Looking to upgrade for Witcher 3 - suggestions?

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transcend11

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Hey guys, I've came to you with posts like these in years past and you always help me tremendously. I haven't upgraded much with my PC in a few years now, and I'm thinking the best bet for value performance will be a GPU and/or CPU upgrade.

My current specs:

XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz
BIOSTAR A770E3 (AM3 cpu slot)
Samsung 250 GB SSD with Windows 7, with games on a 3 TB Toshiba SATA drive
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

With a quick glance at newegg for graphics cards, they have a good deal on the Nvidia GTX 970 4 GB with Witcher 3 and Batman for $330. I know that quite on the higher end, but I could definitely consider that, unless a CPU upgrade will be important, then I might want to find more of a middle ground.

I'm open for any suggestions - thanks as always!
 
Well, what case and PSU do you have?
What's the max resolution of your monitor?

With that asked, I think you're looking at an overhaul man. The minimum CPU for Witcher 3 is a Core i5 2500K CPU, a CPU that's significantly faster than your current CPU.

EDIT: Since your motherboard is limited to Phenom II CPUs, you're basically looking at a new motherboard if you do a CPU upgrade. So that's a new CPU, mobo, and GPU at a minimum.
 
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Case is NZXT Phantom 410
PSU is Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W ATX12V
And monitor resolution is 1920x1080

On the list of minimum specs, for AMD it lists AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940, which I slightly exceed with my X4 955 (but barely).

Well... This may be quite the upgrade.

Maybe at this point I'm looking for a budget friendly but high performance build. I'll appreciate any nudges in the right direction - thanks!
 
Well please answer the stickied "ANSEWR THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you plan a build better.

But luckily you're only looking at a new CPU, mobo and GPU. Your current case and PSU are sufficient.
 
Thanks, here's my answers:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
--PC Gaming, media streaming/viewing, web browsing

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
--Not entirely sure on budget, would $500 even be enough for a significant upgrade? Most importantly I want high value, yet high performance, wherever that may take me. (This is why I've tended to build AMD and ATI) If it ends up being more than I can afford, I would just save some more.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
--United States

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
--Probably mobo, CPU, and graphics card

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
--Reusing the rest of my parts if possible, including case, PSU, RAM

6) Will you be overclocking?
--Minimal and simple overclocking, no extreme water cooling needs

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
--1920x1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
--ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
-- No special features needed. Case has slots for USB 3.0 I've never used

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
--Yes, Windows 7
 
How long would it take you to save an additional $170?

Considering the recommended specs, I'd have to push for Intel in this case. In addition, your overclocking requirement raises the cost of the build by at least $85 to $120 or so (Which that $170 includes).
 
Definitely doable to spend a little more if needed. Overclocking isn't a necessity especially if it is already performing as well as needed for high settings and good framerate, but overclocking lets me future proof a little more.

I quickly put this together as a starting point, what's your thoughts on this vs what you have in mind?

Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $177.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $37.99 @ Newegg
Video Card HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card $252.98 @ Newegg
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $468.96
 
transcend11 said:
Definitely doable to spend a little more if needed. Overclocking isn't a necessity especially if it is already performing as well as needed for high settings and good framerate, but overclocking lets me future proof a little more.

I quickly put this together as a starting point, what's your thoughts on this vs what you have in mind?

Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $177.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $37.99 @ Newegg
Video Card HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card $252.98 @ Newegg
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $468.96
Click to expand...

Not that good. You're cheaping out both the video card and motherboard. Here's what I was thinking of for the non-overclock setup:
$200 - Intel Core i5-4590 CPU
$72 - ASRock H97M Pro4 Intel H97 mATX Motherboard
$280 - MSI Radeon R9 290 GAMING 4GB Video Card
---
Total: $552

You get a significantly higher quality motherboard in comparison to that MSI H81 as well as a significantly more reliable, more reputable, and better supported video card.
 
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