[SOLVED] What should I do with this build?

Apr 7, 2020
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Hi folks!

I need some help. I have this 8 years old build:

MB: ASROCK B75 Pro3
CPU: INTEL Core i3-3220 3.30GHz 3MB 1155 BOX
CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 13 Pro
Memory: KINGMAX 8192MB DDR3 1333MHz
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 11201-00-20G HD7770 1GB GDDR5 GHZ EDITION PCIE
Power Supply: CHIEFTEC CTG-500-80PB 500W OEM
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two

I know, I know, I should just toss it out and buy a new build but I don't have the money for that.
Probably my biggest problem is the video card. Is there any option for me to actually upgrade it? I mean I don't want to buy a 2GB video card and call it an upgrade.
Also the prices in my country are quite bad.
For example:
Gigabyte GTX1050 2GB GDDR5 OC Low Profile GV-N1050OC-2GL - 161 USD
Palit GTX1050Ti StormX 4GB DDR5 NE5105T018G1-1076F - 164 USD
MSI RX570 4GB GDDR5 ARMOR 4G OC - 165 USD
MSI RX570 8GB GDDR5 Armor 8G OC - 172 USD

I know almost nothing about pc parts I was just looking around some store and tried to look up some video cards. I just wanted to show you guys that I rather spend that extra couple of dollars for a bigger video card.
I don't know what is the connection between CPUs and video cards but I have a feeling that using e.g. an 8GB video card with my current CPU is pointless.

So guys, what should I do?
 
Solution
Thanks for reply!

I looked around some more, and still no luck to upgrade my pc. I ended up with this build.
Is this any good?

MOBO: GIGABYTE B365M AORUS ELITE
CPU: INTEL core i5-9400F BOX
Video Card: MSI RX 570 ARMOR OC 8 GB
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC FREEZER 34
Memory: HyperX Fury CL16 16GB (2x8 kit) DDR4-2666
Power Supply: Be Quiet! Pure Power 500W
That is actually a very strong upgrade over your initial configuration.
And, you do not even need the cooler since a 9400F comes with an adequate cooler.
Bequiet purepower is a good quality psu and 500w should be sufficient
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There is no connection between the make pf the processor and the graphics card.
Nvidia cards work...
Yep, no miracles in upgrading it. But still, what I would do 'd be:
taking a 4- core - 4-thread cpu, e.g. i5-3550 or 3570
some more ram, up to 12 or 16 gb total.
video card? you say 2 gb is not much, but 1050 is pretty good, another are 960, which slightly beats 1050, and 950 is similar.
There are also 4 gb-variations of 960, and low-power-950s, also 4 gb 750 ti, but is weaker than 1050 2 gb.
1050 ti is also good. 1650 is more expensive, despite of being pretty cool and also not in need of super-psu. I dunno radeons.
 
try to grab used parts.
you might manage to get i7 for 50$ same with 8GB of ram, it seems you have 1 stick, second one for 30$(new or ~15$ used) will do a lot of good.
and if you can
RX470 would pair nicely (480 will propably overload PSU).
for budget stuff don't look at nvidia, unless used as its way pricier than the value it brings.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-3770-vs-Intel-Core-i3-3220/1979vsm272
and for gpu
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-RX-470-vs-AMD-HD-7770/3640vsm7710

if you have even tighter budget grab used rx460/rx560. its also almost twice the horsepower.
 
Apr 7, 2020
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Thanks for the advices!

Unfortunately it seems my motherboard is so old that I can't find any CPU for the LGA1155 socket.
So I have to rethink the whole thing. I'll try to look for a used pc I can afford or look around what other options I've got.

I have some questions though. Why the 1050 2GB is stornger than the 750ti 4GB? I looked those video cards up and the only differences I noticed were the basic clock Mhz. I'll do some build building on the UserBenchmark website. Is there any other good website for guiding dummies like me?
 
Thanks for the advices!

Unfortunately it seems my motherboard is so old that I can't find any CPU for the LGA1155 socket.
So I have to rethink the whole thing. I'll try to look for a used pc I can afford or look around what other options I've got.

I have some questions though. Why the 1050 2GB is stornger than the 750ti 4GB? I looked those video cards up and the only differences I noticed were the basic clock Mhz. I'll do some build building on the UserBenchmark website. Is there any other good website for guiding dummies like me?

Well, if u can go for at least socket 1150 system, the situation may get better. Like 4790k on z97 mobo with 16-32 gb ddr3-1600, or 4690k (or non-k) on h97 with 10-16 gigs.
But u chose, the pocket is always the biggest bottleneck., we all know it.

Why 1050 is stronger, u ask? Well, newer stuff very often performs better. I don't know the exact reason, most likely has something to do with the type of core-thing (R-cpu in the gpu or s.th.) in the generation 10 Nvidia. Believe, if u haven't realized it already, it is not all just about the video ram. U can watch videos in the internet. E.g.:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdBD9U4MMU0

If u take radeon video equivalent, ur choice. I'd always prefer Nvidia. At least, if I ever take radeon, it would definitely not be an used one.
 
Apr 7, 2020
6
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Thanks for reply!

I looked around some more, and still no luck to upgrade my pc. I ended up with this build.
Is this any good?

