Upgrading PC

[RJak71]

Hi all,

New to this forum and some of the details i post are very sketchy as it was a few years since my last upgrade and i have lost manuals etc for it to post exact details.

I have about £400 to spend which i am going to use to upgrade my current pc.

My current spec is

AMD64 3000 (pre-socked 939)

Not sure of motherboard as i've lost the manaual. I have tried looking on boot up but does not show the make.

1024mb ddr ram

Geforce FX5700 (256ddr) Graphics Card

DVD/CD Writer x8
DVD Player

Windows XP Professional

I'm not sure whether to stick with the processor and motherboard i currently got or go for a new graphics card.

I think my motherboard only supports upto AM64 3600. I think it only supports socket 754 (can't remember exactly as it was over 2 years ago i upgraded)

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[turtile]

For gaming, get a new graphics card and more powerful PSU if needed.

 

[baronvongogo]

Gigabyte GA-M55S-S3, nForce 550, ATX, Socket-AM2
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=324367

AMD AM2 X2 4200+
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=320790&s=sc

Corsair value select DDR2 pc4200 1 gig
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=301115&s=sc

MSI GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2, PCI-Express
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=319666&s=sc

Antec Performance TX1088AMG Metallic Grey Tower Case - 480w Truepower PSU
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Antec_Cases.html

total: £409 not including postage

think that's an alright build that will play some nice games and be dual core and upgradable in future. I chose a case and PSU combo it pushes you over £400 but not by much, you could keep your old case and try to find a 400W PSU for cheap.

OR you could just splash all your money on a top of the line graphics card, but i think that build above would be my preferred choice up to you.

 

[RJak71]

That's great has given a few more ideas i like the look of that spec too. I could probably stretch to about £450 so that would probably cover p & p costs.

Just out of curiosity if i stuck to my original spec for now but went for a Gfx card like the one listed below, would it be a waste to buy this card for my spec PC as present?

Gainward BLISS GeForce 7800GS+ Silent 512MB DDR3 DVI, TV OUT, AGP (450MHz Core Clock) (1250MHz Memory Clock)

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage?GWD-78GSS

 

[baronvongogo]

your pc would hold it back from its full potential but you would still see a big improvement over a fx5200.

and the 7600 range from nvidia is pretty decent too it may not be a 7900 but it can handle it self.

If you can stretch to £450 you could upgrade the 7600GS in my build to 7600GT. All depends on shipping costs etc though. Still think getting a AM2 mobo with dual core will help a lot more especially as some games now use dual core like company of heroes and FEAR. Also just in general pc use as well dual core will help.

EDIT: if you stretch to £450 then you can get a 7600GS with GDDR3 ram instead of the one I picked which only has DDR2.

 

[RJak71]

Thanks again for your help, I like the look of the specs you gave and i think I'll follow your advice.

As you said i can always add & upgrade so this would be a great starting point.

I wonder if i could sell my old motherboard processor & ram on Ebay

Recently i have been beta testing Vanguard & NWN2 and my machine has struggled to keep up with these games even on the lowest settings

 

[baronvongogo]

well I would recommend trying to get the 7600GS or GT with GDDR3 the benchmarks show it is significatly better than the DDR2 version.

Apart from that it looks good, better pc than mine and i play BF2 on high-medium and company of heroes on medium and played oblivion with medium settings without any trouble using a geforce 6800GT.

So you should have no trouble playing any games.

 

[RJak71]

I'm also looking to update my monitor in the near future.

I've current got a 19" bulky old style monitor.

Can anyone recommend a decent 1280 x 1024 flat screen monitor for around £100 - £200 pref min of 19" if possible

Thanks

 

[RJak71]

I was browsing for monitors and was wondering what people though of this monitor.

Would this be a good cheap replacement?

Acer1916WS LCD Monitor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...727048-5085410?ie=UTF8&n=560798&s=electronics