Question Looking to upgrade computer from 2011

[KuDynasty]

Specs for my current gaming computer:

MB ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3
AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1075T processor (6 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti
PSU RAIDMAX | HYBRID2 RX-730SS 730W
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (I have 12GB RAM total)
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

My computer can still run newer games, but usually on low-mid graphics settings. I did switch out an older GPU and ever since then I've been getting the blue screen of death several times a week.

What should I prioritize in upgrading? I'm thinking GPU and CPU - do I need to upgrade my motherboard as well? My budget is flexible (~$600 +/- $100), but I'm not looking to spend more than I need to to run the latest games on mid-high settings.

I also plan to do a little bit of video editing, but that's secondary to gaming. I run multiple applications at the same time (game, Skype, Steam, Chrome browsers, etc.)

Thanks!

 

[Flayed]

Well it's a pretty old/low performance system by todays standards. I think you need a new one. I just did a 600$ build in another thread.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($118.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.91 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($34.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 570 8 GB ARMOR MK2 Video Card ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $611.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-09 07:50 EST-0500

You could tweak this build a bit to save money, a bronze PSU maybe or change the storage.

 

[KuDynasty]

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing too. Not sure if it's possible to just upgrade half the computer, but I might as well do the whole thing if it's going to cost about the same

 

[Gt403cyl]

Well it's a pretty old/low performance system by todays standards. I think you need a new one. I just did a 600$ build in another thread.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($118.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.91 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($34.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 570 8 GB ARMOR MK2 Video Card ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $611.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-09 07:50 EST-0500

You could tweak this build a bit to save money, a bronze PSU maybe or change the storage.

Just wondering why you recommended the Seagate 1TB over the WD Blue EZEX 1TB?

 

[VirtualLarry]

@Flayed 's build looks pretty solid. (And HDD choice can be down to brand preference, both WD and Seagate make fine 7200RPM 1TB HDDs, used them both.)

One thing that I might consider, OP, is buying the PSU on Flayed's build list, and trying that out first, and maybe the GPU as well. (RX 570 8GB)

Assuming that your mobo doesn't have leaking caps, then your issue, especially if it happened after you upgraded the GPU in your existing rig, is either down to a bad GPU (current GPU), or a PSU that can't keep up with the new GPU, and if it's the same vintage as the rest of the kit, it's probably due for replacement.

The advantage is, if those new parts work, you won't have blue-screens, and you'll be half-way to your new upgraded system, and then you can save up for CPU/mobo/RAM in the future.

 

[Flayed]

Just wondering why you recommended the Seagate 1TB over the WD Blue EZEX 1TB?

I think it was price. I was trying to hit 600$. With a slightly larger budget I'd recommend just having a 1TB SSD over the 240GB SSD + 1 TB HDD combo.

 

[Gt403cyl]

I think it was price. I was trying to hit 600$. With a slightly larger budget I'd recommend just having a 1TB SSD over the 240GB SSD + 1 TB HDD combo.

nvm was looking at the wrong price...

 

[Arkaign]

If you have a desire to get the absolute maximum value per $, a bit of a hybrid approach can deliver big-time.


Lenovo, Dell, and HP make some extremely overbuilt workstations on the Socket 2011 platform. I see this on eBay at present :

Xeon 1660 v2 3.7Ghz/4Ghz Turbo CPU
6 Core, 12 Thread, 15MB Cache
32GB Quad Channel Memory
610W 80+ Gold PSU
1TB HDD, Nvidia 460, DVDRW Etc

Obviously toss/sell the extra bits. These have W7 Pro COAs that install W10 Pro perfectly (digital validation, make USB of latest 1809 build from Microsoft website).

They have 8 Ram slots, and are very cheap and easy to work on.

The ram being quad channel is pretty rad, as well as there being 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes. It's hard to beat for brute power for the $ considering everything included, even a valid license for W10 Pro.

That's $350, a used 1070ti Strix is on our FS/FT for $215. A new 1TB or 512GB SSD can be had pretty easily for a reasonable price to go with this. You will also want a 6 to 8 pin PCIe power adapter for $10 or so.

I have helped a buddy with one of those, he started with a used RX580 from here, total cost $500 top to bottom build, now he's running an RTX 2060, and getting 60-90fps at 2560x1440 in Battlefield V. His CPU is one notch lower at E5-1650 v2.

Alternatively, looking at a build with a Ryzen 5 but good mobo would give you the option of going Ryzen 3000 series in the future.

Either way it will be a substantial upgrade. I'm constantly shocked how well the old Socket 2011 stuff holds up though, particularly with multitasking and quad channel memory. The extra PCIe lanes and healthy cache and bandwidth makes his streaming flawless even in heavy BFV action.

 

[riva2model64]

If you want save money, I'd suggest getting something like a used GTX 680, GTX 770, R9 290 RX 470, etc to boost your fps for a very good price.