Quick question about my build

Hey everyone, I have a question regarding my current setup. Since money is a bit tight right now, I was thinking about upgrading my old motherboard with a slightly better graphics card—maybe something like an EVGA GTX 1060 x 2 or something similar. I'm wondering if my current board will actually support it. If it does, is this a decent temporary fix? I suppose I'm mostly worried about whether there might be some performance issues down the line. Thanks in advance. 🙂 😵

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus

It’ll work because the motherboard features a PCI-E x16 slot.

Could you let me know exactly which power supply you're running, what processor you have, and what kind of budget we're looking at for the graphics card?

I guess $333 I would separate them; I'm running a Phenom II X4 975 at 3600MHz, and the power supply is just a generic 400W unit.

Austin Morgan4 said:do $333 I'd separate them. I'm running a Phenom II X4 975 at 3600MHz, but the power supply is just a generic 400W unit.

You’ll need to swap out the power supply too. Honestly, I'm surprised the whole thing didn't just fry instantly, considering that CPU has a 125W TDP. 😲 Swap that power supply as soon as possible. Don't even worry about the GPU yet—you aren't going to find a decent card that can actually run on a budget like that, especially if you're looking for something new. What kind of graphics card have you been running up until now?

You need to ditch that power supply first. If you don't, you won't have enough cash left over to grab a new GPU that actually makes sense—you'll be stuck hunting for used parts. If you pick up a decent PSU for around $133, you could probably put somewhere between $200 toward a solid graphics card. What are you running right now?

That should be fine for the $333, though I'd probably pick up a power supply like this one. Is buying used a huge gamble, or is it possible to find a decent deal? Right now, I'm stuck with a Gigabyte Radeon 4650 1GB DDR2. 🙂

Try something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/p/product_info.php?products_id=15157

You get a 5-year warranty here. Alternatively, you could grab the LC6560GP3 at 560W from the link for $136. It’s a beefier power supply and the quality is roughly the same, just with a shorter warranty period. That would leave you with about $200 left over for your GPU.

http://www.craigslist.org/thread/894906

Since it still has some warranty coverage, there's a good chance the price is negotiable—the seller hasn't moved it in a while (it's been sitting on another forum too). Or, if you prefer, check eBay; just let me know which state you're in.

Since I'm based in New York City, this GPU situation works out fine for me. I'll definitely be picking up a new power supply this Monday. As for the graphics card, I probably won't pull the trigger until after August 20th, as I'm waiting on my paycheck to clear.

Alright, just reach out later regarding the graphics card and we can take a look then, but you absolutely have to sort out that power supply first.

EDIT

Also, if your PC is running too loud—meaning you haven't upgraded to an aftermarket cooler yet—something like this would be a lifesaver:

http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=lc-cc-95

I will be there. Thanks a lot, and I'll be in touch regarding the graphics card 🙂

I've gone ahead and cleaned up those posts above, so take a look (it turns out I found this guy on this forum too)

You also have the current EVGA 500 W on sale right now. Given that it’s actually higher quality and cheaper than the Hyper unit, it seems like the smarter pick to me. The only catch is that it comes with a 3-year warranty.

A buddy of mine is selling an EVGA GTX 1060 x 2. They've still got over a year of warranty left from the manufacturer, so if you're interested, let me know.

I’ve also got an EVGA SuperNOVA up for grabs. Honestly, I’d trade both just to get my hands on $333, so hit me up if you're interested.