PC Upgrades with The Most Benefit (Cheap and Easy)

johndowy on 17/12/2014 - 01:36
Last edited 17/12/2014 - 10:55

Hello,

I have had my computer since January 2010 and it's starting to feel a bit slow these days. I tried playing Dragon Age Inquisition on it and although it ran on the lowest settings, the game still didn't run all that smooth.

Can anyone recommend some easy and cheap hardware upgrades that would help benefit my system?

  • Chassis: Coolermaster HAF RC-922M w/ S.Panel
    Black, ATX / Micro-ATX, Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel, 5 x 3.5" Drives

  • Motherboard: Asus P7P55D Intel P55 DDR3
    LGA1156, (4) DDR3, (2) PCIE X16, (2) PCIE X1, (3) PCI, CrossFireX, HD Audio, GbE LAN, IEEE1394a

  • Power Supply Options: Gigabyte Odin 720W Power Supply
    120mm Fan, PCI-E(6+2) Pin Conn., 6x SATA Power, Active PFC, Sleeved cabling, dual-rail, 12V+, RoHS

  • Processor: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz, 4 Cores / 4 Threads, LGA1156
    2.66GHZ, 8MB CACHE, LGA1156 SOCKET 4 CORES / 4 THREADS

  • Heatsink/Fan: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Heatsink + Fan Holder + 120mm Fan
    optional 120mm fan, multiple heatpipes, aluminium fins, nickel plated base

  • Memory: Kingston 4GB 1333MHz DDR3, Dual Channel Kit
    4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM (Kit of 2)

  • Hard Drive: Western Digital 320GB 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s
    7200rpm, 16MB Cache, SATA II, 8.9ms avg seek

  • Optical Drive: 24X Black DVD/CD Writer, SATA, 2MB Cache
    IHAS324 24x, Black, SATA, CD and DVD Rewrite

  • Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB, Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
    PCIE 2.1 X16, (1) HDMI, (2) Dual-Link DVI, (1) DisplayPort, DX11, GDDR5

  • Soundcard: Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio

  • Network Card: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet

  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Computing

Comments

  • ozhunter on 17/12/2014 - 02:07
    +24

    Just looks like you need a graphics card upgrade. Though a ssd would speed up day to day tasks.

    • Peace Maker on 19/12/2014 - 14:26
      +1

      I had an almost identical build to yours (same CPU, board, and GPU) and the new GPU made a big difference with gaming.

      • johndowy on 19/12/2014 - 15:26

        What video card did up end up upgrading to?

        • Peace Maker on 19/12/2014 - 17:44
          +1

          I put in a HD7850, only because it was best bang for the buck at the time (around $200 I think).

        • deal seeking missile on 21/12/2014 - 04:30

          Look through this list and see what GPU you think will suit your performance requirements. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
          The GTX 760 and GTX 660 are both very good value but if you have the dough go for a GTX 970, you'll future proof your computer and get the maximum out of your cpu. It might be around $450-500 if you buy it in Australia so i recommend you get it through Amazon for about $400-$420.

        • Quotationz on 21/12/2014 - 22:19

          I had same CPU and GPU. I upgraded to a 6970. If I was doing an upgrade now I'd move to a R9 280x or GTX 970 if you can afford it.

    • Praeto on 21/12/2014 - 01:16
      +2

      I have a machine far older than OPs, that will still run current games due to the HD6990 its running. The video card will make all the difference.

  • Cheeper on 17/12/2014 - 02:41
    +18

    You need a SSD. The difference will amaze you.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/12/2014 - 16:23
      -1

      Get an SSD before anything else.

      • mr_fjackson on 18/12/2014 - 18:16
        +11

        An ssd will not make games run any faster (fps) however a new graphics card and an extra 4 gig of ram will help heaps.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/12/2014 - 22:29
          +4

          OP said that his computer is starting to feel slow presumably as a whole, new GPU wont make it run any faster but an SSD will.

          1. SSD
          2. GPU
          3. RAM
        • Tech5 on 19/12/2014 - 01:33
          +3

          @Drew22:

          I think he is more specifically talking about gaming though, hence the mention of DA:I

          In which case a GPU upgrade to something with 2gb memory would be good. Barring that, another 4gb ram.

          Ps: The 2 GB+ memory on the GPU is very important if you want to increase graphics quality settings, particularly with open world games like DA:I where there are a lot of assets. If you remain on low settings, it is unlikely to raise your FPS, unless you are already taxing the 1gb you have.

