Help me build my err, build?

[Jesse Todd]

Hey all, new to this could really use some help.

Trying to upgrade my system to something with a little more oomph - but I'm doing this on a budget and can only afford a few upgrades, namely CPU and GPU. I'm hoping upgrading those 2 components won't mean I have to buy a new PSU or Motherboard...

Here's what I have and what I'd like to upgrade it to:

CPU: AMD Athlon II x4 640 3.0 ghz ---> upgrade to AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz

GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6870 ---> upgrade to AMD Radeon HD 7850, 7870 or 7950, leaning towards the 7870 over the 7950, for fear of bottlenecks and wattage

Motherboard: Gigabyte AM3 GA-MA790FXT-UD5P would like to keep as is

PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 550w --- would like to keep as it

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 4GB DDR3

Does that look viable? At least for one of those 3 GPU's? And is 550W enough to power those cards, I've seen conflicting answers, and I'm still not clear on if my PSU has the right pins. Again just to clarify - all I really want to do is upgrade the CPU and GPU. Thanks in advance.

 

[marshallbradley]

I would really look into changing that power supply. 550W is plenty for any of those cards, but only if it's a solid unit, like a Seasonic/Corsair. CM are not known for their PSUs.

What's your budget?

M

 

[Jesse Todd]

D'oh - should have mentioned budget. I'd reallly like to try and upgrade for under $500, even $450 if possible.

And yeah, while I've had no issues with that PSU I've heard lotsa bad.