Hardware Upgrading Video Card & RAM - Suggestions?

[DarkFlare69]

I want to spend less than or eqaul to $130 on BOTH the RAM and the graphics catd together. I currently have 4GB of RAM and would like either 6 or 8. I'm more concerned about the video card.

I currently have AMD Athlon 5350 2.00GHz Quad-Core AM1 RET CPU and MSI AM1I AM1 CV X16 2D3 M32 GL MITX motherboard (onboard video graphics)

I'll look at the suggestions and choose.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

I want to spend less than or eqaul to $130 on BOTH the RAM and the CPU together. I currently have 4GB of RAM and would like either 6 or 8. I'm more concerned about the video card.

I currently have AMD Athlon 5350 2.00GHz Quad-Core AM1 RET CPU and MSI AM1I AM1 CV X16 2D3 M32 GL MITX motherboard (onboard video graphics)

I'll look at the suggestions and choose.

Well a GPU is for graphics not CPU, 8 gigs should be the minimum for a gaming PC. The cheapest basic performance quality brand RAM I could find is Corsair Vengance 8GB

 

[DarkFlare69]

Well a GPU is for graphics not CPU, 8 gigs should be the minimum for a gaming PC. The cheapest basic performance quality brand RAM I could find is Corsair Vengance 8GB

Im not gonna be using it for really new gaming. Plus I already have 4GB, so I only need to buy 2 - 4GB more. Do you have a video card suggestion?

 

[Xenon Hacks]

Misread ignore this post

oooh you need an AMD card one sec

 

[DarkFlare69]

That leaves you with 84.01 for a GPU but what kind of motherboard do you have?

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8 is the minimum for a gaming PC even if its not for 1080p/1440p gaming

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The Best card you can get for 89.99 is a Super Clocked GTX 740 from EVGA
if you can add 5 dollars to your budget thats the best you can get

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Here is what you can do assuming you have an I5 and up processor and get those items

I posted my motherboard in the first post. I don't know too much about hardware, so would that video card still be compatible?

And like I said I don't need to buy ANOTHER 8gb because i already have 4. What do you mean its the minumum?

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Did you double post enough lol

 

[Xenon Hacks]

I posted my motherboard in the first post. I don't know too much about hardware, so would that video card still be compatible?

And like I said I don't need to buy ANOTHER 8gb because i already have 4. What do you mean its the minumum?

Most game run at there best with 8 gigs of ram if you get the ram I suggested and this card instead Asus Radeon R7 290X (you should get it soon since it has a 30$ mail in rebate) this would be your best option but if you don't want to change your ram the best you can get for 130 is this an Asus Radeon HD 7770

 

[DarkFlare69]

Most game run at there best with 8 gigs of ram if you get the ram I suggested and this card instead Asus Radeon R7 290X (you should get it soon since it has a 30$ mail in rebate) this would be your best option but if you don't want to change your ram the best you can get for 130 is this an Asus Radeon HD 7770

Since I don't want 12GB of RAM, I'll get that Asus Radeon R7 290X and this RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006WAGG14

 

[Xenon Hacks]

Its hard to find cheap compatible parts since your board is old and mini

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Since I don't want 12GB of RAM, I'll get that Asus Radeon R7 290X and this RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006WAGG14

I have never heard of that brand of ram but its not my PC so go for it

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When it comes to RAM the best brands are AMD,Corsair,G.Skill,EVGA,Kingston

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@DarkFlare69 The point of buying 8 Gigs of ram is so you can dual channel it and get rid of your Old 4 gigs of stock RAM

 

[DarkFlare69]

Its hard to find cheap compatible parts since your board is old and mini

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I have never heard of that brand of ram but its not my PC so go for it

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When it comes to RAM the best brands are AMD,Corsair,G.Skill,EVGA,Kingston

Okay

thanks for your help, ill buy those
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[Xenon Hacks]

Okay

thanks for your help, ill buy those
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Before buying anything make sure this all fits in your case it sounds like you have an old PC, the slots match up for what I picked but make sure your case has the clearance for them.

 

[Foxchild]

I guess we're assuming OP has a 64 bit OS or adding ram will do no good.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

I guess we're assuming OP has a 64 bit OS or adding ram will do no good.

He has a 64bit CPU in his PC so yes

 

[Joe88]

The os has to be 64bit also
Also I dont know how you never heard of crucial, they have been making good quality ram for a long time now

 

[goober]

ok...