        • [Deactivated] on 19/12/2014 - 01:40

          @zhuang281:

          First complained about it being slow, and then about trying a game.

        • Tech5 on 19/12/2014 - 01:59

          @Drew22:

          You need to look at it a bit more carefully. He made a complaint which had the possibility of misinterpretation, so he included an example to show the type of slowness he meant.

          Of course he could mean what you say, but this is just what i gather from how he wrote it

        • RefusdClassification on 20/12/2014 - 01:27

          For running modern 3d games on medium or higher settings, start with a GPU upgrade. As mentioned above, you want at least 2GB of video RAM. Shadows of Morder, AC Unity, and Skyrim with 2K texture mods gobble up over 2GB of RAM. I am not too familiar with AMD cards, but in Nvidia tech you need at least a 760 GTX (or you could pick up a 2nd hand GTX 670, which is 5% faster). A GTX 970 can run practically everything on the highest settings, but cost over $400 AU (probably more now with a sinking Australian dollar).

          For a 64bit OS, I would definitely recommend an upgrade to 8 GB of RAM a well. A SSD will halve boot time and loading times in games and reduce stuttering, though of course it won't increase the frame rate once the game data has loaded. For an OS and several games, you want at least a 128 GB drive. Use Steam Spreader or Game Save manager to move the games you are currently playing from your mechanical HDD to the SSD and create a junction point.

          A CPU upgrade would have little impact on frame rates in games, and even for pure CPU applications might only be 25% faster.

        • striker5950 on 20/12/2014 - 07:48

          Ssd will not make the graphics of the game look better but it will make the games load much much faster, and reduce lag in gameplay, thats exactly what experienced after only an ssd upgrade, so yes it does make a huge difference in gaming.

        • krunchymoses on 20/12/2014 - 13:34

          @striker5950: Pretty much replying just to get to the top. Computer tech of ten years here. Get an SSD or just even anew hard drive. It makes old computers new again. Use something like Acronis True Image to clone it or something - but yeah - I do it for clients all the time and the computer is completely changed.

        • johnno07 on 20/12/2014 - 19:03
          +1

          @krunchymoses: Please don't just replace your hard drive with another hard drive. That will not give the the performance increase you're looking for.

  • iridiumstem on 17/12/2014 - 03:03

    The game, Dragon Age Origin, was not really optimised well… It has horrendous memory leakage problems, which many people complains.

    Also, your computer does meet the recommended spec according to Game Debate

    So it might be just the game being horrendously optimised or/and your computer is not performing to its optimal level.

    If you mentioned Awakening by accident and meant to say Inquisition, I think your computer is below the minimum spec, not too sure though.

    EDIT: It apparently makes the minimum requirement, but not the recommended according to this site, Game Debate

    But, yeah, upgrading graphics card, adding RAM and adding SSD wouldn't do you harm.

    • johndowy on 17/12/2014 - 10:57

      Sorry. Yes, I meant Inquisition. Made the update.

      It does make the minimum requirement but didn't really play that nicely and took away from the experience.

      • iridiumstem on 17/12/2014 - 12:34
        +1

        :P I am sure you would've done this, but have you tried cleaning your computer? If it was working well before, it might be because of the dust build up.

        Also yeah, graphics card and RAM are the ones holding you down in terms of that game. SSD would probably benefit you on other stuff more like booting time and stuff.

        Also, isn't AMD going to release GPU based on 20nm finFET this year, well technically next year? It might bring the old stuff's price down further.

        • iridiumstem on 17/12/2014 - 16:58

          Also I am sort of judging from my old experience with their old games, I personally found their "minimum" requirement to be too low. They never optimised well for Dragon Age Origin. So It might be time for you to get a new PC or seriously upgrade your computer for better experience.

        • knk on 17/12/2014 - 21:48

          @AznMitch:
          Yeah minimum seems to be taken as "minimum required for game to start" sometimes.

        • iridiumstem on 17/12/2014 - 21:53
          +1

          @knk: Yeah. They are just giving us false hopes. :(

        • mangoman on 18/12/2014 - 21:18

          If you dont know what you are doing dont open the computer up and vacuum it. Ive known a couple of people who did this and the whole computer stopped working.

          IMO Dust is (generally) not going to effect the speed of your computer. If it the processor start overheating massively weird things will start happening like the computer suddenly restarting (although there are other reasons why a computer may suddenly reset).

