200$ upgrade for 2 year old rig.

[daivdm_fox]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I'd upgrade the card to a 960.

 

[daivdm_fox]

So do you you think upgrading my GPU to that is better than doing my CPU? I usually get heavy loads (like 80-95%) when i'm in some graphic intense games on my processor.

 

[yeskay]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

 

[turkey3_scratch]

So do you you think upgrading my GPU to that is better than doing my CPU? I usually get heavy loads (like 80-95%) when i'm in some graphic intense games on my processor.

Yes I think it's still a better move, it's usually the better option. However, with those loads upping the CPU might be smarter. Really both could use a bump.

 

[yeskay]

So do you you think upgrading my GPU to that is better than doing my CPU? I usually get heavy loads (like 80-95%) when i'm in some graphic intense games on my processor.

Don't get GTX 960, purely because its a 128-bit card and also not a value oriented deal because of its higher price.

The 128-bit GTX 960 2GB @ $184.99
The 384-bit 3GB R9 280 @ $179.99

If you really need one now, get the R9 280 else, Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

 

[daivdm_fox]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

 

[yeskay]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

 

[daivdm_fox]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

 

[yeskay]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

I just checked that your processor was released way back in Dec 2008 and is pretty weak compared to current gen processors. I think the best way to go is upgrade to a new CPU and then get a new card.

Also I noticed that your ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX cannot accommodate FX 8350. So if your upgrading to that you will need a new motherboard.

It only supports these Vishera Processors:

AM3+ FX FD837EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD832EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3200MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8310WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3400MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8300WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40

Check the full CPU support list here

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

If you need a CPU upgrade, then this is a decent place to start.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4350 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $211.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 23:30 EDT-0400

 

[daivdm_fox]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

I just checked that your processor was released way back in Dec 2008 and is pretty weak compared to current gen processors. I think the best way to go is upgrade to a new CPU and then get a new card.

OK I can totally work with that! What am3+ processor do you recommend? I see a lot of different 8 core processors and I don't know which one would be the best for my system. Thanks so much for helping me!

 

[yeskay]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

I just checked that your processor was released way back in Dec 2008 and is pretty weak compared to current gen processors. I think the best way to go is upgrade to a new CPU and then get a new card.

OK I can totally work with that! What am3+ processor do you recommend? I see a lot of different 8 core processors and I don't know which one would be the best for my system. Thanks so much for helping me!

Also I noticed that your ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX cannot accommodate FX 8350. So if your upgrading to that you will need a new motherboard.

It only supports these Vishera Processors:

AM3+ FX FD837EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD832EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3200MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8310WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3400MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8300WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40

If you're going to stick with you existing board, pick the first one which is FX 8370E. Good one.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Get the AMD FX-8370E CPU.

 

[daivdm_fox]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

I just checked that your processor was released way back in Dec 2008 and is pretty weak compared to current gen processors. I think the best way to go is upgrade to a new CPU and then get a new card.

OK I can totally work with that! What am3+ processor do you recommend? I see a lot of different 8 core processors and I don't know which one would be the best for my system. Thanks so much for helping me!

Also I noticed that your ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX cannot accommodate FX 8350. So if your upgrading to that you will need a new motherboard.

It only supports these Vishera Processors:

AM3+ FX FD837EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD832EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3200MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8310WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3400MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8300WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40

If you're going to stick with you existing board, pick the first one which is FX 8370E. Good one.

Thanks so much! Will do.

 

[yeskay]

Hello! I am going to be getting GTA V for the PC when summer sales hit and I'm looking for a decent upgrade to my rig. My current setup is as follows:

Gpu: GTX 650 ti boost 2g

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 ghz

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RS70HO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (am3+ mobo)

RAM: 8gig ddr3 1333 PNY

PSU: Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE

This was a great entry level setup at the time, but with the coming of some great games this year, and the noticeable drops in fps in each new game, I want to beef it up a bit more. I'm looking for the best way I could upgrade this system to maximize it's performance for under 200$. Would GPU or CPU upgrade be better? I would love some help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Get this:

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg) {Great deal! IMO]
Total: $179.99

(OR)

Save the money, get any of the R9 300 Series coming in June 2015.

Cheers!
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 22:56 EDT-0400

Thanks for showing me that card! Thank you also for pointing out the release of the 300 series. I wont be purchasing this upgrade for about 2 months so I think ill do just that. But will my CPU bottleneck the new upgrade if I buy it?

Simple solution would be:

Get the card, test it out, if your CPU can't handle then go for a new one. Cheers!

But wouldn't it be safe to grab an upgrade for my CPU instead as this will help my GPU no matter what? I don't want buy something that possible wont help. Thanks!

I just checked that your processor was released way back in Dec 2008 and is pretty weak compared to current gen processors. I think the best way to go is upgrade to a new CPU and then get a new card.

OK I can totally work with that! What am3+ processor do you recommend? I see a lot of different 8 core processors and I don't know which one would be the best for my system. Thanks so much for helping me!

Also I noticed that your ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX cannot accommodate FX 8350. So if your upgrading to that you will need a new motherboard.

It only supports these Vishera Processors:

AM3+ FX FD837EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD832EWMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3200MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8310WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3400MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40
AM3+ FX FD8300WMW8KHK 95W Vishera 3300MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 P1.40

If you're going to stick with you existing board, pick the first one which is FX 8370E. Good one.

Thanks so much! Will do.

You're Welcome!

 

[Soul slayero]

your GPU will make ur games run alot better but if ur cpu is bottlenecking your gpu it wont use 100% of your video card id start with geting both honstly amd 8000+ cpu and like a gtx 970 would be good

 

[turkey3_scratch]

your GPU will make ur games run alot better but if ur cpu is bottlenecking your gpu it wont use 100% of your video card id start with geting both honstly amd 8000+ cpu and like a gtx 970 would be good

Uh, $200 budget man.