Upgrade Advise

EJ22

Hi Guys,
Following on from my build that I got a few months back, the missus is looking to upgrade her machine. It was a shop bought that we've added to over time before knowing the benefits of building over buying.

Her current specs are:


1. What is your budget? [€400]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming] for e.g. Final Fantasy 14, Total War: Rome 2, Tera, Payday 2.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?
RAM - 8GB 1333mgz Crucial Ballistic
HDD - 1TB Sata 2 3.0GB/s
Case - CM Storm Enforcer
PSU - 700W Corsair Gaming Series GS700
DVD Drive

5. Do you need a monitor? [No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1440x900] [Yes possibly to 1920x1080]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes]

8. How can you pay? Any

9. When are you purchasing? [ASAP]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [North Dublin]

For me, it looks like CPU, Mobo and GPU need upgrading the most with possibly the HDD later down the line. I picked these few bits out but any advice whether or not they're comparable to my build (i5-3570k, HD 7970) in terms of speed and performance is highly appreciate.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€98.98
ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0, AM3+, ATX|€61.72
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660Ti OC, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€199.90
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€379.59

TerrorFirmer

Good upgrade list, can't fault it, though a GPU upgrade would benefit yards alone, the 640 is old, outdated but relatively capable, dependent on what you're playing. Upgrading the GPU gives a much bigger boost than the CPU, though to be honest, can't fault what you've chosen.

BloodBath

Looks great. Good choices. I'd just add this cpu cooler to the list.

You should be able to get a moderate overclock with this and that board. Between 4.2-4.5ghz should be possible.

I'd add an ssd later.

EJ22

Thanks for the reply guys. I shall be ordering it today or tomorrow so.

EJ22

Hey again guys, So I never got around to buying these upgrades for one reason or another. I was wondering if they were still solid or is there anything else out there that now fits into my budget instead of the items I picked. Finally should I wait a few days for the AMD converence to be over in the even that the current 7xxx series gets a price reduction.

BloodBath

Nope that's still the best way to spend €400. Prices went up a little on HWVS though.

EJ22

BloodBath wrote: »

Nope that's still the best way to spend €400. Prices went up a little on HWVS though.

yep only a few euro so nothing to break the bank. Thanks very much mate can finally get them so

EJ22

Sorry to write again but decided to get it from amazon as they currently have the 660ti cheaper than Germany and as a result the parts come in about 30 quid cheaper. Before I pull the plunge though I was wondering if this motherboard is ok for over clocking etc with the fx 6300

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0054U7HIO/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Thanks again in advance

Edit: Thinking of getting an Asrock 970 Extreme4 as seen it recommended various times on boards. the extreme4 on amazon +660ti and FX6300 comes in at same price as I was paying from germany so would this be a better choice?

BloodBath

Where is this €30 cheaper 660ti on Amazon?

It's only a 760 chipset so I wouldn't say it will be great for overclocking. I think it's 4+1 phase with no vrm cooling. You might get a moderate overclock out of it. Around 4 - 4.3ghz.

Make sure the BIOS version it comes with supports the latest FX processors.

EJ22

BloodBath wrote: »

Where is this €30 cheaper 660ti on Amazon?

It's only a 760 chipset so I wouldn't say it will be great for overclocking. I think it's 4+1 phase with no vrm cooling. You might get a moderate overclock out of it. Around 4 - 4.3ghz.

Make sure the BIOS version it comes with supports the latest FX processors.

Hi again.

This is the 660TI i'm on about. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008X3CMTS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE The 30 quid cheaper refers to the total cost of the build (with processor and mobo) as i'm not having to pay the 19 euro delivery and the card is 159 pound which comes in at around 189.86 euro so 10er cheaper than hardwareversand.de totalling 30 quid cheaper.

I'm now thinking of getting the 970 extreme4 mobo instead as that will bring it up to the 380 i was going to spend from germany anyways and you seem to recommend that mobo quite a bit

BloodBath

I recommend it when people want an sli capable system on a budget. That's one of the cheapest boards that supports sli. It's not much better for overclocking but does have vrm cooling at least.

It wouldn't be a bad option if you think you might add a second card in future. Those 660ti's only use 135w of power at stock speed. Maybe 150w overclocked so the power requirements aren't crazy for 2 of them.

EJ22

BloodBath wrote: »

I recommend it when people want an sli capable system on a budget. That's one of the cheapest boards that supports sli. It's not much better for overclocking but does have vrm cooling at least.

It wouldn't be a bad option if you think you might add a second card in future. Those 660ti's only use 135w of power at stock speed. Maybe 150w overclocked so the power requirements aren't crazy for 2 of them.

I'd like to have the option of sli down the line. Out of curiosity which board would you pick from amazon which fits my budget along with the processor and 660ti? Sorry for all the questions as well I'm new to when it comes to the overclocking side of things