Upgrade-worthy or Trash-worthy? Looking for suggestions on what to do next

[Patricio Marino]

Hi all,
I'm a hardcore PC gamer (on a budget, though), and my PC is not able to run the latest games without stuttering a bit. Mostly I need to disable Vsync and that kills the visuals, and later all of the other settings need to be toned down a lot to get a decent framerate, even the resolution (which pains me the most). I bought it almost 4 years ago.

So, the question here is, Is it worth to update my Graphics Card, or it'd be better to start saving for a brand new PC? If the graphics card update is doable, which one would be the best for it to last for a long time and not create a bottleneck?

My current system is:

Motherboard: MSI 770-C45

Processor: AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition (Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper TX3)

Graphics Card: AMD Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor-X OC 1GB GDDR5

Memory:
2x OCZ Black DDR3 2GB 1600 MHz (OCZ3SOE1600LV2G)
1x OCZ Gold DDR3 2GB 1600 MHz (OCZ3G1600LV2G)

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda, 1TB, 7200 RPM, 64MB Cache, SATA 6.0Gb/s, (ST1000DM003)
Western Digital Caviar, 200GB, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, SATA 3.0Gb/s, (WDC WD2000JS-22MHB0)

PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 600W

Case: Thermaltake Dokker

Monitor: Dell P2311H (23', 1920x1080)

Thanks in advance!

 

[JoshuaPinto]

With this system its up to you. Either sell it or build a new one. I would upgrade at least the GPU and maybe get an SSD.

 

[Victordc]

An upgrade to your GPU will boost the performance.
Maybe an SSD, this will shorten your loading times.

 

[JoshuaPinto]

Definitely upgrade the GPU to like a EVGA 650Ti. And get a Kingston Hyper X SSD or something similar to that

 

[RazerZ]

Go with a gpu upgrade, you will see a huge difference.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $159.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-06 14:29 EDT-0400)

This card shouldn't be bottle necked by your cpu and should game A LOT better.

 

[JoshuaPinto]

Yes like I said earlier definitely get a GPU upgrade. The SSD is optional but recommend (it will decrease load times)

 

[RazerZ]

Yes like I said earlier definitely get a GPU upgrade. The SSD is optional but recommend (it will decrease load times)

Yep even though it may be four years old it will still be a great budget build gaming pc

 

[JoshuaPinto]

Yes like I said earlier definitely get a GPU upgrade. The SSD is optional but recommend (it will decrease load times)

Yep even though it may be four years old it will still be a great budget build gaming pc

Definitely. Listen to us! get a GPU! Or forever by haunted by the ghost of terrible gaming experiences.

 

[stjoe]

What is your budget? gtx660 under $180 or gtx760 for $235

 

[JoshuaPinto]

I recommend either getting a 650Ti or go all the way up to the 700 series. skip the 660 (you aren't really going to need the SLI abilities anyway)

 

[RazerZ]

What is your budget? gtx660 under $180 or gtx760 for $235

A R9 270 outperforms a GTX 660 and it's cheaper.

 

[JoshuaPinto]

I agree with RazerZ. Get the R9 270.

 

[Patricio Marino]

Thanks for the awesome and fast replies! =)
Keeping the R9 270 as an example, The PSU should be able to handle it without any problem I guess. Am I right on this?

Fun side notes:
The budget is both an issue and an enigma... Mainly due to my country. Just so you know, my current 5770, that i bought almost 4 years ago, it still costs the same as it did back then...

Anyhow =P I'm thinking that if i cheap out on the budget, i'll end up losing money one way or another. The R7 270 here is around 340 US dollars.

 

[RazerZ]

Thanks for the awesome and fast replies! =)
Keeping the R9 270 as an example, The PSU should be able to handle it without any problem I guess. Am I right on this?

Fun side notes:
The budget is both an issue and an enigma... Mainly due to my country. Just so you know, my current 5770, that i bought almost 4 years ago, it still costs the same as it did back then...

Anyhow =P I'm thinking that if i cheap out on the budget, i'll end up losing money one way or another. The R7 270 here is around 340 US dollars.

Wow well in that case if a 660 is cheaper in your country go for that. $340 is ridiculous.

 

[stjoe]

The gtx 660 should at least double you frame rates the 760 will about triple them. I hope you can find them affordable.

 

[Patricio Marino]

Hey Everyone, it's me again, this time with a slightly different question on the same subject... I'm considering the following R9 270x now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127761

But the thing is... Will my Thermaltake Dokker case be able to fit it, and my PSU Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 600W stand its power requirement considering my current system? I've tried some psu calculators... One tells me that a 480W psu is enough, and other one tells me that a 650W psu will be needed, so I'm torn here -_-

 

[RazerZ]

Hey Everyone, it's me again, this time with a slightly different question on the same subject... I'm considering the following R9 270x now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127761

But the thing is... Will my Thermaltake Dokker case be able to fit it, and my PSU Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 600W stand its power requirement considering my current system? I've tried some psu calculators... One tells me that a 480W psu is enough, and other one tells me that a 650W psu will be needed, so I'm torn here -_-

The dokker case has removable bays, so it will fit the card. The 270x pulls around 200W, so 600W is fine.