Upgrading my old PC for gaming

wiredotter14, I honestly don't buy that Vishera outperforms yours for gaming (I mean, who even benchmarks these things anymore?). With your setup sitting at 3.8GHz, your single-core performance actually beats hers at 4GHz (even if she's paying a few hundred bucks more). The only area where she has an edge is multi-threaded tasks, but that gap is practically irrelevant when you're gaming—Vishera just has way more threads than any game actually needs today.

Regarding the overclocking, the main goal is just getting it away from those low stock speeds. Once you've pushed past 3GHz, you're already heading in the right direction.

Timothy Kim60 said:wiredotter14, I don't buy that Vishera is better than yours for gaming (hell, nobody really tests that stuff anymore). At 3.8GHz, you’ve got better single-core performance than that thing at 4GHz (which costs a few hundred more). Sure, its multi-threading is stronger, but that gap doesn't mean squat in gaming—Vishera just has way too many threads for what games actually need.

When it comes to overclocking, just get it off those low stock clocks. Once you push past 3GHz, you're fine enough.

The i7 920 is from 2009. Piledriver was back in... what, 2011 or 2012?
I thought that first generation Core was somewhere around there with IPC similar to Piledriver. Multi-threaded performance isn't my worry here; those 8 threads can still pack a punch.

Finally pulled off a decent overclock, though I was sitting at 3.2 before this.
But lately, I've been dealing with absolute nightmare I/O errors on my drives (both SSD and WD Green), and one HDD in that rig is already totally corrupted.
Decided the issue was the Intel SATA controller, so I picked up a PCIe x1 SATAIII controller and now everything is running smooth as silk.😁

Once I swap the thermal paste, hopefully these 3.8GHz temps drop below 84-90C.😵😵

Yeah... stock clock is garbage. That CPU is honestly one of the best overclockers ever made.😁
And if games keep heading where they're going—new APIs, more multi-threading, higher resolutions—these older processors might actually become solid upgrade platforms. For instance, an FX83xx at 4.5GHz could probably hold its own against quad core i7s, which was unthinkable back in the DX11 days (not to mention thinking about DX9 XD).

Nah, nothing from AMD even managed to touch the IPC Nehalem sto

Regarding resolutions, it’s always been the same deal: the higher the resolution, the less noticeable the performance gap becomes between different CPUs

http://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia...-4k/index.html

Heh, alright then. 😁

When I first picked up this rig with the Radeon HD4890, I figured I’d be replacing the whole setup in maybe 4 or 5 years—especially since Nehalem was about to leave the Core 2 duo and quad setups in the dust.

Now, this platform is almost hitting the decade mark, yet it could still handle "next-gen" resolutions.

- stock
- overclocked

(Just to be clear, I know what overclocking entails... but looking at these two, I don't see any meaningful difference between them, aside from the $33 price tag)

Could someone please explain the actual difference between these two cards? In the end, I've decided to just go with the 1060. It feels a bit silly to pick up both a new monitor and a 1070 at once, especially since I just bought my current monitor about a year ago.. 🙂
Anyway, I'm not seeing much of a distinction here... plus, someone suggested I should stick with this 1060. So.. 🙂

They’re identical GPUs, just different overclocking headroom. Honestly, I wouldn't even pay extra $33 just for some factory overclock. Also, looking at that second link, it mentions 3G in one spot—likely a typo if they mean a 3GB model. Either way, you can't compare a 3GB card to a 6GB card; they aren't even the same beast when it comes to CUDA cores.

Timothy Kim60 said:They’re essentially the same GPU, just with different overclocking headroom. Honestly, I wouldn't even pay extra $33 just for a factory overclock. Also, looking at that second link, it mentions 3G in one spot—likely a typo if they're implying it's a 3GB model. Regardless, a 3GB card and a 6GB card are completely different beasts when you look at the specs, specifically the CUDA core count.

In that case, I'll just go with the standard version. It seems like the right call. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Greetings to everyone.

My rig isn't exactly ancient, but I didn't feel it was necessary to spin up an entirely new thread just for this.
To give you the rundown, here is my current setup:

CPU Intel I5 4570
MBO Gigabyte Ga-H87-HD3
Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 1600 C9
Monitor AOC IPS 23" 12367Fm

I last performed some upgrades back in April 2014, driven by the ambitious plan to swap out the graphics card, the power supply, and perhaps even the case shortly thereafter, but life happened—as it always does—and those plans have been languishing for far too long.

