PC Upgrade Ideas

Hey everyone,

After spending a few hours Googling and getting frustrated by all the useless info out there, I figured I'd just ask you guys for some help. Basically, I'm looking to upgrade my rig...
Here's the breakdown:

Operating System
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i3 2100 @ 3.10GHz 38 °C
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
4,00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 532MHz (7-7-7-20)
Motherboard
ASRock H61M-VS (CPUSocket) 36 °C
Graphics
W2052 (1440x900@75Hz)
1024MB Nvidia GeForce gt 430 (MSI) 37 °C
Hard Drives
466GB Seagate ST500DM002 (SATA) 31 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22NS70 ATA Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Audio
Nvidia high Definition audio
(Everything pulled straight from Speccy, temps included..)
So, my big question is: can I drop an Intel Core i5-3570 (3400MHz 6MBL3 Cache 22nm 77W skt1155 Ivy Bridge) BOX and a GeForce GTX 660 into this build?

Thanks in advance! Any advice or suggestions would be awesome...
Best, Sam Sanchez3

The CD/DVD Drive doesn't really matter for this list, but you didn't mention which power supply you're running.
As far as the motherboard goes, you'll be fine popping an i5 and a 660 in there.
Your RAM is definitely the weak link though; if I were you, I'd upgrade that next since it's usually the cheapest part to swap out.

You can upgrade, but you’ll likely need to update the BIOS on that board if you're going with Haswell processors... personally, I'd probably go this route instead:

1 x MSI HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 256bit, R7870-2GD5T/OC, 28nm,dual fan
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz) ,6MB

$993 (AMD)

A stronger GPU is probably a better call; losing a few hundred MHz on the CPU isn't really going to be noticeable, and it's way cheaper.

Drew Sanchez82 said:The Optical Drive doesn't really matter for this list, but you didn't mention what kind of power supply you're running.
As far as the motherboard goes, you could definitely toss an i5 in there along with a 660.
Your RAM is pretty weak too, so you might want to look into upgrading that; it's usually the cheapest part of any build.

I don't think the RAM needs an upgrade; it's just the slower DDR3 version, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and 4GB should be totally fine.😉

Thanks for all the help.
My power supply is 460W, I didn't quite catch the full model name yet.

''You can upgrade, but for Haswell processors you'll need a BIOS update on that board...'' Like, one humongous update? (:
And btw, is there a specific site you guys recommend for ordering a card and a CPU?

Thanks again for the replies, everyone,
best regards!

Sam Sanchez3 said:Thanks for all the replies.
My power supply is rated at 460W, though I didn't catch the exact model name before closing the tab.

''You can upgrade, but you'll need to flash the BIOS on that board for Intel Core i7 processors... '' One veeeeeery big update, huh? (:
And by the way, is there a specific site you guys recommend for picking up a GPU and a CPU?

Thanks again for the help, everyone.
Best,

Look, until you give us the actual model of that PSU, nobody can give you a solid recommendation. Just saying "460W" doesn't tell us anything about the quality or the rails...

P-CASE 460

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5791/c...e-low quality

Sam Sanchez3 said:P-CASE 460

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5791/c...e-poor-quality

Just take a look at the headline of that power supply review you linked: "Codegen P-Case 460W - Low Price, Low quality"

If you ask me, I’d swap out both the motherboard and the power supply... just my two cents though. I've always preferred having a solid mid-range combo where the board and CPU are balanced somewhere in the middle.
Pairing a cheap motherboard with a high-end processor is just asking for trouble.
And if you actually plan on gaming, you definitely need to upgrade that GPU. 😁

So this guy rolls in just wanting to swap out his CPU and graphics card, but by the end of the consultation, they’re basically trying to sell him an entirely new rig 😁

Drew Sanchez82 said:The guy walks in looking for a CPU and GPU upgrade, and by the end, they're trying to sell him an entirely new rig.😁

I mean, fair enough. I wouldn't dream of telling someone to slap a brand-new motherboard and processor onto a junk power supply. Why risk frying the whole thing the second the PSU gives up the ghost? Plus, if we're talking about actual gaming performance, he won't feel much of a difference if his current card isn't built for it—so that’s going on the list too. It is what it is.

EDIT: Just let us know what kind of budget we're working with here...

swiftfalcon89 said:I mean, I definitely wouldn't suggest pairing a brand new motherboard and CPU with some junk power supply. Why risk frying everything if the PSU dies? Plus, regarding gaming, you won't see much of a boost since that GPU isn't really built for heavy gaming—you'll eventually need to upgrade that too. It is what it is...

