Looking to Upgrade PC on a budget

ConfusedComputer99

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Jan 9, 2015
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Hi everyone, I bought a 'gaming PC' 2 years ago for £320 and have since tried a number of games, none of which worked above 30fps apart from MC. I am looking to play games fairly casually so do not need a super PC but I would like to play FPS like Call of Duty without any major issues. I have a budget of £200 and would like to see a fair amount of difference for it.
Thank you very much for any answers.

My current specs are as follows
Graphics chip - AMD Radeon HD 6450
CPU - AMD FX(tm)-6100 Six Core Processor
Motherboard - M5A78L-M/USB3
RAM - 16GB
24" HD Screen
 
Solution
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/2BE7CIZ3P506U/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o

did it all on amazon to save on delivery costs
that includes an aftermarket cooler (& well worth the 13 quid)

That is not the best psu in the world but it is a 'REAL'' 600w one - you dont need 600w at all but psu prices have shot through the roof of late,ordering from elsewhere would incur a 10 quid delivery charge due to the weight of decent ones.

I reckon this will put you firmly 60fps solid at medium settings at least mate,maybe more & capable of high or ultra settings on older titles easily,
that little zalman cooler will let you push your cpu a little more & if youre not interested in that it will let your system run a lot cooler & quieter than the...
What type of case does the system have? A lot of prebuilt systems (Dell, HP, Lenovo etc) have very limited ventilation and some use slimline (narrow) cases, which will make the upgrade more tricky.
Another probable issue is the power supply, most prebuilt systems come with a adequate unit but there's often little spare capacity for any hardware upgrades.
If you don't know what unit is installed, there's usually a label stuck to the side of it, just pop off the side panel and post: Total Wattage and Amps on the plus 12 volt line or lines. Also look for a unused 6 pin PCI-E plug: http://www.mechbgon.com/build/8-pin_pcie.jpg it'll either look like this (6+2) or it will not have the little two pin part beside it (6 pin).
 


Thanks for the speedy reply, I'm afraid I'm not sure how to check my power supply.
Also are there any slightly cheaper alternatives as I was hoping not to spend the full £200, more like 150-175
 
You could go with this one instead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SAPPHIRE-AMD-Graphics-Card-DDR5/dp/B00IRTXPBM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420829806&sr=8-2&keywords=r9+285

Not much difference in performance between the first card I linked and this one. You could easily overclock it a tad and match the first cards stock performance.

To find out what you have for a power supply, you will need to open your case and look for the specs that are usually printed on the unit itself. It should have the make and model there and we can do the rest.
 




Ok, so I only have a 500W output I think so do I need to buy a new PSU and if so will installing it be a great hassle as I'm not the most experienced
 






You shouldn't need a PSU upgrade - a rough calculation says that your rig will draw about 425w at max.
 


I'm guessing it's a 500w generic/no name brand PSU.

This one should do you well: Seasonic S12II-620 http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=52174&vpn=SS-620GB&manufacture=Seasonic%20Electronics&promoid=1586

 
"You shouldn't need a PSU upgrade - a rough calculation says that your rig will draw about 425w at max."

Sorry I'm not that familiar with building computers and how PSUs work, so will I need to upgrade my PSU to use either of the suggested graphics cards??
 



Well first off, I was not the person that said this. You have my name quoted to someone elses comment. Second off he does not know your make/model of power supply. If it's a cheap generic unit, it may say 500w but might only output 300w. The older it is the lower the wattage it can supply as well due to capacitor aging. I would buy a new unit if I were you, unless you can give us an exact make and model of your current unit so we can advise further. Even just a model number would be enough to do a google search for.
 


If your PSU can already output 500w there isn't really a massive need to upgrade your PSU. The R9 280 uses about 300w when under load while the R9 280X is recommended for a PSu at 600w or more - you may be able to just make it but be careful as not enough power is bad for the entire PC.
 


Neither is running a PSU at 90%+ it's capacity, especially if it is a cheap unit..... BOOM there goes the computer if something goes wrong.....

PS: The r9 280 uses no where near 300w. ATX standard allows up to 300w for a video card is all. Either way, you should stop telling this guy he will be fine, when you don't have any idea what you are talking about. You do not know what power supply he currently has, and you have no idea how much power a video card uses. You really have no relevant information to add here and your help is not required. Sorry.
 


I see your point but OP says that he isn't too confident with replacing the PSU so maybe downsizing the graphics card may just be easier for him...
 


open the side of your case
it will have a label like this

voltage_label.jpg

either write the above info down & post it
OR
take a photo & upload it
OR just let us know the make & model of the psu
assuming its half decent my suggestion would be a cheapish aftermarket cooler,a decent overclock & a r9 270x
that will give you a fairly decent performance increase for well under 150quid.


 



I guess I missed that he isn't confident in changing his power supply. That's easily solved though. Here is a guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvClS_M-09o

@OP Changing out a power supply is very simple. It should not be a problem at all. Most cables only have one place you can even plug them into.
 
^ terrible psu mate ,virtually a overspecced 280-300w
Surprised you're running your current specs on it without problems to be honest !! :-(

What's the absolute max you can spend??
You have a fairly decent mb/CPU/ram setup as it is but I would replace the PSU asap (& I'm not one of the toms 'only recommend PSU tier list' guys but that is seriously what we call in the UK 'a bag 'o' sh1te psu'
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/2BE7CIZ3P506U/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o

did it all on amazon to save on delivery costs
that includes an aftermarket cooler (& well worth the 13 quid)

That is not the best psu in the world but it is a 'REAL'' 600w one - you dont need 600w at all but psu prices have shot through the roof of late,ordering from elsewhere would incur a 10 quid delivery charge due to the weight of decent ones.

I reckon this will put you firmly 60fps solid at medium settings at least mate,maybe more & capable of high or ultra settings on older titles easily,
that little zalman cooler will let you push your cpu a little more & if youre not interested in that it will let your system run a lot cooler & quieter than the stock amd heatsink+ it is an absolute cinch to fit.
Im 100% familiar with your cpu/mb setup so if you need help I am a pm away
 
Solution
"I reckon this will put you firmly 60fps solid at medium settings at least mate,maybe more & capable of high or ultra settings on older titles easily,
that little zalman cooler will let you push your cpu a little more & if youre not interested in that it will let your system run a lot cooler & quieter than the stock amd heatsink+ it is an absolute cinch to fit.
Im 100% familiar with your cpu/mb setup so if you need help I am a pm away"

So with these upgrades I'll be able to play games like CoD at 30-60 FPS depending on graphics settings??
 


yup mate most definitely - advanced warfare maybe 50-60fps on high 😉

youve been so underspecced on the gpu & psu front for so long it will seem like a completely different pc.
get your parts ,get back to me & we'll optimise your setup with a little overclock to 3.8ghz & you will be a happy man,trust me