Video Card, CPU, and Memory upgrade

[Night44]

Hi,
I'm looking for a video card, cpu. and memory upgrade recommendations for my pc.

My specs:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb Quad-Core 3.0 GHz Socket AM3 95W

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Thank you for your time and help.

 

[caddi daddi]

what do you use the rig for?
what memory do you have?
are you willing to replace the whole dang shooting match?
whats the budget?
where on the earth are you?
and welcome to the forums!!!!!

 

[Night44]

Gaming, mostly World of Warcraft and Minecraft. I'm interested in Ark Survival and others.
Started to post memory but didn't lol
4GB can take 16.
Win 10
I don't think I need to replace the whole rig right now. I believe memory and video card will help. Thinking about a CPU maybe. Replacing the whole rig would be too much money.
Budget probably 350 to 400.
In Oklahoma
Thinking of buying a 4K 32 to 40 inch monitor.
Thanks. I've been here before.

 

[caddi daddi]

we are glad you're back!!

for a budget, 4K is not going to happen, you're looking at a 1080TI for that.
on your budget you are looking at 1080P, I would look at a 1060, 6gig card, a 3 gig card will work also, and try to find a used 965 cpu and not worry about memory right now.
if you are planning on upgrading over time I would put all my budget, this round into a 1070/2070 or 1080/2080 gpu.
I

 

[DaveB]

Here's some ebay pricing for your upgrade. Following the CPU upgrade recommendation, upgrading the GPU to a 1070 and going to 2x8GB DDR3-1600 all under your $350 to $400 budget.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 = $40
GTX 1070 = $220
DDR3-1600 2x8GB = $70
Total $330

 

[Night44]

Sounds good except for the memory. It only supports DDR2. I didn't know they had 6 core cpus till the other day.

 

[DaveB]

Sounds good except for the memory. It only supports DDR2. I didn't know they had 6 core cpus till the other day.

Even better, DDR2-667 2 x 8GB is under $20. Total now $270.

 

[habbajabba]

Think of maximizing the capabilities of the board without spending so much it's a waste in the long run. $400 ought to go a long ways.

 

[caddi daddi]

and if it's a ddr-2 board a 1050TI is more fitting and cheaper also.

 

[Night44]

What about the Sapphire nitro+ rx 580 8GB or MSI rx 580 armor oc 8GB? Are these good cards or is the 1060 better? I looked at them because of price. Used.

 

[EarthDog]

Same difference, really. The 1060 uses less power though..

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_RTX_2060_Founders_Edition/33.html

 

[Zerileous]

Food for thought what is your current graphics card?:
MSI B450 tomahawk - $115 (I chose B450 for better future upgrade compatability)
Ryzen 2200G - $100
16GB entry level DDR4 - $80
Total: $300 - for another $50 you could get a higher speed CPU or a 6 core CPU.

What graphics card are you currently running? Are you trying to play Ark in VR?

I could justify the $20 in DDR2, but not replacing a CPU for a 400mhz increase. I would either spend that money on a better graphics card (if you plan to play newer games in the future) or set it aside towards a new motherboard/cpu/ram.

 

[wingman99]

The MSI rx 580 armor oc 8GB is a good card. I also like the EVGA GTX 1060.

 

[Night44]

The reason I was looking at the Sapphire is because I could get if for about $100.00 and it's 8GB. I know 8 is better than 6,
but wondered if it was that much difference than 6GB 1060. I know more isn't always better. I have been looking at cpu,
motherboard combos. Some also come with memory. I could keep what I have a get a good vid card but I thought it
would be better to get as much of an upgrade as possible. I figure it would help with future upgrades if I have a newer
mobo. I'm not sure when I'll have enough money saved up to upgrade again. I don't play Fallout or games like that but I
want the ability if I so desire at some point. I thought I should buy my video card first then the rest. The ability to plug in
a VR would be nice. No on the Ark VR lol.

 

[wingman99]

The reason I was looking at the Sapphire is because I could get if for about $100.00 and it's 8GB. I know 8 is better than 6,
but wondered if it was that much difference than 6GB 1060. I know more isn't always better. I have been looking at cpu,
motherboard combos. Some also come with memory. I could keep what I have a get a good vid card but I thought it
would be better to get as much of an upgrade as possible. I figure it would help with future upgrades if I have a newer
mobo. I'm not sure when I'll have enough money saved up to upgrade again. I don't play Fallout or games like that but I
want the ability if I so desire at some point. I thought I should buy my video card first then the rest. The ability to plug in
a VR would be nice. No on the Ark VR lol.

6GB is fine for 1080p.

 

[Zerileous]

I wouldn't plan on using the APU from the Ryzen for long, but it technically should play Ark (poorly), minecraft and WoW. So that is an option if your budget is tight. You could also get the motherboard, CPU, and memory I listed plus the 580 for $400, so that works. Although if you're not going to use the APU, I would spend the extra $50 for either 6 cores (if you have or anticipate any multithreaded workloads) or the 1500x for the higher clocks.

Also don't forget about Team Blue, people always think AMD for budget builds, but Intel offers a quad core I3 @ 3.6 Ghz for between $100 and $150. But you can't OC it.

 

[bww794]

ew! Team blue lol jk.

But i second the idea of getting a b450 board, a 2200/2400g, and some ddr4 ram. still within budget and puts you in a position to be able to upgrade to current tech later. personally, i couldnt justify dumping $300-400 into upgrading an older system when a brand new one could be built with the same budget and offer better performance. integrated vega gfx should do what you need until you can bank up for a dedicated graphics card. Wow is more cpu intensive anyway so that'll be the thing that holds you back no matter how good of a gpu you have.

I just built a system for my roommate in this same scenario. got him out of the ddr3 memory/am3+/pcie 2.0 trap and onto an AM4 board with ddr4. he had my old FX-9590 and his room was like a sauna lol

 

[Night44]

I need to get out of the ddr 2,pcie 2.0 and so on trap. I don't want to upgrade what I have. I hadn't been looking at AMD till I
noticed the sapphire. I was looking at Intel. (Team Blue lol). Newegg on Ebay has the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 for
$99.99. I was looking at the i5 8600k for about $260. Would this work with some memory and a GPU later? Any idea if they
will come down in price soon?

 

[trents]

You would need DDR4 RAM to work with the 8600k/Z390 platform. The GPU can wait because the 8600k has IGP or you can use your existing video card.

 

[Night44]

Hahaha. hd 4890? The board supports 8 and 9 gen. Is it good enough for future upgrades? Better buy some thermal paste