Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > What to upgrade?
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Han120i   11-12-2009 at 11:06:22 PM

Hi all,

I just bought this system from ebay:

Case - Delux ATX Infinity Case "Black and Red"
PSU - Delux ATX Infinity 460 Watt Power Supply
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L
CPU - Intel E2140 1.6 GHz Dual Core
GPU - nVidia 9500GT 512MB DDR3 PCIE2
RAM - Corsair DDR2 2GB (2x1GB) 1066Mhz
HDD - Seagate SATAII NCQ 320GB 7200RPM 16Mb Cache
DVDRW - LG GH22NP20 IDE 22X+- SuperMulti DVD Rewriter Black

I have about AUD $150 I want to spend in the hope of making it a low-end games machine. What do people recommend I upgrade first? I'm thinking probably CPU?

Here's an ok Australian store:

www.gamedude.com.au

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dndhatcher   11-13-2009 at 12:21:31 AM

Upgrading to a faster core duo (near 3GHz) would be good.

Monitor resolution dictates what graphics card power you need. That card may handle low-med settings at a low resolution like 1024x768. To get much better in terms of graphics you will probably have to replace the power supply, unless that one comes with PCIE power cables.

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capt_taco   11-13-2009 at 01:01:30 AM

I definitely vote for the CPU. That's by far the most outdated component. But you're lucky in that it looks like your board might be able to handle a quad core, which would be nice. If you can get one, that's what I'd recommend.

Don't worry, you can get a much better graphics card without a new PSU. 460W is enough to handle the HD 5770 with no problem. It will depend on your connectors -- but even if you don't have a 6-pin PCIE cable, they make adapters that can convert two molex plugs into a 6-pin. So even with a couple of molex plugs free, you should be fine.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by capt_taco on 11-13-2009 at 01:02:56 AM
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dndhatcher   11-13-2009 at 01:10:50 AM

capt_taco wrote :

Don't worry, you can get a much better graphics card without a new PSU. 460W is enough to handle the HD 5770 with no problem. It will depend on your connectors -- but even if you don't have a 6-pin PCIE cable, they make adapters that can convert two molex plugs into a 6-pin. So even with a couple of molex plugs free, you should be fine.

It depends on how old the PSU is and how much 12V amperage it has. In addition to PSU getting less efficient as they age, older PSUs put alot more amperage on the 3.3 and 5V rails, which wont help power a 5770. I dont recommend using a power supply without a PCIE power cable with a new graphics card. Bad power can damage other parts and I dont want to recommend someone take that risk.

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Han120i   11-13-2009 at 01:35:13 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys. Pretty sure the case and PSU are new, so fingers crossed it has a PCIE cable (haven't picked it up yet). Googling the brand hasn't yielded much.

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