Gaming PC upgrade advice needed

slambo69 · 16 Jan 2014 at 20:52

Hi all,

Thinking of upgrading my gaming pc as it is struggling with bf4 64 player maps, even with low settings. I have the following:

Motherboard: MSI-7641
CPU: AMD 4130 quad at 3.8 GHz
Memory: 5 Gb
GFX card: ATI Radeon HD 3800

Not looking for something to run everything on ultra, just something for smooth performance on medium/high settings. Should i scrap this and start a fresh or will it be ok to upgrade parts? Any advice welcome.

Idleman · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:00

I would get yourself in the MM and sort out a good rig.

slambo69 · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:08

You dont think it is a case of upgrading a few components?

Idleman · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:15

slambo69 said:
You dont think it is a case of upgrading a few components?

New mobo, Cpu, ram and a Gpu.
What Psu do you have?

slambo69 · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:21

its a zm 600 - hp, 600 watt i guess?

Idleman · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:26

slambo69 said:
its a 600 zm - hp, 600 watt i guess?

That will be alright for a decent Gpu.

If you look in the MM you can get a 2500k, P67/Z68 mobo and ram for about £200 and then whatever Gpu meets your needs.

BinnsY · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:27

Scrap it and start again.

Assuming you dont want to spend a fortune, something like this would be a good step up.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Boost OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Card £146.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-SLI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HDTS212EZSTA 9.5mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £47.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £39.95
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £17.99
Total : £707.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).

If this is too expensive you could shave £100 off by changing to slightly lower end AMD parts, or alternatively if you have more you could swap the GPU in this to the 280x for a nice bump in performance.

slambo69 · 16 Jan 2014 at 21:33

Thanks for the replies.

Binnsy, seems like a good set of parts, I could probably use my old case and hard drives, would my PSU be k for those components?

BinnsY · 16 Jan 2014 at 22:47

I'd have thought so, if it's more than 5 years old though I would personally still pay the £40 for a new one.

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 06:30

This AMD8320 and MSI mobo would make a nice upgrade.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18572531

or this mobo with the 8320

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18573317

just add in some ram(2x4gb) and a cooler. Then whatever Gpu you want.

Andygully · 17 Jan 2014 at 07:33

just build up your main parts first off then add later a better case, cooler etc thats is what i did on my first build

slambo69 · 17 Jan 2014 at 07:51

That seems best for me, from what I read its my cpu holding me back on bf4 multiplayer, but im guessing its recommended that i dont just upgrade my cpu and keep my existing motherboard and just get a new motherboard, cpu and memory?

Could I get say just the AMD 8320 now and then worry about upgrading other stuff later?

Again thanks for the help guys

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 07:56

slambo69 said:
That seems best for me, from what I read its my cpu holding me back on bf4 multiplayer, but im guessing its recommended that i dont just upgrade my cpu and keep my existing motherboard and just get a new motherboard, cpu and memory?

The Cpu and mobo(either one) along with 8GB of ram and a cooler will make a massive difference. Then just add a 270x or 280x. Or a secondhand 7950 or 670.

If you go for the 8320, then you need one of the mobo`s plus ram, at least.

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 09:00

Here`s a really cheap upgrade.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18572321

slambo69 · 17 Jan 2014 at 12:00

Would the M5a97 do over the m5a99 motherboard?

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 12:26

slambo69 said:
Would the M5a97 do over the m5a99 motherboard?

Which one, there are 3 M5A97 boards.

The M5A99 in the FS thread is cheaper and a far better board than the M5A97`s.

slambo69 · 17 Jan 2014 at 12:36

Idleman said:
This AMD8320 and MSI mobo would make a nice upgrade.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18572531

just add in some ram(2x4gb) and a cooler. Then whatever Gpu you want.

Put my name down for the 8320 and motherboard in that thread. Do you recommend any memory or cooling? I will have a search around for gpu's as I guess my HD 3800 wont work on it at all?

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 12:54

slambo69 said:
Put my name down for the 8320 and motherboard in that thread. Do you recommend any memory or cooling? I will have a search around for gpu's as I guess my HD 3800 wont work on it at all?

Hope you get it.
Keep your eye out in the MM for a GTX670 or equivalent card. How much do you want to pay for a Gpu?
Do you need anything else?

YOUR BASKET
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 412S CPU Cooler £28.99
Total : £98.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).

slambo69 · 17 Jan 2014 at 13:22

Thanks. Not sure, not much more than £150 if that will get me a reasonable one?

Idleman · 17 Jan 2014 at 13:51

A 270x will cost about £150, but a 670 is better if you can pick one up in the MM for the same price.