you get a upgraded CPU, GPU and a good cooler that with your current mobo will let you punch for a 4GHZ OC and will show you significant gains cross board.

You get more staying AMD right now with your setup than you would changing to Intel platform.

I see... what about the other side? What GPU would I have to get to make sure my i5 wasn't bottle necked?

 

[wr6133]

Either of those CPU's is going to handle pretty much any GPU you throw at them

 

[Uther39]

OK listen if you can afford a Z77 mobo and 2500k + 7870 gpu then do that, but if you cant then a 965 + Hyper 212 evo + 7870 will do you just fine too.

 

[sobaz3]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[sobaz3]

Best answer selected by sobaz3.