Need guidance and tips

jaydenfarmer

New Member
hello just signed up to this forum. I have a desktop i want to upgrade for the purpose of gaming but im not sure what i want or should get my current specs are

Processor: amd fx 6300 six core processor

graphics hardware: nvidia geforce gtx 55 ti

operating system : windows 7 64bit

Ram 4gb

500gb hard drive

Im not that great with computers my local computer shop will be installing the parts just need help on what is good, i bought the processor today as the website "can i run it" recommended it to play heroes of the storm.

But it still plays horrid on high graphics.

I want to be able to play battlefield and overwatch and watch netflix without it being jumpy ( and no its not my internet causing this as i have nbn and it's only me in the house) also while typing this my computer has a delay, like i can type 4 words before it shows on the screen.

I know im a noobie but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou!
 
The GeForce 550 Ti is a pretty mediocre card, that's most likely what's holding you back. Heroes of the Storm's recommended specs call for GTX 650, so it should still play it without problems on, say, medium. You might want to try updating/reinstalling your graphics drivers.
 
Suggestions:
  • Wait a month or so and buy a Radeon RX480. $200 card with $600 card performance.
  • If you can't wait for whatever reason, I'd look for something like a R9 390, R9 380, R9 290, GTX 960, GTX 970, R9 380X, or R9 280X. These are all in the $200-$300 price range, and good cards.
  • You will need a new PSU almost guaranteed with a new graphics card. Something like an EVGA G2 600-750W would likely cover all your bases, be sure to check graphics card power requirements.
  • Upgrade to Windows 10, please, for your own sake. If you haven't tried it, now is the time.
  • Get 4GB more RAM.
  • Get an SSD in that thing and preferably a bigger HDD.
Total cost of suggested improvements:
  • GPU: $200-300
  • PSU: $50-85
  • Windows 10: Free until July 29th, 2016, $100+ after
  • 4GB RAM: $20-40
  • 200-256GB SSD: $50-95
  • 1TB, 7,200rpm HDD: $45-60
  • TOTAL: ~$485
If you need to skimp on components or whatnot, the GPU is the thing you really need, which also requires the new PSU, so you've got at least a $300 price tag here.

If you're really looking to budget on the parts, the GPU could probably stand to be toned down to a GTX 960, GTX 750Ti, R7 360 or a R7 370 in the ~$120-199 price bracket, at the cost of less performance than my previously listed cards.

Don't forget about a quality PSU. If you upgrade the GPU, you will need a new PSU, and there are only a few brands really worth trusting here: EVGA, Corsair, SeaSonic or XFX. Don't stray from these brands. You'll need to pay attention to what the GPU say's it needs to determine a proper Wattage rating.

The RAM will also be a very important upgrade. 4GB is likely holding you down a bit at this point, another 4GB would help a lot here.

A SSD with your Windows OS on it would be a very welcome addition, as that will speed the computer up a noticeable amount, but it is still a luxury, if on a budget.

A bigger HDD is mostly my preference, but they are relatively cheap, and personally, I find it hard to get by on anything less than 750GB at least, but this is totally up to you, just a suggestion.
 
Thanks for the help guys really appreciate it i don't really have a budget lol i earn more then i know what to do with ( hope i don't sound like a douche because im not! :( ) but this sounds like a good starting point so thankyou!
 
@Origin Saint I would honestly upgrade the ram all the way up to 16GB. It is just so much better than 8GB.
On a budget, and for a majority of users, 8-12GB is perfectly fine. Yes, 16GB is nicer than 8GB, but that's to be expected. The realistic and responsible decision given a situation in which the real bottleneck is the GPU, is to gear the funds spent towards that component and it's requirements.
 
On a budget, and for a majority of users, 8-12GB is perfectly fine. Yes, 16GB is nicer than 8GB, but that's to be expected. The realistic and responsible decision given a situation in which the real bottleneck is the GPU, is to gear the funds spent towards that component and it's requirements.
12GB is also much better than 8. When I had my 8350 I got 10 extra FPS in GTA V by upgrading from 8GB to 12GB. But that's the only game I got a boost in performance. This is what he could get for 400$, if he wants to jump to 485$ like you suggested he could get a 1TB HDD aswell.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.88 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: RX480 ($200.00)
Total: $404.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-23 16:25 EDT-0400
 
12GB is also much better than 8. When I had my 8350 I got 10 extra FPS in GTA V by upgrading from 8GB to 12GB. But that's the only game I got a boost in performance. This is what he could get for 400$, if he wants to jump to 485$ like you suggested he could get a 1TB HDD aswell.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.88 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: RX480 ($200.00)
Total: $404.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-23 16:25 EDT-0400

Solid advice.
 
oh wow people replied more at 6 in the morning rather then 6.30 at night haha thankyou calin local pc store was charging 140 for a sdd so money saved there ( every penny saved is a penny worth keeping ) i did have 8gb of ram but when they put in the new processor something happened and now it says i have 4. im guessing that rx480 isn't out yet?
 
Please elaborate on that.

There might be something wrong with the system, or your local pc shop is dodgy.

When i bought the desktop it had 4gb of ram and he chucked another 4gb in for free. It worked fine up until yesterday when i bought my new processor now it's saying i only have 4gb.
 
Where is it saying 4gb of ram in windows?

Have you opened up the side of the case to see how many sticks of ram is installed?
 
the system settings in the control panel, i uploaded a photo. Yesterday it said i only had 4gb now it is saying i have 8 again but only 4 is usable?
 

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