Pc build or upgrade?

[Draknic]

Okay right now I'm having a debate should I upgrade my PC or build a new one

 

Currently I'm using this. Cannot post the motherboard because I cannot see its name because it's some cheap motherboard

EDitL find out what the motherboard

 

 

AMD 4300 quad Core Processor

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Msi 760 gm-34

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8. gb Ram

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Nvidia Geforce GTx 750

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Windows 10

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1t for memory

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what I have in mind for upgrade is

 

AMD 8370 Black Edition 8 core Cpu Processor

MSi 970 gaming DDRs 2133 AXT AMDMotherborard

Kingston Hyper Fury 2 8gbs ram

Aerocool mid-tower gaming case

corsair air series af 40 led quiet edition high airflow 3 of them

EVGA Geforce GTX 970

 

I don't want to spend anything more than 1000 on a upgrade. if I'm building I would say my limit is 1500

 

edit: for the main fact this is my first pc build. and also not sure if any of the part I put would work together or just make a giant fireball.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Draknic

[obobski]

Would be useful to know what motherboard is in there, in order to determine compatibility with the proposed CPU upgrade. Generally speaking I'd say "replace" is probably a better route since you're looking at a fairly high end set of components, and generally speaking I wouldn't want to drag all that down with a cheap motherboard (and since you're going to be replacing literally everything else, what's a new motherboard?). Going with a "new build" you also wouldn't be locked into AMD, which can mean better performance (the AMD FX processors are a fine value-for-money proposition, but they're a few years old and regularly out-classed (especially for gaming) but Intel's newer offerings; you might also consider waiting to see what AMD's new next-gen CPU and platform offers). Any-which-way, a decently fast CPU (FX 8370, Core i5/7, whatever), and a GTX 970, will make a very nice upgrade over what you have now for gaming. 8GB of RAM is a good amount, and as long as its dual-channel configuration, I wouldn't press to increase capacity unless your budget allows - 16GB is probably where I'd stop though. Also make sure you throw a good power supply in there somewhere.

[Draknic]

so after looking around online. and also in some moving boxes had not thrown out. find what motherboard it is

 

MSI 760 GM-p34

[obobski]

Here's the CPU support list for that board:

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/760GM-P34-FX.html#support-cpu

 

The FX-8370E is listed, so as long as you've got proper cooling and a PSU that's up to the increased load, it looks like it'd work as a drop-in. If you're trying to save money, that's probably the cheapest option, but if you've got to replace everything else (e.g. heatsink, PSU, case, case cooling, etc) I'd honestly say you might as well just do a full new build, and keep this machine as a back-up or secondary machine or whatever (very useful to have a working machine while you're building a new one).

[FMod]

What kind of games are you interested in?

For Bethesda games (TES, Fallout 3-4), Intel CPU are strongly preferable. Generally for poorly written or outdated game engines reused in new games, they will do better. For new well-written engines, AMD CPU do about as well, still not better, but both will do 60 fps. If you want Skyrim/FO4, no reason to wait, Intel CPU only improve a couple % per generation, and dominate in per-core performance.

 

The new AMD Zen will only come late this year, and will require new motherboards and new DDR4 RAM, so you'll have to measure two clean slate systems against one another.

 

For your motherboard, you could take FX-8300 or FX-8320E for just $120-ish, which will set you up for 60 fps in non-Bethesda games for the foreseeable future. It's not the best, but it's good enough.

Your GPU is mid-range, but it's no emergency, depending on what games you play, you can do with it for a while.

 

GPU-wise, the 970 is probably right for a budget-conscious performance gaming rig right now. If you can wait, Polaris 10 is going to cost the same as GTX 970, consume less power, come with better features, and probably be faster. GTX 1070 will be faster, but with all the FE price-wiggling it's looking to cost 1.5x what a 970 does.

Either of the new GPU should be used with a proper PSU. If yours "just came with the case", it's probably not good enough.

 

 

So, an upgrade plan for your budget would be:

1) Now:

* Get a SSD for your OS and games, I recommend something cheap and high-capacity like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019WARKRE/?tag=pcpapi-20

* You might want some extra RAM, but you want it cheap, your next platform will be DDR-4.

* Check your PSU and probably get a new one, you'll need it anyway. One of these is good enough, and there are always specials on something better when you're ready to order at a moment's notice.

* Get a new drop-in CPU, say: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TR8YL4W/?tag=pcpapi-20

* Get a high quality heatsink, it will last.

 

2) Soon:

* Check out Polaris 10 and non-reference 1070, both probably coming July-August. One of these is probably what you'll want to buy. Possibly something coming soon after.

* Keep the rest of your money in a invested until you need the next upgrade (with all these 115% LTV loans around, though, we might be in the beginning of another bubble). Nothing like being able to just buy what you need when you need it. Your next upgrade will be a complete new platform - CPU, mb, memory.

 

The other option is to wait till these new cards come out, get an all new PC, and sell your current one as is. But FX-8300 vs FX-4300 will increase the resale value of your PC by as much as the upgrade costs anyway - people buying used PCs are rarely looking to dig inside, and the latter is quite a black mark. With an 8-core FX and extra RAM, your build will be a great productivity, video and entertainment machine, just not a hardcore gaming one.