TL;DR : Help? Which upgrade item is going to give me the most noticeable improvement in my pc? Budget: Something in the region of £150 - 200 Main uses of intended build: Gaming/recording music and video. Parts required: Ideally looking for advice about a new processor, RAM, and monitor Previous build information (list details of parts): MSI A55M E33 FM2 motherboard, AMD Athlon X4 740, 8gb DDR3 1600MHz, Radeon HD7790, 1tb WD Green. Monitor resolution: No-name 15" monitor @ 800x600, with a max of 1024x768 (my HDTV is now in the lounge, so I rescued it from my brothers room.) Storage requirements: Current drive is ok, but considering other options for future. will you be overclocking: No Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Recycling current motherboard Extra information about desired system: Recycling motherboard, 7790, and storage, case etc. For some reason, Windows only recognises 4 of the 8gb RAM. So I figured on replacing both sticks to give it a bit more grunt. The rig is a little over a year old, and I feel it's slowing down, and it needs a kick up the ass. I realise that my budget is tight, and as the computer works just fine for now, the processor can wait a bit maybe until I've saved up a bit more. I'm desperate for a new monitor bigger than 15", and I do think more RAM will be of more benefit than the processor. I'm mainly interested in peoples opinions on whether to go APU or stay with a standard CPU. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for gear to look at in the Christmas sales, that'd be great.
Hi a ssd will give a new lease of life to it Also what version of windows do you use you need a x64 to reconize the full 8gb
+1 on the above. If it were me, I'd go for something like this and this. Definitely make sure you are running a 64-bit copy of Windows too, might be a good time to reinstall from scratch directly on to the SSD.
Running Win 7 (iirc its x64. Ultimate/Home Premium, I can never remember.) An SSD would help a great deal...
New monitor without a doubt. Whilst the computer may be slow in the occasional game, you're always having to look at a crappy monitor what ever you're doing (i.e. surfing the web). You could get a pretty decent monitor for £150 to £200, it will be the best upgrade you've done for ages!
Upgrading the CPU would either be only a small upgrade or bust the budget severely. As for the Ram, don't worry about it, its still close enough to the top end. I'd agree with the suggestion of a new monitor, a 24" with an IPS panel from a decent brand can be had for under £150 these days, that way you can stop using that medieval eye torture device. http://www.ebuyer.com/616175-lg-24mb35pm-24-led-ips-dvi-monitor-24mb35pm Then throw in a ssd: http://www.ebuyer.com/655772-plextor-128gb-m6s-series-2-5inch-ssd-px-128m6s Would be like night and day.
