• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

What to upgrade first GPU or CPU?

passo1987

passo1987

passo1987

Associate
Joined
26 Apr 2014
Posts
33
Hi every1. Not sure if thats the right section but I have question about upgrading my pc . ATM I have :
Cpu: Phenom x4 9750 2.4 Ghz
Mobo: Acer da078l boxer (aka piece of ****)
Ram: 4gb (2x2gb) ddr2 800 mhz
Gpu: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition
Psu: WinPower 500w
Case: NZXT Phenom 240
I want to make some upgrades but atm I can't spend to much (£250 max) ,
So not sure what first cpu+mobo+ram or gpu+psu.
Can u please help me with that? Thx
 
Not more than £250 . Thats why I want to do it in 2 .
For gpu and psu I was thinking about r9 280x plus psu or gtx 770 and psu .
For cpu I want i5 , mobo + 8gb ram . Just not sure which one first
 
You'd get the biggest boost going for the gpu/psu combo I imagine. Only thing is you won't be able to play CPU intensive games very well.

PSU (50 quid) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-SF
GPU (r9 280) (150 quid) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-347-SP

280x for 35 quid more, although not sure how good "powercolor" are.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-160-PC

Edit: Just realised it's DDR2 memory, I'll let someone weigh in as I imagine that will slow the system somewhat.
 
Last edited:
I use pc for gaming , rpgs most of the time , far cry (also 4) , lords of fallen , skyrim ,witcher . I playing on 1080p , even now but with low graphics
 
To be honest there's actually nothing wrong with that sort of hardware I just built my missis a rig to play elder scrolls online and i used all my old parts from the cupboard her rig is a e6600 and 4gb ddr2 and a old 2900xt and it runs eso on medium at 1680 fairly good it never lags tbh lol. If you want the cheapest boost Id overclock the cpu and then get a 2nd hand graphics card like a 7950 for 80 quid. That will be a big boost on its own, there's not much point in putting an amazing card in that rig because it will be bottle necked. Although if you are planning on upgrading the full system then do buy a powerful card, and then upgrade the cpu and mobo and ram later and unleash the full cards potential. But if it's going to take ages like say 6 months to get round to buying the cpu etc then don't bother getting a brand new powerful card as you won't get the full performance from it and they will of come down a lot in price and there will be something better by then. For me it's either do a cheap second hand upgrade and be happy with the extra boost or, go for a full system
 
Some people don't seem to know much about the Phenom I CPU, and jump right on the "upgrade the graphic card wagon"...

Phenom x4 9750 2.4 Ghz is even slower than a Core2Quad CPU such as the Q6600 2.4GHz...and between it and the 7770, it is the weaker link in most games, thus you really should upgrade that to a modern CPU+board+DDR3 memory first.

With you limited budget, you'd probably best stick with your 7770 for now, and spend around £50 of replacing that WinPower PSU with a proper PSU first before it go pops, and for the remaining £200, just go for a Z97 board, 8GB DDR3 memory, and a Pentium Anniversary G3258 or i3 CPU; if you'd consider 2nd hand, you'd probably be able to get a 2nd hand SandyBridge i5 2500K+Z68/Z77 board+8GB DDR3 memory for around £150-£170.

When you have another £100 to spare in the future, just grab a 2nd hand 7970 or GTX680 or something to replace your 7770.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom