Question on my old aurora desktop

[Aff1ct1on]

Hello,
im new to the whole "tech side to pc,i have the aurora desktop i believe i got in 2008..the pc is a bit laggy sometimes when i play wow or COD,i was wondering what/or if i can even upgrade my pc to make it better for games and whatnot...i dont have specs to give right now(im waiting for wife to respond if she can)im in afghanistan right now,so getting info to help u guys out is a lil problem,but any info on what i should be upgrading(if i can) would help out alot..i dont know if it matters but my book says its a aurora r5? thanks guys in advance

 

[kelthic]

Without a list of specific parts your machine had, this is goign to be a tad difficult. However, depending on what you have, you might consider the following:

1) upgrade ram to 4GB or to 8GB if you have or are getting 64 bit Operating System
2) upgrade CPU and Motherboard to Intell 1155 socket. (Motherboard upgrade will require a new OS as well)
3) upgrade video card to a newer card (6850 or higher recommended)
4) Install SSD for OS and Video Games.
5) 64 Bit Windows 7

Not necessarily in the order i would do them in

 

[Aff1ct1on]

Processor:AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+ 3.20GHz
Ram:4.00GB
System Type:32-bit
thats all my wife could get right on the spot,if there a way i can simplify it on how to get the other info i know we could get that as well,thanks

 

[Aff1ct1on]

quick q tho,if i can upgrade where can i order parts from?

 

[kelthic]

www.newegg.com is a good source for parts that a lot of us here use. Based on what you've given me, i would consider almost a complete overhaul for you. If you are on a tighter budget, we could work with what you have. Did you have a budget in mind?

 

[Aff1ct1on]

im not exactly sure on a budget honestly,i mean,can i buy one thing,install it and keep playing? or do i need to buy everything and then install to play?

 

[kelthic]

Here's what i would do:

1) buy Windows 7 64bit, 8GB Ram, and a decent Video Card for modern games. In order to give you a parts list here, i'm going to need to know what bus you have available for graphics and what the model of your PSU is.

After that step you can continue to play your games. If you still are not satisfied:

2) Upgrade CPU, Motherboard, and possibly PSU.

After that step you can continue to play your games.

 

[Aff1ct1on]

will any memory fit or is that only certain ones i can install?

 

[Aff1ct1on]

oh ya,and its windows 7 ultimate..is there an option to switch to a 64 bit,or do i have to buy a whole new software

 

[kelthic]

the motherboard will determine the ram you use. http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/ have your wife download the scanner tool and use it on the pc in question. this will let you know exactly what kind of ram you can put in the pc.

 

[Aff1ct1on]

thanks for the help!
but with other things like mother board and memory and all that other stuff i gatta upgrade,will the scanner tell me all that info?

 

[kelthic]

The scanner will only tell you what RAM to use with your current motherboard. I will put together a list of parts for a full overhaul if you like.

 

[Aff1ct1on]

if u could plz,money isnt an issue if i can still play with it as i do upgrades...and i need a new fan too,its whining here lately...but hey,thanks for doing this for me,it gives me alot to read and reseach while im in afganistan! thanks

 

[kelthic]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948 Radeon 6870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 Corsair 500w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424 8GB Ram Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 ASRock Z68 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 i3 2120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 64 Bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706 Vertex 3 SSD

Total $822.92

This is assuming you will reuse your current hard drive as a data drive, your current optical drives, case, and monitor. Should be able to run the games you mentioned at high settings with good frame rates.

If you have the money, swap the i3 CPU with http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16819115072 and the graphics card for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127636 for an additional $137.

These options would be a stronger competitor, especially in newer titles, than the more budget minded option above.

 

[Aff1ct1on]

M3A32-MVP Deluxe Motherboard.
DR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-8500
Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-8500, DDR2 (ECC)
Maximum Memory: 8GB
Currently Installed Memory: 4GB
Total Memory Slots: 4
Available Memory Slots: 0
..Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-8500 with a maximum of 4GB kit (2GBx2) per slot.*
*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory
thats what she found out today.thanks for the help,this really gives me something to do so thanks alot

 

[Aff1ct1on]

id like to swap out the drivers too,and what kind of moniter should i be looking for?
i am going to do that i5 upgrade along with that better card too,this has been a real big help on getting my system changed rather than buying a new rig,id rather rebuild this one and learn what i should know instead of just buying new rigs and not knowing anything about them

 

[kelthic]

id like to swap out the drivers too,

Most people let usually let Windows Update handle most driver updates, it's easier that way.

unless you are talking about your optical driver or Hard drive? I can run you some links from those if that's the case, jsut let me know.

what kind of moniter should i be looking for?

I would look for a 1920x1080p resolution monitor.

One thing you could check out is: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/building-pc,511.html.

While you arent' building one from scratch, an overhaul of this magnetude will require you to mess with almost every single component in your computer and this is a good place to start with learning what you should know

 

[Aff1ct1on]

ok..um way behind the times on this one,my drive that runs my cd's,it doesnt work half of the time,so im not sure which is which,and whatever the hell i can do to get rid of that blue screen too lol,its a rare sight but it happens...no is that 1920x1080p,is that like hd quality or something? thanks

 

[kelthic]

For a new cd drive, http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16827118067 would suit your needs just fine. it does DVDs also. 1080p is standard HD for gaming. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005290 would be a good monitor. This one is 21.5" screen, so you could go with a bigger monitor if you want.

 

[Aff1ct1on]

would switching it to my tv affect how the game is or quality?
what is the difference between optical and data or disk drives??

 

[kelthic]

I assume you have a tv that runs from an hdmi cable? Or a flat panel. These tvs are usually 1280x720 (commonly referred to as 720i or 720p) or the 1920 x 1080 (commonly referred to as 1080i or 1080p). The 1080 resolutions are sharper and more detailed. Here is a quick reference to these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p (i know wikipedia is not the most reliable source, but this is pretty standard info).

To answer your question more directly, switching to a tv should not affect your gameplay by a severe amount.

an optical drive is a cd, dvd, or blue ray drive. These use lasers and optical devices to read data from the discs. Blue Ray drives read HD videos, while cd and dvd to not have enough storage space for them.

A Data disc is generally a CD or DVD you've burned all of your personal files onto. It's one way of backing up your pictures, videos and music files.

A disk drive is the same as an optical drive, unless you are talking about floppy disk drives which use the old plastic cartridges and are obsolete

 

[Aff1ct1on]

ok that made perfect sense thanks!
so,since i have(what looks to be another slot for a driver) can i install a blue ray drive and that one disk drive you showed me?

 

[kelthic]

absolutely

 

[Aff1ct1on]

dang thats awesome,im so glad i didnt listen to anyone and buy a new rig,im sure when i get back ill have fun watching it come together,is there anyway to get hdmi ports in there?

 

[kelthic]

hdmi display ports will be an output option on your graphics card. The 6870 i linked above has an HDMI port already