Can I upgrade?

[jvrankul]

My specs are as follows:

• 
  ■Intel Core i3 CPU 550 @3.2GHZ
  ■MSI 2A9C Motherboard
  ■8GB DDR3 RAM (Max Capacity)
  ■AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB

Basically I am looking to upgrade my PC (if possible) so that I can run a new game I got recently (ArcheAge) at a consistent, decent frame rate which does not drop massively like it currently does during high intensive periods of play in crowded areas etc.

I initially started running the game with 4GB RAM and it ran like absolute shit because the engine of the game itself uses ~4GB of memory. I purchased an additional 4GB of RAM and it made a huge difference to my frame rate and prevented some crashing etc., however I still get average frame rates, (50-60 at best, down to 30 at most times, sometimes below 15). The FPS drops the longer I play and I'm really not sure what I can do to improve things. Another thing I want to note is that about once or twice every half hour while playing my PC monitor goes black, then restarts after about 15-20 seconds and says the GPU driver crashed but was restored (or something along those lines).

I don't know what would be a good value upgrade, I am not sure what GPUs would be compatible with my motherboard and if my processor is powerful enough to handle any decent GPU.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. As an aside, I don't really fancy buying a new PC as of right now, I would rathher upgrade if possible.

 

[lightcloud]

The first and most important thing to play games is to upgrade the PSU then the GPU.

 

[PassMark]

The MB has a LGA1156 socket. So you could upgrade to CPUs like Core i7 880 or 870. But it would almost make more sense to replace the MB and CPU.

Almost any video card will "work" in your motherboard. But no point going for top of the line video, with that older CPU.

For the crashes, check the drivers are up to date, check the temperatures and you have a large enough power supply.

 

[jvrankul]

The first and most important thing to play games is to upgrade the PSU then the GPU.

Thankyou for the quick reply. Would any PSU suffice? Is any PSU compatible with my motherboard and will the GPU also be compatible? I am terribly clueless when it comes to this sorry.

 

[lightcloud]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

 

[jvrankul]

The MB has a LGA1156 socket. So you could upgrade to CPUs like Core i7 880 or 870. But it would almost make more sense to replace the MB and CPU.

Almost any video card will "work" in your motherboard. But no point going for top of the line video, with that older CPU.

For the crashes, check the drivers are up to date, check the temperatures and you have a large enough power supply.

My GPU gets to about 75C while playing. Would a 750W power supply be sufficient to support most GPUs/processors? Also I am concerned if I were to do these upgrades whether or not it would all fit in the case which is a HP prebuilt case.

 

[jvrankul]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

 

[lightcloud]

The MB has a LGA1156 socket. So you could upgrade to CPUs like Core i7 880 or 870. But it would almost make more sense to replace the MB and CPU.

Almost any video card will "work" in your motherboard. But no point going for top of the line video, with that older CPU.

For the crashes, check the drivers are up to date, check the temperatures and you have a large enough power supply.

My GPU gets to about 75C while playing. Would a 750W power supply be sufficient to support most GPUs/processors? Also I am concerned if I were to do these upgrades whether or not it would all fit in the case which is a HP prebuilt case.

Oh it is a pre built by HP. SO the case is most likely to be a mid case and can probably fit a Nvidia 760 or R9 270 or 270x.

But if you do that. You will need to upgrade your GPU and the CPU. Yes the 750W would be suffice incident to support.

 

[lightcloud]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

 

[jvrankul]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

Do you know if my motherboard has sockets to support a decent CPU?

 

[lightcloud]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

Do you know if my motherboard has sockets to support a decent CPU?

i7 975 is the best and fits the LGA 1156 mobo.

 

[jvrankul]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

Do you know if my motherboard has sockets to support a decent CPU?

i7 975 is the best and fits the LGA 1156 mobo.

Is there anything cheaper that would give good performance? What are your thoughts on this as an upgrade? http://puu.sh/aRRFE/e5074990db.png ~ unsure on a GPU as of right now.

 

[jvrankul]

Although I just realized I wouldn't have to buy a new motherboard if I went with the i7 975 so it may be cheaper to go down that route.

 

[lightcloud]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

Do you know if my motherboard has sockets to support a decent CPU?

i7 975 is the best and fits the LGA 1156 mobo.

Is there anything cheaper that would give good performance? What are your thoughts on this as an upgrade? http://puu.sh/aRRFE/e5074990db.png ~ unsure on a GPU as of right now.

That's a good upgrade. But if you want to stay with the same motherboard. Here's the link with the great CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-750-overclock,2438-2.html

 

[jvrankul]

Don't feel sorry and I was once like that before learning.

