New build or just a CPU upgrade?

So, my AMD Phenom II X4 940 beats died on me yesterday. Total disaster. Here’s what I’m currently limping along with:

AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2700 MHz (13.5 x 200) 5200+ (using this now since the Phenom kicked the bucket)
Gigabyte GA-MA770-US3 v2.0 (2 PCI, 4 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
4x2GB Kingmax DDR2 1066Mhz (running at 800MHz because of the CPU)
AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB DDR5
KINGSTON SV300S37A120G ATA Device (120 GB, SATA-III)
SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Seagate ST3250824A ATA Device (250 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7200A ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:12x, DVD+RW:20x/8x, DVD-RW:20x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Monitor AOC 2436 [24" LCD]
Chiftec 550W
Arctic Freezer 13 Pro
CoolerMaster Elite 334, black

That’s the current mess. Buying a new Phenom would set me back maybe $70 or so—not huge—but the real headache is that it's an old platform. It's basically a dead end; there's nowhere left to upgrade once you're in.

If I decide to just jump ship and build something totally new, I’d definitely scavenge these parts from the old rig since they're actually decent:
KINGSTON SV300S37A120G ATA Device (120 GB, SATA-III)
SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB DDR5
Arctic Freezer 13 Pro

So, it's either grab a new motherboard, RAM, CPU, case, burner, and PSU, or just waste money on a new AM2+ or AM3 processor... which feels like throwing good money after bad.

My budget is roughly $60.00 USD plus or minus.

I'll sell off some of the old junk to help out, and here's my best guess on what I can get:
CPU: $2.50
RAM: $6.00
Motherboard: $4.50
HDD: $2.00
PSU: $2.00
Case: $3.00

Anyway, that's the situation. Hope I didn't lose you guys in all that detail...

Why not sell off that graphics card and grab one of these instead:

1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x ASUS M5A97 R2.0, AM3,AM3+, AMD 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 1866MHz, CL10, HyperX Fury
1 x LG GH24NS, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Zalman Z9 U3 mid tower case. 207(W) x 464(H) x 504(D)mm
1 x Sapphire R9 280 3GB OC Dual-X, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, 28nm
1 x FORTRON 550W Raider, RA550, 12cm ventilator

Total:$1549 Micro Center offers free assembly and shipping!

1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x ASRock H97-PRO4, s1150, Intel H97, 4 x DDR3, 1 x PCI Express
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Samsung 840 EVO, SSD disk, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x Seasonic S12G-450 Gold, 450 W, active PFC
1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R, 8x DL, 40x CD-R
1 x Coolermaster K280, MIDI, black, USB 3.0, no PSU

$1335
Newegg

Keith Wright2 said:Just sell that GPU already and grab one like this instead—it's a no-brainer.

One AMD FX-Series X6 6300—3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+ (FD6300WMHK).
ASUS M5A97 R2.0—it’s an AM3/AM3+ board with that AMD 970 chipset, 5200 MHz bus, and DDR3 support. Just the basics.
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, works with socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3—basically covers everything you need.
Just grabbed a kit of 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB) Kingston HyperX Fury—clocked at 1866MHz with CL10.
1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner—it does 24x DVD±R, 8x DL, and 40x CD-R. Simple as that.
One Zalman Z9 U3 mid tower case—roughly 8" wide by 18" high and 20" deep.
One Sapphire R9 280 3GB OC Dual-X—3GB of GDDR5, 384bit, built on that 28nm process.
1 x Fortron 550W Raider Power Supply, RA550, with a 12cm fan

total : $680.00 USD$1549 Amazon offers free assembly and delivery!

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on the build listed above—the only thing I’m skipping is the cooler, since I've already got an Arctic Freezer 13 Pro sitting right here.
I don't even care about the specs—I just need to know if my Chieftec 550 can actually handle this build—because I am really not looking to drop cash on a new power supply if this one is still pulling its weight!

Charles Kim2 said:I think I'll go with the parts listed above. The only thing I won't be buying is the cooler, since I already own an Arctic Freezer 13 Pro.
But I have to wonder—could my Chiftec 550 actually handle this configuration? I'd love to avoid buying a new power supply if my current one is up to the task.

It completely slipped my mind that you already have a cooler! You can definitely skip that part. As for the power supply, it might technically work, but honestly, when you're doing an upgrade like this, shouldn't you always consider replacing the PSU? Plus, that Chieftec isn't exactly known for being bulletproof. If I were in your shoes, I'd grab a new one; you get a solid five-year warranty, and then you don't have to worry about it ever again.

Maybe you could try it this way instead: just hold onto everything except the graphics card, the processor, the motherboard, the RAM, and that 250GB hard drive, then pick up this bundle:

1 xIntel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz, Haswell
1 xASRock Z87 Extreme3, s1150, Intel Z87, 4 x DDR3 DIMM, warranty :3y
1 xSapphire R9 280 3GB OC Dual-X, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, 28nm
2 xDDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 xLG GH24NS DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R

Total:$1550 Best Buy offers free assembly and shipping!
If you reuse your old power supply, case, hard drives, and cooler, then just slap this i5 in there—wouldn't that make for a pretty decent machine?

