Nearly half of my computer needs to be upgraded, but I am disorganised in my approach.

[Jax Humanhater]

I just made a list of what needs to be upgraded in my gaming rig, but I need to be sure which part I should start upgrading first before I upgrade to the next vital part. Here are my current specs plus a little more that I will post:


Most recent specs by McLarenFan90, on Flickr

-I am thinking about upgrading my processor to a Quad-core Athlon II/Phenom II at the very least.

-For a motherboard, it will be this one, and I don't mind saving up for it now that I have a well-paying job: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131735

-For a new graphics card, I am thinking this one(the AMD Radeon HD 7000 cards have come out and the AMD Radeon HD 6900s are still going for $700. GOD DAMN ****!): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

-I am also thinking about installing an SSD in my computer, but, damn, the cost per gigabyte is still very high, and it's rare for an SSD to come in a 3.5" form factor

-I am also thinking about upgrading my power supply to something that ranges from 700W-800W.

-I am also think about purchasing a new monitor like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001484; though, I wish I could purchasing this one that I saw in a magazine ad: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001473

-I am also going to purchase a new gaming keyboard and mouse. Here's the keyboard I would like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109191 and the mouse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105324 (I know, I'm a huge sucker for Microsoft's SideWinder Brand since I was a kid; I still have a SideWinder joystick).

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

Just by putting a better graphics card in your PC you will have a huge increase in performance for games! I would be quite happy with the other parts you have.
I would put a Radeon HD 6770 in that PC. Even a HD 6570 would be a huge increase in performance compared to the HD 5450.
You'll be able to run most games. (I don't know one that needs a better PC really)
But if you wish to upgrade your processor to a quad core then you can also try putting a HD 6900 in it, but it's definitely the video card that is the weakest point of your config.

 

[Jim Cole]

Probably the most expensive upgrade you can make is a motherboard as it usually requires new CPU and RAM at the same time. For this reason I usually suggest that anyone going to upgrade start with the motherboard and CPU. The reason other than money is the fact that performance is going to be determined by what you have for CPU and RAM. Graphics cards will perform better with a better CPU so you are building a foundation that should allow you to get where you want to go. Second thing I would replace is the PSU as power is going to have an effect on what you can add to your system.

If you look at all the parts in your system and calculate your needed wattage you can find out what you need for a PSU to handle all your upgrades. I would recommend that you go HERE to see what you might need for a PSU. Once you know what you will need in order to run what you wish to purchase, add a little to it so that when the PSU ages it is still capable of handling all of your devices.

I would then recommend you upgrade the graphics card. Followed by anything else you wish to upgrade as everything else is just candy once you get the previous stuff taken care of.

 

[Danny Asbury]

Have recently undergone a series of purchases to try and upgrade my computer. Here's how it's gone so far...

Asked around and did a lot of research--can never do enough of this. And sadly, I didn't. Bought a graphics card hoping everything would be fine and dandy afterword... It wasn't. Slapped a 6970 in my case and got a solid performance boost, but not as much as I thought I would. So I OC the CPU (intel i5 750) and nearly blew my computer sky high. Thank goodness the thing shut off, as I'm convinced something would have caught on fire cause the temps were so high. Thing was a frying pan...

So next I bought a new CPU, thinking I needed something a little more OC friendly. Cause now even at normal clock speeds, the 6970 was over heating my i5 too much. Well, I had no idea about sockets and my p55 motherboard couldn't accept something for the LGA 1155 socket... So I had to get a new mobo so I could fit my new $300 CPU in (oh joy... ;_; )

Well, then I knew to cool all this stuff I needed a new case, cause after doing more reading I realized my i5 just wasn't cooled properly at all. So I bought a new case to stuff all my new stuff into (cause that's what I do, stuff the stuff.) Thing is, my old power supply didn't fit into the new case (cables wouldn't stretch and it isn't modular...) But... before I could get new RAM, hard drive, and that PSU, I ran out of funds. Now I'm waiting for me next paycheck XD.

Lesson for you kids out there, DO YOUR DAMN RESEARCH!!!! You seem to be well ahead of the game though, Mohammed. From this experience (which led from just trying to upgrade my PC, to now attempting a completely new build) I learned it's all about knowing where the dominoes are going to fall. It's a bit of fun, but at the same time I wish I knew how things worked from the start, because I would have planned much better...

 

[Jim Cole]

Just follow the order I listed and things should work out ok. A new case isn't always needed, but being sure you have adequate cooling is a must, as is the PSU. I have been building new PC's and upgrading old ones for near 15 years now so I have a bit of experience to share with others when it comes to things like this.