Broke college student needs help building new pc

Fconti2689

Honorable
Jul 6, 2013
4
0
10,510
I know the basics about building a PC from scratch but have really only upgraded my prebuilt systems so far. Recently I began upgrading my dell desktop I bought back in 2010 for gaming and school work. I put a new video card and power supply a few months ago and quickly found out I couldn't upgrade much more. Now I want to begin building a new system but hope to salvage some parts from my Dell for now.

Corsair TX 750
RADEON HD6850

My current desktop also has a intel core i7 CPU 920 2.67 ghz I am also hoping to use for sometime in my new pc but would definitely look to upgrade that eventually.

Basically my question is if this is possible? Can I use my current CPU, power supply, graphics card, fans etc and begin building a new system? I am looking to upgrade everything by December to play games like Battlefield 4 on high graphics. $ is def an issue as I am a broke college student so I try to wait for deals on anything and everything ( just got 3 fans on tigerdirect free after rebate!!) also my current pc gets hotter than I would like so any tips on cooling would be appreciated.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
If your current PSU is a TX 750 (I was unclear if that's what you were looking about or what you had), you should have no problem moving it to a new build. Don't worry about the fans, most cases will come with a few and will probably be in a better alignment (and quality) than your Dell.

The i7-920 Bloomfield is getting up there (5 years old now if memory serves), but it's still a very adequate CPU - I wouldn't recommend a new build involving tracking it down, but if you're tight with $ and already have it, there's really nothing wrong with it.

From the information you've provided, your best bet -- assuming your motherboard is ATX/mATX -- is to get a new case, move your current build over (if you're going to be doing upgrades going forward, it's better to have things in more convenient case) and upgrade your GPU to a 770 if you can afford it, a 760/7870XT/7950 if you can't. And unless you're targeting another game in the meantime, I'd wait until closer to BF4 to make the upgrade, so you can get the best possible price/performance from your needs.

And then later, when the 920 really starts creaking, you can upgrade the CPU/motherboard. I feel you'll get the best bang for your buck wiht a new GPU at this point.
 

Fconti2689

Honorable
Jul 6, 2013
4
0
10,510
Thanks for the replies, yea those are what I'm trying to keep the GPU, PS and CPU for now.

Could you recommend a nice case, motherboard and hard drive? That's what I am looking to upgrade in the near future. Preferably quiet and cool running models.Also with the MB I want intel and plenty of room for future upgrades.

So I think if I get a new case, mb, HD and keep my GPU, CPU and PS I will be good to go for now. Then a new GPU and maybe CPU in the winter/fall.
 
whats wrong with your MOBO?

you can save a lot by not buying brand new outdated X58 mobo and salvage from old pc instead.

i believe you only need the following parts :
GPU maybe GTX 770
new fancy case
SSD 128GB
ram at least 8GB
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
If you upgrade your motherboard, you'd have to upgrade your CPU as well - the i7 920 useas an LGA 1366 socket which has been a dead socket for a while. A MB/CPU upgrade only makes sense when you're going to upgrade both (which is not an atypical scenario for an Intel build thanks to Intel changing sockets like someone changes underwear). On a budget, it would take away from a GPU upgrade, which is where you'll get far more results.

Case recommendation depends on what your budget is. Something like a Corsair 300R or a Cooler Master HAF 922 are fairly standard, safe recommendations. Cases are really a matter of taste - there are hordes of good ones.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Yeah how much do you want to spend?