Need advice and recommendation on CPU upgrading!

[Chad84]

Hi MMO-CHAMPION Community. I am a computer illiterate type guy, but I have a desktop at home that I like to make attempts to upgrade, so please bare with me if my expectations are farfetched as I lack the knowledge to properly asses the value of tech capabilities.

What I hope to achieve:
Dual-monitor compatible for the two 24" Acer monitors I received (one for gaming, other for web surfing).
Ultra setting practicable for arena PvP in World of Warcraft.
Within the budget of $250

What I had in mind:
Replacing current video card with EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1024MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI Graphics Card (link below)
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-1...a+graphic+card

What I need advices on:
Is GTX650 compatible with my current computer components? if not, which other one(s) you might recommend?
Is replacing video card enough to meet my expectations? or should I look into other replacements as well?

My current computer components (based on Dxdiag)
System Information
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit(6.1, Build 7601)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
Processor: Intel(R) core(TM) i3-225 CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Page file: 1795MB used, 14510MB available
Display Device
Name: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip Type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x68B8)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Approx. Total Memory: 738MB
Current Display Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32bit) (60hz)
Display Drivers
Main Driver: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,a
Version: 12.104.0.0
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
DDI Version: 11
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1

Thank You MMO-CHAMPION community, please leave a reply if I can help clarify "my need for help"

[Deleted]

Id go for a R9 270x

Much better performance for $250


http://www.hwcompare.com/15670/gefor...adeon-r9-270x/

[Chad84]

Thank you for the quick reply. Is that the only component I need to upgrade? and also GTX650 is priced at $114.99 while R9 270x is priced at $219.99 and out of stock. Any other suggestions?

[Deleted]

Id wait til 270x back in stock imo.

The i3 will last another year while a HD 5k will struggle with anything using full DX 11.. I had a 5850 with high OC and it sucked donkeys with any SSAO or tessellation turned on.

IT either cpu or gpu upgrade but gpu make most difference imo, i3 still good shit.

[Chad84]

I didn't understand fully what you wrote last, but I got the main point, buy 270x! which site would you recommend or maybe retail stores? Thanks again.

[Cyrops]

Right, so in order to know if you won't need to change anything else, we need to know:
your motherboard model
your PSU model

In order to do that, you need to open up the computer case and look for identifications. The reason is that, for example R9 270 needs extra power that your PSU may not provide.

[Chad84]

imicro ps-im400xm is the power supply model, and here is a link to my motherboard.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H61M-DGS/
Thank you both! and again, will GTX650 be adequate for world of Warcraft and dual monitor? My budget is $250 but I rather get it as inexpensive as possible since I plan on getting a new setup all together in a year.

[Deleted]

What gfx card do you have at the moment? The GTX 650 might even be slower than what you have currently..

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-57...eForce-GTX-650

[chazus]

He's got a 57xx right now, so a 650 is definitely an upgrade.
Actually in retrospect... a 650 is about on par with a 5770. So maybe a GPU upgrade isn't such a great idea.

[Chad84]

Ok. Maybe I should wait until I swap out the entire system then. Thank you guys for your time.

[Deleted]

Ok. Maybe I should wait until I swap out the entire system then. Thank you guys for your time.

You dont need to change the whole system really, its the same board im using with an i5 and 280x.

Just drop an i5 into it and get a decent gpu and power supply.

[Cyrops]

You dont need to change the whole system really, its the same board im using with an i5 and 280x.

Just drop an i5 into it and get a decent gpu and power supply.

He made a mistake in thread title, he was looking to upgrade GPU not CPU.
And with his budget the i5 would eat most of it.