Keith Wright2 said:You could also try this approach: keep everything except for the graphics card, the processor, the motherboard, the RAM, and that 250GB hard drive, then just pick up this bundle:

1 xIntel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz, Haswell
1 xASRock Z87 Extreme3, s1150, Intel Z87, 4 x DDR3 DIMM, warranty: 3yr
1 xSapphire R9 280 3GB OC Dual-X, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, 28nm
2 xDDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 xLG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R

total : $680.00 USD at Micro Center—free assembly and shipping included!$1550
If you reuse your old power supply, case, hard drives, and cooler, then just drop this i5 setup in there, and you’ve already got a pretty decent machine!

Free assembly? What exactly are they going to assemble for him? Put it in a cardboard box? 😁

Robert Ortiz58 said:Free assembly? What on earth is he going to assemble for him? A cardboard box? 😁

It isn't just about putting those few components together like you seem to think; I'm talking about the concept in general!

Charles Kim2 said:So, my Intel Core 2 Quad finally kicked the bucket yesterday. Here’s what I'm running:

Intel Pentium Dual-Core, 2700 MHz (13.5 x 200) 5200+ (running this right now because my Core 2 Duo kicked the bucket)
ASUS P7P55. It’s got 2 PCI slots, 4 PCI-E x1, one PCI-E x16, plus 4 DDR2 DIMMs, audio, Gigabit LAN, and IEEE-1394.
Got 4x2GB Kingston Fury sticks. They're clocked at 800MHz because the CPU can't handle any more.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1GB DDR5
Kingston 120GB SSD, SATA-III.
Apple 1TB Hard Drive (7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Old school Seagate drive. 250 gigs, 7200 RPM, running on that ancient Ultra-ATA interface. Basically a relic.
Samsung DVD Writer. Basic specs, nothing fancy.
AOC 2436 [24" LCD] monitor.
EVGA 500 W power supply.
Cooler Master Hyper 212.
Black Cooler Master Elite 334.

Here's what I'm running right now. Buying a new Core 2 Duo would run me at least $80 or so, but that's the catch—it's an old platform. Once I go that route, there's nowhere left to upgrade.

If I were building a new rig, I’d just strip parts from this one. Most of these components are still solid enough to work with.
Kingston 120GB SATA III SSD.
Apple 1TB Hard Drive (7200 RPM, SATA-II)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1GB DDR5
Cooler Master Hyper 212.

Honestly, I’d just grab a new motherboard, RAM, CPU, case, GPU, and power supply. It's probably a better move than trying to patch up an old AM2+ or AM3 build.

My budget is around $6,500, give or take a few bucks.

I'm looking to offload some parts from my old rig. Here’s my take on what they're worth:
Processing 200.
Rami 480? Please.
MBO 350.
Hard drive's 150 bucks. Overpriced.
$150. Not worth it.
$250 for a case? That's overkill.

That's all I've got. Hope you guys didn't get lost along the way.

Don't listen to that idiot. Why bother fixing things that actually work and get the job done?
I'd just swap out the motherboard, power supply, and CPU. Maybe the RAM and the case too.
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 - $417
8GB DDR3 RAM. $183
Looking for a decent B85 board. $167
Either a Corsair VS550 or a Seasonic unit around that wattage. Pick one and move on. $167
Looking for some Z3 case or something around $300.$133
Just hang onto the rest... that GPU can still handle games for now, so you might as well squeeze everything out of it. If it starts hitting a wall in a year, then just grab a new one.

Alright, here's the deal.
I'm pretty sure I don't need a new GPU—my current one handles everything I play just fine (mostly online stuff: World of Tanks, LoL, occasionally RIFT and Battlefield 4, plus Call of Duty 4)

I’ll be keeping my current CPU cooler, the graphics card, the SSD, and my 1TB hard drive.

Build me a rig right around the $4,000 mark.$100 Make it a total "best buy"—you know, maximum bang for my buck. It could even go for less than $1333 if it's actually a killer deal.

Thanks for the help, guys.

I didn't realize you already had an SSD in the mix. If that's the case, maybe just grab a setup like this and you'll have a solid foundation for at least the next five years.

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Processor (3.60GHz,1MB,6MB,95 W,AM4) Box
1 x MSI Z97-G43 Gaming, s1150
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 1866MHz, CL10, Kingston Fury
1 x EVGA SuperNOVA, 450 W, active PFC
1 x Samsung DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Coolermaster K280, MIDI, black, USB 3.0, without PSU

$1414
techcrunch.com

And honestly, if anyone tries to tell you the power supply is insufficient, they probably don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Charles Kim2 said:So, here’s the deal.
I honestly don't think I need a top-tier graphics card right now, because my current one handles everything I play just fine (I mostly stick to online stuff: World of Tanks, League of Legends, and occasionally RIFT or Battlefield 4, plus Call of Duty 4)

I’m planning on keeping my CPU cooler, the GPU, my SSD, and my 1TB hard drive.

Could you guys help me put together a build in the $4,000 range?$100 I’m really looking for that "best buy" sweet spot—you know, the absolute most bang for my buck. It could even go for less than $1333 if it truly represents the best value possible.

Thanks so much, guys, for taking the time to help me out.

Honestly, for the types of games you're playing, you'd get way more mileage out of investing in a newer, beefier processor instead. Then, if you can manage to squirrel away some cash over the next two or three years, you could jump to a completely new generation of components and essentially have a brand-new machine.

As for all that extra noise about getting a different power supply or insisting on a six-core processor and such... you can pretty much just ignore all of that. ☕