Hello everyone, well recently i have bought a prebuilt PC very cheap it's a HP Compaq 6200 Pro SFF, it has a i3 2100, 3GB of Ram and i used an old 7200rpm laptop for storage. I think this PC should be good to get starting to make this PC a little more better over the time, but i don't have any idea of which i should upgrade first so i was thinking on this:
More memory, but i dont know if to get 1333Mhz (which the motherboard only supports) or get 1600Mhz
GPU and a PSU, for GPU i was thinking about a R9 280x or GTX 770 or even a 4gb 760 (i'm going to go used for the gpu) as for the PSU i think about 550-650w depending on the gpu.
And maybe change the motherboard for a Z77 mobo and then get a i5 3570k, i'm thinking to get a Z77 and stick with the i3 for a bit meanwhile i get the i5(both cpu and motherboard would be used). A new case would be in this option too.
I would go in that order but i would like to know any suggestions on what it should be better to upgrade first. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
Personally, I'd upgrade the memory first. It will underclock to what your motherboard/cpu supports,so you won't see any advantage to using 1600Mhz now, although if you are planning to upgrade the motherboard, then you may be able to re-use it later.
Second would be to get an SSD for the OS, these things make such a huge difference, its like getting a brand new computer.
GPU & PSU sound good, though make sure that the PSU fits your case, those workstations don't have a lot of room inside from memory.
Then when you do have the money. Start to get everything you need and want to build your own PC.
You are about to embark on a awesome experience of building a PC. I wish you the best of luck. You can always ask more questions on the forums. People are always willing to help with a first time build.
Well so i would go for upgrade the Ram then :D But it would be good to get 1600Mhz ram even with the motherboard i have at the moment?
For SSD which ones or brands are good to look for, and also for motherboard which Z77 mobo are better to look too and as i said that i would stay with the i3 meanwhile i get the i5, would be any problem or it should run fine?
Thank you for your replies, i really appreciate it.
The order I would go in would be memory- get 1333 Mhz (8gbs dual channel 2x4gb ) then the processor and then get a decent board. If your getting an i5 then to stick within a "budget" end pc get a i5 4460 (non overclockable) then for the motherboard get something decent from asus or msi. But once you reach this stage you may not be able to fit a full atx motherboard in you case. I personally like DIY PC cases for "budget" computers and generally they are very verry cheap cases. For the PSU I would stick withing corsair's line of cx PSU's. Lastly you should get a GPU. The reason I say lastly is because the i3 will bottleneck whatever gpu you put into the system. And for your choice of the R9 280x (witch is a very powerful card under $200) I would suggest to get a HD 7970 because the R9 280x is a re-branded version of the HD 7970. you can pick them up on ebay for about $140- $160, and currently I am running one in my main amd rig and its still able to play fallout at about 40-60 frames at max settings with mods, though it has frequent drops in places like diamond city. Overall at the end of the day you're going to have a brand new computer, and if you buy the parts used or on sales should cost less than $450. Eventually buy an ssd. It makes a big difference to me.
Notes: Buy most of what I had suggested on sale or used, and these products are just for reference. I would say get whatever you feel is reliable and cheap.
SSD first, then RAM... because it's 2015 and things can have less than 3GB RAM but not forgo a 120GB SSD...
TBH both upgrades are under $100 in their entirety... and both hare super easy to install... get both... but if I HAD to choose one for better performance.... SSD
Well i would like to stay on the 1155 platform right now so if i buy the motherboard first i could use my CPU (if it's possible) on the motherboard, and i would like to get the i5 3570k later on after other upgrades. As for the gpu well i could get first the CPU then the GPU, after all i play games not so often so i could stay on the integrated graphics meanwhile i get the gpu. So for the ram i think i would stick with a 1333Mhz kit and a SSD for now.
To be honest, good luck getting a 3570K for a decent price, used they cost close in price to a new 4960K, with motherboards being pretty much the same. Z77 is decent if you already have it, but getting into a chipset that is now three generations old isn't the best use of money in my opinion.
I do agree with the other posters, 8 GB RAM is a good idea. A 2x4 GB set of 1600 MHz RAM costs only about $30-40 nowadays, so it's a cheap investment. And computers will downclock RAM to whatever the motherboard supports, so a standard 1600 MHz kit would be a wiser investment for the future.
Second, while SSDs are really nice, but I'm still of the opinion that a decent HDD, like a WD Black for example, is adequate for most people unless 10 second boot times are really high on the priority list. I own two SSDs, but I use plenty of computers that have regular mechanical drives and I never really notice enough of a difference for it to be a big deal to me using them.
Oh, and looking at the 6200 Pro SFF, you're probably going to need a case if you want to upgrade anything other than the RAM and storage. The 6200's case appears to be in a pseudo-BTX layout, the PSU looks proprietary, the PCI slot covers are only half-height, and it looks like even the rear IO panel is proprietary.
I haven't had great experiences with boards from prebuilt machines. From a specs standpoint, dropping in a 280x to match the i3 would make for a great gaming rig (assuming you upgrade the psu as well). However, 8gb of ram is the generally recommended minimum for a decent gaming rig, and I personally prefer 16gb. However, I don't know if the mobo would be able to support a decent graphics card all that well. Theoretically, it should be fine assuming that your psu can supply enough power for the card, but I just wouldn't be surprised if the mobo gave out. A cheap mobo wouldn't be too expensive assuming that it did die after the gpu was added.
And how about Z87-Z97 platform, would be same price if i get used a Z77 combo? I though on getting the Z77 motherboard first as i said because could just swap the cpu for the i5, because if go in a more modern chipset i would have the case, memory and maybe the gpu but no mobo/cpu. And about the case is going to be another one for the new motherboard, so as i said i'm looking this PC as a starting point to making an even better one.
That upgrade is more in a future so right now i would get the memory first, so getting a 1600Mhz memory is no problem even is downclocked? if there's no problem, i going for that option. Thanks to all for your help! :D i really appreciate it