[SOLVED] I need an upgrade.. The PC I'm using is from 2015. Help Please!

[Varzoh]

I am now a broke college student, I am on a huge budget but want to play games with the biggest boost of fps at the lowest cost. I don't care if I only upgrade one component out of everything but I just need a boost in fps. I mainly play games like CSGO, Minecraft, Smite, Black ops 4, black desert online, GTA 5, no man's sky, rocket league, rust, etc... These games are not super pc intensive but I also do some premiere and photoshop edits on the side, nothing to huge to worry about but any boost with this computer I want badly. I don't have a budget but as cheap as you can go would be best <3 US Currency, please. Thank you!

PC Specs:
AMD FX-6300 CPU
8GB Corsair Ram
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 SuperSC GPU
970A-DS3P Motherboard
1TB Western Digital Storage
500 Watt EVGA PSU

 

[King_V]

That CPU actually dates back to late 2012.

Unfortunately, the AM3 platform is dated a dead end. There are no modern CPUs for it, and if you wanted a RAM upgrade, you'd be investing in DDR3 RAM which has been supplanted by DDR4.

Assuming you're gaming at 1920x1080, a GPU upgrade would definitely help.

BUT - is the PSU up to the task? What specific model of EVGA 500W PSU is that?

Ideally, you'd move to a modern Ryzen platform, with DDR4 RAM.

I'm hoping someone can jump in on this thread and tell better than I can whether the games you play are more CPU intensive, or GPU intensive.


Still, before upgrading anything - I'd be more comfortable if I knew the specific model of PSU to see whether it's a high quality model or not. (note that bronze, silver, etc is EFFICIENCY rating, and has no bearing on whether it's high QUALITY).

 

[xravenxdota]

Here we have what they call upgrade package.It's ram mobo and cpu for a cheaper price than selling it individually.If you don't get even if it's a ryzen 5 3200/3400 altho you might as well go with a ryzen 5 2600 as they are about the same price

 

[Varzoh]

That CPU actually dates back to late 2012.

Unfortunately, the AM3 platform is dated a dead end. There are no modern CPUs for it, and if you wanted a RAM upgrade, you'd be investing in DDR3 RAM which has been supplanted by DDR4.

Assuming you're gaming at 1920x1080, a GPU upgrade would definitely help.

BUT - is the PSU up to the task? What specific model of EVGA 500W PSU is that?

Ideally, you'd move to a modern Ryzen platform, with DDR4 RAM.

I'm hoping someone can jump in on this thread and tell better than I can whether the games you play are more CPU intensive, or GPU intensive.


Still, before upgrading anything - I'd be more comfortable if I knew the specific model of PSU to see whether it's a high quality model or not. (note that bronze, silver, etc is EFFICIENCY rating, and has no bearing on whether it's high QUALITY).

This is my psu link EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AmJjDbTMN8FWK

 

[King_V]

Well, this thread from 2014 says that it's not a quality unit - so, if you were to upgrade to a faster video card that needs to draw more power, then you'd probably want to upgrade the PSU first before upgrading the video card. Not necessarily to one that has a greater power capacity, but one that is a more solidly built unit. Typically I recommend the Seasonic Focus line.

A new PSU could then be carried over to the new system when you eventually upgrade.

 

[Mr.Frisfruit]

You should really upgrade your CPU; it is outdated and no longer up to the task. I am pretty sure that the CPU is bottlenecking your system. Your GPU is still decent and can last for another year if you're satisfied with medium/medium-high settings. However, as King_V pointed out, it is not really worth it to invest in the old platform so I'd recommend you save some money to buy a new mobo, cpu and ram. This will set you back 250-350 dollars (depending on the CPU you get) but is futureproof for the next few years.

I expect that such an upgrade would improve your fps quite substantially.

 

[Karadjgne]

The only things salvageable from your current build are case, gpu and storage.

Apologies in advance.

Psu is garbage. It's OK for a direct OEM replacement in an office pc, but that's as far as it goes. The only psu that Evga puts its name on that's worse is the 500-N, which isn't even 80+ rated. In no way was it ever intended for the punishment a gaming gpu can dish out on amperage draws.

6300 and 8350 were the best of the FX line, both were OC monsters you couldn't kill, but, that depended on the mobo too. Of which the ds3-p was bottom of the barrel. You aren't going to get much out of that cpu, even if the other components were more worthy.

The gtx960, ehh. It's OK, decent back in the day, but goes head-to-head with a gtx1050ti, so good for 1080p/60Hz on high for many games, older titles ultra, new titles medium.

A new platform, worthy of the title 'Upgrade' is going to run @ $400-$500 but that can include an SSD, reputable psu as well.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - T-Force Delta RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX6000 Pro 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 520 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $389.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-07-10 21:30 EDT-0400

 

[Varzoh]

You should really upgrade your CPU; it is outdated and no longer up to the task. I am pretty sure that the CPU is bottlenecking your system. Your GPU is still decent and can last for another year if you're satisfied with medium/medium-high settings. However, as King_V pointed out, it is not really worth it to invest in the old platform so I'd recommend you save some money to buy a new mobo, cpu and ram. This will set you back 250-350 dollars (depending on the CPU you get) but is futureproof for the next few years.

I expect that such an upgrade would improve your fps quite substantially.

What mobo cpu and ram do you suggest I get that is around that $250-$300 price range you’re talking about?