          Although if the case has user accessible filters a mesh front (or the like) its probably a good idea to clean them occasionally to remove the dust.

          Actually it may effect the video card if the video card is being stressed, which it probably is. But my comment still stands and if you dont know what you are doing in the PC, you really shouldnt be going in there.

        • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 21:34

          You can vacuum your computer safely. The reason behind vacuum cleaners killing computers is because of static electricity — static builds up as the air rushes through the plastic nozzle and this is what causes your motherboard to fry.

          You can eliminate this risk by grounding the vacuum tube.

          http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/18668/is-it-dang…

          http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/290794-28-grounding-vacu…

        • johndowy on 18/12/2014 - 22:39

          @mangoman:

          Too late. I vacuumed my computer today. I was extra careful. Still left a bit of dust here and there since I didn't want to touch the electrical things.

          Probably didn't really add anything to the computer but makes me feel a lot better.

        • Tech5 on 19/12/2014 - 01:35
          +1

          @mangoman:

          Cleaning the dust out can actually speed up the computer. Most CPU's and GPU's have inbuilt throttling now adays when the heat gets too high. That's what causes the slow down.

  • yappyyap on 17/12/2014 - 07:28
    +6

    another 4 gig ram would help

  • yappyyap on 17/12/2014 - 07:29
    -8

    Also ATI sucks, get an Nvidia 660ti second hand would be like not even 50 bucks

  • battler on 17/12/2014 - 08:45
    +9

    reinstall windows. hardware isn't always at fault.

    • Unrvl on 20/12/2014 - 14:03

      agree, this may give the best performance, his system isnt too bad.

      but bang for buck, grab a 60gb SSD for like < $50 then reinstall windows on it. if you have money left over, grab a better video card.

      • BartholemewH on 21/12/2014 - 12:24

        Why would anyone buy a 60gb ssd for 60 when you can get 240gb for ~100? Modern games chew up heaps of space and ssds do not operate efficiently near their capacity.

    • donga100 on 17/12/2014 - 10:01

      2GB RAM here. Running Chrome with 8 tabs of OzBargain pages open no problem.

      • ethereal88 on 17/12/2014 - 16:34
        -3

        Try real flash heavy websites.

    • cypher67 on 17/12/2014 - 15:31
      +4

      Thats terrible advice, CPUs are usually the ones being bottlenecked, most of them rarely redline without a highend GPU to push them.

        • mrmarkau67 on 17/12/2014 - 16:55
          +3

          If your CPU is too slow for your graphics card, you are CPU bottlenecked.

          The OP would need to buy a rather high end graphics card before the i5 750 becomes the bottleneck. And no one here is suggesting dual 980s etc.

          An old i5 is like a current i3.

          http://www.logicalincrements.com/ "great" configuration has an i3 r9 280 or GTX760, which is what people are suggesting.

        • cypher67 on 17/12/2014 - 21:40
          +7

          You Sir, are not well informed. This i5 is plenty fast enough for any mid range graphics card. You would see almost no improvement upgrading the CPU. Hence why you have so many negs.

        • cypher67 on 18/12/2014 - 08:38
          +2

          @ethereal88:
          How often do you think modern CPU are pushed to their limits and how much would a user notice the difference? There is countless articles pointing out that you would need the highest end GPU to most CPUs to the point where the user would notice a bottleneck. CPUs of late are more about multi tasking and reduced power consumption as opposed to raw processing power.

        • mrmarkau67 on 18/12/2014 - 08:52
          +1

          @cypher67:

          Some people just don't "get" the concept of bottlenecking.

        • This Guy on 18/12/2014 - 20:27
          +1

          @ethereal88:

          A CPU upgrade will improve frame rate by ~10%

          A modern GPU will improve frame rate by ~260% (270X ~$210) to ~400% (290X ~$469).

          A 4670K is only around 70% faster in older CPU benchmarks. For this OP will need to buy a new CPU, Motherboard and RAM, will have to reactivate windows over the phone and may have phantom driver issues.

          You might as well suggest OP upgrades to a GTX 980 for ~$699.

        • Tacooo on 20/12/2014 - 04:34

          @This Guy: I wouldn't say a 400% increase using a 290X. All graphics cards in the past three or so years are now using PCIe 3.0 which his motherboard does not have. PCIe 3.0 gives around 32GB/s on an x16 lane vs PCIe 2.0 only giving 16GB/s on the same.

