Half Built Gaming Computer

[mrblonde004]

I'm being given an old( Three years old ) computer from a family member, and I am looking to upgrade it to run games( Skyrim/Diablo 3 ). Ideally, all I will need is a new graphics card and a new power supply. But since I don't know to much about computers, I wanted it to be looked over before I bought anything.

Existing Parts:

I would prefer to only replace the graphics card and the power supply if I can get away with that.

EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI 775 A1 Motherboard http://www.evga.com/articles/389.asp

Intel Q9450 Core 2 Quad CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042

EVGA GeForce GTS 250 Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130469

4 GB (2x 2 GB) Corsair XMS3 DHX RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145200

2x 500 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drives Unknown Brand

Antec P180B Case http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/global/product.php?Type=Mg==&id=Njc0

Windows 7 Ultimate x64

CD Drive


Approximate Purchase Date: Within a month( end of January )

Budget Range: 500 before rebates( preferably less )

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Streaming

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, Parts above

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Additional Comments: I don't know how any of the existing parts will work for a gaming pc. Doesn't t have to blow games away, but I would like to be able to play Diablo 3 and Skyrim on good settings

Thanks for the help.

 

[somekidxd]

Yeh, change the graphics card to GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB $235. Then change the PSU to Antec ECO 620w $60. But because Skyrim is a more CPU intensive game, you would get an FPS increase if you change the CPU too, but for now, this is good enough. Youll see a big difference in performance.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

change the cpu to a i5 2500/2400 or the 2500k if you overclock, i'll give you some list from newegg

intel i5 2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073
209.99$

intel i5 2500k (if you want to overclock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
229.99$

ASRock p67 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230
99.99$

or
MSi P67A-GD65 (B3)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574
169.99$ and 139,99$ after mail-in rebate

Seasonic 520W 80plus bronze
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
59.99$

sapphire hd 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908
149.99$


intel i5 2500k/seasonic 520w/ 6850/p67a = 579.96$ upgrade

intel i5 2500/seasonic 520w/6850/asrock = 519.96$ upgrade

then add these dual channel kit memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104203
23.99$ or even 2 of them for a total of 8gb memory

 

[Tavo_Nova]

those above will even give you a very decent gaming session, can also play many games at high settings if not mid/high mix settings

 

[mrblonde004]

I can't afford to get a new cpu and motherboard on top of the cost for a graphics card and power supply. I plan to update them by the end of the year, but for now my concern is the graphics card and power supply. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[geofelt]

For gaming, the graphics card is all important.
To that end, I suggest you get the best card your budget will allow, and defer the cpu considerations until later. The graphics card will serve you well, if you later decide you need more cpu power.

For a Single 1920 x 1200 monitor, the GTX570 will be about as good as it gets. The amd 6970 is comparable in performance, but with the Nvidia GTX570, you will not need to mess with deleting and reinstalling drivers. Here is an EVGA GTX570 for $340
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

The GTX570 needs a quality 550w psu.
My short list of quality psu's would include Antec, XFX, Seasonic, Corsair, and PC P&C. You can safely buy any550w or better psu from them.
It is not wrong to overprovision the psu a bit, to keep it operating in it's most efficient middle third of it's range.
Expect to pay $65-$75 for a quality 650w unit.
Here, for example is an Antec 650w green:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

 

[azeem40]

Iirc, your mobo supports lga1155 which is the same as i5.

 

[FinneousPJ]

For a Single 1920 x 1200 monitor, the GTX570 will be about as good as it gets. The amd 6970 is comparable in performance, but with the Nvidia GTX570, you will not need to mess with deleting and reinstalling drivers. Here is an EVGA GTX570 for $340
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

Uh, what? You don't have to delete or reinstall drivers with the 6970 any more than any other GPU.

 

[aznshinobi]

i5 2500K + MSI P67A-G43 B3 $330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.797218
Antec Neo Eco 520C $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030&Tpk=Neo%20Eco%20520
Sapphire 6870 $165 ($20 MIR)
http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-Radeon-6870-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B005C8RTTU%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB005C8RTTU
Total: $555 Before rebate

Gives you great performance at the GPU and CPU, you get to overclock. Plus the motherboard is capable of running 8x/8x which is a solid PCI lane speed. You can reuse everything else in your build.

As for Geofelt's suggestion, I disagree with your deleting and reinstalling drivers thing. Though you can, and I'd recommend it, you don't have to do it either.

 

[geofelt]

Uh, what? You don't have to delete or reinstall drivers with the 6970 any more than any other GPU.

The OP currently uses a GTS250. It uses the same driver as the GTX570, so all he has to do is remove the GTS250 and install the GTX570.
If he were to install a 6970, he would need to install the amd driver. When doing that, it is recommended that other unused drivers be uninstalled, and their residual cleaned off.

Not a big deal, unless you have not done it before.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

well for now just get the ax750/850w corsair PSU, they should handle anything you trow at it since you did say you will upgrade in the future, and for the gpu go get the gigabyte 560ti

 

[thesnappyfingers]

what is your current monitor resolution?

gtx 560 or hd 6870 is a good affordable gpu that can be had for 170.00 easy, should pair nicely with your older quad core.

If you want something a little more future proof you could opt for a gtx 560 ti or a hd 6950. They offer great performance at 1920x1080 resolution. However these two cards or anything higher may be a little too much for your cpu to handle. Meaning your cpu pending the game will bottleneck the cards. Still you said you were planning to upgrade so in light of this I would opt for the gtx 560 ti, or gtx 570 then latter upgrade to a sandy bridge i5 2500k or an ivy bridge cpu pending the cost differential.

If your not planning on sliing or xfireing down the road you won't need psu that is over 550w.

 

[mrblonde004]

OK, so I'm thinking of going with the GeForce GTX 560 Ti http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 and the Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031 power supply. Around the ned of the year I will probably upgrade the CPU and motherboard. I just want to make sure that this will cover what I need( Diablo 3 ). I'm going to upgrade to a larger monitor in a month or so, probably 20".

 

[aznshinobi]

Should be good to go, do you plan to SLI? If not then you can go for a cheaper PSU, if you do go for at least a 650w+

 

[mrblonde004]

Best answer selected by mrblonde004.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey