Need help with upgrading my PC to play games better

QuickDraw1 · Jan 8, 2014

Hi guys, I have a PC which is OK to play games at minimum graphics but I was wondering what I could change to improve my graphics.

My processor is an Intel core 2 quad Q8200 2.33ghz
Graphic card is Nvidia 9400 GT
I have 6gb of RAM DDR2 400mhz

I want to play games in slightly better graphics, and not spend ridiculously large amounts of money for gaming PC's. What do you think I should upgrade and what to if you were in my position?

smorizio · Jan 8, 2014

with an old pc you may have an under size power supply. picking up a good 600w unit and a 7790/7850 gpu or the 660 or 650 ti boots that under 200.00 wont kill the bank and you can move the card to the next rig if you want. just make sure you have a pci express video slot and not a agp or just a plain pci slot. the only other issue is with the older pci mb is the chipset on your mb. a lot of older intel mb used nvidia north/southbrige chipsets. a lot of those have issues not posting with newer cards.

firo40 · Jan 8, 2014

New graphics card and psu

13thmonkey · Jan 8, 2014

PSU may be ok, but you need to tell us what it is, a new GPU will give you something reasonable.

What's your budget?

QuickDraw1 · Jan 8, 2014

Around £100 to £200? I actually had my eyes on Sapphire radeon 7770 HD.

Should I upgrade my RAM in any way? Will it improve my performance at the least? What about my processor? How good is it?

QuickDraw1 · Jan 8, 2014

I also opened up my PC and found out the "DC Output power" is 300W. I don't think this is enough for the new graphic card I will buy?

Also, if I buy a new power supply unit (or whatever it is called), is it simple enough to the point of watching a tutorial on youtube to fix it in? If I buy a power supply which is going to provide more energy, using common sense it will be hotter right? So will I have to consider equipment like cooler to make it safer?

Sorry about all these questions. I am not an expert in this area.

13thmonkey · Jan 8, 2014

changing the psu is fine. what might cause a heat problem is the new GPU, but it is likely that a 7770 will be similar to your existing card in terms of heat production.

QuickDraw1 · Jan 8, 2014

Ok, thank you for the reply.

If I were to buy a new power supply, would I have to buy a new motherboard (which then means I have to buy a new processor) too?

13thmonkey · Jan 8, 2014

nope, psu should work fine on an older (not really that old) mobo. go for a good quality 500-600W unit and it'll last you for a long time.

smorizio · Jan 8, 2014

with heat your power supply wont heat up when you put a larger power supply in. they only heat up a lot if you load it near there max. most newer power supply have thermal fans..they only come on when needed. with a power supply change pick up some painter tape or tape that comes off easy and a small felt pen. on both old and new unit mark the cables. there will be a 24 pin one that the main cable and one 4/8 pin power near the cpu. the rest will be for hard drives and cd-rom drives. the trick is to name or mark the cables as you pull them out. the power supply itself will be held in with 2-4 screws. when you pull the screws out hold onto the power supply so it wont hit the motherboard. the only other trick is look at the size marked on the old power supply or look at the vendor info of the size. then try an buy one that matches. lok at the power supply review of unit that your looking at. some units are fire hazards and pc killers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqwJk4yCbw4

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Need help with upgrading my PC to play games better

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