CPU upgrade

easymoon

Junior Member
Jun 22, 2015
7
0
0
Good day guys

I'm having a bit of trouble here. My current setup is as follows:

Proc: i3 3220
Mobo: ECS H61H2-MV
GPU: Powercolor HD 7750

I'm planning to do an upgrade but I'm not sure whether I should just upgrade the processor or buy a new proc+mobo. If I do buy a new proc+mobo, should I buy the fx or the i5? I'm also tight on budget (Php16,000 or around USD 400)

I mainly use my rig for gaming 2014 titles and below @ 720p. i also plan to buy a 750ti soon. what are the pros and cons of each option? will i be able to play 2015 titles with this setup?
 
Aug 11, 2008
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I assume you want the upgrade for gaming. If so, first and foremost you are going to need a new video card. On a budget, you could try to find a used sandy bridge i5, keep the same motherboard, and add the best gpu you can get with the remaining funds.

You really need to give more information though, like the specs of the rest of the system, especially the power supply, what you will be using the computer for, and if gaming, what games and resolutions you want to play at.
 

easymoon

Junior Member
Jun 22, 2015
7
0
0
i think i already said that in the post

i'm planning to get a 750ti soon and i mainly play 2014 titles at 720p (bf, cod, wd, fc, da)

psu is an fsp aurum
6gb 1600 ram
1tb wd black
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
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Sorry, I did not see that part of your post for some reason. If you have a decent psu, say 450 watts or more, you probably would be better off to get an AMD 270/270x/280, or even a GTX 960. The 750Ti will be good for 720p for sure, and most games at 1080p as well, but will be kind of low end if you should decide to upgrade to 1080p and play newer games like Witcher 3. I have not heard of the particular psu that you have, so I dont know how reliable it would be for one of the more power hungry AMD cards, or if it even has a supplementary 6 pin connector. The 750Ti does not require one so should work no matter what.

As for your cpu, I would try a gpu upgrade first and see if the performance is good enough. An i3 (even an older one like yours) is a decent(ish) gaming cpu still, especially for older games. If it isnt, then as I said, perhaps you can find a used i5 that will fit the motherboard that you have.

Unfortunately both your cpu and gpu are kind of borderline, and 400.00 is not much of a budget to upgrade cpu, motherboard, and gpu. I assume you are not in the US. Can you order from online supplies like NewEgg or Amazon?
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
137
106
Buy a i5-34xx or i5-35xx, sell the i3, and buy a $300 GPU.
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
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Buy a i5-34xx or i5-35xx, sell the i3, and buy a $300 GPU.

He is playing at 720p, so a 300.00 gpu would be total overkill. A fairly powerful dgpu in the 180.00 to 200 dollar range and getting a 1080p monitor as well would make sense though, if his psu is up to it.

Buy yea, I agree, I am not sure 750Ti is a sufficient upgrade from a HD7750 to be worth the cost.
 
Mar 10, 2006
11,715
2,012
126
Good day guys

I'm having a bit of trouble here. My current setup is as follows:

Proc: i3 3220
Mobo: ECS H61H2-MV
GPU: Powercolor HD 7750

I'm planning to do an upgrade but I'm not sure whether I should just upgrade the processor or buy a new proc+mobo. If I do buy a new proc+mobo, should I buy the fx or the i5? I'm also tight on budget (Php16,000 or around USD 400)

I mainly use my rig for gaming 2014 titles and below @ 720p. i also plan to buy a 750ti soon. what are the pros and cons of each option? will i be able to play 2015 titles with this setup?

Keep your CPU + mobo, use the money to buy GTX 960.
 

B-Riz

Golden Member
Feb 15, 2011
1,595
765
136
How about a 2GB R9 380 or R7 370?

