Budget overhaul

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Sa59

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Sa59/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Sa59/benchmarks/

 

  • CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($94.99 @ Newegg)
  • Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
  • Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card  ($123.98 @ Newegg)
  • Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX  AM3+ Motherboard  ($129.98 @ SuperBiiz)

 

Current:

 

  • Athlon II X4 640 3GHz
  • ASRock N68-VS3 UCC
  • SpecTek 8GB RAM
  • ASUS 6770 1GB
  • Pixxo 480W PSU

 

I've had some help with an 8-core PC build but my budget has been slashed so now I need to upgrade mobo, power supply and cpu first and foremost. I feel I can wait till end of the year sales for RAM and GPU.

Anyway, the upgrades I've chosen are attempts on not skimping out on important components but I do need help in bringing down the price on those first components further if possible.

How much life can I expect out of my 6770 with these upgrades in place? Would High settings be possible for a year+? Can you guys help a new builder out? Thanks.

Well, that cheap sound card is not going to really give you all that much improvement over the integrated audio, so I would advise you to knock that off your build and use the saved money to buy a 650 ti boost.

ASRock 970DE3

Would this mobo be a good option?

i would just upgrade the psu and gpu for now . then at the same time get mb and cpu and ram  and get the new 6 core or 8 core. 640 to a 965 is not worth 90 bucks

Like Tapopat says, I would upgrade the GPU and PSU now and worry about the rest later when you can afford it. I would upgrade to a 7870 GPU and a Corsair CX 500w or XFX 550w Pro, if I were to upgrade those two items.

[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JoPv]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JoPv/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JoPv/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url]

[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100354oc2l]Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card[/url] ($204.99 @ Newegg)

[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500]Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/url] ($49.99 @ Newegg)

[b]Total:[/b] $254.98

[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-22 03:23 EDT-0400)[/i]

It's up to you, but the Athlon II x4 640 to Ph II x4 965 isn't that big of an upgrade. Obviously you could OC the Ph II x4 965, but I don't think you will see that much of a difference.

Alright, I can do that. I'll get those two parts then upgrade the rest at a later date. I've worked with my upgrades just now and came up with this:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SEZm


Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SEZm/by_merchant/


Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SEZm/benchmarks/

  • CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 ATX  AM3+ Motherboard  ($149.98 @ SuperBiiz)
  • Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
  • Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card  ($207.55 @ Newegg)
  • Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

 

Total: $600.50


(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 22:26 EDT-0400)

I just don't know if this current motherboard can fit a two-slot card as it is micro-atx. I also can't check on PCPP because it seems ASRock retired my specific motherboard. I should be fine, yes?

Thanks a bunch btw!

These sticks of ram are faster,cheaper and lower voltage http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jUGa  xD

Yeah your mobo will fit a 2 slot GPU, just as long as you don't run into other items that you have in your mobo you should be fine.