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Upgrading Home Computer Cheaply

xKrNMBoYxxKrNMBoYx Member Posts: 165

 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

  • pauldriverpauldriver Member Posts: 198

     Whats your mobo?

    Jam is sticky.

  • xKrNMBoYxxKrNMBoYx Member Posts: 165

    I believe a foxconn a7vmx-k? 

  • CleffyCleffy Member RarePosts: 6,412

    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.

  • xKrNMBoYxxKrNMBoYx Member Posts: 165

     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

  • CleffyCleffy Member RarePosts: 6,412

    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.

  • xKrNMBoYxxKrNMBoYx Member Posts: 165

     haha..kk then i'll have to go with the 4670 and upgrade my power supply while i'm at it..thx

  • Agricola1Agricola1 Member UncommonPosts: 4,977

    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

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    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.

  • noquarternoquarter Member Posts: 1,170

    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.

  • DerrialDerrial Member Posts: 250


    Originally posted by Loke666
    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.

    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.

  • xKrNMBoYxxKrNMBoYx Member Posts: 165

     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.

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