Help with upgrading PC

[Thijs12b]

Hello everyone,

At first I would like to say that I'm happy to be a part of this forum. As you will probably notice further this message, my english writing wont always be grammatically correct and this is due to the fact that I'm a Dutch person, so I hope that it won't annoy you guys to much .

I have some questions about how to upgrade my PC (Note: I'm not interested in buying a new one, even if it is cheaper ), so that it will be able to play highend games in a reasonable resolution (1680x1050 would be perfect although i would settle for less) with a decent fps (atleast +12). I have a kinda big budget so don't worry about price tags to much , I'm just worried that i might accidently blow up my PC or something or get a completen overkill.

So now I will post the specs on my PC;
model: I have a Aspire M5620 desktop
motherboard: G33T-AM
RAM: 4 GB RAM (slot 1 = 1GB, slot 2 = 2GB, slot 3 = 1GB) What I'm already sure of, is that I am buying another 2 GB stick to put into slot 4 so it will run in dual channeling, I know i can do this without ****ing up .
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40 Ghz
GPU: Ati Radeon HD 2600 Pro
Videocard slot: PCI Express 1.0
Power supply: ATX-250PA
Sound card: ATI HDMI Audio

Now I'm wondering how i can max out this thing?
I'm looking to buy atleast;
-That 2GB RAM stick
-A New GPU which will also need;
* A New Power supply (I guess atleast?)
-Perhaps a better CPU

Can anyone suggest what would be best for me to upgrade, if you need more info about my desktop, just ask

Kind regards,
Thijs

 

[Trotter]

You are already maxed out on the RAM your motherboard can handle, mate. It will only recognize up to 4GB, 4 x 1GB.

Acer provides very little info for knowing just what your computer will actually handle. I can find no CPU compatibility list, so I have no way of knowing if your board can handle anything better than the Q6600.

One possibility would be to replace your motherboard with another mATX board, but you would be left without an operating system as your current one is an OEM version of Vista. That would hive you a great excuse to go with Windows 7, of course.

I would recommend something along these lines...

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TH55B HD LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Newegg.com - XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(use your current hard drive as a file drive)

Newegg.com - Microsoft WINDOWS 7 Home Prem 32bit 30Pk
License and Media - OEM - 1 PC - 30 - PC - English - Operating Systems

 

[Muffin Man]

^ hm, i don't think he'll need a 30 pack of win7, and 32-bit at that .

i would suggest 1 copy of win7 64-bit.
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

 

[Thijs12b]

I already got Windows 7 Ultimate-64bit installed on it

Also I use a program called SIW to see some of my PC specs, which says my maximum RAM would be 8GB

Edit: Also would i need extra vans to cool the power supply if i upgrade it? And are you guys sure if all that stuff fits into my case ?

 

[Trotter]

ROFL!!! Thanks, Muff... this cold has me seeing funky stuff.

@ Thijs12b, interesting. Acer states it will only hold a max of 4GB across four DIMM slots. Go figure.

Since you already have Win7 64-bit, you are a step ahead of the game already. Does the program tell you what CPUs the board can handle? Acer has a BIOS update, but doesn't say what the update consists of so there's no telling if it allows bigger CPUs or not.

Basically, it comes down to how much you want to spend and how much you want to swap out. A new mobo would allow you to overclock and give you better stability than the Acer board, but it would involve a lot more work than just swapping some components out. Heck, you could go with an i7/1366 setup if you wanted to but that mATX case may not allow enough air circulation to keep it cool.

 

[Thijs12b]

Personally I wouldn't know what to look for , on checking out what it can handle max, but i saw BIOS in your post and the program has something called BIOS to, so i copied it into here maybe you can make something out of it. (I blacked out some numbers in my Serial Number since I don't know if it contains private/valuable info)

BIOS Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Serial Number: 92N1E7***R7***86*A**10
BIOS Version: R01-A0
BIOS Date: 07/21/2007
BIOS Size: 1024 KB
BIOS Starting Segment: F000h
DMI Version: 2.5
Characteristics:
- supports ISA
- supports PCI
- supports Plug-and-Play
- supports APM
- upgradeable (Flash) BIOS
- allows BIOS shadowing
- ESCD support is available
- supports booting from CD-ROM
- supports selectable boot
- BIOS ROM is socketed
- supports Enhanced Disk Drive specification
- supports INT 13 5.25-inch/1.2M floppy services
- supports INT 13 3.5-inch/720K floppy services
- supports INT 13 3.5-inch/2.88M floppy services
- supports INT 05 print-screen
- supports INT 09 and 8042 keyboard services
- supports INT 14 serial services
- supports INT 17 printer services
- supports INT 10 CGA/Mono video services
- supports ACPI
- supports legacy USB
- supports booting from LS-120
- supports booting from ATAPI ZIP drive
- BIOS Boot Specification supported
- Enable Targeted Content Distribution

Also the CPU socked (whatever that maybe) is: Socket 775 LGA

Also i noticed a Warning, not big just a small note though i guess!

It says;

"Accuracy of DMI data cannot be guaranteed"

Edit: I have a fair amount to spend but ofcourse it should be reasonable, paying more for a GPU then 400€(so around 450$ i guess) would be to much imo.

 

[Muffin Man]

well one thing you'll definitely have to upgrade is the psu, since a 250w just will not cut it for any real good gfx cards.

depending on the gfx card you get, id say a 500-600w would probably be good, from a good brand like seasonic, antec, corsair, silverstone, ocz, pc power & cooling, xfx, and some others which you can read up on here http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/read-first-updated-power-supply-guide-221778/#post1746801

as far as gfx cards, i suggest a 5770 for $150. if you're comfortable spending more than that, i suggest a 4890 for around $200 and above that, a 5850 for around $300.

 

[Trotter]

According to Intel, the G33 can handle up to a C2Q Q9650.
Intel® G33 Express Chipset

I can find nothing, however, that lists what the BIOS will recognize.

If nothing else, buy 4 x 2GB of DDR2 RAM from someplace that will let you return it if the mobo won't run it, as well as a better PSU, and a better GFX card. The PSU and GFX card can be used regardless of whether the RAM works or not as 4GB is a decent amount to begin with. The 5850 Muffin mentioned would be a great card, but would be overkill if you don't play intense/new games. The 5770 would be as low as I would go on a graphics card, though. The 4890, or even 4870, are good cards, but cannot give you DirectX 11.

 

[Thijs12b]

OK I think I'll atleast buy the Corsair power supply you suggested,

But I'm still not sure about what gfx to take, since I only got PCI Express 1.0 what would be the best card on this slot, or will the cards you mentioned not be limited by the older slot?

I know atleast that my gfx is weaker then my cpu, so will a cpu upgrade be needed?

 

[Trotter]

You have a PCI Express x18 1.0 slot. The 1.0 is completely compatible with 2.0 and 2.1 cards, so you can use any PCI-E graphics card you want or can afford.