        • This Guy on 20/12/2014 - 13:50

          @potplanty:

          Crossfire and SLI work fine with PCIe 3.0 x8/PCIe 2.0 x16. You only start loosing performance at PCIe 3.0 x4/2.0 x8.

          http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Expr…

    • johnno07 on 21/12/2014 - 16:02

      You don't know a lot about computers do you, ethereal?

  • mrmarkau67 on 17/12/2014 - 10:50
    +12

    Considering cost, impact and your current specs, try these steps until you get reasonable performance:

    1. Get an SSD and reinstall Windows on it. Any brand current model SSD will do, as your system board won't take advantage of the very fastest models. 256GB are good value for money now.
    2. Upgrade your graphics card. A GTX 760 would balance your processor without the need to upgrade the power supply
    3. Get an 8GB RAM kit. Any brand, any speed will do the trick.

    The SSD may not help that much with Dragon Age (unless the memory leaks are causing a lot of memory paging), but combined with reinstalling Windows, it will make your PC feel like new in general usage.

    The nice thing about all these suggestions is that if you decide to rebuild in a year or two, you can migrate them to your new box.

    • This Guy on 18/12/2014 - 20:40

      I agree with your GTX 760 suggestion. But to overload a 720W PSU you need something like two 290X CF in Uber mode :)

  • scrimshaw on 17/12/2014 - 11:11
    +14

    You only really need to spend $300ish and buy a decent GPU. Maybe a R9 280 ($255), 760 OC edition and spend the rest on a 120GB SSD.

    You can get three games when you buy an R9 series gpu, but be quick because the promotion is ending end of January.

    • johndowy on 20/12/2014 - 01:45

      Oh I just saw. Free games always good. Tomb Raider, Hitman, DMC, Deus EX all seem decent.

  • Day2Deal on 17/12/2014 - 12:30
    +1

    Just upgrade the ram to 8gb 1600Mhz prefered and a new graphics card, but i'm not sure what you consider cheap so let me know how much your willing to spend and i'll help you out.
    also if any money is left over a ssd is always helpful but we will ignore that for now.

    Haha forgot to submit this last night

    • Tech5 on 19/12/2014 - 01:37
      +2

      No need for 1600, 1333 should be enough. There is barely any real world differences

  • huydn on 17/12/2014 - 17:25
    +3

    1. SSD!!!

    2. 8GB RAM. 1600Mhz

    3. Better GPU if you are into gaming.

    4. Win 8.1 64-bit if you can.

    • mrmarkau67 on 17/12/2014 - 21:18

      Can an i5 750 use RAM at 1600Mhz?

      • huydn on 18/12/2014 - 06:41

        Yes. After being OC. Not sure how good is OP's heatsink though.

    • This Guy on 18/12/2014 - 20:54

      1600MHz is meaningless without latencies. 1600MHz RAM with poor timings is slower than decent 1333MHz RAM.

      Even so, RAM speed only makes a reasonable difference on some AMD APUs. Intel's prefetching and cache have been good enough since Conroe that RAM speed is irrelevant for most users.

    • picket23 on 19/12/2014 - 00:32
      +1

      Absolutely no need to change to 1600mhz ddr3. 1333 to 1600 will make no difference.

  • johndowy on 18/12/2014 - 00:09
    +1

    Thank you for everyone's advice.

    I am looking at getting these. Let me know what you think.

    SSD - Kingston HyperX 120GB
    http://www.msy.com.au/wa/cannington/pc-components/5019-kings…

    RAM - Patriot Signature 4GB Single DDR3 x2
    http://www.msy.com.au/wa/cannington/pc-components/9265-patri…

    GPU - R9 280 OC or GTX 760 OC
    http://www.msy.com.au/wa/cannington/graphics-card/13165-sapp…
    http://www.msy.com.au/wa/cannington/pc-components/11469-giga…

    I need a graphics card that supports a multi-monitor set up (x3)

    • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 07:36

      Three monitor's ain't a sweat for these GPU's, if you cannot do three then plug one of the monitors into your mobo's HDMI port.

      • [Deactivated] on 18/12/2014 - 13:00

        It doesn't work like that. You can't use integrated and discrete graphics ports simultaneously. Happy to be proven wrong though.

