4 Year old PC upgrade assitance needed.

Associate
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9 Apr 2014
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Hi all,

Anny assistance advise would be much appreciated. I'm looking to upgrade this old PC I have. Im looking to spend about £500, any recommendations?

Can I get away with just upgrading the CPU and the GC?
  1. Powercolor Radeon R9 280 TurboDUO 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  2. Intel Core i5-4440 3.10GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
  3. MSI H81M-P33 Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
  4. Corsair CMY16GX3M2A2400C11R Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2400Mhz

Many thanks
 
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OP
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9 Apr 2014
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60
its mainly for gaming BTW. want it for scum when it comes out at the end of the month :

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

  • MINIMUM:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD FX-6300
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB / AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 20 GB available space

  • RECOMMENDED:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 20 GB available space
 
Soldato
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Derbyshire
you could get an i7 upgrade plus a better gpu for that much money, while im sure the 280 is a cracking card, it will be getting on a bit, maybe go the nvidia route.

basically something like this, but with the i7 being a used purchase for obvious reasons

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £559.84 (includes shipping: £9.90)​


quick google search suggests the 3gb 1060 is much a head of a 280x and so with yours being just a 280, it be even better still, but given you have the budget you are better off paying the small extra for the 6gb version.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Feb 2010
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14,591
you could get an i7 upgrade plus a better gpu for that much money, while im sure the 280 is a cracking card, it will be getting on a bit, maybe go the nvidia route.

basically something like this, but with the i7 being a used purchase for obvious reasons

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £559.84 (includes shipping: £9.90)


quick google search suggests the 3gb 1060 is much a head of a 280x and so with yours being just a 280, it be even better still, but given you have the budget you are better off paying the small extra for the 6gb version.
OP got a Freesync monitor though. 580 8GB with Freesync over 1060 6GB without Gsync any day.
 
Soldato
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@DazedNFused, Nvidia are expected to be announcing new GPUs later this month, so hold off there. Your CPU is still decent, but an i7-47xx CPU will add hyperthreading.

BTW You should remove that competitor link for your monitor.
 
Soldato
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@DazedNFused, Nvidia are expected to be announcing new GPUs later this month, so hold off there. Your CPU is still decent, but an i7-47xx CPU will add hyperthreading.

BTW You should remove that competitor link for your monitor.

all depends if they are introducing lower tier ones, pricing of **80 should be high and then will rocket uo once demand out strips supply. 2nd hand market might be good though . budget cards seems to hold or drop little in value for a while

if OP doesnt mind 2nd hand, might get a good deal with a little more for 1070 :D
 
Associate
OP
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9 Apr 2014
Posts
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Awesome, thanks guys. removed the link.

Ive seen a Zotac GTX 1070 on an auction site for 260, is that worth it then, or do you think I should hold out for the announcement?
 
Associate
OP
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9 Apr 2014
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60
I got one for £250 , got too excited so couldnt wait

I think I'll need a new psu as mines 500w, and about 5 years old, should I change this too? Or will it be ok?
 
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Soldato
Joined
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Finland
I think I'll need a new psu as mines 500w, should I change this too? Or will it be ok?
500W would be enough for GTX 1070 level graphics cards.
But question is if it's ever been actually 500W PSU and in what condition it's now.
There are lots of PSUs which aren't built to last and many dishonestly specced ones.
So what's the particular model?
 
Associate
OP
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9 Apr 2014
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60
Cool, thanks for confirming. If I was to get a new one what would you suggest I'd like it as silent as possible. Thanks

Around the £100 mark
 
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Soldato
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11,616
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That PSU belongs to family of FSP Epsilon platform...
Which had OK good-mediocre-bad performance.
Some earlier 700W PSUs with that platform basically broke ATX specification in amount of ripple straight away when new withotu any capacitor deteriorating!
(platform's more realistic rating seemed to be around 500W)

Capacitors of this particular OCZ branded variant seem to be real grab bag stuff varying some between review.
With maybe Teapo or two thrown in if getting them cheaply enough, but mostly CapXon/OST firmly two steps below high quality.

That graphics card is rather power hungry.
So if you've used PC lot/gamed more wouldn't anymore consider PSU to be in very reliable condition.
Especially if case is some ancient PSU on top one, those cheap capacitors won't be in good condition.
 
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