Looking to upgrade, not sure what to get

[bristow84]

My current stats are as follows

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE @3.4GHZ
Motherboard: Asus M4A87TD/USB3
RAM: 4GB
GPU: ATI RADEON 6670HD 1GB
OS: Windows 7 64bit
PSU: 650W
Hard Drive: 1TB with 580GB free.


Now what could use some upgrading and what would you recommend? I also will probably be picking up a Portable Hard Drive and I'm wondering as to what would be a good one to get as well. I'm planning on picking up the Seagate Barracuda 2TB as well.

My budget is about $600-800 max.

 

[nsafreak]

Well a good start would be to answer the questions stickied at the top of the forum: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121 . From there we can figure out the best build for you.

 

[bristow84]

1. Mostly Gaming, internet surfing and video streaming to XBOX

2.Budget is $700 max.

3.Canada

4.I don't really have that much of a brand preference, just whichever brand will work better and longer.

5. I will be using my current Hard Drive, my current RAM, motherboard and most likely CPU. I do want to add more RAM if it's needed.

6. I do not plan on overclocking.

7. resolution will be 1680x1050

8. Hopefully I can do most of this ASAP, as there is some sale on at Memory Express but for the life of me I can't find out when it's ending.

 

[DSF]

In your original post you say the budget is $600-800, and then in your next post you say it's $700 max. That last $100 will probably make a big difference in terms of what options you have.

Is your max 700 or 800?

 

[bristow84]

800.

 

[lehtv]

Well, your budget allows for a CPU upgrade but your CPU isn't that slow, it's the GPU bottlenecking your framerates.

If you have 580GB free on your 1TB drive, why do you want a new hard drive? If you're looking for higher performance, buy an SSD and reinstall your OS there.

Your resolution is only 1680... you could also upgrade the monitor to 24"-27" 1080p.

You'll know whether you need more RAM by monitoring RAM use in Task Manager. You're probably fine with 4GB. Of course, it helps to eliminate processes that you don't need running in the background.

What model is your PSU?

Proposed upgrade:

GTX 670 $420 (will be bottlenecked by the PII a bit but you'll get another bump in fps when you upgrade the CPU
Crucial M4 128GB SSD $129
new monitor $150-$350