500$ budget to upgrade pc

[minidruid]

Im moving back over from console gaming to pc and i need to do some upgrades to my current desktop. I have around 400-500$ to spend.

Here is my current specs:
Intel motherboard g43 express
Pentium dualcore e5300 @2.6ghz
6gb ddr2 ram
radeon hd 4670 1gb
1tb harddrive
DVD RW

From what i know i seem to be bottlenecked around my cpu which would be the biggest upgrade need, but im unsure if should go with a core 2 duo (e8500) or move up to a cheaper quad core (Q9505) as newer games such as witcher 2 are starting to benifit from more than 2 cores. As far as the gpu im not sure i should just move up to a radeon hd 5770 or go as far as a newer 6 series. Any input would be appreciated as i am somewhat knowledgeable about these things but not as much as i could be.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Hi minidruid~
You could of course build an entirely new rig
I just think you might need to increase the budget a little and get the i5 2500k or even the i5 2000 series for the desktop is an amazing cpu itself.

And also I think most guys here would recommend an Amd phenom II X4 with that budget and get a great gpu.

I kinda of dont think its necessary.Cuz i would just go for a good full powered build rather than an upgrade.

 

[wolfram23]

Depends on the motherboard, but if you want to go cheap just upgrade the graphics card, 6790, 6850, 6870, 550 Ti, 560 (non Ti) are all good options and a lot better than your 4670. Then you might be able to overclock the current CPU to 3.2ghz or so and it'll game just fine. The rest of the specs seem decent.

Considering a good GPU will be $150-200, let's say you have $300 for the rest. Well, an i5 2500k would be outside your budget but an i3 2100 is a great CPU, faster even than a Core 2 quad. Mix that with maybe an H67 mobo and 4 to 8 gigs RAM and it should be close to $300.

Keep in mind though, H67 doesn't allow much, if any, overclocking so even though you could upgrade to an i5 2500 or i7 2600, the unlocked "K" versions would go to waste. If you can get a cheap (~$100) P67 or Z68 board then you'll be doing great (ideally get one with 8x/8x PCIe 16 lanes instead of 16x/4x to keep Crossfire or SLI as a future upgrade possible).

I probably wouldn't recommend going with an AMD Phenom II X4 these days simply because the intel platform is so much faster right now. The only caveat to this is that bulldozer (AMD's new CPUs) are just around the corner, and we really have no idea what sort of performance we'll see from them.

 

[minidruid]

I should probably mention that i dont wanna do a complete overhaul/build a new pc right now becuase in about 10-12 months i will have around 1.5-2k to build a whole new rig in which my parents will get my old desktop (they have some 7 year old outdated pc from hell). I just need to get some upgrades to last me the year with decent quality gaming.

 

[Onus]

What brand and model (not just wattage) is your PSU? That could also limit what you can get without needing to upgrade your PSU.
What resolution is your monitor?
With our elected parasites' spending out of control, in 10-12 months, the US will likely have defaulted on its foreign debt, or [still] be using inflation to try to pay it. This will bring about major economic changes, likely extremely bad. Having $2K by then could be irrelevant, if inflation has raised the price of a basic mobo to $1K, or made foreign companies unwilling to transact business in dollars.
As a result, best to get while the getting is still good. Your budget will buy a nice GPU and the PSU needed to support it. Get a 1GB GTX460 or HD6850. This will probably leave you enough for a C2D e7500.

 

[minidruid]

I have a 400W coolmaster psu and 1920x1080 resolution
also wondering if there would be real benifit of going from 6bg ddr2 -> 4gb ddr3?

 

[Onus]

Ooh, well that Coolermaster is unfortunately junk, so you'll probably need to devote $60-$80 on a quality 500W-600W PSU. Look for full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and 80+ certification for efficiency. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax (Lepa is a rebranded Enermax) are among the better brands.

 

[wolfram23]

My thoughts, if you're doing a new build anyway... either buy yourself a good PSU and GPU that you can put in your new PC (like a 650 or 750W PSU, jtt283 listed some good brands) and leave the rest alone for your parents, or get a mediocre GPU (5770) and throw out the 4670. The new GPU alone will definitely give you a huge boost in gaming.

Then when you build your new PC, put the old PSU and GPU back and hand it off to your parents

 

[Onus]

^+1. Money you spend that way will not go to waste, whether or not you also replace the CPU.

 

[mdd1963]

The 5770 is still a weak gpu, IMO, barely matching the 550Ti, which is overpriced, and barely entry- level for gaming, IMO.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4221/nvidias-gtx-550-ti-coming-up-short-at-150/10

GTX460(1gb) is nicely priced, next major step up would be a 5850, and preferably, a 6950 or GTX560Ti...

 

[Onus]

Barely entry level? If you're more interested in the gameplay than the eye candy, a HD5570 would be entry level, or even a HD4670.

 

[wolfram23]

The 5770 is still a weak gpu, IMO, barely matching the 550Ti, which is overpriced, and barely entry- level for gaming, IMO.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4221/nvidias-gtx-550-ti-coming-up-short-at-150/10

GTX460(1gb) is nicely priced, next major step up would be a 5850, and preferably, a 6950 or GTX560Ti...

At 1080p, a 5770 is 100% entry level for delivering decent graphics settings but not maxed. Keep in mind he's using a 4670 right now...

A 5770 can also be found at under $100, which puts it into the highest price/performance tier.

And finally, if you read my suggestion and what jtt283 was agreeing with, is the 5770 is a short term mediocre replacement until the OP buys his new PC and would work great with his current setup.

As for a new PC, in the 1.5k budget range, I would recommend CF 6950 2gb for killer performance

 

[minidruid]

Best answer selected by minidruid.