PC Upgrade (Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti + RAM + CPU LGA775

[armafan]

Hello,

I've browsed the forum threads (not extensively, just going off the recommendations at the bottom of the pages). So far not many threads are as close to what I'm concerned with.

My current specifications are:
CPU: E7400 @2.8Ghz (Overclocked to 3.4Ghz)
Motherboard: Asus P5QL-E
RAM : 4 GB
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 4850 512MB.
2 x Spindle harddrives ( 1x SSD on order)
Resolution: 1920x1080 native.

I'm well aware that the above PC is ridiculously outdated, but since the finance is a bit tight.
I'm looking to extend my gaming capabilities by purchasing a graphics card that will at least tie me over until I do.

Very much aware that I should 'save' and buy an i5 range, but for the sake of this thread. Let's imagine that isn't an option.

From my point of view, I have [strike]four[/strike] options/choices to think about.
a) buy a quad core chipset (775), then overclock it to max.
b) buy a graphics card to update the current (Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti)
c) [strike]SSD drive for Win OS + games[/strike]
d) More RAM

What kind of bottle neck do you guys see? Where else do you think I should update/upgrade?
I primarily use this for my gaming, light browsing.

Looking forward to your responses.

Thanks

 

[clutchc]

If you can find a used quad core that fits the 775 socket and your board's BIOS recognizes it, yes. Do that.
If your PSU is running OK with the 110W HD 4850, it will easily handle the GTX 950 for a nice boost in performance. http://www.hwcompare.com/20700/geforce-gtx-950-vs-radeon-hd-4850-512mb/
And most 775 quad core CPUs will keep up with the 950 with minimum bottleneck. In fact, Id change out the card first. You'll see some performance improvement even with the dual core.

4gb memory is adequate, but 8GB would be better. But DDR2 is obsolete, so it is kind of expensive now. Try to find a matched pair of 4GB x 2 that is the same speed you have now.

 

[armafan]

Hello @clutchc
That is REALLY reassuring to read. My PSU is a 600W model and my motherboard allows for quad cores, according to their website.

I believe the PSU will be able to cope with the graphics cards mentioned above (I had a 6870 which burned somehow, blue lines and in a box still).

I have been looking to read something like this, succinct and direct with useful information and a nice link to a reference page.

So I'll look around for the GTX950, and proceed to find a Quad Core that's not crazy expensive. Speaking of which, by any chance. Do you know of which Core 2 Quad (775) that will give me some decent boost in performance? (with a hope of overclocking it- by air)

I really appreciated your response clutchc. kudos!

 

[clutchc]

This is the CPU support list for that motherboard: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P5QLE/HelpDesk_CPU/
The required BIOS is listed along with each CPU. It is the motherboard BIOS determines which of the 775 socket CPUs will be recognized.

The C2Q Extremes are the fastest, the C2Qs next. The faster the clock speed, the better. But you'll get whatever is available used somewhere like ebay.

 

[armafan]

@clutchc

Yep, that is where I found the listing of compatible CPUs.
BIOS is something I need to look at now. Thank you.

sidenote: I managed to destroy my bootmgr somehow and had to reinstall my windows all over again in a new partition. Diskpart is dangerous, I should've double checked which disk was selected.

 

[clutchc]

Ouch! Yes, any time you partition a disk, you need to triple check you are doing what you intend to do. That's why it's best to do that kind of thing from inside the Win environment. Usually, it will stop you from accidentally damaging the partition it resides on. But if you are in a DOS window, I'm not sure if the same safe-guards are in place.