1. #1

    Major computer upgrade

    I've recently come into possesion of some extra un expected money. I've decided to put it towards upgrading my rig by getting a new processor (and new motherboard to support it), graphics card, and more ram. I'm planning on taking advantage of the current sales on newegg.

    Currently my budget is around $600 but I might do more. My current monitor is fine and does 1920x1800. I want my computer to support WoW on top settings, along with Dota 2, Dark Souls, and a load more of games I have on steam, but WoW is the only one that tends to lag up on ultra settings.

    I plan on keeping my current hard drive, power supply and heat sink if i can, cd drive, and I don't need to replace my windows 7 OS.

    For the most part I need to know what to look for to know if things are compatable, what the more important specs are and such. I'm not currently at my house but when I get home later I'll be able to post any info needed.

  2. #2
    You're going to have to give us the specs of your current computer if you want advice on upgrades.

  3. #3
    My processor is currently an intel core 2 duo and have 3 gigs of ram, I'm not sure how to find my motherboard specs unfortunately. My graphics card is a Radeon HD 4800. Anything else needed?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by deathgrip1092 View Post
    My processor is currently an intel core 2 duo and have 3 gigs of ram, I'm not sure how to find my motherboard specs unfortunately. My graphics card is a Radeon HD 4800. Anything else needed?
    If you have a core 2 duo, I don't think your motherboard spec is going to matter since you're going to need one to support a newer age processor.

    I'd say if anything, knowing your power supply currently would help. Don't want to buy these parts and your PSU not be sufficient enough, eh?
    D3 - Aggs 60 Barbarian | Paladin | Warlock | Shaman | Death Knight | Warrior |

  5. #5
    At 1080p you should be fine with a GTX660 / HD7870, an i5-3570k and get a decent z77 motherboard that you find on newegg's sale... that would be about $600... ram should be 8GB/$40~ @1600mhz.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Moinaldo View Post
    At 1080p you should be fine with a GTX660 / HD7870, an i5-3570k and get a decent z77 motherboard that you find on newegg's sale... that would be about $600... ram should be 8GB/$40~ @1600mhz.
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
    Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($71.74 @ Amazon)
    Total: $530.70
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 01:22 EST-0500)

    leaves $70 for an SSD im sure a sick deal will appear very soon.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
    Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($71.74 @ Amazon)
    Total: $530.70
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 01:22 EST-0500)

    leaves $70 for an SSD im sure a sick deal will appear very soon.
    Ooo, thats great! That helps a lot! Do you think I should look into a new heat sink too? As far as I know my current one is just a basic fan, nothing fancy at all.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
    Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($71.74 @ Amazon)
    Total: $530.70
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 01:22 EST-0500)

    leaves $70 for an SSD im sure a sick deal will appear very soon.
    This build is great except I would change the graphics to a 7850/7870, you'll be better off getting a new-gen card.
    ||i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz||H100 push/pull||AsRock Z77 Extreme4||16Gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz||Gigabyte Windforce GTX 970|| Coolermaster Storm Trooper||Corsair TX850 Enthusiast Series||Samsung 840 Pro 128gb(boot drive)||1TB WD HDD, 2x 3TB WD HDD, 2TB WD HDD||

    Bdk Nagrand / Astae Nagrand
    Pokemon X FC: 4656-7679-2545/Trainer Name: Keno

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by b0sanac View Post
    This build is great except I would change the graphics to a 7850/7870, you'll be better off getting a new-gen card.
    better off in what sense? Better off not getting an SSD for a better GPU? Idk id get the SSD and the 6870 myself.

  10. #10
    The Patient tehTyrant's Avatar
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    The CPU from Microcenter is store pick-up only, so if you don't have one near you or have someone pick-it up for you then ship it...

