Upgrading hp pavillion a6600z, please help!

[weedn]

hi, my sister needs her pc upgraded so it can play WoW at higher settings.
its got some age to it, but i figure a bigger PSU maybe 500W and graphics card, maybe a geforce 560 should do the trick, but im not too knowledgable on some of this older tech and if the motherboard will be compatible with todays GPU's, and im almost positive that her CPU will bottleneck newer GPU's since its an AM2 class processor, but i might be wrong and would like to know if this is correct

her budget is $250-$300, (not 100% sure how much my dad is going to give her)

here are the system specs hp pavillion a6600z

and here are the motherboard specs asus M2N68-LA (Narra2)

this is what i came up with, unfortunatlly were going to have to get the parts at frys since shes paying cash and needs it done on the spot when she comes out here to visit, but im using newegg as a source to find the parts and when i walk into frys see if i can find similar or the same products (having a hard time with frys website since it terrible)

Graphics: EVGA GTX 560 (fermi) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130660 $189

PSU: Corsair builder series V2 500W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 $59

i want to know if these parts will be compatible with her motherboard, and if these are good choices based on her needs

any help will be much appreciated, and thank you in advance

 

[Raiddinn]

You can only do so much with older hardware.

You seem to have a good idea of the sorts of parts that she should be looking for and the sorts of issues she will be facing.

Given that there really is no ideal when you are trying to pair new stuff with really old stuff, I don't think you have too much to gain when trying to optimize things here.

Even if you could get a better video card for the same cost, that would probably just bottleneck her even more than the 560 would.

I think you would be fine to just get the two things you chose.

 

[weedn]

ill probably go with those then

i might downgrade her GPU a little bit, depending on how much $$$ she actually happens to get, but all she plays is wow, and anything better then her integrated graphics should help out emmensily even if it does end up being bottlenecked, maybe i can look into getting her a slightly better processor even though am2 is the best she can have, but probably not worth it.

 

[Raiddinn]

What processor is the one she has?

Is it the 4850E?

I think I read that the 5600+ is the best thing the board can get and it is barely better than the 4850E.

If it is the Sempron 1300, though, a 5600+ would be twice as good as that.

 

[weedn]

i just texted her

so if its the sempron 1300 then it will be worth getting a 5600+

but if its a 4850E then its probably not worth it to upgrade the processor then?

ill base that on what she has then. and if it will fit the budget. maybe it will be something for her to think about later down the line.

 

[weedn]

she has a 4450E

so that should be good enough right? i dont think upgrading from that will be worth it.

ill just stick with the 560 and 500W PSU and she will be good until she can save up for a new system, then she can carry those over with it

 

[weedn]

also, i was looking at her motherboard specs, and it says it supports pcie X16, but doesnt specify pcie 2.0

would a 2.0 card fit in her regular x16 slot?

 

[Raiddinn]

A GTX 560 fits in an x16 PCIE 2.0 slot.

It will work.

The 5600+ is not that much better than the 4450E. Maybe 20%. Not super huge, but not poor either, especially if you are CPU bottlenecked as it is.

 

[weedn]

awesome, thank you, im going to hold off on the CPU then

she only has 2 gigs of ram, so im going to get her a new 4 gig set, and go with a 460 instead of a 560 (ive heard there not too different, and its a little cheaperplus it will be enough for what she needs it for)and stick with that 500W PSU

so here is what i have now

GPU: EVGA gtx 460 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130749 $149

PSU: Corsiar 500W builder cx500 v2 series: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 $59

Ram:G.Skill ddr2 800 4x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 $54 (couldnt seem to find anything cheaper for ddr2, but this works)

total $264 (within budget)

i guess ill just have to see what my local frys will have in stock now, thats were the real limitations come it, but i think ill be good.

much thanks for the help

 

[weedn]

Best answer selected by weedn.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey