Hey guys I got a new computer not too long ago, a beautiful 25.5" 1080p screen suckered me in to a bad deal. Anyways it's the hp pavilion m9517c package, and it's time to upgrade. It came with the AMD phenom x4 9550 2.2 gig, 8 gig ram, 1 tb hard drive 7200 rpm, and windows vista 64 which is gonna be switched to windows 7 soon. Thats about all I know. I've never upgraded a computer before and i'm wondering what the top 5 parts I should put into it are. So far I'm thinking that I want to get the radeon 4850 (if possible), which means that I'll need a new power supply. Past that maybe a new hard drive? idk I'm totally new to all this so any advice would be greatly appreciated. oh i'm looking for mainly gaming upgrades seeing as I can handle anything else just fine right now. my budget is 600-800 dollars (U.S.). Thanks in advance guys!
Wondering what my best upgrade options are
- Thread starter deaydan
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Welcome to Tech-Forums, deaydan!!!
The best upgrade option for you, would just be the graphic card and power supply.
Upgrading the processor won't really do you anything because the motherboard probably has a very limited choice for higher processors. Besides, the processors above your's are only a few 100MHz faster, which won't be noticeable.
You have more than enough RAM, even too much RAM. But that's good, you don't have to worry about ever needing anymore RAM for now.
That hard drive is plenty. You would want to upgrade it if you see yourself filling up that TB first. See how much is left before you decide.
So for the power supply, this is good enough for your upgrade, plus future upgrades:
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Though I'm not sure if your computer will accept a regular ATX sized power supply. I'm checking on that now.
And an HD 4870 is not that much more than the 4850:
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Then just save that extra money for something else.
The best upgrade option for you, would just be the graphic card and power supply.
Upgrading the processor won't really do you anything because the motherboard probably has a very limited choice for higher processors. Besides, the processors above your's are only a few 100MHz faster, which won't be noticeable.
You have more than enough RAM, even too much RAM. But that's good, you don't have to worry about ever needing anymore RAM for now.
That hard drive is plenty. You would want to upgrade it if you see yourself filling up that TB first. See how much is left before you decide.
So for the power supply, this is good enough for your upgrade, plus future upgrades:
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Though I'm not sure if your computer will accept a regular ATX sized power supply. I'm checking on that now.
And an HD 4870 is not that much more than the 4850:
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Then just save that extra money for something else.
Thanks for the help. Do you think that the HD4870 will fit in my case for one thing? And with the new PSU and graphics card do you think that everything will be able to stay cool? if not do you have any recommendations on how to keep everything nice and chilly? E.G. new tower with better fans or a liquid cooling system. But all this might be way overkill for my meager applications. I'm a total noob so I really appreciate all the advice.
Yes, things will get a little toasty inside, as I know retail PC cases don't have much airflow/circulation.
It's not overkill at all to get a new case, etc. You gotta do what you have to. Plus, you have the budget for it.
In that case (no pun intended), I would suggest this one:
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Has tons of airflow and circulation, and very well ventilated. Perfect gaming case for you.
All in all, that's about $300 right there.
It's not overkill at all to get a new case, etc. You gotta do what you have to. Plus, you have the budget for it.
In that case (no pun intended), I would suggest this one:
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Has tons of airflow and circulation, and very well ventilated. Perfect gaming case for you.
All in all, that's about $300 right there.
aliasaid
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As bigapl said, video card and a powersupply are your upgrade options, everything else is pretty good.
Since your monitor is so big, and you have plenty of money for the upgrade, i would recommend the 4890 so that you can run the latest games on the high resolution of your screen at max settings. Thats if you're a 'serious' gamer; if you're just a casual gamer, then the 4870 is quite sufficient.
Is the HP case microATX? (or are all hp cases mATX?). You may not necessarily need a new case if the tower is a mid ATX, but i guess if you want to stay on the safe side, you can go for the case bigapl recommended.
Since your monitor is so big, and you have plenty of money for the upgrade, i would recommend the 4890 so that you can run the latest games on the high resolution of your screen at max settings. Thats if you're a 'serious' gamer; if you're just a casual gamer, then the 4870 is quite sufficient.
Is the HP case microATX? (or are all hp cases mATX?). You may not necessarily need a new case if the tower is a mid ATX, but i guess if you want to stay on the safe side, you can go for the case bigapl recommended.
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