Your CPU is terrible and will likely bottleneck most graphics cards, even middle-low tier. Memory should be at least 8GB and you REALLY should install them in matching pairs so you can have dual channel, brands of memory don't matter as much as they used to either, neither does speed BUT dual channel does make a difference in certain gaming scenarios. The biggest constraint besides your terrible CPU is your power supply. Since you have a mini ITX board you probably have a weak power supply and AMD cards tend to need a decent amount compared to Nvidia. Also, there is no R7 290X; do you mean R9 290x or R7 260x?

Just did a search on your motherboard and it doesn't have dual channel memory, so whatever, but the PCI-express slot runs at x4 speed... So, yeah sometimes it's simply not worth upgrading certain machines. This is DEFINITELY one of those times because the returns are SO diminished that you'd be better off spending that extra amount of money, regardless of how long it would take to get, than to basically burn your money on hardware that won't see real performance gains from.

 

[Xenon Hacks]

That completely slipped my Mind he probably has a weak power supply @DarkFlare69 what many Watts is your power supply?

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ok...

Your CPU is terrible and will likely bottleneck most graphics cards, even middle-low tier. Memory should be at least 8GB and you REALLY should install them in matching pairs so you can have dual channel, brands of memory don't matter as much as they used to either, neither does speed BUT dual channel does make a difference in certain gaming scenarios. The biggest constraint besides your terrible CPU is your power supply. Since you have a mini ITX board you probably have a weak power supply and AMD cards tend to need a decent amount compared to Nvidia. Also, there is no R7 290X; do you mean R9 290x or R7 260x?

Just did a search on your motherboard and it doesn't have dual channel memory, so whatever, but the PCI-express slot runs at x4 speed... So, yeah sometimes it's simply not worth upgrading certain machines. This is DEFINITELY one of those times because the returns are SO diminished that you'd be better off spending that extra amount of money, regardless of how long it would take to get, than to basically burn your money on hardware that won't see real performance gains from.

I agree that upgrading is not worth it but with a half assed budget you get a half assed PC I tried to recommend the best with what he had.

 

[goober]

Unless he games at x720 or lower it really is like just burning money depending on what games he hopes to play. I would have been on the fence if the PCIx16 slot ran at least at 8x but at 4x it is pointless to even try.

I can empathize with budget constraints but when you're on a tight budget it's even more important to be smart and patient about upgrades. The bright side is that he does have the best am1 processor he can get and it can play some things at 720 well enough. But that PCI express slot is the real killer to any graphics upgrades because it also shows that the chipsets on the motherboard are also severely limiting so he'll have bottlenecks left and right.

 

[DarkFlare69]

Unless he games at x720 or lower it really is like just burning money depending on what games he hopes to play. I would have been on the fence if the PCIx16 slot ran at least at 8x but at 4x it is pointless to even try.

I can empathize with budget constraints but when you're on a tight budget it's even more important to be smart and patient about upgrades. The bright side is that he does have the best am1 processor he can get and it can play some things at 720 well enough. But that PCI express slot is the real killer to any graphics upgrades because it also shows that the chipsets on the motherboard are also severely limiting so he'll have bottlenecks left and right.

I game at 360p. I really couldn't care about graphics.

@Xenon Hacks Considering my CPU is terrible, if I still get 4 more GB of RAM and that video card, can it run GTA 5 at minimum settings?

 

[goober]

I game at 360p. I really couldn't care about graphics.

@Xenon Hacks Considering my CPU is terrible, if I still get 4 more GB of RAM and that video card, can it run GTA 5 at minimum settings?

You couldn't care about graphics and yet your main concern is about a graphics card. Makes perfect sense.

If you game 360p you should already be able to play GTA V at minimum. What is your power supply wattage?

 

[DarkFlare69]

You couldn't care about graphics and yet your main concern is about a graphics card. Makes perfect sense.

If you game 360p you should already be able to play GTA V at minimum. What is your power supply wattage?

No, my RAM is only 4GB and my CPU isn't near recommended.

I didnt build it, so I don't know. Is power supply really that important?

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You couldn't care about graphics and yet your main concern is about a graphics card. Makes perfect sense.

And I care because having an onboard card sucks and the onboard one isn't even near minimum requirements.

 

[goober]

No, my RAM is only 4GB and my CPU isn't near recommended.

I didnt build it, so I don't know. Is power supply really that important?

It's not near recommended but you technically have the absolute bare minimum requirements and I know GTA V can run on your APU. Power supply is critical for graphics card, if you're not giving enough power to graphics you'll suffer instability, crashes and even damage to the entire system if the card is trying to pull more power than the system can safely provide.

I assume the pc is prebuilt, what brand and model is it or is it entirely custom? Also can you confirm that your OS is 64bit? It should be but if it isn't you can't run GTA V anyway.