Upgrading my Computer
August 7th, 2016
my budget i don’t know exactly it depends on my dads mood i guess.
i want to be able to run new games like Medal of Honor and stuff like that smoothly on high settings.
my current comp specs.
Intel pentium 4 cpu 3.2GHz —-Dual core
2x2gb ram
Windows vista Ultimate 32bit
nvidia geforce 7300 gs 512mb
1tb hard drive space
If you guys could help me out it would be appreciated.
For a good budget system that runs everything fairly smooth on highest settings I’ll suggest something similar to what I have.
Processor: i5 750 or any i7 series
Motherboard: Gigabyte or ASUS
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Graphics Card: Nvidia 250GTS (1GB dedicated)
my graphics card has 512mb dedicated but its sharing with my ram so its got like 1.3gb its pissing me off but thats better than what i have in the long run thx
Whats a good priced Sound card im currently running on-board sound and its driving me crazy.
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Since your not sure of a specific budget, atleast give an estimate and the currency your dealing in (USD, AUD, etc). The sound card can be left to last incase other stuff reach your budget and onboard sound cards dont sound that terrible (probably cos they’ve gotten better these days )
If you have enough, you could go for a top end i7 system with a complete everything. Else if your budgets around $1k-sh maybe an i5 or so
There’s a difference between upgrading and rebuilding. Which are you looking to do?
Whats a good priced Sound card im currently running on-board sound and its driving me crazy.
you in usa?
newegg has a few good Creative Sound Blaster sound cards for $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=sound+blaster+x-fi
Cure, post the country you live in. what budget is, and leave it to the experts here to do the work for you and config a new system for your budget.
There's a difference between upgrading and rebuilding. Which are you looking to do?
Good point!
In order to “upgrade” your PC, you’ll need another CPU. This will force you to buy a new motherboard, cause a new proc won’t fit on your’s.
+ I’m pretty sure you’ll need to change the RAM, too.
Then comes the video card and probably the PSU.
Bottom line: you actually need to buy a whole new PC.
Some decent components (MB, CPU, RAM and gfx card) will cost 450-500 USD. Add another $100 for a SATA HDD and a PSU.
Talk to your dad and see if you can find out how much is he willing to spend.
P.S. If the budget is less than $400, you should get a new video card (assuming your MB has a PCIe slot) and a more powerful PSU.
I’ve just noticed you have 1TB of HDD space, so I assume you don’t need another SATA HDD.
Ya I agree with your pc is so outdated that if you want to play the newest games on high settings you will have to get a complete new pc.
You need a major overhaul. That rig isn’t worth upgrading.
well i dont kno my budget because its a birthday gift hopefully but im dealing with usd so if it requires a complete overhaul so be it all i really need is a new motherboard new cpu and a new video card and ram thats prolly it. but like said ill let the experts help me out.
ask your parents for there maximum they would spend on a pc, without this information. we really cannot help.
Who’s gonna do the actual shopping, you or your parents? & Will it be on-line or from a near-by shop?
Ste# ill do that when my dad gets home because it will mainly being my dad that will buy this for me.
my parents im making a list of stuff i want for my bday it will probably be a mix of both on-line and at a near by shop he will prolly use Newegg and he will probably go to a store called Frys.
if it requires a completely new computer i might as well and ask for 1 from iBUYPOWER because i heard there computers are actually better than alienware.
Ste# ill do that when my dad gets home because it will mainly being my dad that will buy this for me.
my parents im making a list of stuff i want for my bday it will probably be a mix of both on-line and at a near by shop he will prolly use Newegg and he will probably go to a store called Frys.
if it requires a completely new computer i might as well and ask for 1 from iBUYPOWER because i heard there computers are actually better than alienware.
if comparing to alienware, then your new budget could be $1,000 to $2,000 or more
I know you can a Alienware Aurora for $999.99 but that is minimum without any discounts.
EDIT: $899 right now (not true that is my EPP discount, sorry) $999
http://www.dell.com/us/eep/p/alienware-desktops/product-compare
if i was to get a iBUYPOWER computer this would be the specs for it
Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz Quad-core
4 GB DDR3-1333 Ram
Dual (SLI) NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT -1GB (i dont think this is a very good card choice idk it might be im just a noob at computer parts)
Gigabyte GA-P55
550 watt power supply
500GB HDD (Standard with the computer cant take it off)
Creative Labs SOund Blaster Audigy SE
All for $829 w/out Shipping w/ Shipping it comes to a total of $894 Tell me if this is a good choice or if i should change anything.
You say your father would buy from ‘Newegg’, so here’s a list of components :
– AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Quad-Core
– MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.524425
– G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 Dual Channel Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
– GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 768MB 192-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125334
– SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
– CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
These will cost $720, without shipping.
