Motherboard and CPU upgrade help!

[hoftwi]

Happy New Year to you all!! It's time that I have to do some DIY for my husband's pc. He bought a desktop 3/4 years ago and it wasn't intended for gaming. Now he decides to play game on it and as expected he faces a lot of stuttering, and comes to a point that I have to do something about it. I don't want to spend much to get a new pc so I am going to change the motherboard and CPU. I built a pc about 10 years ago and my memory is fading.

Is there anything that I should be aware of? Any tips/advises/suggestions?

PC Spec: http://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c04341331

GPU changed to a R9 380 4gb, 16gb ram and a Corsair VS650 psd.

About to change to AMD FX 8350 and MSI 970 mobo.

All replies will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[cornishboy]

If you change the motherboard and cpu the operating system may well not work (Windows?)
You will need to reinstall and use code from old machine
Good luck - built a machine for my youngest at Xmas - worked well and saved some money

 

[hoftwi]

If you change the motherboard and cpu the operating system may well not work (Windows?)
You will need to reinstall and use code from old machine
Good luck - built a machine for my youngest at Xmas - worked well and saved some money

Thanks for the reply It is something I am worried as well, I have seen different comments regarding this issue. If it is the case,that makes things a lot more complicated!!!
But I found the following link that seems to do the trick, however I won't find out till I try
http://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change

 

[neil_g]

what games is he trying to run? depends on the game but they dont really use that much cpu or ram. most will just stress the gpu.

also are you saying the HP on the link is the current machine and that it has an r9 380 already installed? if so the motherboard you are looking at may not fit in that case (case is uATX, motherboard is full ATX).

to save a bit of cash you could try just lobbing in a AMD A10-7870K (HP link says thats the best the board can use) which seems to meet the min requirements for most newer things. last one went for about £70 on ebay.

 

[hoftwi]

what games is he trying to run? depends on the game but they dont really use that much cpu or ram. most will just stress the gpu.

also are you saying the HP on the link is the current machine and that it has an r9 380 already installed? if so the motherboard you are looking at may not fit in that case (case is uATX, motherboard is full ATX).

to save a bit of cash you could try just lobbing in a AMD A10-7870K (HP link says thats the best the board can use) which seems to meet the min requirements for most newer things. last one went for about £70 on ebay.

Thanks Neil for the reply He is playing The Division (that's the one has the most obvious problems. for instance, the game requires him to run from a to b,in game indicates it is about 300m, but every 100-150m or also, his character will slow down, sometimes even has to walk and there is a loading sign on screen. he has tried to lower the quality, frame rate etc but nothing has helped.) and some other games which I forget the names

Yes, correct, the HP on the link is the current machine and that it has an r9 380 already installed and forget to say that I have changed the case as well to a ATX one.

To be honest, I would like to get it done and forget about it for at least 2 years, hence I want to upgrade to a better CPU.

 

[neil_g]

Thanks Neil for the reply He is playing The Division (that's the one has the most obvious problems. for instance, the game requires him to run from a to b,in game indicates it is about 300m, but every 100-150m or also, his character will slow down, sometimes even has to walk and there is a loading sign on screen. he has tried to lower the quality, frame rate etc but nothing has helped.) and some other games which I forget the names

Yes, correct, the HP on the link is the current machine and that it has an r9 380 already installed and forget to say that I have changed the case as well to a ATX one.

To be honest, I would like to get it done and forget about it for at least 2 years, hence I want to upgrade to a better CPU.

i play the division

not loading the map fast enough could be internet related, whats your internet speed like? (they toyed with an in game skill that increased your movement speed in a beta test but found issues with the map loading from the internet)

but I think the A10 CPU may help there anyway, the A8 you have there is below the min requirement for TD (Intel Core i5-2400 | AMD FX-6100, or better). Not sure whether the A10 is better than an FX-6100 but it benches about the same - https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=257&cmp[]=2531

Otherwise consider a second hand intel i5-2500k or i7-2600k and board. the 2nd gen (and the 3rd gen, if i remember rightly) will be able to reuse your existing DDR3. a used asus p8p67 atx board could cost you about £50 and the i7 2nd hand seem to be going for about £100 and will be a hefty upgrade. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=257&cmp[]=2531&cmp[]=868

depending on your cpu cooler and whether it has intel brackets you may need to factor in the cost of a new one of those too.

