Upgrades - GPU done - Now what? Help!

Shamusangus_24

Hi everyone,

Firstly thanks to those who helped out with my previous discussion about upgrading my GPU - I ended up getting the GTX 750 and it is considerably better.

I am currently running a few things on High, most on medium and some things turned off (basically all the tick boxes except lighting).
I like many others still get FPS dips, mainly in main towns and some times during battles. I get frustrated that the best way for me to fix this is to take a graphics hit.

My last discussion had a few people suggest i upgrade some other components, namely CPU, PSU and RAM. MY question is, based on my specs below what would you upgrade first (i know it is all crap, but i'm poor) - and suggest to what?

I am on about a $100 -$150 budget this fortnight and can only upgrade one...

Dell Studio XPS 7100
Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1 64 bit
Processor : AMD Phenom™ II X4 830 Processor (2.8GHz,6MB,4C)
Memory: 4GB (2X2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz Memory
PSU: 460w (?)
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 750
Cooling Solution: Standard Fan and Heatsink(95W)
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with Native Command Queuing

Thanks in advance!

WylieCoyote1511

You need a better cpu to manage that gpu.

Also I'd say your PSU was a bit weak. Prob need at least a 800w?

Also just to warn you.

I have

AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz

MSI GTX 780 ti

Memory 8GB

PSU 1000W

ASUS 990fx mobo

Windows 8.1 64

And the game still doesn't run as great as I'd like, can't max settings!

WylieCoyote1511

I'd upgrade your PSU first to future proof your system for more powerful components.

Corsair make great PSU's

mikescchen

I'd suggest upgrage the power too, but for safety.
I have a GTX 750 at office (shhh! ), just a bang for the buck and does not need external power.
Since this card does not support SLI, so I suppose you won't buy another card soon.
Your current power may be a little old, that's why I suggest replace the power.
450W is definitely enough for your current configuration.

I'm running FX6350 / MSI 7850 Power Edition OC x2 now, with Antec Truepower Classic 450W at home, perfectly stable.

vital1989

WylieCoyote1511 wrote: »

You need a better cpu to manage that gpu.

Also I'd say your PSU was a bit weak. Prob need at least a 800w?

Also just to warn you.

I have

AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz

MSI GTX 780 ti

Memory 8GB

PSU 1000W

ASUS 990fx mobo

Windows 8.1 64

And the game still doesn't run as great as I'd like, can't max settings!

1000W PSU xD are you sli 3x gpu? Completly waste of money for electricy bils.

vital1989

mikescchen wrote: »

I'd suggest upgrage the power too, but for safety.
I have a GTX 750 at office (shhh! ), just a bang for the buck and does not need external power.
Since this card does not support SLI, so I suppose you won't buy another card soon.
Your current power may be a little old, that's why I suggest replace the power.
450W is definitely enough for your current configuration.

I'm running FX6350 / MSI 7850 Power Edition OC x2 now, with Antec Truepower Classic 450W at home, perfectly stable.

Agree about psu,dont need 800w psu as another guy offer him.because he use 1000w psu

Audigy

If you want to buy a new PSU, go for a good brand like BeQuiet, Corsair and check for the 12V power. Its not so much about the W its the 12V that matters.

But this wont change the performance of your system, it would only help if you keep on upgrading components and need more power or don't have enough now.

As for what to upgrade next, hmm. I assume you have an AM3 mainboard right now, so that you can only upgrade for another AM3 CPU right now.

Some mainboard´s also support AM3+ if you get a new BIOS from their website - you could check if something like this is available for yours.

If so then you could go for an AMD FX CPU, but keep in mind that the AMD CPU´s are less powerful than those of intel and you will notice this especially in pvp, towns and crowded area´s if you run it on stock clock.


If you have the money, completely change the mainboard and go for an intel solution, but this would cost you about 350 Euro / 480 $.