I didn’t include an audio card and a case.
Yep, if your father is buying you a rig.
A AMD Phenom II X4 spec will be a great buy. Surely these days you wouldn’t want a 9800GT.
That card is 2 generations old.
It’s damn near impossible to tell you what to buy unless you can tell us how much you’re able to spend.
its damn near impossible for me to tell you what my dads willing to spend when my bday is 2months away.
its damn near impossible for me to tell you what my dads willing to spend when my bday is 2months away.
I wonder, why the hell would you ask so soon, when you don’t even know how much your going to spend and around 2 months time, the hardware market has changed. Computer hardware market cycles around once every 3 months.
By that time, you would have to ask again. So the topic is pointless, close it.
its damn near impossible for me to tell you what my dads willing to spend when my bday is 2months away.as you get older, birthday’s are not secrets like it was in childhood.
Did you ask your dad??
why dont you tell your dad
1-dad, this is what a new system for $1,000 will do for me and why
2-dad, this is what a new system for $1,500 to $2.000 will do for me and why
sell you dad on the idea of the spend you want for your birthday
as you get older, birthday's are not secrets like it was in childhood.
Yep and beyond a certain age, you don’t celebrate your own birthday, even if you got the wits to say its your birthday.
You celebrate your parents birthdays instead.
I can’t agree with Dragon Core’s oppinion that the market would change so much in 2 months that it will mess up your plans.
A good PC today will still be a good PC in 2 months. You’ll get the same components a bit cheaper or get a bit better components on the same price.
Anyway, the market will not fluctuate as much as to allow you to make big changes in the most important areas like the CPU and gfx card.
e.g. With the money you spend now on a GTX 460 you won’t be able to buy a GTX 470 or 480 in 2 months.
+ The man (your father) could use the 2 months interval to pull his resources, think about how much is he really willing to (or can he) spend on his son’s birthday present.
An idea would be to take him on a on-line tour of “Newegg”, show him a list of components and their prices and see how he reacts.
This will also give him an idea of how much you will like for him to spend.
its damn near impossible for me to tell you what my dads willing to spend when my bday is 2months away.I wonder, why the hell would you ask so soon, when you don’t even know how much your going to spend and around 2 months time, the hardware market has changed. Computer hardware market cycles around once every 3 months.
By that time, you would have to ask again. So the topic is pointless, close it.
I ask him so early so he knows ahead of time of what I want so he can tell me if its allright for me to get something like this or if hes willing to spend the money for me to get what i want and plus im combining my birthday with my Christmas because there 6 days apart and plus i want to kno what I should get for my upggrade so this topic isn’t pointless.
I can't agree with Dragon Core's oppinion that the market would change so much in 2 months that it will mess up your plans.
A good PC today will still be a good PC in 2 months. You'll get the same components a bit cheaper or get a bit better components on the same price.
Anyway, the market will not fluctuate as much as to allow you to make big changes in the most important areas like the CPU and gfx card.
e.g. With the money you spend now on a GTX 460 you won't be able to buy a GTX 470 or 480 in 2 months.
+ The man (your father) could use the 2 months interval to pull his resources, think about how much is he really willing to (or can he) spend on his son's birthday present.
An idea would be to take him on a on-line tour of "Newegg", show him a list of components and their prices and see how he reacts.
This will also give him an idea of how much you will like for him to spend. Actually a lot can change on two months. Availability, price and new alternatives… For example AMD will probably launch 6000 series before the end of the year. Or you can find a deal going on allowing you to save 50 bucks from just one component.
I can't agree with Dragon Core's oppinion that the market would change so much in 2 months that it will mess up your plans.
A good PC today will still be a good PC in 2 months. You'll get the same components a bit cheaper or get a bit better components on the same price.
Anyway, the market will not fluctuate as much as to allow you to make big changes in the most important areas like the CPU and gfx card.
e.g. With the money you spend now on a GTX 460 you won't be able to buy a GTX 470 or 480 in 2 months.
+ The man (your father) could use the 2 months interval to pull his resources, think about how much is he really willing to (or can he) spend on his son's birthday present.
An idea would be to take him on a on-line tour of "Newegg", show him a list of components and their prices and see how he reacts.
This will also give him an idea of how much you will like for him to spend.
Actually a lot can change on two months. Availability, price and new alternatives... For example AMD will probably launch 6000 series before the end of the year. Or you can find a deal going on allowing you to save 50 bucks from just one component.General advise : Grab a new motherboard that support am3 processor socket,a phenom processor and a better graphics card
I can't agree with Dragon Core's oppinion that the market would change so much in 2 months that it will mess up your plans.
A good PC today will still be a good PC in 2 months. You'll get the same components a bit cheaper or get a bit better components on the same price.
