need help upgrading Computer, What to upgrade first?

jakebcknghm · 12 Oct 2015 at 18:01

Hi all,

I've been looking into upgrading my computer for a while but never really done anything about it. i played quite a few games on my computer and found now that i cant put things on max graphics or even medium without having FPS Issues.

so just wanted to ask about what on my build i should upgrade first.
i have quite a tight budget but if i can get some hints on a list of things i can work my way though upgrading my computer.

Current Build :
CPU : AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1100T Processor (6 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
GPU : AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
Motherboad : AMD Sabertooth 990fx
Ram : 2 x 4GB 1688hz
Hard Drive : OCZ Agility 60gb SATA 6Gb/s SSD
& 1 tb HDD 7200RPM
power supply : SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply
CPU cooling fan : Alpenfhn Sella CPU Cooler - 92mm

any help would be much appreciated

teenwolf · 12 Oct 2015 at 18:02

I would upgrade the gpu first depending on budget.

Overclock the cpu if not already

Quartz · 12 Oct 2015 at 18:15

Exactly which one of the 6900 series? There's a big difference between a HD 6930 and a HD 6990.

jakebcknghm · 12 Oct 2015 at 19:50

its the HD Radion 6970 Sapphire edition , um i can probably stretch the budget for a GPU to £200 - 300

FloppyPoppy · 12 Oct 2015 at 19:59

jakebcknghm said:
its the HD Radion 6970 Sapphire edition , um i can probably stretch the budget for a GPU to £200 - 300

a GTX 970 Would be a huge boost

and well within your price range

jakebcknghm · 12 Oct 2015 at 20:48

So go for upgrading a GPU first rather than CPU ?

mickyflinn · 12 Oct 2015 at 20:59

harry5522 said:
a GTX 970 Would be a huge boost and well within your price range

Also a 390 Would be a huge boost but the 970 comes with 2 games.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Zotac GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (ZT-90101-10P) £249.95
1 x HIS Radeon R9 390 IceQ X2 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H390QM8GD) £249.95

Quartz · 12 Oct 2015 at 22:45

Yes, go for the GPU, and add a better CPU cooler and overclock that CPU.

jakebcknghm · 12 Oct 2015 at 22:47

Will these still be ok with a 650w power supply ? Also I was looking at if its worth changing over to Intel cpu as they seem to have more powerful, for gaming at the moment ?

FloppyPoppy · 12 Oct 2015 at 22:55

Your PSU will be more than enough

in fact the 970 would probably pull less power from the psu than the 6970 due to both company striving for better power/thermal efficiency. But either way a 650W is plenty for either of the cards above!

jakebcknghm · 13 Oct 2015 at 17:36

oh ok perfect

what about after that should i go for upgrading a CPU ? could probably budget for around the same 200 - 300 mark but in good few months, any good amd processors to come out or should i try swap over to Intel ?

jakebcknghm · 13 Oct 2015 at 17:39

also just wondering about these two Graphics cards one has Double the memory ? does that mean that ones is more powerful or is there more to take into account ?

jakebcknghm · 13 Oct 2015 at 17:40

mickyflinn said:
Also a 390 Would be a huge boost but the 970 comes with 2 games.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Zotac GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (ZT-90101-10P) £249.95
1 x HIS Radeon R9 390 IceQ X2 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H390QM8GD) £249.95

also just wondering about these two Graphics cards one has Double the memory ? does that mean that ones is more powerful or is there more to take into account ?

mnc fear · 14 Oct 2015 at 11:37

The Powercolour 390 at £229 is a great choice too