New CPU and Motherboard for gaming. Budget.

[Dalef11]

Hello everyone, currently my system specs are:

A6-5400k Processor with integrated AMD Radeon HD 7540D
F2A55M-DS2 Motherboard
HD 6670 Graphics Card (override the use of 7540D)
8gb Ram
1terrobyte HDD.

Now, my birthday is soon and my girlfriend said she is willing to spend around £200 on a new processor and obviously a new motherboard as it will be needed. I play games such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 and Farcry 3. I am also wanting to live stream and play on high graphics.

Any suggestions as to what route I can take? New processor etc..

Thanks!

 

[tiny voices]

You will need a better GPU if you plan to play games. You can upgrade the CPU and motherboard and nothing will change. The GPU is 100% the most important part for gaming.

 

[Dalef11]

Thank you for the reply. I have asked many of people so far about this and they have mostly all said my CPU is too weak. Now I know my GPU isn't high end but it's rather moderate so shouldn't it be fine?

Hello everyone, currently my system specs are:

A6-5400k Processor with integrated AMD Radeon HD 7540D
F2A55M-DS2 Motherboard
HD 6670 Graphics Card (override the use of 7540D)
8gb Ram
1terrobyte HDD.

Now, my birthday is soon and my girlfriend said she is willing to spend around £200 on a new processor and obviously a new motherboard as it will be needed. I play games such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2 and Farcry 3. I am also wanting to live stream and play on high graphics.

Any suggestions as to what route I can take? New processor etc..

Thanks!

You will need a better GPU if you plan to play games. You can upgrade the CPU and motherboard and nothing will change. The GPU is 100% the most important part for gaming.

 

[tiny voices]

It will play games at low settings at 1080p even with a better CPU.

You could bolt an i5 to this and it will still play at low. the GPU is what matters. You should be upgrading the CPu/motherboard and GPU if you want to see gaming performance.

 

[Dalef11]

Oh crap, I've only just recently brought the 6670 thinking it would be fine. I guess my budget will have to be higher then. What CPU, motherboard and GPU do you recommend? Of course trying to stay in a reasonable budget but also making my rig a lot more stronger than it is now? I guess I could sell my 6670 and get a bit of money for it as its practically brand new.

Thanks again.

It will play games at low settings at 1080p even with a better CPU.

You could bolt an i5 to this and it will still play at low. the GPU is what matters. You should be upgrading the CPu/motherboard and GPU if you want to see gaming performance.

 

[bigshootr8]

The only game on that list that you will have issues with is far cry 3. Your setup isn't awful and the cpu isn't bad as well if you go integrated go with the a10-5800k and then perhaps when you get to a point where you can afford a more discrete card you can buy one then. At least then you get a true quad core which will come handy in the games you are currently interested in.

 

[tiny voices]

I would get a phenom 2 x4 965BE or fx-6300. am3+ motherboard. And the best GPU you can afford. The hd7770 will play most new games at medium settings at 1080p. Some older games will run at better settings.

 

[Dalef11]

I've had other people tell me to get the a10-5800k to be honest. I was looking at the 7770 but I realised that my pSU doesn't have a power connector it seems so I'd have to purchase a new PSU which is a pain.

The only game on that list that you will have issues with is far cry 3. Your setup isn't awful and the cpu isn't bad as well if you go integrated go with the a10-5800k and then perhaps when you get to a point where you can afford a more discrete card you can buy one then. At least then you get a true quad core which will come handy in the games you are currently interested in.

 

[Dalef11]

Yeah that sounds really nice. As stated in my last post I was looking at the 7770 and realised it doesn't have a power connector so id have to buy a new PSU which is a pain.

I would get a phenom 2 x4 965BE or fx-6300. am3+ motherboard. And the best GPU you can afford. The hd7770 will play most new games at medium settings at 1080p. Some older games will run at better settings.

 

[tiny voices]

Yeah you will need a new PSU. Get one from Antec, XFX, Corsair,Seasonic.

 

[bigshootr8]

In the end any worth while Graphics card will have a 6 pin or 8 pin power connection. Any card that does not is not going to do you really any good in terms of Far Cry 3, BF3, METRO 2033 and so on. The reason I suggested the 5800k is because it offers a decent GPU which is slightly less powerful then the 7770 and in the end when you come to it you can always get a better gpu later i.e, 7850 and a new psu and bam your set for decent settings not max but decent.

 

[Dalef11]

Ok cool thanks ill take a look into that.

Yeah you will need a new PSU. Get one from Antec, XFX, Corsair,Seasonic.

 

[Dalef11]

I guess ill have to ask my girlfriend to raise the budget a little then! Haha

In the end any worth while Graphics card will have a 6 pin or 8 pin power connection. Any card that does not is not going to do you really any good in terms of Far Cry 3, BF3, METRO 2033 and so on. The reason I suggested the 5800k is because it offers a decent GPU which is slightly less powerful then the 7770 and in the end when you come to it you can always get a better gpu later i.e, 7850 and a new psu and bam your set for decent settings not max but decent.

 

[bigshootr8]

Well essentially what I'm suggesting you do is spend more money on the CPU to start and then when you come across more money get a graphics card and power supply later. I'm just suggesting something that may in the long run serve you better then buying budget this and budget that.

 

[Dalef11]

Yeah I understand that mate what's annoying me is that she is willing to buy me as much as I need. Is the a10-5800k good enough? If I buy a new PSU and a 7770 would that be good enough?

Well essentially what I'm suggesting you do is spend more money on the CPU to start and then when you come across more money get a graphics card and power supply later. I'm just suggesting something that may in the long run serve you better then buying budget this and budget that.

 

[bigshootr8]

Honestly , I would need a hard budget and then I could give you a more finite answer. And seeing as you mentioned Euro's which country are you in?

 

[Dalef11]

Well with my rig now, probably around 250 - 300 mate and I'm actually in pounds. I'm from England mate! Appreciate the help!

Honestly , I would need a hard budget and then I could give you a more finite answer. And seeing as you mentioned Euro's which country are you in?

 

[bigshootr8]

Okay so I have something that may work for you. I have compiled a list with all the component minus the graphics card which I believe you can add later with the configuration and still play games. And maybe.... far cry 3 with very low detail. I included a power supply so you can add a card at a later date can support the best cards out there so you won't have to be picky. And then when you are looking towards a new video card you could look towards things like the 650Ti boost, 7850 2gb, and 7870 LE,XT

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor (£92.34 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard (£42.98 @ Novatech)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£56.66 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£47.50 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£52.93 @ Dabs)
Total: £292.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-03 21:14 BST+0100)