Anyway, the market will not fluctuate as much as to allow you to make big changes in the most important areas like the CPU and gfx card.
e.g. With the money you spend now on a GTX 460 you won't be able to buy a GTX 470 or 480 in 2 months.
+ The man (your father) could use the 2 months interval to pull his resources, think about how much is he really willing to (or can he) spend on his son's birthday present.
An idea would be to take him on a on-line tour of "Newegg", show him a list of components and their prices and see how he reacts.
This will also give him an idea of how much you will like for him to spend.
Actually a lot can change on two months. Availability, price and new alternatives... For example AMD will probably launch 6000 series before the end of the year. Or you can find a deal going on allowing you to save 50 bucks from just one component.You can’t plan anything on a bunch of “what if”s.
Usually, that kind of a drop (50 bucks), happens when a new generation is released. The difference between a mid-range gfx card and a high-end one is of about $100 or more.
True, AMD/ATI will release the HD 6000 series before the end of the year, or so they say. But if they start with the high-end cards, as usual, the price for one of those will be much more than the OP could save from the price-drops of any currently available components.
That’s why I said that a 2 months interval wouldn’t significantly change the problem’s data.
And I think it’s time to remove myself from this topic…
If you don’t mind buying an already built computer then take a look at this.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=422237U-DT&cat=SYS I honestly think its a good idea to plan right now because when the time comes and you can’t decide, I know how parent are “if you cant decide then I’ll choose something for you” or “If you can’t decide, then choose something else” either way, I think that computer I linked you to has the capability to support newer gfx cards that may come out in the future…I believe all i3,i5,i7 core mobos are built to be upgradable nowadays but then I could be wrong…and besides, you can swap in your 1tb hdd for a total of 1.5tb
You can't plan anything on a bunch of "what if"s. That’s exactly what we are trying to tell. You can’t plan out for a computer you are going to be buying two months later. Not only some prices can change ( yes some can increase like it did with tightly stocked 5000 series when it was first released), some may become unavailable also.
Usually, that kind of a drop (50 bucks), happens when a new generation is released.That’s not the only reason. Stock clearance, brand competition for GPUs (Zotac, Evga, Sapphire,etc.), daily rebates, combo deals, coupon codes, open box deals, it can go on and on…
well i asked my dad a few days ago and he said that a ibuypower computer i want that is $708 w/ shipping is acceptable so theres the price range so i guess i wont be able to get a whole lot of decent parts.
You can't plan anything on a bunch of "what if"s.
That's exactly what we are trying to tell. You can't plan out for a computer you are going to be buying two months later. Not only some prices can change ( yes some can increase like it did with tightly stocked 5000 series when it was first released), some may become unavailable also.
Usually, that kind of a drop (50 bucks), happens when a new generation is released.
That's not the only reason. Stock clearance, brand competition for GPUs (Zotac, Evga, Sapphire,etc.), daily rebates, combo deals, coupon codes, open box deals, it can go on and on...Yeah, OK. I got it. There’s a saying : “No plan survives contact with the enemy”. The enemy here being the market.
The idea was to make a ‘reference frame’, to come up with an estimate price for a decent computer, see if the OP’s father will consider that price acceptable or too big.
…or so I thought…
well i asked my dad a few days ago and he said that a ibuypower computer i want that is $708 w/ shipping is acceptable so theres the price range so i guess i wont be able to get a whole lot of decent parts.No,no,no… You can get some decent components with $700. Just take a look at the list I’ve posted on page 2. If you can re-use your case and keep the HDDs you have now, even better.
The MB&CPU combo might not be available next month, but there will be others. D r e a M seems to know more than I do about power supplies and he will have some (better) options to the Corsair TX.
And the rebates and deals mentioned by will most likely occur before Christmas, right when you’ll be buying the whole stuff.
IMO it will be best if you’ll return for advices at the end of November – first days of December.
Well my dad upgraded his video card he got a 9800 so now i have his old Video card witch is a 8500 GT just thought i would throw that out just incase that helps any1 with my comp.
okey, idk if you can make a computer from scratch in your country but here in egypt we can do this, we have malls “computer malls” just for computer parts including mointers MBoards all kind of cards ,, etc.
if you got malls like this in your country i guess you need to take a paper and a pen and go around every shop in the mall and pick some good parts and then search for the lowest prices.
If not, then just get a Qosmio,AlienWare if you feel like gaming 24 hours Qosmio’s are much cheaper than alienware and you can do custom changes also. but i recommened aa Qosmio it’s really good i used to have one but my dad throw it out of the window -_-. anyway i can help you out if you have a budget like say from 900$-1600$ just PM me.
Goodluck
ussef.