Hey all,
I have been away from the upgrade/building world for a long time. I used to follow and know all the ins and outs of GPUs, CPUs, RAM and MBs, but alas, I haven't kept up with it and am at a loss as to how to make a decision. See, I'm finding that I have a want/need to get back into it: Fallout 4 is coming soon...and while it's not the most demanding game, my old system doesn't seem to really cut it. I can't even get video drivers installed on Windows 10 for my graphics card.
---------------------------------
Here's my current setup:
Windows 10 Pro
AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2Ghz
4GB RAM
MSI 790X-G45 MB (AM3 socket)
ATI Radeon HD4800
Antec Earthwatts EA-650 PSU (650w)
Antec P150 case
Samsung 2443BWX LCD monitor
Minimum Specs for the game:
i5-2300 2.8GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz
8GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 550Ti 2GB | Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Recommended:
i7 4790 3.6GHz | AMD FX 9590 4.7 GHz
Nvidia GTX 780 3GB | Radeon R9 290X 4GB
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I don't need the biggest fastest things. I just need decent. I figure that I'm OK with 30-45 fps at higher settings. I honestly can't recall the last time that I actually measured what FPS I was getting with my gear, if that is an indication of how much I 'care' about it - but that is hard to design for.
The last big name game I ended up playing on this machine was BioShock Infinite and this setup did just fine with that. I don't recall what resolution I played at, but I try to shoot for 1280x1024, maybe even 1600x1200. (My monitor can support 1920x1200 natively.)
I would like to reuse existing parts if possible - this is purely for budgetary concerns. I was hoping that a new GPU and/or CPU would suffice, and reuse everything else. I don't have the knowledge-base anymore to know if that makes sense, or if it is possible to reach the game's suggested minimum specs with my current MB. I would like to see what could be done for $200-$300; but it is possible that I might have to target $500 if redoing a bunch of things.
Overclocking things is not important; I don't have anything overclocked currently. I prefer lower power and lower noise components, to try and keep the machine as quiet as possible.
Maybe if I could get some graphics drivers installed I could at least try the existing hardware with Fallout 4 and then decide what to upgrade? Is a GPU upgrade all I really need?
And 'APU's? What the heck?
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.
I have been away from the upgrade/building world for a long time. I used to follow and know all the ins and outs of GPUs, CPUs, RAM and MBs, but alas, I haven't kept up with it and am at a loss as to how to make a decision. See, I'm finding that I have a want/need to get back into it: Fallout 4 is coming soon...and while it's not the most demanding game, my old system doesn't seem to really cut it. I can't even get video drivers installed on Windows 10 for my graphics card.
---------------------------------
Here's my current setup:
Windows 10 Pro
AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2Ghz
4GB RAM
MSI 790X-G45 MB (AM3 socket)
ATI Radeon HD4800
Antec Earthwatts EA-650 PSU (650w)
Antec P150 case
Samsung 2443BWX LCD monitor
Minimum Specs for the game:
i5-2300 2.8GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz
8GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 550Ti 2GB | Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Recommended:
i7 4790 3.6GHz | AMD FX 9590 4.7 GHz
Nvidia GTX 780 3GB | Radeon R9 290X 4GB
-----------------------
I don't need the biggest fastest things. I just need decent. I figure that I'm OK with 30-45 fps at higher settings. I honestly can't recall the last time that I actually measured what FPS I was getting with my gear, if that is an indication of how much I 'care' about it - but that is hard to design for.
The last big name game I ended up playing on this machine was BioShock Infinite and this setup did just fine with that. I don't recall what resolution I played at, but I try to shoot for 1280x1024, maybe even 1600x1200. (My monitor can support 1920x1200 natively.)
I would like to reuse existing parts if possible - this is purely for budgetary concerns. I was hoping that a new GPU and/or CPU would suffice, and reuse everything else. I don't have the knowledge-base anymore to know if that makes sense, or if it is possible to reach the game's suggested minimum specs with my current MB. I would like to see what could be done for $200-$300; but it is possible that I might have to target $500 if redoing a bunch of things.
Overclocking things is not important; I don't have anything overclocked currently. I prefer lower power and lower noise components, to try and keep the machine as quiet as possible.
Maybe if I could get some graphics drivers installed I could at least try the existing hardware with Fallout 4 and then decide what to upgrade? Is a GPU upgrade all I really need?
And 'APU's? What the heck?
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.