Well, for roughly 4-5 years I've had the same crappy inspiron 530s that I got on a holiday sale. Currently it has the same parts it came with, except for a bigger [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697"]hard drive[/URL]. I would like to just build a new computer or replace most if not all of the parts of my computer, but mainly I just want a better video card, so I can run Diablo 3 better. Although, that's probably not all I need to run it.
So what I'm asking is, can you guys help me find a cheap, but better video card then my current ATI Radeon 2400. At this point is it even worth it to replace my video card? Can you guys recommend some parts that I might need to replace in order to run Diablo 3 on my piece of crap? (Also, this post was written on my schools computer, not mine.)
Would you mind telling us the specs of your rig? [url=http://gdgt.com/dell/inspiron/530/specs/]Are the specs the same as those listed here?[/url] Regardless that you have given us the model of computer and told us that it uses all of the original parts, manufacturers tend to have options available for models of computers which could add or remove more powerful hardware.
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
(the 530s is listed a little further down the page)
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
It doesn't seem to list the power supply wattage or brand either, so if you could just list off all of the specs as they appear on [url=http://www.piriform.com/speccy]this application[/url] (or just alt+prtscreen it's window) alongside your PSU wattage, we'll try to help best we can.
Yeah, sorry for the lack of info. I'm not too knowledgeable about this stuff, which is probably pretty obvious.
anyway, here's my specs.
[img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2686/specsxh.png[/img]
Your psu wattage will also be vital information, it's usually printed right on the label. Just crack open your case and have a peek.
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
And if you catch it, post the brand. That'll generally tell you the quality of the component and how much stress you [I]really[/I] want to put on it.
Oh yeah, I was just going to edit that in, but I got lazy. sorry. my Power supply wattage is 250w. As we get deeper into this I'm realizing how far my computer is from Diablo 3 system reqs.
yikes, 250w wont drive much. If you're really looking to run Diablo 3 well, I'd suggest looking into a new motherboard, processor, power supply, and then think about the video card.
A good set that should be relatively cheap will be something like this;
i3-2100 Processor
(any) LGA 1155 motherboard with a p67/z68 chipset
a ~450w power supply to run a decent video card
and you'll probably need some ram, but two 4gb modules of DDR3-1333 will be dirt cheap so don't stress over that.
For all of these parts you may need little over $300.
Here's a list courtesy of PCPartPicker;
[code]PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8m7y
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8m7y/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8m7y/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68M/USB3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($92.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Raidmax 530W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $261.52
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-16 16:34 EDT-0400)[/code]
Prices will also vary depending on where you live, but that's on more of continental scale than regional or country wise.
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
You can cut the price a lot depending on motherboard chipset and how good a processor you really want, I'm just trying to provide a decent baseline. For instance, if you didn't want many hardware based features out of your motherboard, you could gut the pricetag by getting one with an H61 chipset. For the processor you could get a Pentium G620 or something around there, and with memory you could get down to 4GB if you don't really need 8 (I wouldn't recommend much below 4 though.)
Alright, thanks a lot for the help.
AMD processors are relatively well known for performing well and being cheap all at the same time, but AMD's fx series processors have sorta shot down their reputation. Sack of hammers style plummet. If you would like to look into the AMD side of life anyway, I haven't got any recommendations, but poke around for an AM3/+ board and one of their phenom II processors.
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
Either or, to run a good video card you're really going to want to swap out that power supply. Shouldn't be too pricey though, just watch out for brands that scream "China's finest". The power supply is a very important component and it's failure can result in bricking every other component in the computer.
[editline]16th May 2012[/editline]
Good luck. c:
Thanks again. Are there any video cards you recommend, or would you rather I get a new power supply before looking into getting a new video card? Also, most if not all of these parts are compatible with my computer, right?
[QUOTE=nothung;35985059]Thanks again. Are there any video cards you recommend, or would you rather I get a new power supply before looking into getting a new video card? Also, most if not all of these parts are compatible with my computer, right?[/QUOTE]
Well hes pretty much building you a new pc.
[QUOTE=:smugspike:;35982929]
Either or, to run a good video card you're really going to want to swap out that power supply. Shouldn't be too pricey though, just watch out for brands that scream "China's finest". The power supply is a very important component and it's failure can result in bricking every other component in the computer.
[/QUOTE]
[code]Power Supply: Raidmax 530W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon) [/code]
Are you friggin serious? Thats an IED right there.
[B]Get one of these, of around 450W:[/B]
Corsair: Made by Seasonic
Enermax
Enhance
Hiper:
PC Power & Cooling: rebranded Seasonic
Seasonic
SevenTeam
SilenX
XClio
Zippy
Annyways, seeing your current pc it would be better to build a new one.
If you must buy just a gpu check this chart.
[url]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html[/url]
Yeah, I just decided I'm just going to go ahead and build a new PC.
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