Should i buy a graphic card or a new pc?

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

I am stuck between choosing whether to buy a graphic card or a new rig because i can only buy one thing. I want to buy HD 7750 or HD 6570 if my budget is cut short but i currently have Dell OptiPlex 745 SFF. So what i want to do is that take my motherboard from my rig and put in tower and buy the graphic card. And if my motherboard is not interchangeable i could buy a casing and a motherboard and put my RAM and processor (Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz) and HDD in it. Because right now i have Nvidia Geforce 210 1Gb which is very bad. And i want to play Batman: Arkham Origins and Call of Duty Ghosts. And i want them to play at least on minimum settings. Or i could buy a Core 2 Quad or i3. And there's one thing that's bugging me for quite a while is that is Core 2 Quad is better or i3. Because i asked on a forum (not that i respect you guys to go somewhere else but to clear my mind) and they said i3 is better. I would be greatly thankful to you guys if you can give me detailed answer and the one within my budget that is 100$ (computer and processors and graphic cards are cheap in my country but whatsoever this is my budget and please give me a good and simple advice that i can understand) Thanks in advance.

Linwood Anderson · Nov 5, 2013

What country are you from? $100 won't take you very far unfortunately. You have a really old case with really old technology - but I am sure you know that. If I was in your case I would wait until I can put more cash aside and attempt to do an entire rebuild from scratch. You can get an entry level PC built for under $500 for sure.

All the Core 2 duo stuff is aged. I finally replaced my Q9550 months ago - best thing I ever did. If you absolutely want to get going now (I don't recommend this) buy a new graphics card. Your right in saying your 210 sucks - but so does everything else. You will end up bottle necking your new card. If you put lip stick on a pig - its still a pig.

JamesSneed · Nov 5, 2013

Your Core 2 Duo E4500 which is almost exactly a 6 year old CPU and is going to hold you back a lot. The lowest CPU in the Batman CPU chart, AMD Athlon II X2 265, is about on par with your CPU(you can verify using the chart from Anandtech at the end of my post). As you can see for this game your CPU is holding you back tremendously.

http://www.techspot.com/review/733-batman-arkham-origins-benchmarks/page5.html

The best chart for CPU comparison in my opinion is Anandtech. Yes the I3 is better than the old Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 if that's what your referring to.
http://anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

Time to start saving you will need a newer PC.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

You can take my country for example 1$ is equal in local money to 100. So what do you guys suggest buy i3 rig and then the graphic card. But i cant wait that much. Can i play batman and cod:ghosts on C2Q and my current Nvidia?? Can't guys suggest something which i can game on for atleast 2 to 3 years. Thanks for the replies. Or can i play those games on i3 with my current gpu??

JamesSneed · Nov 5, 2013

The Nvidia Geforce 210 with a good CPU would likely get 15-20 FPS on the lowest of settings for either of those games. Your CPU will restrict that some so I would expect you to be in the 10-15 FPS range. The short answer is no you will not be playing newer games on your current PC.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

At this point i can play games on low setting leave medium out. I could buy AMD but they don't have much resale in my country. Can Core 2 Quad work with my gpu to play those games at 30 fps i mean low settings will work with me. I will later buy i5 from my father. I mean minimum requirements for these games are Core 2 Quad right. I getting a rig of Core 2 Quad Q6600 Asus P5G41T-M LX or something else with 4Gb ddr3 RAM. I think it has pci-e slot 1.0. Can i put HD 7750 in it or play those game on my current gpu.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

Let me tell you the full specs of rig i am going to get. Then tell me if i could run the games for the time being or not.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

An HD 7750 trades blows with an old 4870/4890. 7750 would be OK with your CPU. Your CPU might bottleneck some, but not horribly so. Many ran Core 2's with 48xx cards back in the day.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/513?vs=535

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

So if can run HD 7750. I mainly wanted to ask is that can i change OptiPlex 745 SFF motherboard and put it in another case. It has screws not clips so i think it will be interchangeable but don't know for sure. Thanks for all the replies.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

Not unless you can find a BTX compatible case.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

u_gonna_squeal_b4_we_cookya :

goku1234567890 :

If it is bolted on then, yes, you can install the motherboard into a standard ATX case. Based on the spec sheet of the 745 FFF, it is most likely a mini-ATX form factor so you would need at least a mini-ATX or larger case. Also, looking at the same spec sheet, the 745 FFF's motherboard only has PCI-e 1.0 x16 which will be a big bottleneck on top of the CPU and DDR2 RAM. If this PC is like most Dell desktops, you will have to cut the wiring of the front panel components such as the power and reset switch, HDD lights, USB ports, card reader ports and audio ports to make them work on a standard case since Dell uses proprietary wire connectors to discourage people from putting their hardware in other PCs or swapping cases. You might also have issues with the CPU cooler if both the heat sink and fan aren't bolted directly to the motherboard. Everything else should fit though, including the PSU and drives. If the drives have some are clip in and not bolted in, then simply remove the clips and they should bolt into a standard case's drive bays.

Dell used BTX motherboards on those.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

Well you are right about pci-e version and they only support C2D so i am going to buy C2Q save some more money and buy the graphic card. How this rig:
Core 2 Quad Q6600
4 GB DDR3 Ram
420 W PSU
160 GB HDD
Nvidia Geforce 210 1GB (hehe mine for the time being)
and if i find any other rig can i ask you guys on this post or do i need to start another post or private message you guys separately because i am still in the phase of finding a decent C2Q.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

That is so true. You wanna hear the truth i bought this rig three weeks ago and these are the reason i want to change it and i am low on budget. This shop owner fooled me really. But how about the C2Q above is it ok???

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

So what should i do?? My gut feeling is saying to buy graphic card but how will i put it in my current rig and to put it in other i still have to buy casing and compatible motherboard to that case and then put my processor in it and this atleast suck quarter or one third from my budget right?

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

u_gonna_squeal_b4_we_cookya :

The problem is my Dell is Optiplex 745 "Short Form Factor" and i can't change its PSU and can't put any graphic card except low profile. For this to do i need to buy a casing a motherboard i can put my processor in motherboard and RAM HDD and then a GPU and that will suck up like 50$ from 100$. And even if I buy a low profile GPU my this rig psu is only 235W 17A. Now you understand my problem.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

Don't worry about 100$ i can easily buy HD 7750 in it i checked online in my country's shop it is available.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

They do make low profile HD 7750's. My concern, being a SFF rig, is the PSU. It probably isn't enough to handle one. Your best bet is start saving for a new system. Sticking more money into what you have is a waste of time and money.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

logainofhades :

That is exactly what i was trying to say in the first place.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

OK i try to expand up see what can i do. Can you guys least tell me a rig along with HD 7750 for 150$.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

goku1234567890 :

I would go the shop owner and demand your money back. He sold you something under false pretenses.

goku1234567890 · Nov 5, 2013

That is i am gonna do, but can you suggest a rig under 150$ along with HD 7750 or how's HD 6570.

logainofhades · Nov 5, 2013

At that price, it is not possible.

Should i buy a graphic card or a new pc?

Distinguished

Honorable

Judicious

Distinguished

Judicious

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Share this page