Anyways back to the point. Getting a new PSU will not have a problem. But if you get a new GPU then your GPU May bottleneck your CPU.

Would you recommend upgrading to an i7 in that case? I didn't think that was possible but PassMark says it should be. I could get an i7, with a new PSU and a new GPU I just don't know if it would all fit in my case, and also whether or not I should get a new motherboard along with all that.

Anything is possible with upgrading. What you need to know is if you upgrade your CPU then a new PSU may be needed and a mobo MUST be needed if it doesn't have the same socket.

The GPU can be included just remember that your case must be able to fit it and a PSU may be needed.

Do you know if my motherboard has sockets to support a decent CPU?

i7 975 is the best and fits the LGA 1156 mobo.

Is there anything cheaper that would give good performance? What are your thoughts on this as an upgrade? http://puu.sh/aRRFE/e5074990db.png ~ unsure on a GPU as of right now.

That's a good upgrade. But if you want to stay with the same motherboard. Here's the link with the great CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-750-overclock,2438-2.html

Holy shit that i5 750 seems insane for its price. And it would definitely fit in a MSI 2A9C mobo? If so I think I might get it, along with that power supply and a new GPU (any recommendations?). Also do you have any idea how loud that PSU is in my pic?

 

[lightcloud]

GPU a would most likely be a 600 series by Nvida or 7000 series by AMD.

How can't say how loud in would be but probably like almost any ordinary PSU. 😉

 

[jvrankul]

GPU a would most likely be a 600 series by Nvida or 7000 series by AMD.

How can't say how loud in would be but probably like almost any ordinary PSU. 😉

Is 7000 series really good enough to run a game like ArcheAge on high settings with good FPS? I have the 7770 right now and I think it is pretty bad in terms of performance with the game. http://imgur.com/a/dqPnU

 

[jvrankul]

GPU a would most likely be a 600 series by Nvida or 7000 series by AMD.

How can't say how loud in would be but probably like almost any ordinary PSU. 😉

How about the Radeon HD 6990?

 

[jvrankul]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

 

[jvrankul]

GPU a would most likely be a 600 series by Nvida or 7000 series by AMD.

How can't say how loud in would be but probably like almost any ordinary PSU. 😉

I did a bit of reading and it seems like I can't get enough out of an i5 750 when comparing it to my i3 550, is it that much of an upgrade? I don't know how to overclock also.

 

[lightcloud]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

Hey are totally different the 280 is almost twice or more as good.


But don't mind posting your latest specs including any upgrades you would make. 😉

 

[jvrankul]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

Hey are totally different the 280 is almost twice or more as good.


But don't mind posting your latest specs including any upgrades you would make. 😉

I am pretty set on the R9 270X 2GB I feel like that's all I need in my GPU. The main dilemma I am having is with my processor. Will the i5 you suggested be a significant performance increase compared to my current i3 550. Also with the i5 processor and R9 270X 2GB how well do you think I will be able to run new games on high graphic settings?

 

[jvrankul]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

Hey are totally different the 280 is almost twice or more as good.


But don't mind posting your latest specs including any upgrades you would make. 😉

My specs would be as follows:

• 
  ■ CPU: i5 750 or i7 975 (really need advice on this)
  ■ RAM: 8GB DDR3 RAM
  ■ PSU: Thermaltake Litepower 700W Power Supply
  ■ GPU: Radeon R9 270X (upgrade from hd7770)
  ■ Motherboard: MSI 2A9C

 

[lightcloud]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

Hey are totally different the 280 is almost twice or more as good.


But don't mind posting your latest specs including any upgrades you would make. 😉

I am pretty set on the R9 270X 2GB I feel like that's all I need in my GPU. The main dilemma I am having is with my processor. Will the i5 you suggested be a significant performance increase compared to my current i3 550. Also with the i5 processor and R9 270X 2GB how well do you think I will be able to run new games on high graphic settings?

If it's a first gen i5 it will bottleneck the 270x. So highly not recommended.

If you have the money go with 4th or 3rd gen i5 and a 270x.

 

[jvrankul]

Also are R9 280X and HD 7970 the same thing?

Hey are totally different the 280 is almost twice or more as good.


But don't mind posting your latest specs including any upgrades you would make. 😉

I am pretty set on the R9 270X 2GB I feel like that's all I need in my GPU. The main dilemma I am having is with my processor. Will the i5 you suggested be a significant performance increase compared to my current i3 550. Also with the i5 processor and R9 270X 2GB how well do you think I will be able to run new games on high graphic settings?

If it's a first gen i5 it will bottleneck the 270x. So highly not recommended.

If you have the money go with 4th or 3rd gen i5 and a 270x.

What are the names of the 3rd/4th gen i5s? Are they still i5 750?