Possible Upgrade?

B

bubbleMONKEY

Rookie
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
72
I'm not so great with computers so that's why I'm posting here. I'm saving up for a new build and I wanted to know what kind of upgrades I could do with my current desktop.

Here are my specs:

Operatin System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
System Manufacturer: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD
System Model: MS-7125
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS

I'm getting 10 fps while playing tf2 and portal, and that's with low settings.
 
what psu, expansion slots on your mother board (PCI, AGP, PCI-E) do you have?
 
Just from the list you provided it would seem a video card upgrade would be best by the expert level you are. Although is may require a power source upgrade as well. Since you said you are not that great with computers I recommend not upgrading your MB/CPU on your own.

Personally, I would start saving for a brand new machine and not upgrade anything due to how many things you really need to upgrade.
 
REpear said:
Just from the list you provided it would seem a video card upgrade would be best by the expert level you are. Although is may require a power source upgrade as well. Since you said you are not that great with computers I recommend not upgrading your MB/CPU on your own.

Personally, I would start saving for a brand new machine and not upgrade anything due to how many things you really need to upgrade.
Click to expand...


i agree with the above poster, especially the last part.

if you go with ibuypower.com you can get a very decent machine for under 600$
 
Last edited:
I recommend building it yourself and putting all the parts in yourself,
Not using ibuypower.
 
[Prototype]Saeten said:
New video card and Processor.
Click to expand...

And he would need a new motherboard to upgrade his processor. Which means he would also need a new OS if his current copy is an OEM version. And he would probably need a new PSU as well to upgrade his graphics card.

Your best bet is saving up and getting a whole new rig.
 
FreakingHell said:
And he would need a new motherboard to upgrade his processor. Which means he would also need a new OS if his current copy is an OEM version. And he would probably need a new PSU as well to upgrade his graphics card.

Your best bet is saving up and getting a whole new rig.
Click to expand...

+1
 
LOL Thats what I had to do.

I wanted a new processor, but for that I needed a new motherboard. Which I then needed a new power supply for the motherboard. I had different pin ram so I needed new ram as well. Haha
 
You don't say what PSU you have or what slot you have for that 6800 GS but after a quick google, you have PCI-E?

Depending on your PSU, you could probably upgrade to a newer card and just reuse it with the new one that you're planning on building. Hell, if you didn't mind ripping out the old PSU then you can buy a PSU+Video Card and just use them on the old pc until you get the new one built.

Depending on your price limit and Fanboyisms (if any), you can pick up a decent card for rather cheap. You could also wait until the new cards come out next month/October and reap the benefits of any price drops.

The ATI Radeon 4870 is about $130-$200 right now (depending on RAM) and it'd be quite an upgrade for you.

A good, cheap power supply is probably available too like the Antec Truepower TP-750, the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W, the Corsair 750W, the Thermaltake ToughPower 750W. About the only thing that none of those PSUs can do is Quad/Tri SLI/Crossfire but that's all a gimmick anyways.

All that being said, the processor is still going to be a bottleneck. I have an "old" system with a 3500+ and I'm surprised that it was once so awesome. The thing seems slower than hell just running Ubuntu 9.04.
 
My PSU is..
Model EB-550(550W Max) Power Magic PSU.

I'm already saving up for a new computer, I just wanted to see if I could do a small upgrade somewhere for the time being because the only game I can play is css and that's with a fps boost cfg. Thanks for all the feedback. I'll start looking at some video cards.
 
I'd wait until you have enough until you can get a full upgrade.
Because you will probably want to get an AM3 Mobo + AM3 processor so you can keep those for a while and keep upgrading from there. The first upgrade will cost a bit but from then on if you need a new processor/ext. you wont have to buy a new mobo/psu/ram
 
I get the same 10 fps on TF2 also, I can't upgrade my current desktop which really makes me mad.
 
reflex99 said:
he/she claims they arent good with computors
Click to expand...

It really isn't hard at all to learn. I had never built or upgraded anything in a computer before I built my own. After just watching some videos and reading some guides (as well as the included manuals) I built my computer just fine and its been running perfectly since.
 
For a quick, cheap upgrade, definitely go for a graphics card. I would suggest ATI if you want something cheap but effective, for example http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824 (wish they had that price when I bought my 4830 :P)

That'll run darn near anything with good graphics settings, provided your other stuff isn't causing bottlenecks (which it will be until you replace the rest. You should still see an improvement.)

Not the very best, but at least it qualifies as "modern" hardware, and it's better than what I run TF2 at max settings with (although your results will vary depending on resolution, I'm at 1152x864). Quite likely the best GPU deal right now (a friend of mine just bought one, in fact).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top