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Upgrading Home Computer Cheaply
Okay, so the main computer at my home for family use is needing an upgrade. I have my own computer so I do not want to use much on the parts. All I want to upgrade is the CPU or the Video Card.
Here are the current specs
Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz
3GB of DDR2 800MHz
ATI Radeon 3450 1GB with Hybrid Crossfire with the motherboard
250GB Seagate 7200rpm Harddrive
450W Power Supply
Now the two main things I want upgraded are the CPU and Video Card. I have decided I will use my birthday money to buy one part and they must be under $100. Kinda cheap but yea, I'm saving for a good laptop later on this year.
The CPU I intend to upgrade is to an...
AMD Athlon II X4 620
It's a quad, not as good as a phenom ii x4 955 but its better than the current one in use.
As for the video card I'm thinking of upgrading it to an...
HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB
from a 1GB 3450.
Even If I decided to buy both of them I do not think my 450 power supply would be able to power both of the upgrades.
The Athlon II x4 620 is at $99 right below $100 with free shipping.
The video card is $79.99 with free shipping. I might be able to upgrade my power supply if I go with the video card.
Now my main question is which upgrade will show me a better performance boost.
An upgrade from AMD Athlon 64 II 6400+ to an AMD Athlon II X4 620?
or
An upgrade from ATI 3450 1GB to a ATI 4670 1GB?
I hope you guys can help. Thanks
Comments
Whats your mobo?
Jam is sticky.
I believe a foxconn a7vmx-k?
The quad core will have an overall negative impact. Not many things are designed for multi-core, and the 620 isn't designed well for a multi-core. When you are looking right at core to core performance, you have a lower clock and lower l2 cache with the 620. There is no l3 cache in the 620 which makes it un-ideal.
okay..let say i would over clock it to 3.2 or 3.0ghz?
as far as frames per second go on stuff they seem to be an upgrade, but otherwise I dont know..
the pc will be used for some basic gaming, internet surfing, maybe photoshoping
.:edit:.
may burn cds, movies, dvds, some autocad maybe?
my younger brother likes to use the endorphin software to create stuff
Like I said, the Athlon II 620 is a very poor investment. You would be better served with the Triple Core Phenom II variants, or an Athlon II x2. However, you won't have any increase in productivity over a 6200+. Its just a bad investment over an HD4670.
haha..kk then i'll have to go with the 4670 and upgrade my power supply while i'm at it..thx
Getting a new PSU (600 watts minimum) wouldn't hurt before upgrading in my opinion.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Graphic card is always the best option in a case like this. It will give you a great increase in performance compared to adding faster processor.
Another cheap upgrade that will give you a boost is getting more memory, W7 can handle more than 3+1Gb. Memory will give you a lot for little cash.
As for overclocking I wouldn't recommend it without getting a huge CPU fan and maybe some more fans, even though they are better now AMD still gets hotter than an Intel processor and that makes it risky to overclock them if you don't know what you are doing. Unless you have a friend who has experience with clocking AMD you should leave it be, same goes for clocking up the GFX card.
Yea video card is definitely where you're hurting. 450W PSU could easily handle the upgrades btw, as long as it's a halfway decent one. Cheap PSU's are a gamble no matter what.
He has 32-bit version of Windows 7 which can only handle the ~3.5gb RAM space. Only x64 version of Windows Vista or Windows 7 can exceed ~3.5gb.
Yea, Im going to get the video card.
Newegg just dropped from 79.99 to 74.99 for after christmas sale.
As far as the Power Supply goes this wont be used for much gaming just a computer my family can use while I'm in college. I have a i7 920 based pc i have that i use for gaming and other things like my photo, video editing/ Auto CAD work.
now the power supply again, yes the updates could be done, but i bought this cheaply off of ebay...im amazed that it works after an year when i've seen reviews of the item after i purchased. 90% of them said It litterally exploded in a month.
Also yes, this motherboard cannot handle more than 4gb of ram, so I dont know if i will upgrade it. Windows 7 64-bit isnt a problem. I also bought it for my laptop I will be getting if it does not come with windows 7.