I want to upgrade my CPU, need advice

Hello,


I have a HP-Pavilion "HPE-110f" and wanted to upgrade my CPU, but I have been told by a friend that I might need to upgrade my Motherboard as-well, I will list my specs and hope I can get some advice, thanks for your time.

os: Win 7
CPU: [FONT=Times New Roman]2.80 gigahertz AMD Phenom II X4 925[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Motherboard: [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]Board: FOXCONN ALOE 1.01[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Bus Clock: 200 megahertz[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]BIOS: American Megatrends Inc[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Video Card: [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB[/FONT]
 
You have pretty much the best CPU your motherboard can support. If you really want, yeah, you could get a new CPU + mobo combo.

But, why do you want to? How much money do you have to spend?
 
Well since I'm deep into gaming on my PC, I figured it was time for an upgrade. New PC games are being released this year and I need to keep up, lol.
I am interested in buying the new Intel Core I-5 or I-7, so thinking about spending about $200 or a bit less.
 
The new i5 chips are already $200. Add in $100+ for a motherboard and you're looking down.

Also, you'll need a new graphics card most likely. What's your screen resolution?

Anyway, it'd be best if you really had $400+ to play with ..
 
I can spare $500 for both, just need to wait a couple weeks.
My resolution is 1920x1080, I'm using my 46' Samsung T.V
What kind of graphics card would you recommend?
Also If I were to buy a new motherboard, would I have to buy Win 7 again to install?
 
In order
Recommended GPU, well depends on what you want to do, based off the fact that its at minimum going to cost roughly 300 dollars for an I5 plus mobo, you will have maybe lets say 150 to spend, going from and HD 5850, heres my recommendation from both teams at the range of 150-200.

Red Team MSI HD 7870
Green Team EVGA GTX 660 (Sorry could not fit a GTX 660ti in the budget

Now for motherboard and CPU, try this combo
i5 4670k
MSI z87 board (This board would not be the best of all boards, but its z87 for overclocking and has a PCI-E 3.0, it should be enough for your needs, if you want CFX/SLI support, your going to have to take another step up).
Next step up Asus Z87-A

Now of course on boards there are loads of different brands and its all opinion which is best, but I think most of us would probably just say stay away from biostar boards in general. All the other brands at that point would be based off opinion or off price.

Now you can knock down to an Ivy Bridge I5 3570k and save some money to put into the GPU if you want, but honestly, I would go for the newer CPU and work from there because that gives you more lastability overall because GPU's are a lot easier to swap out than CPU's and Motherboards.

Oh and last, no you can use your current installation, you will just have to swap out the drivers and uninstall all AMD software and drivers.
 
Thank you GhostRyder, your advice was very helpful, I am now leaning toward building a PC from scrap, meaning buying the case and Hard Drive, etc, etc.

Just need to wait a bit longer then 2 weeks to actually have the right amount that I intend to spend, I'm thinking around $1K and no more, if you can direct me to the right links to buy the accessories I need to build from scratch that would be very kind of you.

I'm interested in a 2-Tera HD, 16GB or maybe 32GB Memory, also which case, video card, mobo, and CPU would you recommend?

Thanks for you time, wait to hear from you.
 
In order
Recommended GPU, well depends on what you want to do, based off the fact that its at minimum going to cost roughly 300 dollars for an I5 plus mobo, you will have maybe lets say 150 to spend, going from and HD 5850, heres my recommendation from both teams at the range of 150-200.

Red Team MSI HD 7870
Green Team EVGA GTX 660 (Sorry could not fit a GTX 660ti in the budget

Now for motherboard and CPU, try this combo
i5 4670k
MSI z87 board (This board would not be the best of all boards, but its z87 for overclocking and has a PCI-E 3.0, it should be enough for your needs, if you want CFX/SLI support, your going to have to take another step up).
Next step up Asus Z87-A

Now of course on boards there are loads of different brands and its all opinion which is best, but I think most of us would probably just say stay away from biostar boards in general. All the other brands at that point would be based off opinion or off price.

Now you can knock down to an Ivy Bridge I5 3570k and save some money to put into the GPU if you want, but honestly, I would go for the newer CPU and work from there because that gives you more lastability overall because GPU's are a lot easier to swap out than CPU's and Motherboards.

Oh and last, no you can use your current installation, you will just have to swap out the drivers and uninstall all AMD software and drivers.

Jumpy down to a 3570K + Z77 and pop in a 660Ti. What games will you be playing dt0var3623? Also, HPs have very little ventilation, so you will have to remember that when taking this build into account. Also you guys forgot that his PSU may not handle these parts.
 
Well games like Total War:Rome 2, Company of Heroes 2, Batman Origins, Saints Row IV, Battlefield 4, NBA 2K14, list goes on and on :D
 
At a 1k price point, that can make a very nice gaming rig that will do just about everything you want. As for ram at that budget, I would say no more than 16gb probably 8gb and invest in other areas just because for gaming you don't need more than 8 on most rigs, 16gb is like high end and 32 is unnecessary for gaming.