 

[neil_g]

not sure whether you're a user on ocuk forums and have access to classifieds but theres a bundle of:

I5 2500k (no cooler as it was bought oem)
4x4gb corsair vengeance ddr3 1600mhz low profile ram
Asus p8z68-v gen 3 motherboard

for 160+post right now.

 

[PaulF]

It may not be a popular thing to mention, someone will eventually so it might as well be me. Have you thought of getting a games console to play games on? xbox one / Playstation 4, Can be had with the Division for £260'ish cuts out the pc upgrades every couple of years.

 

[hoftwi]

i play the division

not loading the map fast enough could be internet related, whats your internet speed like? (they toyed with an in game skill that increased your movement speed in a beta test but found issues with the map loading from the internet)

but I think the A10 CPU may help there anyway, the A8 you have there is below the min requirement for TD (Intel Core i5-2400 | AMD FX-6100, or better). Not sure whether the A10 is better than an FX-6100 but it benches about the same - https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=257&cmp[]=2531

Otherwise consider a second hand intel i5-2500k or i7-2600k and board. the 2nd gen (and the 3rd gen, if i remember rightly) will be able to reuse your existing DDR3. a used asus p8p67 atx board could cost you about £50 and the i7 2nd hand seem to be going for about £100 and will be a hefty upgrade. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=257&cmp[]=2531&cmp[]=868

depending on your cpu cooler and whether it has intel brackets you may need to factor in the cost of a new one of those too.

Thanks Agent Neil again for the reply I made an impulsive decision last night, bought the AMD CPU and a new motherboard Thanks for the input and will update how I will get on with the new rig.

At first, we thought it could be the internet connection but I play with him at the same time, it didn't happen to me. I think it is also the combination of the under-spec hardware as well, I just have to wait and see what happens. Worst part for him, when we are chasing rogues in DZ, and encounter other players, then he just can't play as he is slow walking which is very frustrated!!!

It may not be a popular thing to mention, someone will eventually so it might as well be me. Have you thought of getting a games console to play games on? xbox one / Playstation 4, Can be had with the Division for £260'ish cuts out the pc upgrades every couple of years.

Thanks Paul I did think about it but never get round to have a look. Maybe it's time to have a search

 

[PaulF]

If you both play at the same time then the games consoles may be a bit expensive to buy 2 but the games would be cheap as you can buy the game once (download) and play on both consoles at the same time or at least you can with the Xbox one.

 

[neil_g]

It may not be a popular thing to mention, someone will eventually so it might as well be me. Have you thought of getting a games console to play games on? xbox one / Playstation 4, Can be had with the Division for £260'ish cuts out the pc upgrades every couple of years.

yeah and get stuck with sup-par graphics and fps caps..

even my old 780ti handles TD at 50-60fps high detail.

 

[PaulF]

yeah and get stuck with sup-par graphics and fps caps..

even my old 780ti handles TD at 50-60fps high detail.

Not going to argue that.
Yep PC's 'can' have better performance, at a price. But all games are pretty much guaranteed to work without having to purchase some more hardware with games consoles. Swings and roundabouts really, pay your money and take your choice.

 

[Brazo]

Not going to argue that.
Yep PC's 'can' have better performance, at a price. But all games are pretty much guaranteed to work without having to purchase some more hardware with games consoles. Swings and roundabouts really, pay your money and take your choice.

All games will work on older pcs too but the graphics fps will become more concise like

OP I wish I'd seen this sooner as any AMD cpu is a mistake to buy at the moment. They are ridiculously underpowered when compared to their intel brethren and I can't help but think your issues will still persist.

 

[neil_g]

My system is about 6 years old now and the only thing I've changed is moving from a 5770 to a 7850 and then a 780ti sc. probably cost me less than getting consoles over that period

will wait for the 1080 to start dropping and pushing down second hand value of 980 and go again

 

[hoftwi]

New update!!! New CPU and motherboard arrived yesterday. put everything back together without reinstalling Window, just plug the old HD back and works as treat!

Specs: AMD 8320
Mobo:Gigabyte 970A-UD3P
GPU: R9 380 4gb
Ram:8gb
Corsair VS650 psd

Regarding the gaming issue: all sorted!!! No stuttering, no loading sign, all works out very well!!!

Thanks all for the replies and hope this post will give people some peace of mind if you want to DIY a PC.