Help me upgrade

[Bryster]

i want to upgrade my processor, graphics, and ram. i just want to see what i need because this whole upgrading thing is confusing me. if i get a graphics card, then i'll need a new psu, if i get a new processor then i have to find out the socket and all that crap. the only thing i know how to do is install.

here is my current model "Gateway GT5692"

thanks

 

[PewPewBangBang]

i want to upgrade my processor, graphics, and ram. i just want to see what i need because this whole upgrading thing is confusing me. if i get a graphics card, then i'll need a new psu, if i get a new processor then i have to find out the socket and all that crap. the only thing i know how to do is install.

here is my current model "Gateway GT5692"

thanks

Give us a budget. It is difficult only because you have an OEM computer that is not custom built which means they usually come with crap components and crap PSU's. You would probably need a complete upgrade except for hard drives.

 

[Bryster]

Give us a budget. It is difficult only because you have an OEM computer that is not custom built which means they usually come with crap components and crap PSU's. You would probably need a complete upgrade except for hard drives.

i want cheap but good. anything you can find would be appreciated

 

[shadows5631]

Holy cow.

I bought the same exact computer from Circuit City 1-2 years ago and have been expanding ever since.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3680&cm_re=phenom_2_x2-_-19-103-680-_-Product

For starters, and I know for a fact that AM3 works perfectly fine on that motherboard.

 

[Bryster]

Holy cow.

I bought the same exact computer from Circuit City 1-2 years ago and have been expanding ever since.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3680&cm_re=phenom_2_x2-_-19-103-680-_-Product

For starters, and I know for a fact that AM3 works perfectly fine on that motherboard.

i know that im currently running at around 2.1 GHZ with triple core, but would getting a 3.1 Ghz be worth it if ti's dual core?

 

[shadows5631]

Short answer, yes by a long shot.

http://anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=26&p2=97

I upgraded from the same CPU to my current one, x3 2.8 (stock) and the difference is day and night even if I downclocked to 2.1ghz.

The Phenom II's have 6MB of L3 Cache compared to 2MB and is 45nm compared to 65nm Phenom I's. Plus, the first Phenom's were really buggy.

 

[Bryster]

actually all i need is just a new processor and a new graphx card


shadows, do you know if i can just plug the processor in to the MOBO and need nothing else upgraded?

 

[PewPewBangBang]

actually all i need is just a new processor and a new graphx card


shadows, do you know if i can just plug the processor in to the MOBO and need nothing else upgraded?

What socket is your motherboard??? CPU's rarely need anything else to upgrade if your on the same socket.

If you upgrade your graphics card (which i recommend) you will get more performance increase than upgrading a CPU, unless of course the CPU sucks. Upgrading the GPU usually means u need to upgrade the power supply, in your case atleast because the OEM PSU's suck.

Let me know what socket you have and i will help u choose out a good processor for the money. You most likely won't be able to overclock it either because of the Gateway BIOS.

Tell me your budget also for a graphics card. A graphics card upgrade makes the biggest difference in FPS.

 

[Bryster]

the socket is am2 and the price range for a graph card+psu is 100 bucks or less

 

[shadows5631]

It's AM2+ socket, but it supports AM3 up to 95 watts.

You can overclock with a Black Edition processor too (got mine to 3.4 stable on this board, so it's not bad)

And Bryster, you would probably need a new GPU, especially if you're running the onboard ATI 3200 graphics.

For me, I upgraded to an HIS 3870 (1-2 years ago) and it maxed everything out with the same CPU (Phenom 8450), but eventually crapped out so I bought an 8800gt and 500 Watt PSU and it lasted up until last October (all parts still work fine)

 

[PewPewBangBang]

the socket is am2 and the price range for a graph card+psu is 100 bucks or less

100 bucks or less for a GPU and PSU is extremely tight and not worth it..........CPU, if you want a quad core

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...675&cm_re=phenom_II_x4-_-19-103-675-_-Product

dual core

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...680&cm_re=phenom_II_x2-_-19-103-680-_-Product

Your gonna need a lot more than 100 if you want to get a decent PSU/GPU setup.

