If you're running an i5 or something similar, power draw shouldn't be much of an issue with the R9 290 x on an XFX 550 W. Since some new cards are dropping in June, I'd probably just wait if I were you—especially since you've already got an R9 280 x (upgrading to either the R9 290 or a GTX 970 feels like throwing money away). And FYI, the GTX 960 is actually weaker than the R9 280 x; it’s more like an R9 280.
He probably doesn't need an Intel Core i7 😉 I'd say just go with a 400W model--$35 and maybe spring for a much better ASUS ROG Strix motherboard for $25 a bit extra.
Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to work... Fallout 3 and Rom Total War 2 really need about 1.5 to 2GB of RAM and at least a GPU that supports DirectX 9.0. Upgrading that would cost you at least $200-$100, which I guess isn't worth it given what the whole PC is worth right now.
If I were you, I'd just sell what you've got and pick up a used setup for maybe $700-$267 with a decent dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and some kind of low-end graphics card. For example, this looks like a good deal:
If you add another 1x1GB DDR2 800MHz stick of RAM, you should be able to run those older games without any issues. I imagine Call of Duty 4 should run fine on max settings at 1680x1050 resolution.
I doubt you'll hit a major bottleneck. Maybe you might lose a tiny percentage of GPU performance in certain titles, but I'm not entirely sure. If that happens, you've always got the Turbo multiplier, so you could probably just try some overclocking by another 300 MHz 😬
You don't actually need a new motherboard just because you're upgrading your GPU. 😁
If you decide to go with a much beefier dedicated graphics card, you just disable the integrated graphics in your BIOS, enable the new card, and plug your monitor directly into it. Once you get the drivers sorted, you're pretty much good to go.
Honestly, that integrated chip should handle those older titles just fine; they're way more capable than the integrated graphics we used to see on motherboards back in the day. I'd imagine stuff like Call of Duty 2, MW, MW2, some older strategy games, GTA: San Andreas, or League of Legends should all run at max settings without much trouble.
1 x MSI Phoenix case, Midi tower, supports ATX and mATX motherboards 1 x Fortron 400W power supply, HEXA plus 400, featuring a 12cm fan 1 x Kingston 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3, 1866MHz, CL10, HyperX Fury, HX318C10F 1 x AMD Kaveri A8-Series X4 7600 Processor (3.8GHz, 4MB, 65W, FM2+) box 1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, compatible with 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm fan 1 x WD 500GB HDD, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, 16MB Cache, 7,200 rpm, 8.9 ms 1 x ASUS A88XM-E motherboard, FM2+ socket, AMD A88X chipset, DDR3, 2 expansion slots
Hopefully, all those complaints from tourists actually lead to something. Just two weeks ago, I got a letter from AT&T saying they’re going to speed up our connections by ten times without charging us a cent more.
Sean Garcia3 said:I guess the only real bottleneck when upgrading to a beefier graphics card will be that power supply.
Having 20W less on the 12V rail and only a 2x6+2-pin setup for the GPU feels like a massive bottleneck compared to the XFX model, which uses a 1x6-pin and a 1x8-pin. It's a pretty significant limitation, I guess. 😬
Sean Garcia3 said:I went with two sticks of RAM just because I think it looks better, plus I’ve always preferred having two modules instead of one. I guess those are just little things that don't really matter much.
beQuiet! system Power 7 400 w is probably a bit better than that XFX unit, and $20 it’s actually cheaper. I guess adding an extra $20 for the RAM is pretty unnecessary; you might see some difference in Winrar, but that's about it. If you want a real upgrade, maybe just grab the paliti super JetStream GTX 960.
That card is almost twice as powerful... and since you've got such a solid motherboard, I'd say if you haven't started overclocking yet, maybe grab an extra cooler. I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot if you end up going with the R9 270 😉
RAM is basically just RAM, though I guess some series can be a bit finicky (like Corsair Vengeance or Patriot Signature). As for a power supply for $148, you really can't do better, so it’s hard to justify picking anything else unless you want to drop another 100-$50.
If you're working with that kind of budget and hoping to play modern titles, an SSD isn't really an option unless you already have an HDD lying around. I guess it's just tough to squeeze both in.
You could probably grab a Z1 Zalman for $5.25 more...
Maybe it’s the AMD X6 FX-6300. The Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P motherboard. Maybe the Raijintek Arcadio Black Midi Tower case (without the power supply, P/N: GERT-003) could work for some builds. I guess the Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler might be worth a look. Maybe some Transcend 4GB DDR3 1333MHz bulk memory? The XFX AMD Radeon R7 265A 2GB DDR5, XFX-R7-265A-CNF4 graphics card. Toshiba DT01ACA050 500 Zalman 500 w GLX Series Retail, ZAL-ZM500-GLX
Overall: $1353 Downtown
I was playing around with some parts, and I guess you could actually put together a build with an UziShop FX 4300 and a GTX 960. $1333 It looks like the processor is going to have to be overclocked, I guess.