    I have one near me, but traffic, distance and gas prices keep me from shopping there.
    Last edited by tehTyrant; 2012-11-20 at 07:34 AM.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    better off in what sense? Better off not getting an SSD for a better GPU? Idk id get the SSD and the 6870 myself.
    The SSD is a good upgrade no doubt, however it doesnt have much benefit besides faster boot/load times, whereas the new gpu would give more fps and better graphics, in the sense of non-MMO games of course.
    ||i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz||H100 push/pull||AsRock Z77 Extreme4||16Gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz||Gigabyte Windforce GTX 970|| Coolermaster Storm Trooper||Corsair TX850 Enthusiast Series||Samsung 840 Pro 128gb(boot drive)||1TB WD HDD, 2x 3TB WD HDD, 2TB WD HDD||

    Bdk Nagrand / Astae Nagrand
    Pokemon X FC: 4656-7679-2545/Trainer Name: Keno

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    better off in what sense? Better off not getting an SSD for a better GPU? Idk id get the SSD and the 6870 myself.
    I wouldn't. I'd drop the dollars on the 7870 and stick with a mechanical drive. SSDs are still luxury products (though not by near as much a margin as they were before) that affect boot/load times and not too much else in a gaming PC. If you want an SSD for that build, add a 240+GB drive later on when you can afford it. 120GB is really too small, at least for me, to put everything I want on it.

    EDIT: I could read other replies before replying myself, since what I stated has basically already been said.
    Super casual.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by tehTyrant View Post
    The CPU from Microcenter is store pick-up only, so if you don't have one near you or have someone pick-it up for you then ship it...

    I have one near me, but traffic, distance and gas prices keep me from shopping there.
    I did a google search and there's one about 25 mins away luckily. Well worth the $50 difference! If an SSD's only noticable impact is boot up times then I'll probably pass on it and maybe invest it in a better heatsink since what I've read on the reviews for the cpu is it gets a tad hotter than others.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by deathgrip1092 View Post
    I did a google search and there's one about 25 mins away luckily. Well worth the $50 difference! If an SSD's only noticable impact is boot up times then I'll probably pass on it and maybe invest it in a better heatsink since what I've read on the reviews for the cpu is it gets a tad hotter than others.
    They only get hot if you overclock them by a large margin, if you're not planning on overclocking then there is not much reason to get a aftermarket cooler.
    ||i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz||H100 push/pull||AsRock Z77 Extreme4||16Gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz||Gigabyte Windforce GTX 970|| Coolermaster Storm Trooper||Corsair TX850 Enthusiast Series||Samsung 840 Pro 128gb(boot drive)||1TB WD HDD, 2x 3TB WD HDD, 2TB WD HDD||

    Bdk Nagrand / Astae Nagrand
    Pokemon X FC: 4656-7679-2545/Trainer Name: Keno

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by b0sanac View Post
    They only get hot if you overclock them by a large margin, if you're not planning on overclocking then there is not much reason to get a aftermarket cooler.
    Alright I wasn't planning on overclocking so good to know.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by deathgrip1092 View Post
    Alright I wasn't planning on overclocking so good to know.
    Glad to help, use that extra $50 to get yourself a 7850, and all in all you'll have quite a nice setup.
    ||i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz||H100 push/pull||AsRock Z77 Extreme4||16Gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz||Gigabyte Windforce GTX 970|| Coolermaster Storm Trooper||Corsair TX850 Enthusiast Series||Samsung 840 Pro 128gb(boot drive)||1TB WD HDD, 2x 3TB WD HDD, 2TB WD HDD||

    Bdk Nagrand / Astae Nagrand
    Pokemon X FC: 4656-7679-2545/Trainer Name: Keno

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by deathgrip1092 View Post
    I did a google search and there's one about 25 mins away luckily. Well worth the $50 difference! If an SSD's only noticable impact is boot up times then I'll probably pass on it and maybe invest it in a better heatsink since what I've read on the reviews for the cpu is it gets a tad hotter than others.
    Its actually $100 because you get an additional $50 discount on the mobo if you go 3570K + Z77 mobo. Not sure if that offer still stands though.

    Since you're building at $600, I'd just go for a $20-30 heatsink like the Xigmatek Gaia or the Coolermaster 212 EVO.

    This leaves enough money for both a SSD AND a 7850/7870.

    If you're scavenging an old HDD its probably a slow 5400 RPM one. So you'd benefit siginificantly from a SSD. Firefox loads faster than ever.

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