Loxy37

Yeah I have to agree that your PSU is seriously under powered. Grab at least a 650w corsair or higher if you can afford it as it will do you through a few builds. There are charts online that work out your overall power consumption. What you also need to take into account that a lot of people compleley miss is the amperage. Each 12v rail as they are called has a total amperage output, if you look at your GFX cards manual it will tell you the Amperage needed, if not look online. Usually in a gaming card it will be about 25 amp but it varies. Try to put the gfx card on its own connect and don't piggy back it with anything else like a hard drive or DVD drive. Most PSUs these days have a independent connector or 2 for GFX cards.

When you buy a PSU, make sure that the amperage of the 12v rail exceeds that of your GFX cards demands. I bet that your PSU is prolly Max 20 amp and probably lower (15 I bet). Usually if its not getting enough juice, you will get slow downs and even crashes if its serious.

WylieCoyote1511

vital1989 wrote: »

WylieCoyote1511 wrote: »

You need a better cpu to manage that gpu.

Also I'd say your PSU was a bit weak. Prob need at least a 800w?

Also just to warn you.

I have

AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz

MSI GTX 780 ti

Memory 8GB

PSU 1000W

ASUS 990fx mobo

Windows 8.1 64

And the game still doesn't run as great as I'd like, can't max settings!

1000W PSU xD are you sli 3x gpu? Completly waste of money for electricy bils.

Came with the system mate, and I'm still learning things myself.

Just trying to help!

sociald100ub17_ESO

yea there is no way he needs even an 800 let alone 1k psupply.

ANd to upgrade the cpu would mean upgrading your mboard mostly likely and that's going to go over budget.

Based on what you have and with the budget in mind, I would add some ram. Possibly better cooling solution but before doing so I would check your temps.
grab hardwaremonitor utility ( its free no strings attached ) and check your gpu and cpu temperatures while under heavy load. ( you can do that by checking while playing or you can download a programs like prime95 and others that will push them.
http://openhardwaremonitor.org/
if your running hot you could upgrade your cpu and/or case cooling as needed.
ram and a fan or two should be well within your budget.

D34thly

If you can stretch your budget I'd go with something like this..
AMD FX-6300 $119
MSI 970A-G46 $69
Rosewill CAPSTONE-650 650W PSU $89

If you can't buy PSU then buy CPU and MB next time you have funds.

denicolad16_ESO

When I rebuild or upgrade my computer I always start with the mainboard. I look to see what it will be compatible with and how much "Future proof" it will be. In other words how long will it last me before it is time to upgrade again. I then look into CPU's compatible with the board. I go from there to the GPU. I always try to read and research everything and make sure everything is compatible. The last item I ever buy is the power supply if I need it. I figure out the amount of watts my build is going to need and add 100 to it then buy the PSU based off other users reviews. It normally takes me about 2-3 weeks before I make any decision and final purchase. I am really picky when it comes to my hardware.

Here is a perfect example. I've only changed hard drives twice in the past 8 years. The first time I bought a Raptor 10k rpm drive. and most recently this past Christmas when I upgraded to SSD. I've been using the same DVD-RW for ever. LOL I think it probably belongs in a museum.

My suggestion to you is to read and research. If you are going to be dishing out money to upgrade your system over time why not sock the money away, research, wait and then buy the parts all at once and build a new system? I never understood why people buy all the parts at different times yet so close together and without any sort of plan. If you have been using that system for awhile and it has sufficed then you can wait a little longer and get something you are going to be really happy with.

I wanted to edit and add something that I thought of. Most of these guys answering your post are intelligent and knowledgeable. Be careful of the ones who post insane system specs that make no sense. These are more than likely the kids who Newegg build a system and post for, "My *** is better than yours", reasons.

wrlifeboil

vital1989 wrote: »

WylieCoyote1511 wrote: »

You need a better cpu to manage that gpu.

Also I'd say your PSU was a bit weak. Prob need at least a 800w?

Also just to warn you.

I have

AMD FX 8350 4.0 GHz

MSI GTX 780 ti

Memory 8GB

PSU 1000W

ASUS 990fx mobo

Windows 8.1 64

And the game still doesn't run as great as I'd like, can't max settings!

1000W PSU xD are you sli 3x gpu? Completly waste of money for electricy bils.

If you live in an area with high electricity rates, the 8350 or anything AMD isn't for you anyway.