Need help in upgrading my i3 2120 pc for 2016

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kaisershin

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Nov 25, 2015
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any suggestions on what parts i should buy?

I was thinking of replacing these components

GPU
PSU
HDD (SSD Optional)
DDR3

These are the parts known to still work (maybe)
i3 2120
Asrock H61M-VS

I'm still in the process of testing if it still works but if it does, i hope i will be able to game at 1080p with new parts.
 
Solution
JQB45
I think the 960 is ok, I certainly wouldn't go much higher with that CPU. You are going to run into games wanting quad core CPU's and that is going to cause you most of your problems. Just make sure you're willing to spend the extra $50-$100 dollars for what might be a minimal upgrade in over all performance.
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Please also tell us your budget, your currency and what country the parts will be shipped to.
Be specific when describing your computers parts. We need Manufacture Name and Model Name at a minimum for each part.
 
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those are the only two main components i have info on.

my pc wont boot but i will try to test it with a existing component that i have. i'm still checking if the power supply has a problem but i will still replace it.

lets just say the its a 5 year old pc.

my power supply is a fire hazard (lets keep it at that) 😉

I'm not picky about the price, im just worried about the components i will replace is too much for the i3 2120 and Asrock H61M-VS
 
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I think the 960 is ok, I certainly wouldn't go much higher with that CPU. You are going to run into games wanting quad core CPU's and that is going to cause you most of your problems. Just make sure you're willing to spend the extra $50-$100 dollars for what might be a minimal upgrade in over all performance.
 
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Solution
GPU: Go for an R9 380.

You will see a small bottleneck with both cards (An i3 4130 is just powerful enough to handle a 960 or 380, and the 2120 is about 15-20% less powerful than the 4130) but the extra 2GB of vRAM will put the 380 ahead of the 960 in the future as games become more vRAM intensive. Both cards are nearly the same in terms of processing power, but the 960's main problem is that the 128-bit bus is too small to make the 4GB 960 worth it. The 380 is usually less expensive too. As much as I like Nvidia, the $200-250 GPU market is dominated by the 380.

Storage: A WD Blue as mentioned above is fine. For an SSD however a Crucial BX100 is about
$15-20 cheaper and is only slightly slower than the 850 EVO. If you want the best, go for the EVO. If you want good performance on a budget, the BX100 is a better choice.

PSU: Anything from XFX or Seasonic is fine, along with EVGA's G2 or B2 lineup.
 
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i think i'd go for gtx 960. i don't see much of the bottleneck. thanks.

So, these are the parts i will be taking into consideration.

WDC caviar blue 1TB
Avexir Core 2x4gb 1600
Asus GTX 960 Turbo
Corsair VS450 1650

I'm just choosing whats available in my country.

Plus, i just love avexir RAMs... Those LED man
 
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The 960 Turbo has a major problem with the VRMs. The VRMs are not cooled sufficiently at all by the blower style fan and reached just over 100C during testing:

asus-turbo-geforce-gtx960-oc-2gb-furmark-thermal-imaging.jpg


It does look nice, but 100C is far too hot. The chip itself reached 80C, which is pushing it. This card has a major overheating problem.

The VS450 is a terrible PSU. It ranks Tier Four on Tom's Hardware's PSU Tier List (Link in signature). Quoting from that article:

Tier Four

Built down to a low price. Not exactly the most stable units ever created. Very basic safety circuitry or even thin gauge wiring used. Not for gaming rigs or overclocking systems of any kind. Avoid unless your budget dictates your choice.
Click to expand...

Go with any Tier 1 or 2 PSU. They do tend to be more expensive but they are worth it. Any of the PSUs recommended on this thread are fine. What country are you buying from?
 
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Where did you get that pic of the gtx 960 turbo?

I could go for Seasonic M12II Evo 520watts 80+ bronze

Is that good?

And also, these are the GTX 960s thats available in my country

Asus GTX 960 Strix OC 2gb
Asus GTX 960 Strix OC 4gb
Asus GTX 960 Turbo 2gb
Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming 4gb
Gigabyte GTX 960 Windforce OC 4gb
Inno3d GTX 960 HerculeZ X2 OC 2gb
MSI GTX 950 Twin Frozr 2gb
MSI GTX 960 Tiger 2gb
MSI GTX 960 Tiger 4gb
MSI GTX 960 Twin Frozr 2gb
MSI GTX 960 Twin Frozr 4gb
Palit GTX 960 2gb
Palit GTX 960 Jetstream 2gb
Palit GTX 960 Jetstream 4gb
Zotac GTX 960 AMP! 4gb
Zotac GTX 960 Dual Fan 2gb
Zotac GTX 960 Mini 2gb

Any Recommendations?

I cant say I'm up for r9 380s, it cost more than gtx 960 even though they are neck and neck in some benchmarks
 
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The Seasonic is fine.

I got that pic from here: http://www.geeks3d.com/20150603/asus-turbo-geforce-gtx-960-oc-2gb-review/

It's one of the only reviews I came aross when looking at buying a 960 (I have a 960 Strix being shipped out now from the US). I was considering it since at the time it was so much cheaper than the other models but decided against it beause of the heating problem and the noise.

Asus GTX 960 Strix OC 2gb
MSI GTX 960 Twin Frozr 2gb
MSI GTX 960 Tiger 2gb

These are the ones I'd consider. They will tend to be the more expensive ones out of the 2GB options though. The 4GB 960 sounds nice but the 128-bit bus is too small for the card to make proper use of the extra vRAM, so the 4GB card does on average only ~5% better than the 2G card in most games: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960-2gb-vs-4gb-review

The Palit, Inno3D and Zotac cards will tend to be cheaper, and are fine as long as you understand that their coolers tend to be weaker than the mainstream manufacturers' ones which usually means they run hotter and thus cannot be overclocked as much. Try not to get a shorter, single fan ITX card like the Zotac Mini, because they usually cannot be overclocked as much as the standard cards and also tend to run hotter than the dual fan options.
 
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I live near the equator so heat is a big issue for me. I'm considering of water cooling my pc but with this upgrade, I'll be spending more than the performance im getting. I intend to just run the system in stock settings since the parts im going to use is not that high in performance.

Sapphire R9 380 ITX 2gb
Sapphire R9 380 Nitro OC Ed 2gb

how about these guys? They are in the same price bracket with MSI GTX 960 twin frozr.
 
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I live in Sri Lanka. Average temparatures range from 34-36C during the hot season. I know of many people running R9 280s and GTX 960/760s here. While having a good cooler is beneficial, watercooling is not necessary. GPUs around here don't get dangerously hot so long as the case is well ventilated and cleaned once in a while.

Sapphire R9 380 ITX 2gb

Don't get that, the small fan will cause it to heat up especially as dust gets into it. The 2GB 380s aren't worth it if thery're the same price as the 960. With the same amount of vRAM as the 960 they will be neck in neck in almost all games. You may as well go for a 960 then since the 380 tends to be a bit more power hungry and does run hotter, though not as bad as the previous gen 2xx cards. Are you absolutely sure you aren't able to get a 4GB 380?
 
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^ that's not strictly true , the vram makes little difference to performance.
The 380 plainly has more raw power than the 960 full stop.
& the first steps of dx12 are showing the amd gcn 2 cards absolutely raping the nvidia maxwell chipset performance wise.

Nothing inherently wrong with a 960, its incredibly efficient, but at the same price the 2gb 380 nitro (excellent cooler) is a no-brainer IMO.
 
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