What Can I upgrade my PC for $430?

[destinywarlock55]

Hello,
I currently have a fx-4300 and a rx-460.
And I just started playing overwatch and on ultra at 1080p I dive close to 20fps and highs at 40fps, so I decided to upgrade my PC on a budget of under $430.
(My power supply is 450W, and my motherboard is Ga-78LMT-S2)

My first idea was to upgrade my CPU to Ryzen 3 1300X (I know I have to get a new Motherboard and Ram).

And now I'm thinking if I should just
Upgrade my gpu and my cpu, but also stay on the same AM3+ platform.



Anyways I want to know what I should upgrade with the $430 budget?

Thank you!

 

[feelinfroggy777]

This will be a big upgrade from what you currently have and you would be able to play any game at 1080p at reasonable settings. It will upgrade everything and will leave you open for more upgrades down the road. I would not put any more money into your AM3 platform.

I threw in a PSU as seasonic has a really goo deal on PSUs this week. You may want to consider getting a decent PSU as cheap PSUs can malfunction and damage your hardware. I did not add storage or case as you should already have these things.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XBjtzM
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XBjtzM/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($154.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $442.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-02 12:05 EDT-0400

 

[destinywarlock55]

What if I dont include the PSU and upgrade the cpu to 1300x and then try to OC to 3.9gzh, will that be fine?

 

[feelinfroggy777]

What if I dont include the PSU and upgrade the cpu to 1300x and then try to OC to 3.9gzh, will that be fine?

You can go with the 1300x over the 1200, but there is not much of a difference. The 1300x has a higher base clock and XFR. XFR only increases up to 100mhz sometimes. They will both overclock the same, so the higher base clock really does not matter. So in the end, you just paying for XFR, which wont work all the time. I would probably go with the 1200 if I am on a budget, but the 1300x is not a bad chip.

I would not expect either to OC to 3.9. They may, but don't have that expectation with a stock cooler. The stealth cooler that comes with it is not a bad cooler, but 3.9 is an aggressive clock and temps may become a factor.

But you should get the 1050ti. You will see a performance increase by adding the 1200/1300x, but the 460 is a more basic budget card that is designed to be run at 720p. If you want 1080p gaming, then you should start with the 1050ti.

The only thing to consider is the new i3 8100. It will be released on Thursday, and it will smoke the 1200/1300x even when they are overclocked. The new 8100 will be a locked quad core. It should perform just as good or better than the i5 7500 because essentially, they are the same chip. The 8100 will be affordable too, as it is $120. But the problem will be the motherboard. Only "Z" boards will be released this year and they are expensive. Since the 8100 wont be able to OC, you wont be able to use the main feature of the "Z" board and it will cost probably around $150 which will blow your budget. It is just something to consider.

Either way, both AMD (Ryzen) and Intel have some good CPUs out right now. Get one that is in your price range and pair it with a 1050ti and you will be good to go.

 

[King_V]

Others have given some excellent suggestions, but also, let me say this:

And now I'm thinking if I should just
Upgrade my gpu and my cpu, but also stay on the same AM3+ platform.

No, absolutely not. UNLESS someone's giving you a CPU for free that works in your existing AM3+ motherboard, do not even consider this. Paying for a faster CPU on AM3+ is a wasted investment.

Banish this thought from your head entirely!

 

[destinywarlock55]

Ok.....I will try to banish the thought........anyways thanks for the suggestions I will definitely try to go for the gtx 1050 ti.
Thank you!

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Haha, well said. Banish those thoughts. The AM3 CPUs were not very good when they were released, and they are terrible right now. If you put in a fx 83XX chip in your system you would see a very modest performance bump in most games. By modest I mean a couple percentage points different. Not enough that would be noticeable by the naked eye. Only in benchmarking would you see a difference because it gives your a point score.

Instead, save the money you would spend on an AM3 product, and put it to AM4 or anything Intel.