Also, you can get a used i5 23xx off eBay for $100 or less.
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
i3 3220 is a decent CPU, and can handle more video card than you have. You might consider a used socket 1155 i5 or i7, but it wouldn't be inappropriate to blow your entire budget on a nice GPU.
 

kmmatney

Diamond Member
Jun 19, 2000
4,363
1
81
An R9 270x should handle your resolutions and will be a huge video card upgrade. You can usually find them for around $130 new. I bought as used one for $90. Your motherboard is socket 1155, so you can upgrade to a 2500K for about $130, and sell your old Core i3 for around $50. So my proposal - buy an R9 270x for $100 on Ebay and buy a i5 2500K for $130, then sell your existing parts, for a net cost of around $140 or so.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,689
4,652
75
Php16,000 or around USD 400
Man, why did nobody tell me PHP was a currency? I could get rich writing code! :p

Unless you meant Philippine Pesos. In which case, could you please point us to an online store where you might buy parts in your country?
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
how much is the performance difference between the 2nd and 3rd gen i5?

5-10% performance per clock, but if you're overclocking (which you won't be with that board), the older i5 will probably clock higher. The newer ones use a bit less power and produce a bit less heat, and will probably be clocked a little higher at stock too, but generally run at a higher temperature due to a chance in how Intel attaches the heatspreader (which isn't an issue for non-overclocked CPUs).

The difference between Ivy and Sandy isn't huge.
 

easymoon

Junior Member
Jun 22, 2015
7
0
0
Man, why did nobody tell me PHP was a currency? I could get rich writing code! :p

Unless you meant Philippine Pesos. In which case, could you please point us to an online store where you might buy parts in your country?

dynaquestpc.com
tipidpc.com
easypc.com.ph
 

TeknoBug

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2013
2,084
31
91
Get the i5 3450 or 3550 and call it a day, still using my i5 3550 and it does everything needed til Skylake settles in, currently it's my main virtual machine system (since it has VT-d instructions for direct I/O) but be sure that ECS board supports the CPUs.

If you get an i5 and a 750Ti you can play at 1080p.

I once had an i3 3225 and it was slow as *$#% for some reason. The i3 4160 is night and day difference.
 

NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,440
5,788
136
Don't bother upgrading the CPU- blow your budget on a nice graphics card.
 

R0H1T

Platinum Member
Jan 12, 2013
2,583
164
106
Good day guys

I'm having a bit of trouble here. My current setup is as follows:

Proc: i3 3220
Mobo: ECS H61H2-MV
GPU: Powercolor HD 7750

I'm planning to do an upgrade but I'm not sure whether I should just upgrade the processor or buy a new proc+mobo. If I do buy a new proc+mobo, should I buy the fx or the i5? I'm also tight on budget (Php16,000 or around USD 400)

I mainly use my rig for gaming 2014 titles and below @ 720p. i also plan to buy a 750ti soon. what are the pros and cons of each option? will i be able to play 2015 titles with this setup?
A 270x would be better IMO especially since the 750Ti is overpriced outside the US. I would get the 750Ti only if it;s close to the 270x, in price, & that too a high(er) end model with great cooling & lots of room to OC. The rest you can spend on an SSD, if you already don't own one.
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
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A 270x is probably a better buy, but we still do not have any details on the OP's power supply, except that it is an fsp aurum, which I am not familiar with. 270x requires 2 six pin connectors, while the 750Ti does not require any. So a 270x *might* require a psu upgrade.
 

R0H1T

Platinum Member
Jan 12, 2013
2,583
164
106
A 270x is probably a better buy, but we still do not have any details on the OP's power supply, except that it is an fsp aurum, which I am not familiar with. 270x requires 2 six pin connectors, while the 750Ti does not require any. So a 270x *might* require a psu upgrade.
He's currently running a 7750 so I doubt a stock 270x would be too much for the PSU to handle, of course the OP is in a better situation to assess the quality of his PSU & whether he'll need to upgrade that as well should he go for anything other than the 750ti.
 
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easymoon

Junior Member
Jun 22, 2015
7
0
0
guys i found a nicely priced second hand 5970 (around the same price as a 270x). should i grab it?