Help! Major upgrade needed on Inspiron 531 to Minor Gaming PC

[FairPlay]

Yeah, I'll probably just get an OEM licence for it's value then... So yeah thanks for that

Now going backkk haha... Not knowing alot about coolers, is this Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro R2 any good? (for the money etc. suggestions welcome)

Update

I went ahead and just bought the Motherboard, for some reason or another, but well yeah I have the motherboard now!

Update
New thought, hence the new post, is it worth buying a new hard drive at the same time as the mobo + OS, so that the old operating system is technically not lost (if I choose to use the old mobo + hard drive for some reason or another I could)..?
And if so, could anyone suggest any good 500gb - 1tb hard drives to purchase?

 

[Yami]

It's up to you whether you buy a new drive, depending on whether you'll need the capacity (how much do you currently use of the 360GB?) and the performance of the old drive.

Suggestion:
Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB internal Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM – OEM: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

I've used one as a storage drive for the past year, had no problems with it.

 

[FairPlay]

Storage-wise, I use all of it. Currently I only have ~10gb left as a heavy gamer and obviously I cannot get any more, especially considering that Shogun II was near 20gb in disc space... That was the actual one I was looking at funnily enough, I'm assuming that the price difference between 500gb and 1tb is worth it?

My main concern is that I'd also lose the OS on the old motherboard and hard drive, which I shall possibly come back to... ( Without purchasing a new hard drive )

 

[patonb]

The OS isn't tied to he hard drive so as long as you have your backup disks made, anytime you want to go back to the dell, you can just toss back on the OS from your backup disks and dell cd key, onto any hard drive.

I know not much about cooers for SB Intels.

So, i'm abit brain tossled with all 4 pages... What is your though of setup?

 

[FairPlay]

Ah man, I should have known that thanks for the heads up. Weighing up my options I do really need a larger Hard Drive anyway but I can be safe in the knowledge of having the old OS backup discs for my hard drive if I choose to use it. One note though, is this still the case with an OEM licence of the OS? I know it's a probably a stupid question, but I though I'd ask. And ah that's cool thanks alot anyway (about the cooler).

I have realised that this thread has developed further than I was aware so, if you're asking for what I'm trying to have my setup as with the new components it's:
New
- Motherboard: ASUS 1155 P8P67 R3 Motherboard [~£70 got a great deal through a friend]
- Processor: Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K Unlocked i5 Quad-Core Processor (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) [£161.13]
- RAM: G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz (2 x 4GB) [£46.50]
- Hard Drive: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB internal Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM [£44.30]
- CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 CPU Cooler [£14.83]
Including old
- Graphics Card: Nvidia 460GTX SC 1GB
- PSU: 550W Power Supply
- Other: Unknown sound card, optical drive and case.
for £338 [excl. OS]

I think what I'm asking now is, is the money for the system worth it, and is there any criticisms that anyone can find in my proposed setup? Would a small amount of money on a slightly better component go a long way?

 

[patonb]

You don't need a sound card UNLESS you are a real audiophile or require inputs. Todays 7.1 onboards are fantastic.

Any known brand of dvd will work.. even your old dells will.

Cases are really persoal. I aqlways suggest you pick a few based on your budget and prettiness, and we can tell you the pros and cons.
But as a guideline, look for airflow... a front intake and rear/top exhaust is best. A side mesh will be useful if you find more gpu coolings needed.

 

[FairPlay]

Ah thanks for your input.

For sound card, case and optical drive I'm not spending on quite yet, but thanks for that needed info on them 'cause I'll need it later definitely.

 

[FairPlay]

Okai well there we go all over ^^

I've constructed my machine now, thanks to all who have helped me out!

 

[patonb]

Is it up and running?

 

[Slaymate]

Don't forget to post some pictures