I should probably upgrade my PC but not sure where to start.

My PC is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm starting to want to play some more PC games here and there so I'm thinking I could do with some kind of performance bump. I have been telling my self for years that I was just gonna ride it out until I could build a whole new rig but IDK when thats gonna be realistic. So I thought I could spend some cash on my existing PC and hopefully extend its life a bit. But I'm not sure if there is anything economical that will really make a difference. I don't think I wanna spend more than 200-300 bucks(US$) so maybe I'm asking too much here.

Current Specs are: CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4ghz. GPU: ATi HD5770. RAM: 4gb DDR3.

Pretty shit by modern standards. I'm no expert on this sort of thing but I was hoping I could just drop in some more ram and maybe a slightly better video card and get a decent boost. What are my options here guys?
Again this is just a bandaid until I can afford to build a whole new rig.

An R9 380 and 8 gigs of RAM would be my recommendation.

Ok one thing about ram. Ive always felt misinformed on how it works. Do I need to get 8 new gigs of it or 4 more to add on. do they have to be a "matching set" or something? I'm pretty sure right now I have 2x2gb sticks in there right now.

Also I looked up that video card and again I have no idea on this stuff but it says its PCI Express 3.0 and looked up my motherboard and it says that its only got PCI Express 2.0 slots.

my MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

@devil240z: If you are going to add on four more, it should be the same as your other set to avoid any unwanted wonkyness. To save yourself the headache, I would just get 2x4GB and remove the old sticks.

As for the GPU, I would go for a 960, but if you can squeak a bit more money out of your budget, you could do a 970 and 8GB of RAM for like $350ish.

EDIT: PCI 2.0 works like half of a 3.0 slot's speed, so if you have a 2.0 x16 slot, it'll run like a 3.0 x8 slot, which is more than fast enough and should be totally compatible.

You should always use the same set of ram. Mixing different types often has issues.

As for the upgrades, I'd say something like a 750ti or 370 and new ram would probably be a good place to start. (A 960 or 380 would probably be best though) Maybe even an SSD or new HDD, though then you'd probably be spending more than $300.

@mirado: ok well yeah it says the main slot is 2.0 x16. I thought I remembered reading that it was forward compatible in some way I just wasn't sure.

Also I would be willing to spend more I would just probably want to space it out across a couple paychecks so what should I buy first ram or GPU?

Ok I'm seeing 2x4GB sets of ram on newegg for like $50 thats nothing. I could probably get this all at once.

I always like Techreports guides. They have great recommendation and have the prices for everything.

http://techreport.com/review/28198/system-guide-current

@devil240z: I've been running 8GB of RAM for years and just moved to 16, so I don't know if 4GB is handicapping your general performance all that much. If it is, the RAM is certainly the smaller and easier of the upgrades to make. Upgrading your GPU should make the largest difference, however, and if you performance in games is generally crappy, adding 4GB of extra RAM will probably do very little.

Keep in mind that I've also used Intel processors for years and years and have no idea if adding a new GPU to your system would do very little thanks to your CPU holding you back (I assume it's fine, but on the off chance...). You should run a few benchmarks/games and see if your CPU or GPU is maxing out; if it's the GPU, you're safe to drop in a new one, but if it's your CPU then you're kinda sunk until you do a full new build. The Phenom II series is getting up there in age, although my 2600k was having no problem with modern games when I replaced it.

Switching over to an entry-level Intel i5 and a modern GT X9xx or 8xx series card would do wonders for you, so would getting a solid state drive. At this point, you're probably better off building a whole new box rather than just trying to upgrade what you already have. It will save you some money and headaches in the long run. At a minimum I would suggest a recent Nvidia card and a decent solid state drive down the line. AMD card have been.....questionable as of late. Shitty drivers.

Yeah i was kind of thinking that my CPU might end up being the weak link here but I cant really get around it yet.

I don't really think that upgrading your pc at this time is the right idea. I suggest waiting for Nvidia Pascal and AMD Greenland. This is where we'll see a huge jump in performance along with a complete support for directx12.

The pc you'll have right now will not last long.

What is your PSU? If it's below 750 i wouldn't go for any AMD cards if you don't want to upgrade your psu as well (another 100+ on top). I was going to get one of those 390's but the power draw was too high for my 620w power supply. So i went ahead and copped a gtx 980(was going to get a 970 but said fuck it, and almost got a 980ti lol).

PCIE 2.0 will lose you maybe 1 or 2 fps. (16x that is, 8x and 4x will lose you up to 10 or 15 i believe i'm not 100%). Also if you want to upgrade your processor to an intel, you need a new motherboard as well so you'll end up dropping way way way more than 300. If you have a AM3+ board you should update to a new AMD cpu (when your ready)if you want to save money. If you dont' have an AM3+ board then you'll have to upgrade your board anyway, and you could go for an intel(they do cost more than AMD and honestly i get good performance with my fx 8350)

Basically the only thing you need for games is GPU and VRAM. Could just buy a 750 Ti and you would probably be okay.

For the record. My goal here is to be able to run new games even at low settings for another year or so before I can afford to build a new PC. I've been playing dirt rally and have had some hitching which could be my cpu getting maxed out so maybe I'm screwed either way.

@oursin_360: I don't see changing my cpu as an option. I equate that to starting a whole new build.

