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Homebuild upgrade... CPU or GPU

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Hey guys. I made this build a little over a year ago. It was my first build so probably not the best. I was thinking of upgrading it a little and wanted some advise on what to upgrade and what would make the most performance impact by staying under 300 dollars.

Here is my build and below that I've listed some buys I made and would like input.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: 4GB

I'm running Windows 7 64 bit

Also I've noticed my CPU fan speeding up when i play games like SC2 or WOW with the temp getting up to around 55 C, and even shutting off 3 times while playing Red Alert. I figured I should buy an aftermarket fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... , will that solve the problem? And place in 2 more case fans? how do you remove the old thermal paste from the CPU?

I've also purchased more RAM... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... Should I add that to the existing 4 GB to make 12 GB? or just sub them in?

I also got a new power supply, I was afraid the old 450W wasn't going to cut it and bought this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... Was that a wasted purchase?

What I'm getting at is should I bother with a CPU or Graphics upgrade.. If so what? and what would make the bigger difference? Should I buy a cheaper GPU and crossfire?

Hope this made enough sense. Thanks

More about : homebuild upgrade cpu gpu

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Homebuilt system Master
CPUs Authority

Its hard to recommend an upgrade with AMD about to release new processors in just a few weeks .
Your system has years of life yet , but in upgrade terms its not going to work well with future tech .

You could check the prices of phenom x4 955 in about 6 weeks time . They're already stopping production and may be discounted after Bulldozer becomes available .

55 C is fine for a CPU
Homebuilt system Master
CPUs Expert

you shoudl be OK with what you have

there are upgrades out there (6xxx video card, faster proc than the 440), but I'd wait a bit. the Bulldozer and AMD 7xxx series will be out in a few months, and what you have now should play most games for a year or so. since you have the space, you might as well stick with 12GB RAM, unless you have a second PC to put some of it in.

you should gt a new fan if your CPU is overheating. a Hyper 212+ is cheap, but good ($25) and comes with thermal grease already.

Changing the PSU probably wasn't necessary, but the newer one should last 3 years or so, easy, and it certainly cant hurt if you feared the other one was wearing out

if you NEED to upgrade, changing from the 5770 to a 6850 or 6870 is a reasonable change, but I wouldn't try to upgrade from the 440 right now.

Wait another 6 montsh to a year and replace with a Bulldozer or ivy bridge based system
 
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