MOBO: GIGABYTE B365M AORUS ELITE
CPU: INTEL core i5-9400F BOX
Video Card: MSI RX 570 ARMOR OC 8 GB
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC FREEZER 34
Memory: HyperX Fury CL16 16GB (2x8 kit) DDR4-2666
Power Supply: Be Quiet! Pure Power 500W
 
Apr 7, 2020
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I did a calculation. With my current monitor, mouse and keyboard. It says a be quiet! ATX 500W System Power 9 BN246 would be enough. Maybe I'll buy a 650W for further upgrades.
I noticed the RX 570 is an AMD card. Should I buy an Ryzen CPU+motherboard?
 
Thanks for reply!

I looked around some more, and still no luck to upgrade my pc. I ended up with this build.
Is this any good?

MOBO: GIGABYTE B365M AORUS ELITE
CPU: INTEL core i5-9400F BOX
Video Card: MSI RX 570 ARMOR OC 8 GB
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC FREEZER 34
Memory: HyperX Fury CL16 16GB (2x8 kit) DDR4-2666
Power Supply: Be Quiet! Pure Power 500W
That is actually a very strong upgrade over your initial configuration.
And, you do not even need the cooler since a 9400F comes with an adequate cooler.
Bequiet purepower is a good quality psu and 500w should be sufficient
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There is no connection between the make pf the processor and the graphics card.
Nvidia cards work perfectly well with amd motherboards and amd cards work perfectly well with intel motherboards.

R7 570/580/590 cards seem to be very well priced in the used market since they were extensively used for mining.
They typically need some 75w more power than the equivalent nvidia cards.
GTX1650 would be an equivalent performer with a lower power requirement.
 
Last edited:
Solution
Apr 7, 2020
6
0
10
That is actually a very strong upgrade over your initial configuration.
And, you do not even need the cooler since a 9400F comes with an adequate cooler.
Bequiet purepower is a good quality psu and 500w should be sufficient
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There is no connection between the make pf the processor and the graphics card.
Nvidia cards work perfectly well with amd motherboards and amd cards work perfectly well with intel motherboards.

R7 570/580/590 cards seem to be very well priced in the used market since they were extensively used for mining.
They typically need some 75w more power than the equivalent nvidia cards.
GTX1650 would be an equivalent performer with a lower power requirement.

Thanks! I looked up some other websites and it looks affordable to me.
I thought if the parts are from the same brand(like AMD) then the parts will synergise better. But if that's not the case then I'll go with Intel.
 

Mr.Vegas

Reputable
Mar 13, 2019
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OP, what if I tell you that you dont ned to buy a full new PC but you can use all that money for a faster GPU instead?


I checked your motherboard compatibility page, and it supports Intel XEON CPUs, these are workstation CPUs that dont have build in GPU just like F CPUs and usually cost more then mainstream CPU models, but when systems get old, they dropped to second hand market for low prices.

Here is your compatibility list
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B75 Pro3/#CPU

For 75USD you can get a used Intel Xeon E3-1270 V2 4 Core / 8 Threads, 3.5Ghz base clock, 3.9GHz Boost clock
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...8M-Processor-Socket-1155-69W-CPU/293344341335


This is drop in upgrade, you install it and that it and used rest of the money to buy 16GB RAM and best GPU you can for the money left, i bet youll be able to get 580/590 GPU if you wont have to pay for new motherboard and new CPU, maybe new nvidia GTX1660 Super [better then the old AMD GPU you chose, less power hungry and cooler]
 
Apr 7, 2020
6
0
10
OP, what if I tell you that you dont ned to buy a full new PC but you can use all that money for a faster GPU instead?


I checked your motherboard compatibility page, and it supports Intel XEON CPUs, these are workstation CPUs that dont have build in GPU just like F CPUs and usually cost more then mainstream CPU models, but when systems get old, they dropped to second hand market for low prices.

Here is your compatibility list
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B75 Pro3/#CPU

For 75USD you can get a used Intel Xeon E3-1270 V2 4 Core / 8 Threads, 3.5Ghz base clock, 3.9GHz Boost clock
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon...8M-Processor-Socket-1155-69W-CPU/293344341335


This is drop in upgrade, you install it and that it and used rest of the money to buy 16GB RAM and best GPU you can for the money left, i bet youll be able to get 580/590 GPU if you wont have to pay for new motherboard and new CPU, maybe new nvidia GTX1660 Super [better then the old AMD GPU you chose, less power hungry and cooler]

Thank you for your reply Mr.Vegas!
I looked the cpu up in my country and there are some. But to be honset I made up my mind and I decided that this is the year when I buy a new build. Although it going to take 2-3 months to buy everything I listed above.

I still have some questions.

Is there any pc case brand I should keep myself away?
What are my options in terms of monitors? I'm using a Samsung SyncMaster 2233 21,5" monitor which is ~10 years old.
 
No preference on case brands. Even a cheap case will work OK.
But, a case is a long term investment.
Buy a case that you love.
Bust your budget for one if you need to.
Look for a case with at least two 120/140mm front intakes that are filtered.
That will cool most anything you might want to put in the case.
filtered intake keeps your parts cleaner.
I like 160mm to be available for a good air cooler if you should ever need one.

The other long term investment is a good monitor.
You might want to look for something larger with a higher resolution.
Keep your old monitor as a side monitor.
It is most useful for desktop work and will not impact gaming.