Is my PC viable for upgrade?

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Hey techspot community!

I currently have a 2 year old PC and wondered if I the PC was viable for an upgrade as I play alot of computer games.

My current games are League of Legends, which runes fine on it and Guild Wars 2, which gives me so many FPS issues in World vs World fights and siege's.

I was told my a friend that since my computer hardware is integrated, I will not be able to upgrade certain things. For example, my motherboard, ive been told Pegatron is a bad default integrated motherboard and not really good for gaming. Also my PC does overheat a little but usually its fine,

My computer is Hawlett-Packard p6-2071ukWhich I bought just under 2 years ago, the specifications are the following;

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit SP1

CPU: AMD A8-3800 (Quad-core) Llano 32nm Technology

RAM: 8.00GB DDR3 @ 624MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard: PEGATRON CORPORATION 2ACF (P0)

Graphics: HP 2311 (1920x1080@60Hz)
2048MB AMD with Radeon HD 6570 @ 2.40GHz

Hard Drives:1863GB Seagate ST2000DL 003-9VT166 SATA Disk Device (SATA)

Optical Drive: hp DVD-RAM GH80N SATA CdRom Device

Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio

The computer is pretty average but as I play games alot, I wanted to upgrade to something abit more better.
Im quite new to graphic cards and what to buy and what to look out for, my current budget is £350.
I dont know whether to change my motherboard and graphics card, or to change my CPU or to do all three. I know its very costly, but I would much prefer to increase the speed of my computer and be able to play high end games on high graphics without lagg issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you in advance for any replies!!

P.S - Sorry if this is in the wrong section, im a little confused as im new to this forum.
 
It's not a bad motherboard, per-se. It just doesn't have the options you'd get in a typical off-the-shelf motherboard. Also, you're pretty much stuck with that CPU; an upgrade on that front will give you a marginal increase in performance.

I'd advise upgrading the GPU and power supply. Perhaps you'd also want to invest in an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 to keep things cool, although I suspect the heat build up is largely due to the sub-par cooling provided by the HP chassis. I'd recommend getting this GPU and this PSU, but be warned that this may cause things to heat up much faster, since the GPU does run pretty hot on stock fan settings.
 
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I have a 6570M in my PC and I play games fine at about 30FPS, I hate it, but I understand since I bought it a few years back when I didnt know about computers.

Back to your issue. You have a 600USD budget. That is enough to make a whole new PC. Your 300W PSU in your current PC isnt enough for a powerful card that will run anything at 1080P at medium-high settings. Do you mind building a new PC? This is probably the best option.
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
It's not a bad motherboard, per-se. It just doesn't have the options you'd get in a typical off-the-shelf motherboard. Also, you're pretty much stuck with that CPU; an upgrade on that front will give you a marginal increase in performance.

I'd advise upgrading the GPU and power supply. Perhaps you'd also want to invest in an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 to keep things cool, although I suspect the heat build up is largely due to the sub-par cooling provided by the HP chassis. I'd recommend getting this GPU and this PSU, but be warned that this may cause things to heat up much faster, since the GPU does run pretty hot on stock fan settings.
Click to expand...
That GPU shoots hot air into the case, he needs a shroud GPU. Also, the PSU may not fit in his small PC. His motherboard is a uATX, which usually means a small case.
 
The HP specs page lists an ATX PSU, so I'm guessing it'd fit.

And yes, you're right about the GPU; a dual-slot one is needed.
 
I agree with JC713, if your budget is ~$600, a new system built by yourself is the best option. Here's a list I put together a while back (prices have probably changed) -
AMD Budget Gamer
CPU - AMD FX-6200 ($140)
MOBO - Asrock 990FX Extreme 3 ($120)
RAM - G.skill Sniper1600 CL9 1.5v 8GB ($40)
PSU - XFX Core Edition Pro 550 ($75)
CASE - Xigmatek Asgsrd II ($50)
HDD - WD Blue 500GB 7200rpm ($70)
VGA - HIS iCooler HD 7750 ($110)
HSF - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)
TOTAL - $640
A little higher than your stated budget, but still within reach, I hope. Of course, any of these parts can be substituted with comparable components. This system will be much faster than a similarly priced pre-built system, with many more BIOS and chipset options (such as overclocking CPU,RAM,& GPU, more headers/ports), which equals free performance gains.
 
I would change the CPU to the newly released 6350. The 6200 is old. Also, aren't corsair and seasonic PSUs generally cheaper than xfx? Also, make sure the ram is 2x4. Finally, I think you should cut back on some parts and get a 650ti boost ($169).

This what I put together (prices on newegg)::
CPU: AMD FX6350 ($140). You can go for the 6300 if you want since it is cheaper after the recent price drops, but the 6350 will last you longer.
Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 (non-LE) ($99.99).
RAM: any Kit of 8gb (2x4gb) 1600MHz RAM from either Corsair, Kingston, Crucial, or G.skill. I am not sure if the hyper 212 will clear the tall heat spreaders of the corsair vengeance, so stay clear of the non low profile version. ($50-70)
HDD: western digital caviar blue 500gb ($60) or western digital blue 1tb ($75)
PSU: corsair CX500 or CX500M. The M means modular. When a PSU is modular, it means the wires can be taken out and refitted, and therefore take up less case space and allow for better airflow. The CX500M is the same price as the CX500 with a mail and rebate of 10 bucks (on newegg). The CX500 is $60.
GPU: EVGA 650Ti Boost 1GB ($150).
Case: Any case around $50 will do you well. Like the Cooler Master Elite 430 or Elite 431 Plus. It is your choice.

That brings you to a grand total of about $610 (if you get RAM at $60). The 6350 isnt really a good buy without the Cooler Master 212 Evo since it may run hot due to the 4.2GHz clock speed. But overclocking it will gain you a year or two in performance. So with the Hyper 212 Evo, it will be brought up to around $650 give or take. I think the 6350 is a good buy, but if you want to save a few bucks, get a AMD FX 6300 or even a AMD A10 5800 (non K if you dont want to buy a Hyper 212 Evo). I think you best bet overall is to wait for a few months until AMD releases their new line of CPUs, which will offer better performance.
 
I think only a new GPU and power supply are needed, along with perhaps a new case. You can migrate everything else to the new case, and you shouldn't need to re-install your OS or anything, since you haven't changed the motherboard.

This would be more cost-effective IMHO, and you can then upgrade your CPU and motherboard together later down the line if you'd like to.
 
With $600, if you can build a pc, build it. The A8 will bottleneck the graphics card in modern games.
 
Sure.

I just think it won't be better than spending around $400-ish now, then another $400 or so later down the line, no? A powerful GPU is the major deciding factor for performance after all.

Either way, it's the OP's prerogative.
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
Sure.

I just think it won't be better than spending around $400-ish now, then another $400 or so later down the line, no? A powerful GPU is the major deciding factor for performance after all.

Either way, it's the OP's prerogative.
Click to expand...
True. Especially with AMD trying to restructure their CPU division it may be worth the wait.
 
St1ckM4n said:
I vote for the PSU + GPU upgrade. GTX650Ti will be fine paired with that CPU for now.
Click to expand...

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