System upgrade. Should I get a solid PSU + SSD, or just a GPU?

[selianxx]

Hello there.
The system i'm running is :
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE OC'd 3.8Ghz - Cooler Hyper TX3 EVO
GPU - Asus GT 640 2GB DDR3
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB 1333MHz (2x4GB)
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
HDD - Barracuda 7200RPM 500GB
PSU - CM GX 550W

I'm planning in the next months to do the following upgrades.
A GPU, an SSD and a good PSU, coz I've seen many posts of this CM GX 550W being a suck-ish one (tier 4).
So my budget is right now at about ~220 euros.

Should I get a Tier 1 - 2 PSU and an SSD for these money and get my GPU later, or just upgrade my GPU now and later the PSU and SSD? What would you guys do.
I don't want to buy a new GPU and then fry it or having my PSU so stressed so that my other components are in danger because it sucks hard .

BTW, I'm between R9 270x , GTX 760, HD7950 as for GPUs.

For SSD I'll get a 128 GB Samsung 840 Pro.

For PSU, which one would you get?
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 80PLUS Bronze (Non modular) (85 E)
XFX ProSeries 750W XXX Edition 80PLUS BRONZE (Semi modular) (106 E)
Antec HCG-620M 80PLUS BRONZE (Semi modular) (95 E)
Seasonic G-550 80PLUS BRONZE (Semi modular) (114 E)
Corsair RM Series 550 80PLUS Gold (Fully modular) (102 E)
XFX ProSeries 750W XXX Edition 80PLUS Bronze (Semi modular) (101E)

Any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Get a used 7950 and a good psu like the CM Silent Power series...600w is more than enough.

From your list: Any of the 650w or more units, it'll bring you more flexibility for gpu upgrades in the future, and leave ocing headroom.

SSD's are nice, but you gotta cover the fundamentals first.

 

[pcgamer4life]

What do you mainly use your computer for? My guess is that your current GPU handles most games fine on lower settings at a decent resolution. I don't know anything specific about the PSU that you have, but Corsair makes solid units.. even their budget CX series. I would get an SSD unless there's a serious concern about your PSU biting the dust.

 

[selianxx]

@pcgamer4life
I'm at 1080p resolutions. Atm the games I play, I have to run them at medium to low settings. I want to have high to ultra on decent fps (40+) and to able to have hook up another 1080p monitor (from time to time) to browse , watch youtube videos etc. while playing. That being said, I want to upgrade my GPU... BUT >>
I read that this particural PSU is low quality and not Recommend for stressful situations. But I want to have my CPU OC'd as it is now, and hook up a (For example) GTX 760, isn't that a stress for it? What if it fails and fries everything? :/
The SSD is not that much "needed", I just want to have faster boot and applications / games loaded faster...
@ivanlabrie
Thanks for the info... the thing is that all used 7870s or something similar I can find in my local stores is like 180 E +...

 

[ivanlabrie]

The 640 is a really weak gpu, you should be alright with an r9 280x, a 7950, a GTX 760 or 770, or a 7870 LE or r9 270X (worst case scenario).

 

[selianxx]

thanks for the post ivan, but I did know that

The real thing I want to know is what would it make more sense to do?

Get the best GPU I can afford right now? (GTX 760 or 7950 w/ BOOST)

or

A high quality PSU and an SSD?

Those reviews and posts about GX 550W being made by so bad quality scared the *** out of me. The worst case senario is getting a GPU and having it being trashed by a faulty PSU

It will be like 220-250 Euro for GPU, and 220-240 Euro for PSU + SSD

 

[ivanlabrie]

I know, that's why I reccomend cheap gpu + decent psu.

Hit me with an e-tailer's link so I can find you a good combo.

 

[selianxx]

Bah... that would be really good, but all links and stores I use to buy are in greek language, you wouldn't understand much

 

[ivanlabrie]

Google translate...

I speak spanish, english, some chinese, but no greek though xD

 

[selianxx]

Haha. Ok give it a shot.
I'll give you a site that by using the search function (you don't even need translation for that I guess xD) it will give you the low to high prices on all over greek stores try it.
www.skroutz.gr
for example.
you hit seasonic g650 and search, and it will give a list of greek stores selling that thing (from Low to high). Hope I helped

 

[ivanlabrie]

Bingo:

http://www.skroutz.gr/s/441095/CoolerMaster-Silent-Pro-M2-620W.html
+
http://www.skroutz.gr/s/4023703/Sapphire-Radeon-R9-270X-Boost-2GB-Dual-X-OC.html

or

http://www.skroutz.gr/s/4023704/Sapphire-Radeon-R7-260X-2GB-OC.html

Any of those would be a healthy upgrade over your current card...you can also go for the 7950 for slightly more, or a 280X.

Look: http://www.skroutz.gr/s/3569485/Asus-GeForce-GTX760-2GB-DirectCU-II-OC.html Not worth it, imho.
It's better to get a 7950 for 10 more, or this: http://www.skroutz.gr/s/4023690/Gigabyte-Radeon-R9-280X-3GB-WindForce-3X-OC.html

 

[selianxx]

Wow, thanks!

About GTX 760 I found a guy selling it for 200 (The EVGA SC Dual Bios Edition), it wouldn't fit in his case. That's what he said at least. It comes with 3 Year warranty from EVGA and a backplate. If I check that the card is working properly, should I grab it and upgrade my PSU in like a month from now?
Bad thing about that 7950 WF3X is it's waaaaaaaaay too long for my case to fit
If my PSU isn't going to handle my system well, is it going to show symptoms or it will just failed and take with it other components too? If there is a chance that this will happen, I'll get the PSU + R7 260x combo.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Your psu might die on you, or your rig might throttle, either cpu or gpu, or just reboot when overloaded and bsod.

The 270x is a lot better, see if it'll fit. I'd still reccomend either gtx 760 or 7950.

 

[selianxx]

Throttling means that my CPU / GPU will be "downclocked" so that my PSU can be sufficient for them? If that's its meaning, then most likely my PSU won't kill them, it will just commite a suicide if I get it right.

If the above statement is correct, what I might do is get the 760 from that guy, if the card is not good, I'll get the 7950 from Club3D or so, and I'll run my CPU and GPU to stock clocks until I get a high quality PSU.
How does that look? Isn't that a nice idea?

 

[ivanlabrie]

Undervolt everything, but still, I wouldn't reccomend it.
You might kill all your hardware for saving a few bucks. Get a proper psu along with a gpu, or just get a psu first. It's well worth it.
You can also buy used from the forums, look around.

 

[selianxx]

Thanks for all the help you gave me ivan.
I found a guy selling a SAPPHIRE HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 WITH BOOST 180 E , I'll go check it out.
Even if I buy it, I won't use it till I get a proper PSU so that my system is ready and safe.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Get that gpu, it's a great deal for an amazing card (and faster and cheaper than the 760)
Good luck and hope you can get the psu fast!