Upgrade Advice

mgbl3

Solid State Member
Messages
8
So I've got an old Dell Dimension 8300 desktop I'm considering upgrading. However, I'm unsure of whether or not it's worth it at this point. It's a P4 3.2Ghz, 1.5 GB ram and a Radeon 9800XT 256mb with Windows XP. I was hoping I could buy a new video card and maybe add a 1g ram and I'd be set, but after researching it appears much has changed since that last time I bought a computer (no surprise). First off, is the processor too old to bother with? I figure if it needs to be replaced than I mine as well just start saving for a whole new box. Second, will adding ram help? I know eventually it hits a point where more ram is useless as your processor can't shell out that much, so should I bother? And lastly, it turns out the Radeon is an AGP card, which appears to be outdated technology. I did find this, however, which looks like would be a nice upgrade:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102730

But again, I dont wanna shell out the money if the rest of the computer can't keep up. I'm looking to get back into PC gaming and also make sure I'm set for SC2 and Diablo3.

Thanks for the advice!
 
Depending on your motherboard you might be able to upgrade processors. Upgrading RAM won't do you much. I doubt you use your 1.5 fully in XP. The HD3850 would be a good upgrade. I'm not sure but your CPU might bottleneck it. If I were you, I would sell that machine, which isn't half bad for your average user. Most people only look at RAM and HDD. So if those are big they'll think it's good lol. I wouldn't rip some one off though. I think for that machine you might be able to get $300 U.S. (without selling monitor). Then if you add, say, another $300, you can build a pretty decent rig. But in all honesty, if building a whole new thing is not an option, I would first check to see if your motherboard supports a C2D. If it does I would get that HD3850 and a C2D. If it doesn't, then go with the HD3850 alone.
 
TBH mate a p4 and 1.5|Gb ram is about as far as i would take that box.

id def say save for a new build.
 
yeah, a new build is definitely recommended.
Its just not worth it to spent that cash on an AGP card, its best to save up and start a new build. Im not sure, but it might kinda bottle neck the card, so the card wont go at full performance if running a game.
 
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