Help with upgrades

[twinmilll]

Hello All,

I built this PC when the AMD 200 series first came out. I have not bought any additional parts. Basically I am looking to play the latest games. I purchased squad and I am forced to play it on low with 40 fps or less. The game spikes. Arma also lagged insanely hard when I first built the PC. I currently am scared to purchase new games because of this.

Current System

Graphics card: BIOS Part Number 113-1E27100-O48 (Sapphire R9 270X 2G)
Processor: CPU Type AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor 3.5 GHZ
Motherboard: M5A99FX Pro R2.0
RAM: GSkill 2 x 4GB DDR3 1866
Power Supply: Rosewell 630 Watts

My monitor is a 2420Z 60HZ BenQ

I am not the most computer savy so I did not go in and overclock the CPU or GC

Basically Squad, Total war, and Arma don't look great. I am happy with playing at 1080 but would like to max out everything while playing online. I want it to be plug and play and not have to overclock.

Edit: Their really is no budget that I must stay under. I simply need to know what makes the most sense for me to do. I do not want to spend a fortune but I am willing to spend some money to upgrade the PC from 2013 parts to modern 2017 parts. I also am not trying to do anything fancy with 4k.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Do you have a budget for the upgrades?

You’re at the point where you are really looking at a whole new system as most of the technology you have is now quite out of date.

However if you are limited on money then upgrading the graphics card would be the first place to start. Getting something like the gtx 1060 6GB would be perfect for 1080 resolution gaming and would be a decent leap from the r9 270.

 

[twinmilll]

Updated the thread to include my view on the budget. I would like some options to see what makes sense. I am not trying to chase every ounce of performance but rather the best bang for the buck at various price points. Open to Nividia or AMD depending on prices of setups. Id say options between 500-1000$

 

[bigtallanddopey]

I don’t have any links to the specific parts at the moment but you could build a decent system that will easily play at 1080 for around 800-1000$ depending on if you re-use the case and power supply from your current build.

Ryzen 5 1600 - 200$
8GB DDR4 - 100$
AM4 B350 motherboard - 100$
500GB SSD - $150
Gtx 1060 6GB - 280$

I would say stick at 8GB of ram at the moment as prices are really high and 8 would be sufficient. However if you can afford the extra 100$ get another 8GB.

That’s the type of build I would go with for the price you are looking at. I would post links to parts but I’ve got work in 5 mins.

 

[twinmilll]

I will pass on the SSD and Ram. I already have both.

So does this mean AMD's 580 and the Ryzen 7 are nothing amazing? I don't mind shelling out more for a graphics card if it would be worth it?

I tried to find the comparison charts for the 580's vs the 200 line and could not find any. So I do not know how much of a difference it is over my current set up.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

I will pass on the SSD and Ram. I already have both.

So does this mean AMD's 580 and the Ryzen 7 are nothing amazing? I don't mind shelling out more for a graphics card if it would be worth it?

I tried to find the comparison charts for the 580's vs the 200 line and could not find any. So I do not know how much of a difference it is over my current set up.

Remember a new cpu and motherboard will require DDR4 memory and your old system has DDR3. Unless you have some ddr4 lying about.

I wouldn’t bother with the ryzen 7 over the ryzen 5, just a few more cores that aren’t necessarily worth it for everyday use.

Here is a quick graphics card comparison https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

A 580 gets about twice the score of your old r9 270 and the gtx 1060 is a little better than the 580, plus the 1060 tends to be a little cheaper and used less power. You could of course go for a 1070, but I think that’s a little over kill of gaming at 1080 resolution.

 

[trents]

As bigtall said, any meaningful upgrade will require you to purchase DDR4 RAM. If you are not willing to do this at this time then you could purchase a better GPU and overclock the CPU. And as far as staying with a conventional spinner hard drive, you are passing up the #1 bang for the buck performance upgrade if you elect to not go for an SSD. An SSD won't have any significant impact on game playing but it will on boot times and on loading program. It will make you computer feel like a new machine in everyday tasks.

 

[corpsejockey]

I will pass on the SSD and Ram. I already have both.

Op already has ssd. My vote for Ryzen 5 1500 or 1600, B350 board, gtx 1060, and the largest capacity DDR4 2666-3200 you can get for whatever is left in the budget. Gpu prices are bonkers right now too though so it may be worth while to bide your time and look for a good deal new or used. It seem as though even used GPU's are going for at or above MSRP of new and most places are currently out of stock. If you have a micro center near you, look at their gpu stock and hit them up for walk in/store pickup.