        I was thinking if that game really does have bad leaks you could try making a 4gb RAM disk and moving the page file onto it. That way it's gonna use that speed either way.

        • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 18:44

          You can. I'm doing it on my 7870 and Asrock with Sandy Bridge Core i5. I can do 4 monitors this way.

        • algy on 19/12/2014 - 12:15

          You can, I used to do it with my 780 when I ran 4 screens, you just have to use a slight workaround, which I don't remember, but it's super easy.

    • mrmarkau67 on 18/12/2014 - 08:47
      +2

      Good choices. You may not need the RAM, so try the other upgrades first.

      Select the graphics card that needs the least power.

    • MHLoppy on 18/12/2014 - 12:56
      +1

      Agree with above that the RAM upgrade is probably going to be the least noticeable out of the three.

    • This Guy on 18/12/2014 - 21:51

      What type of imputs have you got on your monitors? Do you want to game with all three monitors or just one?

      • johndowy on 20/12/2014 - 10:34
        +1

        Monitor 1: HDMI, DVI, DP, VGA
        Monitor 2: HDMI, HDMI, VGA
        Monitor 2: HDMI, HDMI, VGA

        I always just game on one in windowed mode.

    • mrmarkau67 on 18/12/2014 - 08:50
      +2

      Desktop CPUs have progressed, but not by as much as mobile CPUs. With the components the OP is buying, the i5 750 will be fine; the i5 750 was arguably the best value gaming CPU for that generation and the one following it.

  • deanylev on 18/12/2014 - 13:58

    In order of importance:

    GPU Upgrade
    SSD
    At least 4GB more RAM

    I'd just get the first 2, maybe more RAM if you have the cash to spend. The GPU upgrade will make a huge difference.

  • congo on 18/12/2014 - 14:53

    1. You will see the biggest improvement with SSD.
      The Samsung 850 Pro 256 GB ($206) is the fastest SSD around.

    2. Upgrage to 8GB RAM would be second.

    3. Upgrade the GPU to R9 280 for gaming.

    • ankor on 18/12/2014 - 20:44
      +1

      I respectfully disagree and note that the GPU upgrade at #3 will have a greater effect on gaming. However, if you are speaking about general every day usage, and NOT gaming, then I agree.

      • congo on 18/12/2014 - 22:22

        Every day usage.
        For gaming of cause the GPU is most important.

    • picket23 on 19/12/2014 - 00:34
      +1

      Yeah, but no. Do not spend $206 on 256gb ssd when you can get one for $130ish. The motherboard OP has doesn't have any SATA 6Gb/s ports. The 850pro would still out perform other ssds on old SATAII ports in many cases but not to the point where you will notice.

  • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 16:50

    Just curious but would upgrading these items in order of importance/improvement..would result in these improvements..

    RAM = better multitasking ie able to run more programs, browser tabs without getting sluggish…
    improve gaming if it need that X amount of RAM..

    SSD = faster bootup, programs open faster, faster file cut, copy, paste

    GPU = Games performance improvement..

    CPU - all round improvment…e.g. programs run faster, RAR files faster etc.., gaming performance improves

    HDD - store more files, increase in file page size..does not improve performance …

    ===
    so for day to day usage, upgrade RAM and SSD would have the best results in improvement…

  • Ryugen on 18/12/2014 - 17:15
    +13

    My 2 cents, used to build all my previous computers and plenty of research to boot. Saying that though, I haven't touched any new builds since temporarily leaving Aus about a year ago so take my (or any) advice with a grain of salt.

    First you need to know what you want to play. Generally you want to build a PC that will run everything at about the same level however if you are , say, a heavy RTS or world build player you would optimize differently to some one playing 24/7 shooters. (For those interested, anything requiring the computer to generate movement (AI controls on a grand scale) requires more CPU power compared to games that are more direct/playered controlled/scripted because these things are processed on your CPU.) I'm going to assume you want a nice balance but weigh your decision if balance is not the case.

