Upgrading my current rig

Hey everyone 🙂

Here’s what I'm running right now:

• Processor: Intel Pentium E5200
• Motherboard: ASUS GA-EP31-DS3L
• RAM: 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9600 gt 512
• Power Supply: Linkworld LPK19-30 500 Watt

I didn't list my optical drive or hard drive since I'm keeping those.

First priority is an SSD. Doesn't need much capacity—just enough for the OS, apps, and the games I actually play. My old HDD will just be for movies and series. Also, I need at least 4 GB of RAM.

As for the CPU and GPU, I want them to handle modern titles on decent settings. Not looking for "ultra" everything, just maybe medium or high.

I also need a new Case because my current one won't fit anything new. Budget-wise, let's try to keep it under $0.83.

Thanks. 🙂

I’ve looked into it, and honestly, you won't get all that for that price. You should save up at least another $167 because I can't guarantee you'll hit medium/high settings in every game
.
What kind of Case are we talking about?

Try this instead:

1 x AMD Athlon x4 845 FM2, box
1 x Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2 (SFM2+,DDR3,DVI/VGA,USB3.0,SATA III) mATX
1 x KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 (8GB,1600MHz(PC3-12800)) CL11, Retail
1 x AMD Radeon R3 SATA III 120GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s, Read/Write: 520 MB/s / 360 MB/s, Random Read/Write IOPS 57K/18K, PN# R3SL120G
1 x Grafička kartica Palit GTX750 StormX OC 2GB DDR5
1 x MS Mercury 2, 1x12cm+1x9cm vent.

Total: $840 it futura

Your power supply is a bit crappy. If I were you, I'd ditch the SSD for now, grab a Fortron hexa 400 w, and pick up a 240GB SSD down the road. A 120GB drive isn't really ideal once you factor in the OS, your apps, and games. You could actually get better graphics for that money (like an R7 260 x), but I went with this build specifically to accommodate the power supply—it's just a lower risk. $10 You could always swap to an Athlon 840 if that helps the budget.

Thanks for getting back to me so fast. 🙂

The Case is just some random mid-tower. Ask away if you need specifics, because honestly, I don't have a clue what the model name is anymore.

Okay, what if we bump the budget up to $3,000 and grab a new power supply if needed for a different setup?

EDIT:
Maybe even push it to $3,500, but I really want an SSD in there. I'm not exactly a hardcore gamer, so it's not my top priority, but I'd love to play a few games here and there without having to crank everything down to low settings.

Look, there’s really no point in swapping one generic mid-tower for another random mid-tower, if you catch my drift. High-end cases usually start around the $100 mark, so I’d say skip that step for now. If you have room for extra fans, maybe toss those in to improve airflow. We've actually had cases on this forum where someone ended up with a better case than the one we suggested. Feel free to post a photo if you don't mind.

Here is a build without the case, featuring a reliable but budget-friendly power supply, a 240GB SSD, and a beefier graphics card.

1 x AMD Athlon x4 845 FM2, box
1 x Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2 (SFM2+,DDR3,DVI/VGA,USB3.0,SATA III) mATX
1 x KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 (8GB,1600MHz(PC3-12800)) CL11, Retail
1 x SSD AMD Radeon R3 240GB
1 x hexa 400 w, 80+
1 x MSI GF GTX950 2GD5, 2GB,GDDR5,DVI, HDMI,DP, DX12

Total: $1073 for the future. It's not a bad idea to throw this in; the CPU will run cooler and quieter, though the stock cooler will get the job done just fine.

Here are some shots of the Case:
Image #1
Image #2

If what you mentioned actually fits in this Case, then we're golden 😁 If not, just toss me a link to another one and I'll probably just grab the computer there instead. 🙂

I second everything said above... though I have to admit, having an R7 260 x in this setup is a bit of a headache, I guess. $150 It's definitely cheaper, and I guess you aren't seeing a massive jump over the GTX950—maybe around 30% at most. As for gaming performance:

I can't really watch videos directly through this interface, but if you drop a summary or some details about what happens in the clip, I'd be happy to take a look at it and give you my thoughts. Maybe I'll have something useful to add once I know what we're talking about.
I guess this video covers some interesting ground regarding hardware limitations. It seems like there might be more to the story than what's being shown on screen, maybe.

Turn down the volume. 😁)

I guess I should probably just stay quiet for now. Maybe. $150 Maybe you could drop the price a bit lower? $1000 Including the CPU cooler, too.

In that case, I might just grab the R7 260 x instead. Since I'm not some hardcore gamer, if there isn't a massive performance gap, the R7 260 x should be more than enough to get me through some casual sessions.

Jamie Jones58 said:Here are some shots of the Case:
Image #1
Image #2

If everything you mentioned fits inside this Case, then we're golden. 😁 If not, throw in a photo of another one and I’ll probably just grab that PC from Best Buy instead. 🙂

A front view would have been helpful too. Honestly, I wouldn't bother swapping it out for that other one listed $67; it doesn't make much sense to me. Just give it a good cleaning, maybe add some fans (front ones if there's room), and call it a day. It reminds me of those generic Dell or HP office towers.

As for the R7 260 x, go for it if the performance meets your needs.

Front view. Here’s what it looks like from the front 😁

BTW, you got any benchmarks for those two cards so I can compare them?

It’s surprisingly tough to find a single review that compares the R7 260 x directly against the gtx 950. Basically, this kind of gap exists between them (though the 750Ti is still a solid contender for you). You'd end up paying about $33 an extra hundred bucks, but you'd at least get a much quieter card.

I don't know which Case you're using, but this is roughly equivalent to buying a brand-new unit for around $100-$50
.
EDIT

I eventually tracked down some data from a German site. They even have an interactive comparison tool—just click here to see it.

Nice 🙂 Thanks for all the info. I might even pull the trigger on the GTX950, we'll see.