Advice regarding budget pc gaming

[schnellsie]

Hi, I have a little dilemna, I have a Dell vostro 200 slim and I would like to play some nice updated pc games, I am planning to upgrade it to save some money by buying a low profile graphics card and changing the processor but the problem is I am trying to decide if I should go ahead and do that because looking in the future I might need to upgrade it again to keep up and I might have a problem in finding a low profile graphics card and a psu that will fit the slim case, so should I upgrade it and save some money or should I break the bank and just buy a separate gaming pc instead? Remember I'm looking forward the next 2 - 3 years before upgrading again. Thanks for future replies.

 

[welshmousepk]

you wont get far with that rig.

id say go new. you can build a well performing gaming pc pretty cheap nowadays.

and if you can slavage some parts from the old rig (disk drive, HDD, ram etc) you can save a fair bit.

 

[schnellsie]

thanks for replying, that is a good idea, the question is can I also transfer the mobo "temporarily" which is a foxconn g33m02 w/ the HDD etc to the new case that I am buying so that the only parts that I would need would be a good graphics card, PSU and more ram? And then buy a better mobo afterwards when funds well again?

 

[das_stig]

+1 on a new build, for really good performing cheapo system, get i3 dual-core.

Your probably could transfer guts to new case, only issue maybe with psu and internal case cabling as they may not motherboard headers may not match up.

 

[welshmousepk]

tbh, i wouldnt expect a dell mobo to be useable. dells pre made systems (the older ones at least) are usually full of proprietary connections that you can use.

if you can bear it, just keep using it for now while you save some cash.

or do what i did.

look for a cheapo AM2+ dualcore system on ebay. people sell them of really cheap. and AM2+mobos can take am3 processors. so when you have the cash you can slowly replace stuff piece by piece. new processor, then psu, then video card etc...

i did it this way, and it take sa little longer than building entirely from scratch. but you start eityh a nice useable system, and slowly work toward a real gaming rig.

 

[schnellsie]

thanks for the advice really, I think that's what I'll do save and buy when the time is right. now my mind is set.

 

[Captainhero]

If you want shiny games on a budget get a cheap cpu like an intel e4400, overclock the hell out of it and spend more on a good graphics card. And I would stay away from dell for gaming, my mate bought a cheapo system and when I went to chuck a gfx card in there they hadnt included a pcie slot or agp or any gfx card slot, cheap gits!

 

[welshmousepk]

stay away from dell.

probably the best piece of advice you can give to someone looking to buy a pc.

 

[Guest]

lol welsh,

OP, ya most of us agree we can do better by DIY comps. If you go the AM2 route, I would suggest the 790 chipset. You can usually find core systems in this variety pretty cheap and easy to learn your way into building heavier rigs. Pinch those pennies and go with the ATI HD 4-5k graphics if you can find it cheaply.

 

[bhagat666]

buy a new 1

 

[b1ackrabb1t]

just upgrade thats all i can say, companies like dell, acer, etc like to rip you off and drag you down