Need advice on an upgrade

[szadeklord]

I want to upgrade my current gaming pc with a budget of around 300$ I dont need a new hard drive, case, or optical drive. Here is my current system

XFX gts 250 512 megabytes of VRAM

AMD athlon 64 X2 7750 2.7 GHz Kuma dual core processor

Antec 300 case

Gskill 4 GB ddr2 800 memory

gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3

I mostly play shooting games, BF:BC2 Black Ops, Fallout: New Vegas, i play with a crt that has 1280 x 1024 but plan on getting a better 1600 x 1200 monitor soon.

 

[house70]

To get good framerate on that monitor you will need a better graphics card and a PSU that supports it. Check out Newegg they have pretty good Gcard/PSU combo deals and see what fits your budget.

 

[g048989h]

Upgrade the CPU and VC . I believe you maybe able to unlock a dual of triple core Athalon II or Phenom II with that MB, although please double check that before you buy anything. I would think a 955 and a 5770 would be a good upgrade for you. Is your PSU OK?? By OK I mean major brand, Corsair, Antec, Seasonice, OCZ etc. and 550 watts or more.

 

[szadeklord]

My psu is a antec earthwatts 650 watt psu

 

[suteck]

According to Gigabytes' page here it supports the new AMD Phenom™II X6 processors. Check the page and your board to be sure but I would buy that at Newegg here for $180. Of course you can shop around for a better price This is just an example. So that leaves $120 for a video card. So lets try a MSI R5750-MD1G Radeon HD5750 1GB PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card for $134! I suck at sticking to a budget Or maybe a Sapphire 100283-3L Radeon HD5770 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card for $144 after mail in rebate. Both of these cards have the resolution you're looking for. They both only take a single power connector so you have plenty on your psu. So if you have a preference as to brands we can look some more. Are these choices maybe what you were looking for? I would definitely get for the best processor first then work on the video card next. Whatcha think? Or if you don't mind used and shop ebay here is that processor for only $145 buy it now - but you only have 1 day 18 hours (Nov 19, 201011:11:50 PST). And here's a great buy, NEW only $135 with shipping for the Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB 100283-3L. And you got 3 days.

 

[aznshinobi]

I recommend the Phenom II X4 940 TBH. The X6's are cool, but on your budget, not needed. There good, but at your budget and since you want to play games. From X4 to X6 the gaming performance is no different so you could save 80$ by going with the 940. Plus the 940 is a great CPU for budget upgraders on the AM2+ platform.

940 96$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103644&cm_re=940-_-19-103-644-_-Product

This is also a great OCer since its a BE cpu. So... I recommend sticking a 25$ into the budget and getting this CPU cooler, unless you already have one, but the HSF I rec is the Hyper 212+.

Hyper 212+ 26$: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-B10-212P-G1-Universal-Heat-Pipe/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1290042546&sr=8-1

Now for GPU suggestions.

I recommend the GTX 460 or the 6850 because the resolution your at needs a stronger GPU imo. The 5770 is good, but just not good enough for Bad Company 2. I'm telling you right now, BC2 is really graphic intensive. I use an 5850 OC to 5870, and it still lags on FPS a bit on ALL high settings and AA 8x. The 6850 and 460 are OC beasts, they perform great and are DX11 supported. Umm... The 460 is good because with a little clock tweak gets it up between 5850 and 5870. The 6850 is a great OC and OC's up to the same performance as the 5850/5870. Also, like the 460, has low power consumption.

Anyway... Here are GPUS.

MSI 460 Cyclone 768mb 170$, 155$ after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127512

768mb to 1gb is not difference unless you leave it at stock, but the Cyclone OC's like a beast and since you have great airflow (Antec 300) then there is no prob. But... If you have terrible cable management, then I defiantly don't suggest this blower design.

The best 460 hands down is this: MSI 460GTX Hawk 1GB 210$, 190$ after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518

OC's like a beast, Freaking cool too... Get this if your getting a GTX 460... Plus it's stock OC'd if you don't want to OC yourself.

BC2 review for the Hawk, check out the Overclocking section of that review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_460_HAWK/7.html

The 6850s... Love em.

Gigabyte 6850 1GB 190$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125348&cm_re=6850-_-14-125-348-_-Product

Great card, great company, OC's good too and runs cool.

Best 6850 is this card: Asus DirectCu 6850 1GB 200$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121399&cm_re=6850-_-14-121-399-_-Product

Review Directcu 6850: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Radeon_HD_6850_Direct_Cu/7.html

Not stock OC'd soo... Performance won't seem as good as the Hawk. But go to the Overclocking section and you'll see how great this card OC's.

Overclocking for Hawk and DCU:

DCU: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Radeon_HD_6850_Direct_Cu/31.html

Hawk: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_460_HAWK/31.html

 

[suteck]

^+1 Much as I hate to admit it aznshinobi's looks to be the better choice. The 6 core is kinda limited in it's memory support. And for the price you really can't beat it.