Is this 2nd hand PC worth $800?

[Gecko Cox]

So I bought this 1 and a half year old custom build off a friend of a friend after much research to upgrade from a PS3 and introduce myself to PC gaming (always had standard PC's in the past) thinking it would be enough to play games like BF3,Blacklight: Retribution and pretty much any other good FPS/future FPS's but it hasn't delivered to my expectations. Never spent this amount of money on gaming so I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Specs are:

Intel core i7 950 overclocked to 3.7ghz
Asus Rampage II motherboard
GTX 470 gpu
6gb of Corsair Vengeance DDR3
500gb 7200rpm hard drive
Corsair HX650 psu
Decent case,5 fans that keep the PC pretty cool

I've tried several games new and old,and they all get 30 to 60 fps but the newer one's feel sluggish and have unbearable screen tear (even after hours of research and trying everything mentioned in threads on this site),even on lower settings. So I'm wondering,was this purchase worth it and putting in approx. $700 worth of upgrades (SSD,Radeon 7970,TX 850,16gb kit of Dominator RAM) to make it beast or would I be better off selling it and starting from scratch? It's fast and works perfectly for anything else I want to use it for apart from gaming and I'm taking future proof into consideration here too. I'm a noob to all of this,so let me know If I've forgotten something and any feedback is appreciated...cheers!

 

[bigcyco1]

Just get a gtx 670 or R7950 and it should run all the latest games

 

[pete123edgar]

That is fine, there is no need for 16gb dominator ram, 2x4gb vengeance is enough. your psu is more than enough for a 7970. So all you really need is a 7970 and that is pretty much it.

 

[Gecko Cox]

Was thinking that bigcyco,but after reading heaps of reviews I don't mind paying the bit extra for the Sapphire 7970 OC.

Phew,glad to know I didn't get ripped off! In terms of longevity,how long do you reckon the 950 and MOBO will go in the future If they don't fail until I have to upgrade and what's a fair price to sell the GTX 470 for? Thanks heaps guys!

 

[amirp]

In response to your screen tearing issue, that normally happens when Vsync is diabled, simply turn Vsync ON and all screen tear should dissappear.

You can turn on Vsync either through the game if it supports it and has it in the options (most games do)
For games that don't you have two options:
1) download and install a program called rivatuner (google it), and it has a tool that comes with the program called d3doverider. Run this amazing tool before you run your game and it minimizes to the bottom right of your PC and enables Vsync... it's what I've always used to get rid of screen tear.
2) Force Vsync on through the Nvidia control panel

Although you didnt get ripped off I guess... I think you could have done better building yourself for 800 + the cost of a 7970. But your system will be pretty good with a 7970 and you shouldnt need to worry about upgrading the i7-950 for a while still...at-least 2-3 years.

Just look up your local classifieds for gtx 470 and see what others are selling it for, go $10 less and you should be good lol. If there are no gtx 470s look up similar cards, like 480, 560 ti etc. and price accordingly.

 

[Gecko Cox]

Tried turning Vsync on in game/through Nvidia control panel,and capping FPS,it ended up worse If anything. Haven't heard of that software though,so I'll definitely give it a go! Yeah,fair call! I was going to do that to begin with but had no idea where to start and all of the different options were overwhelming,so jumped on to this PC when I heard it was for sale. That's good to know but,puts my mind at ease. Yeah,they seem obsolete for second hand so I'll do that instead. Cheers man!

 

[MasterMace]

This comp looks like it was made 2 generations ago.

GTX 470 = GTX 560ti.

GTX 660 > GTX 560 ti > GTX 650

A GTX 660 is $215-$230, so you know a 560 ti/470 is worth less than that. Call it $180.

i7 950 is about $150 value. The motherboard is 2 generations old, and can't be reused, so it gets no added value. 6GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 is worth about $37. HDD is worth about $30-$35, call it $33 for easy math. Need to know what case to give it a value. 5 Fans is probably 1 Front, 2 Top, 1 Rear, 1 Side. Corsair HX650W retails around $110.

Altogether, you've got $510 in known value, + what we'll call a standard case/mobo/dvd setup ($50/60/20). That's about a $640 comp.

Those upgrades are going in the wrong places. The 7970 is good, but you wouldn't need an 850W PSU, the SSD doesn't really make it a beast, just loads a little quicker, anything past 8gb of RAM doesn't have an impact on gaming performance.

$800 + $700 in upgrades would have you spending $1500 total. You might as well build one from scratch.

If you do, and you're spending $1500 on one, grab

Graphics: 2 x GTX 660 tis OR 2 x 7950s. ($600)
CPU: i7 3770k ($330)
PSU: TX 750W ($100)
Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UD4H ($165)
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 128gb ($140)

That leaves $165 for the case ($65), cooler ($30), optical ($20), RAM ($50). Some people will tell you to get an i5 3570k for ($230). That's fine too, it'll give you more money for the case/RAM

 

[Kamen_BG]

The PC you got was an incredible deal and it still is able to play every game out there smoothly at 1080P.
Remember.
Even at the lowest settings, the games will still look better than on the PS3.
Just buy a HD 7970 and and you'll see a significant difference.
Or if you're a hardcore gamer, two GTX 670's should be on your shortlist.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MSI-670_OC&c=CJ

And of course, get an SSD to make your system run faster overall.
This Sandisk SSD isn't one of the fastest, but it's priced very well.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093HMLAS/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[Gecko Cox]

Wow,when you put it that way selling seems like the logical solution. Glad I talked him down from $1000 now haha,so hopefully I can break even. Couldn't tell you what the case is sorry,but the fans are 2 front,1 top,1 side and 1 rear. Extremely insightful response though,has given me alot to ponder...might have to throw up an ad to see If I can get my money back and try start fresh.

 

[Gecko Cox]

Yeah Kamen,even with the tearing I can tell It owns PS3 and is worth the extra money. Cheers for the links,will take them into consideration If I keep the rig.

 

[bigcyco1]

Was thinking that bigcyco,but after reading heaps of reviews I don't mind paying the bit extra for the Sapphire 7970 OC.

Phew,glad to know I didn't get ripped off! In terms of longevity,how long do you reckon the 950 and MOBO will go in the future If they don't fail until I have to upgrade and what's a fair price to sell the GTX 470 for? Thanks heaps guys!

Sounds good.As for the GTX 470 well it's pretty old so i am guessing about $120