Need advice on upgrades to my PC

[Guest]

Hello,
i need to upgrade my 3 year old pc i got from my dad current parts are as follow :

Manufacturer:
MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory:
2048MB RAM
Hard Drive:
seagate (not sure on model)
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
Sound Card:
Realtek HD Audio output
Motherboard:
MSI P35 Neo-F

i'm in dire need of a new cpu due to my current one hitting temps of 60oC - 70oC then crashing so i looked on amazon and found these parts.

cpu:AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0 GHz 2MB Cache Dual Core Processor - £48.97
mobo:ASUS AM3 M4A78LT-M LE Motherboard Intel Socket M-ATX 5200MT/S - £47.83

I'm makeing a list of things to get and i will probably keep my current parts, i want to run games in high - very high graphics

thanks.

 

[cmcghee358]

Your current RAM is most likely DDR2 which won't work with an AM3 motherboard.

 

[Guest]

i see, so i will need DDR3 then?

 

[asteldian]

I would be looking to at least get the RANA x3 440 (3ghz) CPU - £58.73
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Athlon-II-X3-440-Rana-Triple-Core-S-AM3-30GHz-15MB-Cache-HT-4000MHz-95W-Retail

This mobo is DDR2 - £49.31
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-MA770-ES3-AMD-770-AM2plus-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-1200(OC)-SATA-3Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX

Though personally, if you can afford it I would want a DDR3 mobo and DDR3 RAM.

This one is £50 and is a full size board rather than the microboard you picked
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-770-C45-AM3-PCI-E-20(x16)-DDR3-1600(OC)-RAID-Blu-Ray-Audio-GB-LAN-ATX

If you were to get RAM you would probably want G Skill 1600mhz CL7 4gb for about £95 from www.ebuyer.com or you could try go with lesser cheaper RAM

What resolution do you play at? With all these changes, your GPU really needs upgrading.

If your CPU was not giving you trouble I would have advised Overclocking it and just getting a better GPU.

In fact, you may want to buy a decent CPU cooler and replace the stock one on your CPU, you may find that will solve your problem as it will be far better at cooling - you may even find tha your current cooler is faulty or so dust ridden that it is not cooling properly and the CPU is actually ok

 

[Guest]

i have a tv monitor 24" 1980x1280 i think. it is hdmi 1080p

 

[asteldian]

Yes, that card is going to hold you back big time - you will never run high very high on modern games with that.

You will be needing either a GTX 460 1gb card or an ATI 5850 for that kind of resolutin

 

[Guest]

i'm probably going to buy the ati 5850 card.
thanks for help im going to look up prices for the parts now.

 

[asteldian]

You never actually mentioned a budget so I put the cheapest parts available, in case you were interested in high end CPU/mobo:

Phenom II x4 955 - £124
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-955-BlackEdition-Sok-AM3-32GHz-8MB-Total-Cache-125W-Retail

Asus M4A79XTD Evo - £96.10
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A79XTD-EVO-USB3-AMD-790X-SAM3-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR3-1800-(OC)-SATA-II-SATA-RAID-ATX

The mobo does not have SATA III but it is able to XFire graphics cards in case you want that option in the future and does have USB III.