My first better than mediocre system in the making..

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mdgraham

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Nov 28, 2012
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10,510
So...
I was always the one that got the hand-me-downs...
The shitty hand-me-downs....

Well now it's time for my first set of upgrades and although I am very tech savvy (In the installation of things I understand and the basic understanding of things that I do not).. I have never been great at WHAT to get.. Just too many variables...

Here is my current system:
Windows 7 Ultimate
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+.... I think it's originally 2.6ghz? I've had it OC'd to 3.19 for so long I can't even remember it's base clock.
6gbs of DDR2 (I can't run DDR3, but with your help I soon will).
Nvidia GTX 560 it's the 'superclocked' one by evga, 1gb gddr5
Biostar TA770 A2+ (I believe it's the 5.x version, not the 6.x)
My HDD is probably the oldest thing I own, and I personally DO NOT like Western Digital but the 600gb drive was free...
It's full model number is WD6400AAKS-22A7B2 I can't remember the DTR on it..
I bought a soundcard because this mobo's Realtek died..
OH EDIT: My PSU is.... a pretty unreliable piece of--- annoying coil whining 700-750w... I can replace it if I have to pretty easily... It's 'true' wattage is probably in the 600s.
Should have no problem powering what I'm upgrading though..

I'm not looking to do an entire redo or I'd do it from scratch..
I'm not looking for a High-End build either..
Just a non-mediocre one, and any help you all can provide is very appreciated.

It will be mainly for gaming as well as a gamer's occasional non-gaming needs...
Music, Media, Porn, etc..

The main things I'm looking at upgrading are:
the motherboard, the cpu, the ram, and the hdd (definitely looking at an SSD but I won't spend more than $100 for that so it would only be an OS holder most likely)..
My Video Card is rather new (as in, I bought it a few months ago) and it isn't UTTERLY out of date like the rest of my system so I'm not looking to upgrade that..

I'm an Intel person, Intel has always treated me well in the past and it's always seemed to have the most room for growth as well as overclockability...
I don't plan on OC'ing unless I have to, I know how but won't buy a great cooling system so depending on how much power is used I wouldn't OC very high..
Bigger base is better but if it's got good temps at high OC i'll take a look 😀

Sorry for the long post, just looking for some help with this..
My budget is about $500-$600 total for mobo, cpu, ram, and hdd/ssd.

Edit: Also, I was looking at the i5 3450 3.2ghz (or was it the 3.1)... Which seems to be great for the price but I'm wide open to suggestions at this point.
 
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Well if you are into overclocking, you are going to need a processor that has a "K" suffix, meaning it is unlocked and will overclock. Your video card as you have said is still pretty good.

The motherboard really depends on if you want to overclock.

Also, do you have anything IDE in your computer? (The thick ribbon cables)
 
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Nope I'm entirely SATA.

I'll overclock if the performance versus price is better without having a cooling system (other than 6 fans)..
I'm up for saving money, but only to put more into another component.
 
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I recommend you sell your 560 ti and get a 7870, but otherwise:

-get an i5-3570k
-get a mobo of your choosing
-get 2x4GB of 1600 MHz ram
-then get a decent sized SSD (like a 256 GB, you will have the extra money)

Like I said I think you will have enough money left over to sell your currend card and get a really good one, but that's up to you...
 
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I wouldn't sell the 560 yet. Its not too old. But with a 500-600 budget, you can get alot of things.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $366.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-28 18:36 EST-0500)

Here's a start without overclocking. With it, you are going to be adding like $30 or so, maybe more, I forgot.
 
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I appreciate the feedback, but I'm not a radeon fan, they take forever and a half to release drivers and when those drivers end up buggy it's just a headache.
I'm trying to decide between the 3570k and the 3470..
My video card will be upgraded someday, but not until I get a good amount of use out of it and right now it's far from the weakest link in my system (probably the strongest atm)..




I definitely need a new mobo for the DDR3 ram (at the least, USB3 and 6gb satas are always nice) but is it worth investing more $$ into or just get a working $70?


Do either of you think the 3570k is worth an extra $40?
If I overclock it, how are the temps?
I'm not willing to get a dedicated cooling system.
 
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I will say that any complaints towards AMD OR Nvidia's drivers have no grounds. I have actually had far more problems with nvidia's drivers. In all honesty both have fine drivers in reality. If you have to buy nvidia, don't buy now because their cards are crazy overpriced.

For example my 7970 is $400 and I have overclocked it to the point that it is scoring higher than overclocked 590's and 6990's (FYI that makes my card 4 times stronger than yours). I am not trying to put you down or brag. The problem is the 680 is $70 more and quite a bit weaker. Hell a 7870 overclocked would probably be nearly 3 times as strong as yours and it is only $230.

Last year Nvidia easily had the strongest cards since even a 570 could beat a 6970, but now the tables have turned, and nvidia still costs more!

As for the CPU (Sorry for that book lol), I recommend the cheaper of the i5's for you. You clearly don't want to bother with the extra stuff, so just stick with the cheaper one. It won't bottleneck a thing. Oh and get this Mobo, I used it in a build I made for my cousin and it is an amazing deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157315
 
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Yeah I know you're just trying to help..
We all have our preferred (sometimes blindly, other times not) brands that we cling to..
Intel vs. AMD
Nvidia vs. Radeon
Antec vs. Corsair

I've never owned a radeon, I was on the verge of choosing an nvidia or radeon before I got this nvidia... obviously I decided on the nvidia..

I think I'm looking at that $70 mobo linked a few posts up, it's got some usb3 and sata 6gb ports which are nice..

Right now my video card can run any game (graphical quality isn't incredibly important to me as running stable, I've never had more than 40fps in a game, ever.. that's on low graphics..) it's my ram and cpu that need the big change...

I'm thinking either I'd do the $70 mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303
and the i5 3470
or I'd do the $44 mobo you suggested and the i5 3570k..

Which would any of you suggest?
Ram is less of a squabble for me, I just need DDR3 and what was suggested higher up sounds great unless something else is suggested.

I get paid at midnight, so that's around about when I'll order (It's 9:07pm)...
 
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The mobo I suggested isn't for overclocking (So no i5....k). Also 6 GB is useless. The fastest SSD's don't even come close to 3GB.
 
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