PC upgrade with a $300 budget?

Hi,
I'm looking to pick up a new graphics card and a processor for my ASRock M3A UCC motherboard. My budget is capped at $2,000, so I'd appreciate any help or suggestions you could offer. 🙂

No worries at all—just let me know what processor you're running right now and what the rest of your build looks like. I especially need to know about your power supply—brand and model specifically

Larry Ortiz5 said:It's not an issue, just tell me what CPU you're running right now and the rest of your specs—especially the power supply (brand and model).

I wouldn't bother with anything stronger than a used x4 640 on that board.
With 2k, you could probably grab the board, the CPU, and a GPU.
1 x Asrock FM2A88M EXTREME4+, FM2,FM2+, AMD A88X (Bolton-D4), DDR3
1 x Procesor AMD Trinity Athlon II X4 750K 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x Thermaltake Contac 16, 775,AM2,AM2+,AM3,AM3+,FM1,1155,1156

$687

1 x ASRock M3A UCC - AMD 480 x CrossFire, AMD SB600, ATX, FSB 1000
1 x AMD Athlon ii X2 250 processor, AM3 socket, BOX, 2MB cache, 65W
1 x XFX HD5670 1GB DDR5 775M, HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort $266
2 x DDR3 2048Mb (2GB) Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, COR-VS2GB1333D3
1 x LG GH22NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R, 8x DL, 40x CD-R
1 x Canyon CN-MSL4, Optical/G-laser mouse, black, USB, 4 buttons, scroll
1 x WD 500GB HDD, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, 16MB Buffer, 7200 rpm, 8.9 ms
xsilence xp480 480 w power supply

rustymarlin40 said:1 x ASRock M3A UCC - AMD 480 x CrossFire, AMD SB600, ATX, FSB 1000
1 x AMD Athlon ii X2 250 processor, AM3 socket, BOX, 2MB cache, 65W
1 x XFX HD5670 1GB DDR5 775M, HDMI, DVI, Display Port $266
2 x DDR3 2048Mb (2GB) Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, COR-VS2GB1333D3
1 x LG GH22NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R, 8x DL, 40x CD-R
1 x Canyon CN-MSL4, Super optical/ G-laser, black, USB. 4 buttons, scroll
1 x WD 500GB HDD, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, 16MB Buffer, 7,200 rpm, 8.9 ms
xsilence xp480 480 w power supply

ASRock FM2A55M-VG3 motherboard
AMD Athlon ii x4 760 processor
Transcend DDR3 2GB 1600MHz memory, JM1600KLN-2G
R7 260X 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2-slot active, LITE
Zalman CNPS5X PERFORMA 2.149,87 Newegg CPU Cooler 92mm Perform

Now, this is actually a pretty significant jump—we're talking about a much more capable processor, a newer motherboard, and an extra 2GB of RAM (which brings you to 4GB total, which is perfectly fine for most things). Plus, you'll have a significantly better graphics card and an aftermarket cooler that gives you enough breathing room to try out some light overclocking if you're feeling adventurous! Everything listed is readily available and comes with a standard 1–3 year warranty. I’m assuming you’re running at a lower monitor resolution, which will work beautifully with this GPU—and, if you haven't already, I'd definitely suggest sticking with Windows 7 32-bit...

That setup would be a whole different ballgame entirely...

I actually already have 4GB of RAM (it says x2 up there if you didn't catch it), but alright 🙂
and I'm running at 1920x1080 resolution on Windows 7 64-bit

Timothy Fisher79 said:ASRock FM2A55M-VG3 motherboard
AMD Athlon ii x4 760 processor
Transcend DDR3 2GB 1600MHz, JM1600KLN-2G memory
R7 260X 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, LITE
US version Zalman CPU Cooler 92 Perform, ZAL-CNPS5X PERFORMA

2,149.87 Newegg

This feels like a pretty decent upgrade to me. You’re getting a better processor, a newer motherboard, an extra 2GB of RAM (4GB should be just fine), and a significantly better graphics card. Plus, you get an aftermarket cooler, which might let you try some light overclocking. Everything is readily available and comes with a 1-3 year warranty... I’m guessing you’re running at a lower monitor resolution, which will work great with this GPU, and if you haven't already, maybe stick with Windows 7 32-bit...