    Let's step through your list of components:

    Chassis: Coolermaster HAF RC-922M w/ S.Panel
    Black, ATX / Micro-ATX, Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel, 5 x 3.5" Drives
    @@@ Don't bother upgrading the case. Full stop right there. I'd consider checking your wiring for damage and if you could improve cable management for better airflow. Hey it's free and a better flowed case = better temperatures. @@@

    Motherboard: Asus P7P55D Intel P55 DDR3
    LGA1156, (4) DDR3, (2) PCIE X16, (2) PCIE X1, (3) PCI, CrossFireX, HD Audio, GbE LAN, IEEE1394a
    @@@ Unless you want that new CPU, you shouldn't need a new motherboard. A quick check though would be nice. Look at all the capacitors (cylindrical shiny bits) for bulges and/or cracks. If you see any, it means that the capacitor has been damaged / is expired and the mobo could be on it's way out. In this case, new Mobo + CPU is the way to go as you're not only getting an upgrade but a fix too. @@@

    Power Supply Options: Gigabyte Odin 720W Power Supply
    120mm Fan, PCI-E(6+2) Pin Conn., 6x SATA Power, Active PFC, Sleeved cabling, dual-rail, 12V+, RoHS
    @@@ If it works, don't touch it. 12V rails are all you need and 720W is a nice figure. Not sure about Gigabyte quality but brand name components are brand names for a reason. @@@

    Processor: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz, 4 Cores / 4 Threads, LGA1156
    2.66GHZ, 8MB CACHE, LGA1156 SOCKET 4 CORES / 4 THREADS
    @@@ Ah yes, a key component and a key consideration. Your CPU for future games will be fine unless you want to push the absolute limit of graphicalunicorness. It will actually improve in performance with new games due to how new games are being made. Back when the 750 was relevant, games were programmed for single/dual core raw horsepower so no games used all 4 cores. These days, games are trying to take full advantage of multi-processor technology so your 4 cores will actually see more use. Unless your CPU stops working or you plan to run a GTX 980, I would not consider swapping your CPU. @@@

    Heatsink/Fan: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme Heatsink + Fan Holder + 120mm Fan
    optional 120mm fan, multiple heatpipes, aluminium fins, nickel plated base
    @@@ Make sure it's clean…that is all. @@@

    Memory: Kingston 4GB 1333MHz DDR3, Dual Channel Kit
    4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM (Kit of 2)
    @@@ I'd only upgrade this because more RAM is so cheap but 4Gbs is fine. @@@

    Hard Drive: Western Digital 320GB 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s
    7200rpm, 16MB Cache, SATA II, 8.9ms avg seek
    @@@ SSD is the best bang for buck when it comes to overall computer speed………..unless you are talking about gaming on a severe budget. Here is the problem: with a limited budget (I assume a limited budget as you mention cheap and you posted this on ozb.) you would only be able to pick up a 120GB/240GB SSD. To gain the effects of the SSD speed increase, the program you are running will have to be running off the SSD. This isn't a problem for windows or your daily software (office, spotify, Chrome etc). Games however are massive, 20/30/40+GBs in size. How many games could you fit onto a 240GB SSD? 4? 5? What happens if you have Steam and a weakness for Steam sales? Prepare to play the uninstall game.

    "Ok that's not a problem, I only play 1-2 games at a time". That's great but the other problem is that SSDs generally will only improve speed when it comes to loading data (maps, stages, new effects etc). Actual processing, whether it's CPU or GPU based will see little improvement. It's like feeding a person really fast but said person can't eat that fast.

    So the question comes down to is your current 320GB drive big enough? Because making it smaller when it wasn't big enough in the first place is going to really piss you off. All said, I would recommend a complementary SSD to improve computer usage and not necessarily for gaming. Feel free to put 1-2 games on the SSD too but don't think that you will see OMG DEM FPSSSssss. @@@

    Optical Drive: 24X Black DVD/CD Writer, SATA, 2MB Cache
    IHAS324 24x, Black, SATA, CD and DVD Rewrite
    @@@ Keep, remove, or whatever. @@@

    Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB, Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
    PCIE 2.1 X16, (1) HDMI, (2) Dual-Link DVI, (1) DisplayPort, DX11, GDDR5

    @@@ The big one, the component that all gamers like to epeen, brag and fight over. For good reason too as this is probably the most important component when it comes to gaming. This single component will have the biggest effect on your frame rate when it comes to graphic intensive applications like games (bugs, glitches, optimization aside but that's out of our control (Dragon Age: Inq had REALLY poor optimization and pretty horrid memory leaks at launch so that could be why you get such bad frame rates.)). I'm not going to tell you what to upgrade to as there have been plenty of options given but I do recommend you dump a large majority of your funds for this component.

