Need some help upgrading

[salman arif]

Hi all!

Thank you for taking the time to read this! ^^

I plan to upgrade my current PC come February, and have $280 to spend. (Components where I live are cheaper than the average US pricing). I'd like some opinions on what to upgrade and specifically which hardware to install.

I mainly use my PC for gaming (MW2, Crysis, DiRT2, SHIFT, etc), and graphics editing (Photoshop CS4).

Current specs are as follows:

-> Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board D946GZIS
-> CPU: Intel Pentium D @ 3.00GHz each
-> RAM: 2 x 1GB Kingston DDR2 667MHz
-> Storage: 160GB Toshiba SATAII & 250GB SSD
-> Optical Drives: Sony DVD-Combo (no Blu-Ray support in my country so don't suggest that)
-> GPU: inno3d NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 512MB GDDR3
-> Monitor: Sony LCD @ 1024x768 (oh noes! )
-> The usual...

I was planning on buying 4GB RAM in exchange for my current 2GB and a Samsung 933BW 19" LCD (total of $200 here).

I really need help with a feasible upgrade plan!

Thanks!

 

[salman arif]

Whoops, forgot the OS! Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

 

[branflakes71]

More RAM will help you in games and with Photoshop. It's a good upgrade idea. Your processor is pretty old, but to get a new one, you'd need a new motherboard, and I don't think you have enough cash for that.

Is that video card PCIe? A newer one would help in gaming, too, especially at the new higher resolution.

 

[vanekl]

If it were me, I'd do something like this:

$120 Core i3-530
$160 ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$95 ddr3 4gb

And later I would look at upgrading the video card after I was able to save some scratch.

 

[salman arif]

Yes, the card is PCI Express x16... I get good FPS so that's not what worries me (about 90 in COD4, 50 in MW2, 45 in Burnout Paradise, 35 in SHIFT, etc). Thanks anyway!

More RAM will help you in games and with Photoshop. It's a good upgrade idea. Your processor is pretty old, but to get a new one, you'd need a new motherboard, and I don't think you have enough cash for that.

Is that video card PCIe? A newer one would help in gaming, too, especially at the new higher resolution.

 

[salman arif]

Good choices, but unfortunately way out of my budget limit. I'm looking to save up more before I upgrade my processor so that prices may drop lower and I can get an i5. Plus, I really want that LCD!

You could still advise me what would be the best memory for mobo! Thanks!

If it were me, I'd do something like this:

$120 Core i3-530
$160 ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$95 ddr3 4gb

And later I would look at upgrading the video card after I was able to save some scratch.

 

[salman arif]

How about Q8400 with ASUS P5Q SE2 mobo? Falls just within my bugdet here!

 

[obsidian86]

amd 620
gigbyte 770 board
4gb ddr3
should be a better then the q8400

 

[salman arif]

AMD 620 not available here!

Here's a list of what's available and the latest prices in PKR. You can use that to select the best options for upgrading. Just keep the total under 25,000!

amd 620
gigbyte 770 board
4gb ddr3
should be a better then the q8400

 

[obsidian86]

from where?

 

[salman arif]

Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot to add the link! Here it is: http://galaxy.com.pk/index2.htm

from where?

 

[obsidian86]

that place is confusing but since you cant get the amd 620 go with the q8400 the board you mentioned and 4gb 800mhz ddr2 ram

 

[salman arif]

Alrite... Thanks for the suggestion though! I'll wait for a couple of more responses before finalizing my plan!

that place is confusing but since you cant get the amd 620 go with the q8400 the board you mentioned and 4gb 800mhz ddr2 ram