He picked a board with only two RAM slots when he’s already using both, so he won't really have much room to overclock there.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:I probably wouldn't go any higher than a used x4 640 on that specific board.
For about $2k, you could grab a bundle with the board, CPU, and GPU all at once.
1 x Asrock FM2A88M EXTREME4+, FM2, FM2+, AMD A88X (Bolton-D4), DDR3
1 x AMD Trinity Athlon ii x4 750
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x Thermaltake Contac 16, 775, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, 1155, 1156

$687

Personally, I'd just swap in the 760K for $5.00 more🙂

Hm, just one question: what’s the reasoning behind getting a new motherboard?

rustymarlin40 said:Hmm, just one quick question—what's the reasoning behind getting a new motherboard?

My apologies! I was under the impression you were working with just a single 2GB stick of RAM—plus, looking at your current setup, that motherboard actually won't support the processors we discussed earlier... which is a pretty big deal, especially since you mentioned you're gaming at Full HD resolution.

If I were in your shoes, here is how I would tackle this build:

ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard
AMD Athlon ii x4 760 Processor
XFX AMD HD7850 Graphic card 2 GB 860 m PciEx, XFX-FX-785A-CDJ4

2,078.47 Newegg

This GPU is going to handle Full HD much more gracefully—much better, really. You've already got 4GB of RAM, which is a solid start, but if you can manage to stretch the budget a little further for some $50, I'd definitely suggest picking up an aftermarket cooler like this one:

US version Zalman CPU Cooler 92mm Perform, ZAL-CNPS5X PERFORMA

$50

The motherboard supports the Phenom ii x4, so I suppose they should just hunt around on eBay for a Phenom 955 or 965. Of course, they won't be able to overclock anything on that specific board. That would probably run them about 400-$167.
Since the power supply is old and doesn't look particularly high-quality, I'd definitely suggest picking up a new one, maybe something like a Corsair cx430 or an xfx 450, which is roughly $117.
Then, for the rest of the build, you could grab a new HD 7850 2GB for about $400
.

One more question: what kind of 6-core processors does this motherboard actually support? It mentions UCC, implying you can scale up to 6 cores, but I'm not quite following how that works.

It supports those older Phenom ii x6 processors. I guess UCC works for certain chips too—you might be able to unlock cores, like turning a triple-core Athlon into a quad-core, maybe.

Is it even worth upgrading for $2k, or am I better off just dropping $3.5k or $4k on something decent so I can actually have some peace of mind for a while?

Here’s how I see this setup looking in the long run:

POV GTX660 2GB bulk, POV-V660-2048B
Corsair Builder Series CX430M, 430 Watt, Modular Power Supply, US version
Zalman CPU Cooler 92mm Perform, ZAL-CNPS5X PERFORMA
Asus M5A97 R2.0 motherboard
AMD X6 FX-6300 processor

Total: $3,214.04($13 or $27 shipping) Newegg

Look, most of your current parts are actually decent enough to build on for an upgrade. You could probably hunt down a used quad-core Phenom, but honestly, that's getting pretty old school...

It’d be smarter to save up a little more cash so you can do a proper upgrade. If you want a solid starting point that actually makes sense, maybe try this:

1 x Intel Core i7-2600K Processor 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,LGA1155, FD307075011
1 x ASUS P870-PRO, LGA1155, Intel H77 Chipset, 4x DDR3 1600(O.C.)/1333
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5, 2GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
$759

You might be able to flip your old motherboard and CPU for around $200-$100, which would help out. With this setup, you'll be able to game pretty smoothly. Maybe toss in another 4GB of RAM down the road if you feel like it...