Upgrading my Inspiron 531

[mikaelspears]

first of all hello. . . and i am not very good with computers at all and need help desperately. . .

i have a dell inspiron 531 AMD Athlon 64x2 5000+ @ 2.60 Ghz

motherboard = MNTW, X2, 5000+, ENERGY STAR, 531
(i think?)


4.00 gb ram, 32-bit windows vista home edition



I am currently running a geforce GTS 450 superclocked 1024 MB card. I want to upgrade my motherboard and processor (AMD 3?) and was wondering which motherboard/processor combo that costs under $200 would be best for me? I play a lot of games (TF2, COD4, etc.). . . . . If anyone knows which motherboard would physically fit in the dell case, that would be perfect. . . If any other information is needed, let me know. . . thank you!!

 

[mikaelspears]

first of all hello. . . and i am not very good with computers at all and need help desperately. . .

i have a dell inspiron 531 AMD Athlon 64x2 5000+ @ 2.60 Ghz

motherboard = MNTW, X2, 5000+, ENERGY STAR, 531
(i think?)


4.00 gb ram, 32-bit windows vista home edition



I am currently running a geforce GTS 450 superclocked 1024 MB card. I want to upgrade my motherboard and processor (AMD 3?) and was wondering which motherboard/processor combo that costs under $200 would be best for me? I play a lot of games (TF2, COD4, etc.). . . . . If anyone knows which motherboard would physically fit in the dell case, that would be perfect. . . If any other information is needed, let me know. . . thank you!!

p.s. I think my motherboard is an ASUS M2N61-AX, i read that this comes standard with dell inspiron 531. . .

 

[jitpublisher]

There are no retail boards that will fit into that case with making modifications to the case, specifically you will have to cut out the back of the case area where the I/O ports are. I see that your budget is tight, but you would be best to find a new case and move all parts you need like the drives over to the new case. Much better in the long run if you are at the point you want to do some upgrades. If you are using the OS that came with the Dell, you will also have to buy a retail version of Windows, if you do not have that already.

 

[mikaelspears]

will a NIB Cooler Master RC-690 computer case work? I see one on craigslist for $70. . .

 

[mikaelspears]

ok, i have been doing some research and i am totally confused. . . What can i do if i want to equip a Phenom X4 processor to my dell inspiron 531? I know i will need a new motherboard and new case. The question is which case and which motherboard should i go for? Any other ideas of how to upgrade this comp will be greatly appreciated. . .

 

[mikaelspears]

Best answer selected by mikaelspears.