XPS 410 upgrade

Kishere

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i need to upgrade my computer for under 200-250...

and a 400w psu what i got currently is

CPU: Intel Pentium E6700 Wolfdale 3.2GHz
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128 ddr2
RAM:Wintec AMPO 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2
PSU:Rosewill Stallion Series 400W ATX V2.2 Power Supply

Extras:Logitech MK120
Logitech S-150 2.0 USB Speakers

if u can improve this and still keep it under 250 then please leave a link thanks
i dont care if it is tiger direct or new egg just please no amazon

and sorry iif this isnt in the proper area i dont know where "upgrades" go in
 

powercroat783

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Can you be more specific how you would like this upgraded?

Better Graphics performance?

More "Speed"?

And tell me about your HDDs as well.

Simply put if your system is running DDR2 it is definitely time to start looking at a new system build, but I am assuming that is out of the question.

At can you give me the model number of the prebuild system itself? sometimes OEMs dont like to be upgraded, and it is good to check prior to before doing so, unless you have allready done it in the past.
 

You've got a Wolfdale in an XPS410 ?
 

Kishere

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it has a core 2 duo...im scared to oc it to 3.2ghz from 1.86ghz it would be too risky for my personal liking also is the 9800gt able to run modern mmos im building a better comp for gaming
 

Kishere

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okay ill check...what number do i give u is it the model or serial....on the case or inside
 

powercroat783

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model number.

and I dont think the Vcore is totally unlocked so i doubt it is possible to overclock it that far. Add on top of that the fact that your processor isn't that slow at all. in fact, for the price that is a very nice cpu.

And If you need something for gaming, i highly suggest a Video Card Upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

And you are probably going to need a better PSU to run that GPU i recommended

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

its just at $200. You should notice a significant upgrade from your GeForce 9500 GT.

I hope you have a decent sized case.

And here is some budget hard drive space

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136770
 

MC_K7

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If you'd be clearer with your specs it would be easier for us to help you. For instance, you first said your CPU is 3.2 Ghz, then later on you say it's currently 1.86 Ghz and you want to overclock it to 3.2??? (huge difference). As powercroat783 mentioned if the vcore locked you won't be able to overclock that much. And even if you can it's a little aggressive OC, you'd better have a good heatsink and monitor your temps.

Also what speed is the RAM? For DDR2 it makes a huge difference as oppose to DDR3. For example with DDR2 there's a big difference in performance between 533Mhz modules and 1066. With DDR3 it's the opposite there's almost no difference between 1333Mhz and 2133 for instance. If you have DDR2-1066 it performs almost as well as faster DDR3 chips.

I just read that XPS 410 is using standard PSU (don't need a Dell custom one) so the PSU proposed by powercroat783 should be good. Although I am not sure you really need to upgrade your power supply to run a GTX 550 TI, the minimum specs for this video card is a 400-Watt PSU and you already have that. I also heard that Dell underrates their PSU a lot so you should be OK. But yeah, if you combine a new video card with an aggressive CPU overclock then yes you'll be more on the safe side with a new PSU.

Finally for the HDD I don't know how much additional space you're looking for, but here's another one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767

Forgot to mention also, for the number all you need to look for on a Dell is the "Service Tag" number. It should be easy to find, Dell often writes it both on the front and on the back of the system. If it's been scratched and you can't read it anymore don't worry you can also see your service tag number in the BIOS.
 

So you have an E6300.
There's not a rats chance of overclocking it to 3.2 on the Dell board, might hit 2.1 if it's compatible with the overclocking software ( Clockgen ) but the board would need to have the right PLL chip.

It's basically a dead end machine, Wolfdales aren't supported, best you could do would be a Q6700
Can't use DDR3 either
The stock psu could handle the GTX550 reccomended earlier



 

Kishere

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is there a tutorial on a core 2 duo 6300 oc? i got a dell radiator in it with a case fan/cpu fan right up against the cpu if u want a picture of all the stuff ill post links
 

Kishere

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what do u recommend for something like apb reloaded should i get a gtx 260 for that i dont care if it is dx 11 or not
 

powercroat783

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The GTX 260 from newegg performs significantly less, only give you a 40 dollar discount, and requires MORE power than the one I recommended does. You can also look up the suggestions i showed you and see if they are on amazon. If you purchase from there, chances are you dont have to pay for taxes and you can use super saver shipping and save alot of cash like that. And unless you plan on playing apb reloaded forever, the 550 is definitley and investment that will last quite a while (which isn't much in the compute world, but you get my point). 200-250 isn't much to work with to get any significant upgrade, but I think my suggestions are definitely worth while.

But if you want my REAL advice, I think honestly you should save up money to scrap your system and build a new one in the coming future. Your equipment is going to be obsolete soon, especially a year from now. You should start saving now, and soon when you have 1000 to work with, prices should have dropped a bit and you can build yourself a nice machine that will last quite a long time.

I wanted to build myself a computer (ive been doing it for a company for quite a while now) for a long time, but I saved up my money and now I got something bad ass. It was well worth the wait. I had 2000 to use, but only ended up using about 1000. I run all new games on max settings. Couldn't be happier.

I dont know your situation but, thats my suggestion.
 
To get immediate gaming impact slap in a new video card. Newer card = better power consumption at same performance so (even tho i an typing this from a gtx 260 1.8 gb based system, go with something modern. HD5770, HD67700, HD6850 are all great and will give you a hugely visible difference. Read this for other suggestions and to see price point. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

For disk, you will see a big difference going to a large, high performance drive in boot time and level load time since your current drive is full. A 1TB spinpoint F3 is $60. A WD black 1.5 TB drive is $150 and will smoke the spinpoint. The spinpoint will smoke your drive. Installing the new drive is easy. Open case, remove the power and signal cables from the CDROM drive. Attach to new drive. Boot PC. Use something like Acronis True Image (free download from WD for thier drive or trial version from acronis) to clone your current drive including recovery partition. Then shutdown, put signal and power cables back on the CD and install your new drive where the old one was. Put the old drawer into the anti-static shipping your new drive came in and save in case something goes badly wrong with new drive and you need to recover.

With new video and new drive you will see a difference. In a year or two you can carry these part over into a new PC if you build one.
 

Kishere

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in another 3 years or so when my cpu dies out im upgrading to a core i3 IF it isnt discontinued by them (i highly doubt it will be because look at the intel celeron) i will be doing that so ur right maybe a gtx 550ti will be better now but since i am a idoit i will continue with the gtx 260 and upgrade to gtx 550 ti in 3-5 years also does the gtx 260 rly suck as much as my DEAD 7200gs
and what is my HDD size limit i got a feeling if i go 1.5tb it wont work but 1tb im safe