    Let's talk about bottlenecking for a sec since it has been brought up in this thread. Bottlenecking for those that have no clue what it is, is when one component holds back another component from doing it's job to the fullest. A good example is when your processor is sitting there idle because it's waiting for more things to do from your 5400rpm hard drive, or when your i7 49xx CPU is sitting idle because it's already finished the processes allocated to it but your GTX290m is still chugging away like the grandpa that it is, resulting in a poor frame rate.

    Bottlenecking is all about % however. The ideal setup is when an application is using both the CPU and the GPU at close to their 100% capacity. For gaming, the majority of processing takes place in your GPU rendering graphicalunicorness. This is why gaming rigs can sacrifice CPU power for GPU power as processing load is favoured towards the GPU. But what happens if you upgrade the GPU to the extreme but never touch the CPU? Well you get bottlenecking. But that's not a bad thing…I mean it's not ideal but it's not exactly bad. It means that your CPU is running at 100% while your GPU will maybe run at 70/80/90%? Of course depending on how skewed your components are. So bottlenecking doesn't mean that your computer will just go NOPE F@#K THAT BLUE SCREEN. You will still get a massive increase in quality from only upgrading a GPU and with more room to grow if you decide to upgrade again later. @@@

    Soundcard: Integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio
    @@@ 2.1 is good enough for me so this is the tops hahaha. @@@

    Network Card: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
    @@@ Leave it, unless you need wireless but please don't say you need wireless cause that's a whole nother topic. @@@

    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    @@@ Whatever works. @@@

    Sorry for the long ass read, but personally when I delve into building/upgrading components I want as much information as possible and I assumed you too or else you wouldn't have asked in the first place.

    TL:DR
    Upgrade GPU, CPU is fine, bottlenecking isn't bad just not ideal, RAM is ok but upgrade because it's cheap, SSD is good but don't expect all the FPSsss are belong to you. Also if I'm wrong on any account PLEASE let me know as I enjoy learning more about this stuff. Haha hobby maybe?

    Regards

    • iridiumstem on 18/12/2014 - 17:18

      That detail. Wow.

    • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 17:29

      Ssd can improve how long it takes to wait for level to load

      • Ryugen on 18/12/2014 - 17:33

        Completely agree, I mentioned it in the long post. The word improved gets thrown around too much though and many people think EVERYTHING is improved which is simply not the case. Some things more than others.

        • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 17:45

          yes but it can be a pain to wait for a level to load

          Remember the old days, when you kept seeing the Loading screen…

          on SSD it would allow you to get into the game quicker…
          so in your TL:DR, you should mention that…

          ===

          I think he's best bet is run a 3Dmark benchmark program, it would tell him what he needs to upgrade…what is causing the bottleneck

          Also I think windows has the performance benchmark…

        • iridiumstem on 18/12/2014 - 18:27

          @tyler.durden: I don't think his problem is with loading though.

          although it ran on the lowest settings, the game still didn't run all that smooth.

          Though, yeah, his HDD probably is really slow compared to SSD, but with his budget, I think upgrading RAM and GPU should be done first. Since his main concern seems to lie with not being able to run DA:I smoothly.

          Though overall performance wise, booting, loading screen etc, SSD can be more beneficial, and probably more cost-efficient for other performance issues.

        • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 20:02
          -1

          @AznMitch:

          But also others said that game is poor made..

          any there might be other issues that also bottleneck it…

          I think he's best bet is to

          -buy ps4 and play the game on that…no more worries about performance..

          also he should run 3Dmark..it will give him idea where the bottleneck is..

        • educalifa on 19/12/2014 - 14:42
          +3

          @AznMitch: You don't think loading is a problem till you try and play BF4 online with 5400rpm HDD… by the time you spawn there are dudes with 3 kills and counting. No jokes.

    • ankor on 18/12/2014 - 20:49

      @Ryugen

      This post should be a sticky for the computer wiki/threads. Bravo!

      • Ryugen on 19/12/2014 - 02:06

        Lol, mods can sticky if they want iono how to. I had like an hour to kill and this thread caught my attention because these kind of questions used to plague me too. Cheers for the comment.

        • iridiumstem on 19/12/2014 - 02:09

          Kudos to you for your generousity :P

      • Daabido on 20/12/2014 - 01:08

        No, it's not called Bravo, it's called Whirlpool.

    • No ONE on 21/12/2014 - 02:09

      I admire your contribution

  • johndowy on 18/12/2014 - 22:58
    +2

    Thanks for everyone's suggestion and a shout out to Ryugen for his detailed post.