I would say at that price range it's going to be tough. Are you able to hold off for another couple months to add another couple hundred to your budget?

@horseman6: anything's possible.

that Phenom II is january 2009 tech, thats 7-8 years ago.

It is time to start over, unless you want your computer to struggle with modern games.You have some some headroom for a more powerful gpu in your system, but in any situation where you need a modern cpu, your X4 965 is going to let you down.

Skylake is supposedly going to be released on the fifth of august, that's what you'll want to buy as far as cpu's goes.

the 390's draw a lot for sure, but a pretty typical system with one shouldn't draw more than 500 watts.

The 980 wont disappoint you though.

might as well get 16 gigs of ram it be more future proof plus you can never have enough ram. or just wait for ddr 4 ram to get cheaper.

Rather than getting interim parts that you intend to upgrade past, spend all your budget on a video card you can take into your next build. It's your biggest bottleneck and the easiest one to fix. 4GB of RAM isn't great, but generally, it's not what's blocking you up. Don't get a new processor, don't get a new PSU, don't get more RAM, just get a good card that you can build around when you intend to upgrade in full in a year.

@devildoll: the min spec for Dirt Rally is an athalon dual core. So i'm def exceeding that requirement. the min ram is 4gb and I have the same family of graphics card but a tad better than the min requirement.

I would wait until you can build something new or add significantly to more system on the rig. The combined effect of a new mobo, psu, new cpu, gpu, and RAM would significantly edge out any modest modification you could make now, but it really would be more economical to reduce any bottlenecks that could occur if one or more old parts is on it last legs.

Even if you just update to 2014 level parts across the board to save money, you will end up with a much more solid rig than dragging along parts that are from 2009/10 vintage.

That's a series that runs pretty lean on the cpu. if that's the kind of games you're going to play then you'll be fine, but battlefield or starcraft for example will benefit a lot from a powerful cpu.
Don't lean to heavily on just the system requirements, they can be very hit or miss, personally, i never check em, if I'm worried about performance, i turn to benchmarks of the particular game instead.

But since its just a band-aid until you can completely re-invent your PC, a new graphics card will give you the most potential increase in performance.

@devildoll: The PS4 is my main system right now. I got dirt rally on PC cause thats the only platform its available on being early access and all. So really all I will be playing on this system is dirt and the odd indie game here and there.

A lot of that depends on what resolution you play at. Also, would you mind posting the exact specs?

@Devildoll that Phenom II is january 2009 tech, thats 7-8 years ago.

Doesn't work that way, pal. The 965 performs the same as (in game environments it even outperforms) many of the FX models, which are more or less current AMD tech.

Those who suggest SSDs: the guy's on a budget, and the gains from such an upgrade would be extremely limited and in most scenarios nothing at all.

Another question since I already have this topic. Should I upgrade from windows 7 to 10? or just not do that cause reasons. Does it use less resources? That would be my main reason for switching, and its free for the moment.

@devil240z: For now, the main reason you should be looking into Windows 10 is for DirectX 12 support. Windows 7 & 8 won't have it.

There are some slight issues with Windows 10 preview so far, but all around it's much better than seven too me. If you can get the free upgrade do it, but make sure you back up your files first especially if you do decide to roll back. DX12 is supposedly a game changer, but we haven't been able to see it in action yet

Will DX12 even work if I have an early DX11 card?

@devil240z: Not for the card you have now, but I hope your GPU is one of the things you're planning on upgrading. It needs it, that card is about five years old at this point and was sort of low to mid end then.

@mb: yes it is. They don't sell cpus for my socket anymore (AM3) so the GPU and ram is really all I have available to swap out. Gonna build a new PC in 6 months or so depending on upcoming releases. But I would love to play Dirt Rally at higher settings in the mean time. Hind sight being 20/20 I really should have gotten an AM3+ Motherboard but I had no idea what I was even doing at the time. I just bought shit and put it together.

You should be able to drop a 960 and move up to 8gb of ram on the cheap (4gb isn't enough for a modern machine). Unfortunately that system is more or less just a turf and start again sort of deal at this point. You will see see a sizable jump from the 960 but it won't be able to give you everything it has with that CPU, the 5770 wildly outclassed at this point.

Honestly, if that's the case I would just deal with lower resolution and settings until you have the money to build a new system. It sucks, but on the other hand it might be a good incentive for saving up a bit more :)

Also, I can absolutely recommend trawling sites like newegg etc for deals while you're saving up. Last time I bought my 750w platinum rated psu for 50% off 7 months before I put my pc together. Got the case early as well. I wouldn't get things like video cards or motherboards very early, but PSUs, disks and cases are very much safe. That tech isn't really going to change much and it'll go with whatever thing you decide to go with in the future.

@amafi: I'm not sure what you're suggesting. Are you saying I should just do nothing? Cause I feel like I can get a much better GPU and more RAM for not that much money and I was pretty much gonna build my PC the way you were saying by waiting for good sales to pop up on newegg.

@devil240z: Nah you're fine to do that now, you can always use the GPU in your next PC whenever you build it. However, your antiquated CPU is going to severely bottleneck essentially any new GPU you put in there, so you're going to have significantly reduced performance until you do a completely new build.

Yeah, I'm just saying you might not see that much improvement with just a new gpu depending on how cpu intensive the games you are looking to run are. And depending on your current psu it might not be able to support a very powerful gpu anyways.