Looking to Upgrade

[Xeno_morph]

Hello I am looking to upgrade my Dell 540 studio desktop to run high end type games like BF3, cyrsis, etc on High res and decent FPS

I have little to no knowledge on upgrading computers.

Spec:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 11/9/2011, 18:34:41
Machine name: NICOLE-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Studio 540
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/11/09 16:20:55 Ver: 0.0.1
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7400 @ 2.80GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3328MB RAM
Page File: 1696MB used, 4956MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11

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Display Devices
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Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x954F)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_954F&SUBSYS_904E1028&REV_00
Display Memory: 1913 MB
Dedicated Memory: 505 MB
Shared Memory: 1407 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor Name: Dell S2209W(Analog)
Monitor Model: DELL S2209W
Monitor Id: DELA042
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: HD15
Driver Name: aticfx32.dll,aticfx32.dll,atiumdag.dll,atidxx32.dll,atiumdva.cap
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1094 (English)
Driver Version: 8.892.0.0
DDI Version: 10.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/14/2011 21:40:45, 732672 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-D60F-11CF-DE77-44B0BEC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x954F
SubSys ID: 0x904E1028
Revision ID: 0x0000
Driver Strong Name: oem75.inf:ATI.Mfg.NTx86.6.1:ati2mtag_R7X:8.892.0.0ci\ven_1002&dev_954f
Rank Of Driver: 00E62001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C
D3D9 Overlay: Not Supported
DXVA-HD: Not Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

I am currently looking at a Nvidia GeForce 560 ti for the graphics card but what else might I need and how much on average will it cost.

Thanks

Xeno_morph

 

[jasonalwaysready]

hi xeno, welcome to tech forums.

based on the spec sheet, that computer only has a 350 watt power supply. that and the size of the case will make it hard, as you will have to upgrade to get a nice graphics card.

what is your upgrade budget?

 

[Peter.Cort]

You're not in bad shape, as jason said you'll need to upgrade the psu which is 75-100 for something that will last a while and can be put into a new pc should you decide to upgrade further down the road. Your CPU is good, it shouldn't have a problem with BF3 on nice settings.

Also as jason said you'll need to make sure you've got room to fit a 560ti in there. Measure from the PCI-e slot to where the hard drives go in the front of the case and then subtract an inch or two cause you might need to be able to get power connectors in there depending on how the card is setup.

Other than that you're probably looking at around a $320-$350 upgrade, more if you get a new case to house your nice new components. But with just a PSU and GPU upgrade you should be good for BF3 and other games.

 

[keshialee]

So this could be completely wrong as I am just starting to learn all this stuff, so feel free to correct me But the 560ti would only 'just' scrape the barrel for games such as B3?

 

[jasonalwaysready]

maybe the 550 ti, but the 560 ti will play it just fine. it will do crysis 2 at 1080p for 51 fps on extreme settings.

 

[Peter.Cort]

yeah the 560ti will do fine at 1080p resolution on maxed settings, 30-40fps, obviously less when you get into graphically intense situations.

 

[Xeno_morph]

Thanks everyone my budget is $500 hoping that will be enough

 

[jasonalwaysready]

you shouldnt have to spend that much unless you wanted to. thats also getting quite close to 'buy a new computer' budget range.

if possible, could you open up the case and measure how big the power supply is? or see if you can read a brand model number off from it? i can't really tell if it is a standard size, though it looks like it might be.

if it is, i think that
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
and
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
is highly rated from peter.corts recommendation.
~$320
again, youll want to measure from the back of the case to the front for the clear area inside to make sure that it can fit a 9" card.
that case isnt really meant for punishment with the heat that youll be putting out from these cards and maxing the cpu.

you may want to consider getting 2-400 more for a new computer that will max the game.

 

[Peter.Cort]

Doing a new build wouldn't be a bad idea as you should upgrade to win7 64bit anyway to fully utilize the ram, and to get away from archaic forms of computing The power supply is not an ATX PSU, I think it's one of those silly half size ones, as it only pumps out 350w and is a relatively low powered machine they can get away with a wonky psu.

Even with like 600-700 you can get a nice setup since you don't need a hard drive, optical drive, ram or monitor.

If you had the extra money I would definitely get behind the idea of a new build, otherwise the PSU and GPU that jason linked are good picks and will give you a huge boost in gaming.