Here's my Recommended rigs from both teams based on the price point, depending on what your focus will be/what you want, either team will do just fine at the 1k mark.

i5 4670k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
MSI Z87 Gaming http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693
Corsair Vengeance 1600 8gb 2x4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233527
EVGA GTX 760 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130938
Corsair GS800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139047
1 tb 7200 RPM Seagate barracuda http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
NZXT Phantom Full Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
Asus Dvd Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Total is 1055 from newegg.com and I can of course go lower easily and change up a few parts, but I went big on this build. This would be a great build for years!

Now from the red team

Corsair GS800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139047
1 tb 7200 RPM Seagate barracuda http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
NZXT Phantom Full Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
Asus Dvd Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Corsair Vengeance 1600 8gb 2x4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233527
FX-8350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284
Asus AM3+ 990FX Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851
Gigabyte HD 7950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414

Price for this is also 1055

These are just recommendations to go by from me and my opinion on parts, of course some things you may want to pick yourself like cases and things, but either of these builds will do just fine the way they are paired up. Now the only thing I really did not put on them is an aftermarket cooler. If you don't want to overclock, the stocks would be fine, but if you want overclocking you may want an aftermarket. Those can be added at the change of parts to reduce the price of course!.

I hope this helps you out!
 
Thank you so much, you guys have been very helpful, I will go by the list. :)

Oh by-the-way, can you recommend me a 2TB HD instead of 1TB, thanks!
 
Alright lets try this instead, I re-worked it with that in mind and a bit better bang for buck along with that 2tb drive instead. However I do want to point out with mechanical HDD's, the bigger they are, the slower they are. As you get to that range, its better to use that size as a data drive because your load times might not be too great, however if that does not bother you, then its fine. This drive should suit your needs for the 2tb and still maintain a good price/power point.

With this selection, I tried bundling a deal using newegg (Which is a good way to shop with them at times because ive noticed many parts can be combined to make a better deal and they are many times the components I had already wanted to select)

2tb Seagate Barracude 7200 RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834
Combo Deal for PSU, Motherboard, CPU, and Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1328734
I5-4670k
Asrock Z87 Motherboard Extreme3 (They are a good company in this day and age, I actually have had almost no complaints from asrock from my experience with friends and family)
Gskill Ripjaws 2x4gb 1600 Ram
Corsair Enthusiasts series tx750watt
Saphire HD7970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008
(FYI that GPU above is a steal of a deal in my opinion)
Asus DVD drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Now for this last part we hit a little snag, now of course components can always be lowered if the price gets a little to high and I Know you were wanting ~1000, but with the case can be changed for loads of options, I put a few down from lowest to highest to help out, all will be fine for your needs!

With this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
The NZXT Phantom full tower, your total is ~1080
(I personally love these NZXT Phantom Cases!!!)
With this case
Rosewill Challenger Mid Tower, your total is ~1025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
With this Case
NZXT Apollo ~1035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025
(My friend owns a version of this case, its pretty nice and a cool looking case)

I hope this will help, and remember these are only my suggestions and opinions based on what I've seen, heard, and your budget. you may decide you need more power in certain areas or less and change things up, that's the fun of building your rig! If you need help of course feel free to ask any questions as there's tons of people including myself always eager to help!
 
Personally, I would recommend this build:
CPU: i5 3570K - $220
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK - $140
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo - $35
RAM: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance - $65
GPU: nVidia Geforce GTX 760 - $250
HDD: OCZ Vertex 450 128GB - $130 (or a 2TB WD Black like you wanted, but I would recommend the SSD)
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 - $90 (hellokitty[hk] can recommend a cheaper one so you can upgrade the case)
Case: Corsair 200R - $50 (your choice)
--$1000

GhostRyder, you work a bit too hard ;).
I like those choices!
But yes I would pick the Rosewill Capstone 450 at $60.
 
Personally, I would recommend this build:
CPU: i5 3570K - $220
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK - $140
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo - $35
RAM: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance - $65
GPU: nVidia Geforce GTX 760 - $250
SSD: OCZ Vertex 450 128GB - $130 (or a 2TB WD Black like you wanted, but I would recommend the SSD)
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 - $90 (hellokitty[hk] can recommend a cheaper one so you can upgrade the case)
Case: Corsair 200R - $50 (your choice)
--$1000

GhostRyder, you work a bit too hard ;).


I try to give an aoe of parts and try to mix and match the best price to performance ratio based on the budget given, I find it a fun challenge to see how far we can push a budget and get the best pc possible.
 
Right on the money jc713, for gaming because if the size games have hottes to, anything really below 120 gb is more of an os boot drive because you won't have much room for anything else (ie bf3 with expansions was around 30gb right now I believe though since I'm not near my machine I can't confirm that). I would suggest waiting and saving some money for a 120-240 one later on as that would be the most beneficial.
 
180GB is becoming the bare minimum for me nowadays. I think you should get a 120GB SSD for OS and some games + 1TB HDD for storage. Or, you can get a 40-60GB SSD and a 1TB SSD and set up the SSD to cache. That takes more computer experience though.
 
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