Given how rapidly the newer generations of GPUs have evolved, I find myself wondering what kind of configuration would actually be considered "optimal" when paired with my existing hardware?
I am looking at a rough budget of around $3,000.$1167 There is also the possibility of sourcing parts through Computerunniverse, as I have family living over in Germany, which conveniently helps us dodge those pesky extra import fees.

The primary user is my fifteen-year-old son, a gamer through and through, and his main interests right now are CIV 6 and the latest Battlefield.

So what are we looking at for integrated graphics and the power supply?

If you're running a 1080p monitor, I honestly think the gtx 960 would be a perfect choice for you...

@Larry Ortiz5

A GTX 960? Are you kidding me? 🤣

Honestly, the GTX 750 ti is probably one of the worst value picks out there right now.

@rapidpuma59

An SSD, a new GPU, and maybe a power supply if needed.

Maybe look at something like a SanDisk X400 256GB or a Crucial MX300, paired with an RX 480 Nitro 4GB or a GTX 1060 3GB.

I wasn't actually home when I last posted, so here are the specific details that slipped my mind during our previous exchange.

Currently, the power supply is some old 500W unit from MicroStation, the graphics card is a GTX 650 2 GB, and for storage, I'm running two 1 TB WD Green drives. Now, an SSD would certainly be a welcome upgrade, but since my son insists he doesn't mind waiting a few extra seconds for the system to boot up—and frankly, it does load relatively quickly as it is—we’d much rather put that cash toward a more powerful GPU. We were eyeing a GTX 1060 6 GB or perhaps something comparable from the rival camp, which leads me to wonder: can our current processor actually keep pace with that kind of hardware? And more importantly, does it truly matter for gaming if we opt for a card with 6 GB of VRAM instead of just 3 GB?
The monitor is standard 1920x1080, and I recall reading in passing on various forums that picking up a FreeSync monitor is a wise move, so that’s likely our next step in this little saga. Once I swap out these parts, I plan to assemble a second computer for my younger son, so there isn't any issue regarding the old components being left behind.
The only truly ancient thing left is the case itself, which dates all the way back to 2009, so I suppose that might pose a bit of a structural headache down the line.

So, the real question at hand is this: what can I realistically get for the budget we discussed that will allow this machine to reach its absolute maximum potential?

If you could provide some rough price estimates as well, I would be most grateful.

With that kind of cash, you've gotta ditch that power supply. What you're running right now is basically a trash can:

Something like this:

EVGA RTX 4080, 8 GB DDR5, 256-bit,
EVGA 550 G5 Power Supply, ATX 2.3, RA550, PPA5502301

Total: $3,$1.00
eBay

Well, I was already planning on swapping out that power supply regardless. But as for the case? It’s an extra fifty bucks or so tacked onto the total price. What would actually be worth my time here?

PowerColor just dropped their new Radeon RX 7900 GRE card, featuring an overclocked design. It seems like a solid option if you're looking to beef up your rig.
Corsair just dropped a build guide focused on their hardware, specifically highlighting some solid options for those looking to put together a reliable system with a 5-year warranty. It looks like a decent roadmap if you're trying to balance performance and longevity without overcomplicating things. I guess it might be worth a look if you're planning an upgrade soon.
I was looking at this Gekl case online earlier. It seems like a decent enough option if you're just putting together a basic build, I guess. Maybe it'll do the job depending on what you're planning to put inside.
Looks like there's an ad for a 120GB ASP580 SSD available in bulk. I guess it might be worth checking out if you need something basic.

Got it. $1150

What kind of SSD is this? Is it some new release?

I checked Google and found nothing useful—it just keeps throwing up retail sites and online shops.

Samsung 870 EVO, they kind of messed up the name 😁

No reviews out yet, but I guess it looks like the successor to the EVGA 550 G5.

crimsonstag84 said:@Larry Ortiz5

A GTX 960? Seriously? 🤣

Honestly, if you're looking at a GTX 750 Ti right now, you're probably making one of the worst value choices out there.

Oh man, I totally forgot about Team Red—the EVGA RTX 4080...

Processor: DualCore Intel Core i3-4130, 3400 MHz (34 x 100)
Motherboard Model: ASUS H81M-K
Crucial CT51264BA160B.C16F memory.
Graphics Card Model: AMD Radeon R7 200 Serie

I don't know much about computer components, so I could really use some guidance here. Basically, I'm looking to upgrade from 4GB to 8GB of RAM. Will my current system actually support 8GB? Also, should I just stick with another 4GB Crucial stick, or would it be better to go with something else entirely? Thanks in advance!

It'll work. You might want to grab that 1600MHz DDR3 Crucial kit again