Greetings, recently it has become more a pain to use this computer due to its slightly horrid specs. I already have an idea on what I will get, but I want H&S's opinion.
Specs:
6 GB DDR2 RAM
600 GB HDD
AMD Phenom x4 9550
Nvidia GeForce 9100 (Integrated)
300 W PSU
Windows Vista Home Premium SP2
Please, do give opinions on what you think I should upgrade on. If you want any more detailed information, just post.
What do you primarily use your system for?
If you're looking for more productivity, I'd look at getting a copy of Windows 7 first.
For gaming, buy a dedicated video card, as it will carry over to your next refresh.
Otherwise, you'll need to redo the entire PC in order to see any significant performance gains. DDR3 is now the norm, the 9550 came out in 2008 and you'll need more than a generic 300 watt PSU to use a more high end CPU/video card combination.
Gaming, but I don't do intense gaming too much. I have played on low settings for years, I don't seek max settings, just enough to run a game on medium at 20-30 FPS.
You'll get away with getting a lower end GPU and keeping the 300w, but for a safer and more future proof computer I'd suggest getting a 500-650w PSU (a good one, don't get a crappy one, Corsair, XFX and quite a few others do great PSU's) and a midrange graphics card.
Your CPU won't need upgrading yet, I have an E8200 core 2 duo clocked at 4ghz and I'm still able to play every game on max settings with stable framerate (not including AA) so I wouldn't worry at all seeing as you don't have seriously high expectations, when the flock of people come in telling you to get a sandy bridge this, 1090T that, ignore them, you don't need a new CPU to play games.
So, onto the PSU and GPU, it's probably a good idea to post your motherboard before fully settling on some new components but It's almost a given that you'll have atleast 1x PCI-E 16x (doesn't need to be 2.0) so you should be fine on upgrading your GPU, make sure there's enough room in your case too, if it's a prebuilt it may be a tight fit.
I've already been over the PSU but I'll chime in again, if you want to future proof it a little so you can confidently upgrade the CPU/motherboard in the future I recommend getting a good 500w (650w for multiple cards) or higher, if you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon apart from to play games on medium/high you'll probably get away with keeping your 300w PSU but I still think you should get one regardless, if it's a prebuilt there's no way of knowing what trash they throw in it.
Here is what I recommend, from cheapest to most expensive.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027]Corsair CX500 500w non-modular[/url] $60
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019]Corsair CX600 600w non-modular[/url] $70
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007]XFX 650w modular[/url] $90
As for GPU I recommend getting a newer mid-range card.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505&cm_re=6850-_-14-150-505-_-Product]XFX 6850[/url] $140
Or if you really want to spend as little as possible and still get decent performance just get a 5770 and don't bother with a new PSU.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363&cm_re=5770-_-14-121-363-_-Product]Asus 5770[/url] $90
Hope I helped and gave you a couple of options, the 5770 will easily run everything on medium or high on stable FPS so you shouldn't worry, but I thought I'd give you some information in-case you wanted to spend another $100 and get more bang and get ready for future upgrades. You should also look into getting windows 7 and a new case, you can get a good cheap case for sub $60, just don't expect something amazing.
isn't the better sapphire HD 5830 now going for around 100$
its probably worth those 10$ over the HD 5770
[QUOTE=David Tennant;30534947]You'll get away with getting a lower end GPU and keeping the 300w, but for a safer and more future proof computer I'd suggest getting a 500-650w PSU (a good one, don't get a crappy one, Corsair, XFX and quite a few others do great PSU's) and a midrange graphics card.
Your CPU won't need upgrading yet, I have an E8200 core 2 duo clocked at 4ghz and I'm still able to play every game on max settings with stable framerate (not including AA) so I wouldn't worry at all seeing as you don't have seriously high expectations, when the flock of people come in telling you to get a sandy bridge this, 1090T that, ignore them, you don't need a new CPU to play games.
So, onto the PSU and GPU, it's probably a good idea to post your motherboard before fully settling on some new components but It's almost a given that you'll have atleast 1x PCI-E 16x (doesn't need to be 2.0) so you should be fine on upgrading your GPU, make sure there's enough room in your case too, if it's a prebuilt it may be a tight fit.
I've already been over the PSU but I'll chime in again, if you want to future proof it a little so you can confidently upgrade the CPU/motherboard in the future I recommend getting a good 500w (650w for multiple cards) or higher, if you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon apart from to play games on medium/high you'll probably get away with keeping your 300w PSU but I still think you should get one regardless, if it's a prebuilt there's no way of knowing what trash they throw in it.
Here is what I recommend, from cheapest to most expensive.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027]Corsair CX500 500w non-modular[/url] $60
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019]Corsair CX600 600w non-modular[/url] $70
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007]XFX 650w modular[/url] $90
As for GPU I recommend getting a newer mid-range card.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505&cm_re=6850-_-14-150-505-_-Product]XFX 6850[/url] $140
Or if you really want to spend as little as possible and still get decent performance just get a 5770 and don't bother with a new PSU.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363&cm_re=5770-_-14-121-363-_-Product]Asus 5770[/url] $90
Hope I helped and gave you a couple of options, the 5770 will easily run everything on medium or high on stable FPS so you shouldn't worry, but I thought I'd give you some information in-case you wanted to spend another $100 and get more bang and get ready for future upgrades. You should also look into getting windows 7 and a new case, you can get a good cheap case for sub $60, just don't expect something amazing.[/QUOTE]
Thank you. Oh, and, here is a link to my motherboard.
[url]http://www.dhgate.com/pegatron-m2n78-la-violet-gl8e-motherboard/p-ff80808129b0c7be0129cc6987fd34e8.html[/url]
3 PCI 1_2 slots and only 1 PCI x16 :crying:
[editline]19th June 2011[/editline]
Oh, and here is my PSU if you need that.
[url]http://www.amazon.com/HP-SUPPLY-5188-2625-ATX-300-12Z-BC/dp/B001RQ4Z7A[/url]
Forgot to mention, My HDD is a Western Digital Caviar Blue.
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