Which part of my pc hardware should I upgrade?

[themilo504]

My computer is starting to get a bit old and Im considering replacing my hardware, but I can really only afford to replace one part, so I would like to know which part of my computer is most in need of a upgrade.

My specs are:
CPU: Intel® Core? i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz
Ram: 4,00 G
Operating system: windows 7.
Video card: NVIDIA Ge Force GTX 650.

 

[Bad Jim]

Your graphics card. The graphics card has by far the biggest effect on performance, and you would see a big performance boost if you upgraded. Your CPU and RAM are less important. They aren't great, but not bad enough to hold you back much.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

My computer is starting to get a bit old and Im considering replacing my hardware, but I can really only afford to replace one part, so I would like to know which part of my computer is most in need of a upgrade.

My specs are:
CPU: Intel® Core? i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz
Ram: 4,00 G
Operating system: windows 7.
Video card: NVIDIA Ge Force GTX 650.

4 GB of RAM?!

The RAM. Far and away, the RAM.

Then the GPU. But first get that RAM up to 8 at the least.

 

[Albino Boo]

8 Gb of ram is pretty much standard these days, I would go with the ram.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

My computer is starting to get a bit old and Im considering replacing my hardware, but I can really only afford to replace one part, so I would like to know which part of my computer is most in need of a upgrade.

My specs are:
CPU: Intel® Core? i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz
Ram: 4,00 G
Operating system: windows 7.
Video card: NVIDIA Ge Force GTX 650.

yeesh...a bit difficult on this call.

your CPU is getting pretty old, to the point that the socket it uses doesn't really have any upgradeable CPU's for it. (Damn Intel) So if you want to get a new cpu then you would need a new motherboard with it.

the graphics card is also probably running most things on medium, depending on the game, relatively it's okay to keep for your rig.

the ram, is it one stick of 4 Gig's I hope? if so, I would recommend opening up and figuring out what kind of memory it is, and buying another stick to put in there to get you up to 8 Gig's (pretty standard these days)

 

[Bad Jim]

Before you follow everyone elses' advice and get more RAM, find out what version of Windows you have. If it's 32 bit Windows, you won't get any benefit. You want 64 bit Windows.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Before you follow everyone elses' advice and get more RAM, find out what version of Windows you have. If it's 32 bit Windows, you won't get any benefit. You want 64 bit Windows.

It's most likely 64-bit. As long as he has a Win7 COA, he'll be fine as the COA works for both 32 & 64-bit versions.

 

[Monk5127]

What motherboard have you got? That i5 is a dual core with HT.
http://ark.intel.com/products/43546/Intel-Core-i5-650-Processor-4M-Cache-3_20-GHz
You may be able to pick up a better i5 or i7 for cheap as more often motherboards are dying on peoples 1156 builds.
Another 4GB of RAM would be of benefit.
As for the GPU, I couldn't really suggest anything here without knowing the power supply. Mainly make/model but also how many amps the +12v rail/s are rated for.

EDIT:
If you're lucky your motherboard might support the Xeon L34xx/X34xx which are going for very little on eBay etc (Taken from obsolete working business kit) . And assuming you aren't interested in overclocking will perform the same as a similarly clocked i7.

 

[Aerosteam]

Your graphics card is a bit on the low side in my opinion and your CPU is a little old.

However, it's more essential to have at least 8GB of RAM.

 

[gigastar]

Honeslty, id reccomend saving your money for a full new biuld.

But failing that, i reccomend upgrading your RAM. 4GB just is not going to cut it going forward, especially if you leave programs on in the background as most tend to do.

 

[munx13]

The video card. Your CPU and RAM are kinda lacking but are still enough for most stuff. At least for now. Getting a new video card will give you the biggest boost.

Just make sure your power supply is up for it.
Something like a GTX 960 wont draw much more power than that 650 and you should be able to upgrade to something like that without problems, however if you plan on getting something more power hungry like a 970 or an AMD card, make sure to check the power ratings (I see Monk5127 said this already).

 

[themilo504]

Having read everybody?s comments and having talked with my dad, I?m probably just going to wait like half a year so that I can just buy a new computer, it seems like the smartest things to do.

Thanks for the help everybody!