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Order of upgrades with small budget

post #1 of 6
5/30/12 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
Seems like there are a dozen of these, and I've been reading through them to get some ideas. I don't know a huge amount about computers but want to upgrade my current one and don't want to pay the hundreds of extra it costs to get a complete new one + the cost of it being made by a company.

From other upgrade threads, it seems that upgrading the mother board and the CPU are the first places to go. Is this where I should start (for around $200) with the current computer which is a Maingear Prelude.


CPU: AMD Phenom x3 8750
Motherboard: ASUSTek M3A78-T
Ramm: Kingston PC2-6400 4GB (2x2 GB)
GPU: Radeon HD 4830
Power: 650W [no idea what model or how to find this]


It looks like most of the parts I have are fairly old so I feel that I should be able to do a moderate upgrade for a relatively low price. I'm fine not having the current top market parts.

Another problem I've been having is the computer running hot. I had been using 2 monitors (one tiny 13" for internet) and the GPU was running at 71C the other day. The PC shut down so I was hoping that by upgrading some parts, I could fix the overheating problem.

Questions:
1) Is upgrading the CPU/Motherboard the first place to go here?
2) How do I see what type of cooling system the PC has/uses and should I upgrade this since its been running hot already?
3) Do I need more power and/or RAM?
4) How do I figure out what kind of case I have and whether it will work for upgrades?

Thank you!
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post #2 of 6
5/30/12 at 7:29am
It depends on what your main concerns are for the computer - the first place that I would start with the computer would be upgrading the GPU as that is going to be the slowest part if you plan on gaming with the computer.

Make sure that the case is clean with good cable management and good air flow. I'd imagine if the computer has dust build up then thats why you're seeing higher temps.

You should be able to get a good 6850 on your budget and an in expensive Phenom II which were a large upgrade over the Phenom's - you should be fine on the other areas for the moment being.

And since this is your first post, welcome to OCN!
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post #3 of 6
5/30/12 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 
Thanks!

My biggest concern is running newer games on higher (highest?) settings. Diablo III, etc. Fortunately, I don't do a lot of gaming that uses high graphics anyway (mostly MMO's and RTS's or anything multiplayer). I plan on taking it apart once I get a can of air to clean it up inside. Turning off my second monitor also seemed to reduce the amount of heat everything produced.

It looks like a 6850 is only 140 dollars on Newegg which isn't much for a big upgrade! Do you think that the motherboard I have can handle/support that gpu?

Edit: Oh hey, you're from long island! I went to highschool out there.
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post #4 of 6
5/31/12 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SardonicRaven View Post

Seems like there are a dozen of these, and I've been reading through them to get some ideas. I don't know a huge amount about computers but want to upgrade my current one and don't want to pay the hundreds of extra it costs to get a complete new one + the cost of it being made by a company.
From other upgrade threads, it seems that upgrading the mother board and the CPU are the first places to go. Is this where I should start (for around $200) with the current computer which is a Maingear Prelude.
CPU: AMD Phenom x3 8750
Motherboard: ASUSTek M3A78-T
Ramm: Kingston PC2-6400 4GB (2x2 GB)
GPU: Radeon HD 4830
Power: 650W [no idea what model or how to find this]
It looks like most of the parts I have are fairly old so I feel that I should be able to do a moderate upgrade for a relatively low price. I'm fine not having the current top market parts.
Another problem I've been having is the computer running hot. I had been using 2 monitors (one tiny 13" for internet) and the GPU was running at 71C the other day. The PC shut down so I was hoping that by upgrading some parts, I could fix the overheating problem.
Questions:
1) Is upgrading the CPU/Motherboard the first place to go here?
2) How do I see what type of cooling system the PC has/uses and should I upgrade this since its been running hot already?
3) Do I need more power and/or RAM?
4) How do I figure out what kind of case I have and whether it will work for upgrades?
Thank you!

Going to be your best friend for a few minutes after this, Asus might be as well too...

Your motherboard will, with a simple Bios update, support the Phenom II series processors. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3A78T/#CPUS and http://event.asus.com/mb/am3_cpu_support/ for more details.

What does this mean? Well, you can upgrade to higher performing processor without replacing your board, or memory for that matter. Taking a pretty good cut out of your total upgrade cost. Also the board has 3 PCI-E 2.0 slots, so it will support any video card on the market. The real question would be if your power supply has the proper PCI-E power connectors, or if you have to use a 4 pin molex adapter. In either case no big deal.

So what should you do? When you are ready for the upgrade....

  • Update your Bios, you can download the newest version from Asus' website.
  • Purchase yourself a Phenom II X4: This would be a pretty large performance increase and is on sale as well until the 5th.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
  • Buy the 6850 that is one sale
  • Enjoy a pretty solid upgrade for very little money
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post #5 of 6
6/11/12 at 6:05am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all of the help! In picking up the 6850, I was wondering if its worth using the old graphics card as well. If the PC has enough slots, should I use both cards or just the newer one?

Edit: I should probably note that all of this is attempting to upgrade a 2008(ish) Maingear Prelude. The case is on the small side and oddly put together. Is it worth continuing to upgrade with this case or should I look at getting another?
Edited by SardonicRaven - 6/11/12 at 7:00am
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post #6 of 6
6/11/12 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SardonicRaven View Post

Thanks for all of the help! In picking up the 6850, I was wondering if its worth using the old graphics card as well. If the PC has enough slots, should I use both cards or just the newer one?
Edit: I should probably note that all of this is attempting to upgrade a 2008(ish) Maingear Prelude. The case is on the small side and oddly put together. Is it worth continuing to upgrade with this case or should I look at getting another?

The only use you would have for the old card would be to drive a second display to view web pages while gaming, you won't be able to actually CrossFire them. So if you don't have a second display, recycle or sell in on Craigslist for a couple of bucks.

On the case, the NZXT Gamma is a great case for the money, right now it is on sale and has free shipping, ends the 13th.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061&Tpk=NZXT%20Gamma
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