Upgrading my dell for gaming

[cwuarre]

I have a dell PC from 2005 so it is considerably outdated for gaming. The only thing it has been upgraded with is 2gb Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800.
I was wondering if you folks would recommend upgrading it further with a new CPU and GPU or just spending $500 to make a new build minus HDD/CD/DVDDrives

 

[patonb]

What model, and what cpu in it now?

 

[cwuarre]

Dimension E510

Pentium 4 3.00ghz thats all i know

 

[95BlackGA]

IMHO, I would build something new. This is a little over your budget coming in at $530 + shipping. You could get a 4850 instead of the 4870, and you'd save a few bucks. You could also go with a Phenom II 720, to save some money. If you're not going to overclock, I see no since in getting a Black Edition though. Unless, it's cheaper, of course.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! (Biostar TA790GX XE + AMD Phenom II 940 combo deal)

Newegg.com - Patriot Extreme Performance Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PGS24G6400ELK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - XFX HD-487A-YHFC Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

 

[cwuarre]

Alright looks good. And I could use the e510 case and my old hdd and disc drives?

 

[Muffin Man]

no, dell uses proprietary motherboards that only fit their cases, so you'd have to buy a new case.

but yes, you can reuse the hdd and disc drives.

 

[patonb]

Actually, you don't need new ram either, as it is ddr2 800, and Ballistics wqere good ram.

 

[Dauntae]

replace the ram with a case and you should be all set, there are plenty to choose from. This is just one decent case in the lower price range Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases Actually better than my case, I gotta get me a new case.

Dauntae

 

[95BlackGA]

replace the ram with a case and you should be all set, there are plenty to choose from. This is just one decent case in the lower price range Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases Actually better than my case, I gotta get me a new case.

Dauntae

I don't think I'd replace the ram, maybe lower it to a 2GB kit. Or just go with the Biostar board and Phenom II 710, and they'd be saving $60-$70. You could go with a dual core, and get the Athlon II 250, and save $20 over the Phenom II.

 

[Dauntae]

I put that because he already has DDR2 800 ram in his current system he upgraded.

Dauntae