This is a pretty good PSU for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010

I guess if you want around $100 this will do
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102855

That graphics card isn't much though and i wouldn't expect it to last you.

 

[reflex99]

i suggest skipping the PSU, and just get the CPU and this graphics card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131334&cm_re=5670-_-14-131-334-_-Product

It will run fine on OEM psu due to low power consumption, and it will preform great in games.

 

[Bryster]

It's AM2+ socket, but it supports AM3 up to 95 watts.

You can overclock with a Black Edition processor too (got mine to 3.4 stable on this board, so it's not bad)

And Bryster, you would probably need a new GPU, especially if you're running the onboard ATI 3200 graphics.

For me, I upgraded to an HIS 3870 (1-2 years ago) and it maxed everything out with the same CPU (Phenom 8450), but eventually crapped out so I bought an 8800gt and 500 Watt PSU and it lasted up until last October (all parts still work fine)

are you sure i can overclock with my mobo? i probably wouldn't do it anyway. yeah i need a new gpu badly, but i wouldn't want anything to break on me, parents would get mad

i suggest skipping the PSU, and just get the CPU and this graphics card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131334&cm_re=5670-_-14-131-334-_-Product

It will run fine on OEM psu due to low power consumption, and it will preform great in games.

looks nice, anything for a lower price without a psu?

 

[Bryster]

It's AM2+ socket, but it supports AM3 up to 95 watts.

You can overclock with a Black Edition processor too (got mine to 3.4 stable on this board, so it's not bad)

And Bryster, you would probably need a new GPU, especially if you're running the onboard ATI 3200 graphics.

For me, I upgraded to an HIS 3870 (1-2 years ago) and it maxed everything out with the same CPU (Phenom 8450), but eventually crapped out so I bought an 8800gt and 500 Watt PSU and it lasted up until last October (all parts still work fine)

i thought it was an am2 socket:confused1:

EDIT:

lol, i guess i shoulda googled http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_AM2#Successors

 

[reflex99]

looks nice, anything for a lower price without a psu?

yes there are, but you would sacrafice alot of preformance.

My brother has this card, and he can play source games at Med-High settings at 40fps:
GT 240 ~$80

IF you want to go even cheaper, you could get a 4670:
Radeon HD 4670 1gb ~$70
That will play source games at acceptable framerates with some settings turned down.

If you want to go even cheaper (which i don't recommend) you could get either a:

Radeon HD 4650 ~$45
or
GeForce 9500 GT ~$50 (lame card)
Or
Radeon HD 5450 ~$43
any of these cards will give you OK framerates in source games but will struggle in games like cod.

In summary 5670>GT 240>4670>4650>9500GT=5450

I hope that helps

 

[shadows5631]

are you sure i can overclock with my mobo? i probably wouldn't do it anyway. yeah i need a new gpu badly, but i wouldn't want anything to break on me, parents would get mad


looks nice, anything for a lower price without a psu?

Yep you can overclock slightly with AMD Overdrive because the multiplier is unlocked on Black Editions.

And take a look at what reflex posted, can't get much for cheap but it would be plenty for Source games.

Here's another that's cheap and wouldn't require a new PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130521&cm_re=gt220-_-14-130-521-_-Product

 

[reflex99]

Yep you can overclock slightly with AMD Overdrive because the multiplier is unlocked on Black Editions.

And take a look at what reflex posted, can't get much for cheap but it would be plenty for Source games.

Here's another that's cheap and wouldn't require a new PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130521&cm_re=gt220-_-14-130-521-_-Product

the GT 220 is less powerful than the 4670, i would spend the extra $5 and get the 4670 (which has 1gb mem.)

Also the 4670 was designed as a low-end gaming card whereas the 220 is more for home theater use. Another plus is that source games are optimized for ATi cards, not that it makes that much of a difference.

http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/nvidia-gt220-benchmarks-released-radeon-4670-vs-geforce-gt220-66842/

 

[Bravo Company]

Remember, source games are more CPU intensive than GPU intensive. So he can skip out a little on the GPU for a better CPU and get good perf. in source games. Now for anything else....