EDIT: Also, let us know how much cash you're working with...

1 x MSI HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 256bit, R7870-2GD5T/OC, 28nm, dual fan
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz), 6MB

This is what I'm looking to grab. My budget is right around $1000. I'm not planning on swapping the motherboard, just maybe the power supply if I really have to. Honestly, I don't want my whole rig to die on me the next day because of a cheap PSU x). A solid power supply would be perfect, maybe up to $300 $167. Thanks again for all the help, y'all... hope you have a good night.

Sam Sanchez3 said:1 x MSI HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 256bit, R7870-2GD5T/OC, 28nm, dual fan
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz), 6MB

This is what I'm looking at picking up. My budget is sitting right around $1000. I don't plan on swapping out the motherboard, just maybe the power supply if I really have to. Honestly, I’d hate for everything to fry the next day because of a cheap PSU x). A decent, reliable unit would be perfect, maybe around $300-$167. Thanks again for the help, everyone. Have a good one.

A Corsair CX430 should handle that without breaking a sweat, and you're looking at roughly $300-$117 (depending on which retailer you hit up)...

swiftfalcon89 said:I mean, honestly, I wouldn't suggest pairing a brand new motherboard and CPU with some junk power supply. You don't want to risk frying everything the second the PSU gives up the ghost. Plus, when it comes to gaming, he won't really feel much of a difference because that graphics card isn't built for gaming anyway, so that'll need an upgrade down the road too... it is what it is...

EDIT: Also, let us know how much cash you're actually looking to drop...

From what I can tell, his main goal is gaming, and if we're talking modern titles, that always comes with a price tag.

Sam Sanchez3 said:1 x MSI HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 256bit, R7870-2GD5T/OC, 28nm, dual fan
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz), 6MB

This is what I'm aiming to get. It's right around $1000. I'm not planning on swapping the motherboard, just maybe the power supply if I absolutely have to. I really don't want my whole setup dying on me the next day just because of a cheap PSU x). A solid power supply would be ideal, maybe around $300-$167. Thanks again for the help, everyone. Have a good night.

Someone already suggested one, but hey, more opinions can't hurt:
Corsair 500 w CX Series 80

Corsair VS Series, 650 Watt, ATX

Both fit within the budget.
I'm not 100% sure how much power that GPU pulls, but a 650W unit is plenty if you're thinking about future-proofing.

Honestly, the Corsair CX series is total garbage.
cx430 could handle it easily, or even better, an xfx 450.

http://ee.gigabyte.com/products/page...m61sme-s2l_20/ This is the motherboard I'm running.
Right now, I’ve got an AMD 2.2. tucked in there, but today's the day—I'm swapping it out for an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000, which is a 2.6GHz on the AM2 socket. The integrated graphics on this thing are pretty much garbage, so I'm looking to ditch them for a dedicated card. I'm torn between two options and could use some advice on which route is actually worth the money—the Nvidia 9400 GT or the ATI Radeon HD 3450 AGP.

An AGP card won't work on your motherboard since you've got a PCI-e slot instead.

To be honest, those cards are pretty outdated and weak by today's standards, but they're still a step up from using basic integrated graphics.

Timothy Kim60 said:They're pretty much identical—just grab whichever one is cheaper. We're talking low-end, outdated cards here, but honestly, they'll still outperform whatever crappy integrated graphics you're currently dealing with.

Can I actually run both of them on my motherboard?

Richard Stewart64 said:Can I run both of these on my motherboard?

No, you can't. Check the post above; I updated it once I actually looked at the board specs.
It mostly must be PCI-e

Timothy Kim60 said:I can't tell—let me check—okay, I just edited my post after looking back at the motherboard specs.
It mostly have to be PCI-e.

So, you're saying neither of these two will work? I'm not an expert here—just know the absolute basics.

It’ll work if you have a PCI-e slot, but if you're still stuck with an AGP interface, you're out of luck.

However, if we're talking about anything priced above $33—honestly, it isn't worth the money. If you're hunting through the used market for a bargain, try to find at least an NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 (keep in mind the DDR5 models are noticeably faster than the DDR3 ones), or maybe something from NVIDIA like a GT 440, 630, or 640. I'm suggesting those specifically because I'm assuming your power supply isn't anything to write home about either.