    I bought the SSD (120gb) and reinstalled windows on it. This has generally helped speed up my day-to-day usage.

    The only games that I play at the moment are;
    - Dota 2
    - Starcraft 2

    I wanted to give Dragon Age Inquisition a go as I played the other two back in the day. I will consider upgrading the GPU when I'm ready to play again. Dota and Starcraft don't really seem to be too straining on my current GPU, so I'll leave it until I try out some other 'modern' games.

    Regarding the RAM, am I missing something? Everyone talks about RAM being cheap. But to get 8gb the cheapest one I found was $86 ($43x2 http://www.msy.com.au/wa/cannington/pc-components/9265-patri…)

    • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 23:09

      Don't worry with the RAM, with the games you're playing (SC + Dota) the RAM upgrade makes no difference.

      • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 23:12

        but what if you have a browser with many tabs open or many other open applications while you are running the game?

        • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 23:13
          +1

          Windows will put that into virtual memory (page file), SSD helps with that.

        • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 23:13

          @scrimshaw:

          you mean write to the pagefile?

          Won't that mean more disk thrashing etc…or slowdown while you wait for it to write to disk?

          I think upgrading RAM would make a big difference for day to day usage

        • scrimshaw on 18/12/2014 - 23:23
          +1

          SSD's overcome that… I stuck with 4GB of RAM for quite a while before upgrading to 8. I'm a pretty heavy Firefox user (20+ addons) run a lot of background services (File indexer, Dropbox, Skype, outlook, OneNote, IRC, Splashtop) and still find 4GB quite enough for daily use. I noticed no real performance difference after doubling to 8GB. Everything runs just as snappy.

          Of course I've long since upgraded to 8GB since quite a few games now actually support x64.

          4GB isn't really all that bad, once you have the SSD, day to day usage is extremely smooth. Having more RAM will reduce your computer's need to write / read to the page file all the time, but having only 4GB isn't all that bad.

        • tyler.durden on 18/12/2014 - 23:34

          @scrimshaw:

          What's your secret to getting performance on low ram?

          I am running 16gb + SSD and finding it is getting slow/sluggish…

          Do u write pagefile on the SSD? How big is your SSD?

          You still use IRC? Not much people use IRC anymore…used to be popular

        • Tech5 on 19/12/2014 - 01:43

          @tyler.durden:

          What do you do that uses 16gb ram + ssd and still gets sluggish O.O Does your task manager show disk/memory usage near 100% a lot?

        • Ryugen on 19/12/2014 - 02:04

          @tyler.durden:

          Having also worked at as a computer repair tech, general slow down is more often than not less to do with hardware restraints and more to do with the amount of s!@t running. I trim my installed programs once a month and try to keep a tab on startup/normal running processes.

          General maintenance allowed me to run off 4GB RAM and a 7200RPM HDD w/o an antivirus for 2 years without a format no problems. Obviously slower than an SSD but it was acceptable back then.

        • mrmarkau67 on 19/12/2014 - 18:23

          @tyler.durden:

          I am running 16gb + SSD and finding it is getting slow/sluggish…

          What are your other specs and what are you doing?

          I find 4GB is enough when you have an SSD, unless you are doing some more specialist stuff (for example running VMs).

          I find the main reason for Windows slowdowns are:
          - toolbars and other preloaded/downloaded bloatware
          - windows slowly messing itself up

          The only real answer is to reinstall Windows. When did you last re-install?

  • [Deactivated] on 19/12/2014 - 00:43

    GPU upgrade for sure. 4GB of RAM is definitely enough if you don't keep everything open at once. I bought an SSD and while it's nice that things open quicker I don't do video/photo editing or anything like that so it hasn't really impacted on me that much.

  • Axelstrife on 19/12/2014 - 05:00

    GPU - I have R9 280x and can play everything and max setting at 1080p/60fps or very close if game isn't optimized.
    SSD 240gb - Plenty as you can use HDD as secondary storage. optional but was the best thing i have ever done my pc boots in under 30 seconds,worth the money.
    RAM - Go for a second 4gb kit the same as your current kit.

    • ethereal88 on 19/12/2014 - 07:42
      -3

      Inquisition will die under max, FC4 will die under max, Metro Redux will die under max, Unity will die under max … . rubbish. Nowhere near 60FPS.

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