Upgrade time!

[minekopanda]

Hello everyone~

Hoping you'll be able to shed some light for me before I hurl this computer out the window

Looking to do a graphics card upgrade on this thing. But I am unsure of which one to get. Nothing too pricey though...since I'm on a budget. I know I need to get more RAM, currently have 2gb upgrading to 4gb.

This is the specs:

HP Pavilion Media Center a1540n Desktop
Upgraded to Windows Vista Basic SP3

Hardware
Base processor
Athlon 64 X2 (W) 4200+ 2.0 GHz
2000 MT/s (mega transfers/second)
Socket AM2
Chipset
GeForce 6150 LE
Motherboard
Manufacturer: Asus
Motherboard Name: A8M2N-LA
HP/Compaq motherboard name: NodusM-GL8E

Video Graphics
Integrated graphics
Sound/Audio
Integrated High Definition audio
Realtek ALC 883 or ALC 888 chipset
Supports up to 8 audio channels
Dolby Pro Logic II compatible
Network (LAN)
Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface


Any help is greatly appreciated <3

PS: Forgot to mention that I want to use this as a gaming pc for all the games coming out ie:

Battlefied 3
Saints Row Third Row
Dead Island
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

etc etc etc :3

 

[Rustyy117]

got a budget?

What monitor are you using?

 

[minekopanda]

Currently have a 17" lcd monitor from dell. It's a bit outdated but it does the job.

Trying to find a way to see if it can be connected to my bf's all in one acer pc through the external adapter piece we bought to connect it to the tv.

As for a budget, still unsure how much I want to spend...which is why I'm trying to see what the price range will be.

 

[Rustyy117]

The CPU (processor) is outdated and will bottleneck any graphics card capable of rendering most of the games you listed with decent settings at 30FPS+

I wouldn't recommend spending good money on upgrading that PC (no offence intended)

Perhaps try finding a HD4770 or 8800GT/X for cheap on ebay or amazon?

 

[minekopanda]

I see...

Hmm, so will the cards you recommended be able to play any of the games...or is that a no as well lol

 

[Rustyy117]

Yes they will, its just that even some low end graphics cards will be bottlenecked by the rest of the PC, I expect you'll be able to play codmw3 on medium settings at something like 1280 x 1024 with a HD4770 or similar , BF3 will be horribly slow, you might get away with low detail settings.

 

[minekopanda]

I might as well start saving up to build a new computer huh?
I stumbled onto this site while trying to find gaming pc builds but I have yet to encounter them.
Could you point me the right way?

 

[minekopanda]

Best answer selected by minekopanda.

 

[Rustyy117]

I might as well start saving up to build a new computer huh?
I stumbled onto this site while trying to find gaming pc builds but I have yet to encounter them.
Could you point me the right way?

You wanting to build your own PC or do you want to buy a pre-built PC?

If you want to build your own we can give you advise, just post in the homebuilt section: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum-13.html

If you want to buy a pre-built then it depends on where you live, for example if you live in the U.S then newegg sell PC's, if you live in the UK I can build you a PC or you can buy from PC world or e_tailors like Ebuyer or aria.

 

[minekopanda]

I'd like to build my own. I still remember a little from when I was attending school but I've fallen behind on all the new things that have come out and well...there's so much out there it's overwhelming lol

 

[Rustyy117]

I'd like to build my own. I still remember a little from when I was attending school but I've fallen behind on all the new things that have come out and well...there's so much out there it's overwhelming lol

Yeah the choice is crazy, Like I said just post in the homebuilt section, specify your budget and what you want from the PC and we'll be able to make some recommendations

 

[Nuluvius]

Research, research then research some more - ask questions... doubt yourself, ask more questions followed by more self doubt and maybe some self loathing and alcohol. Then maybe, sometime in the weeks that follow you may make up your mind and move forward to buying some components.

 

[minekopanda]

Cool, will do thank you so much for your help <3