Thinking of upgrading my PC

[iMonty]

Guys I have :

Motherboard: ASUS P5KPL-AM SE

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT

RAM: 2GB DDR2


I got this PC last 2006 or 2008 not sure. So it is 4-6 years old already.

I need cheap but has great performance that can run games smoothly for another 4-6 years.

 

[randomkid]

You can get the most performance improvement by upgrading the GPU. The question is what is your monitor resolution & what is your power supply capacity, brand & model?

 

[rdx07]

i agree to upgrade your GPU, but if you really want to upgrade, go for Sandy Bridge i3 or i5 2400 for budget gaming rig

 

[iMonty]

What do you mean by monitor resolution? I cant get my PC to open I dont have a good screwdriver at this time.

Is there much difference in i3 and i5?

 

[rdx07]

i guess what randomkid means is that what resolution do you play your games? correct me if i'm wrong.

for dual core applications or tasks (especially in games), there's not much of a difference between i3 and i5. but if the load requires more than 2 cores, that's where the difference becomes noticeable. and i guess i5 is more for future proofing than i3...that's how i see it and in my opinion though

 

[iMonty]

If that's the case it should be around 1024x768. Even my resolution on my computer itself is 1024x768.

So do you mean if we are talking about gaming there's no much difference on core 2 duo and i3/i5?

And does my motherboard need to upgrade as well if I should upgrade my GPU or processor?

Sorry for alot of questions I just need to assure what to upgrade

BTW my power supply is Powerlogic and I dont know what to look in there but it says "500W | MAX 550W" Something like that. And I am willing to overclock my PC.

 

[rdx07]

no no no!!! comparison only between the i3 and i5 but i suggest to get the i5 'cause you will benefit more from having 4 real cores than 2. hmm if you will upgrade to Sandy Bridge, yes you need to upgrade your board to 1155 socket, RAM, and for better gaming, GPU

 

[opteron1983]

Heres a build suggestion, I am assuming that you will keep your current monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS.

Intel Core i5-3450S 199.99
MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 116.99
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1600ELK 42.99
ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 164.99
Western Digital RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" -Bare Drive 99.99
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W 74.99
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 49.99

Total 749.93 Canadian

Note : Price does not include Taxes or shipping

 

[randomkid]

If that's the case it should be around 1024x768. Even my resolution on my computer itself is 1024x768.
...
BTW my power supply is Powerlogic and I dont know what to look in there but it says "500W | MAX 550W" Something like that. And I am willing to overclock my PC.

At 1024x768, your monitor is probably 15" right? At this resolution, you do not need to upgrade your processor at all. And unless you plan on upgrading your monitor to higher resolution like 1920x1080, you do not need any GPU more than an AMD 6670.

 

[iMonty]

Ohh.

Thanks for the suggestion but Im kinda short in cash so I need a budget upgrade.

Is it possible to play latest games by just upgrading GPU and some RAM? I want to play it smoothly I don't much need the looks in it.

Can you guys suggest me a good motherboard and GPU? Cheap ones but good

 

[opteron1983]

What is your budget..... Since everything revolves around money how much do you have to spend.

I would advise against putting alot of money on your current system as your going to be looking at a full upgrade in the near future.

It also depends on what sort of games you want to play

 

[iMonty]

My monitor is 17 or 18 inches. Should I increase my resolution?

My budget is around 250-350 USD

What do you mean Im going to be looking at a full upgrade in the near future?

The games that I play are games like Assassins Creed. AC Revelations are kinda laggy in my PC but playable but the cutscenes are lagged on visuals.

My resolution in my PC is 1152x864. My bad the other one is the resolution I play in games.
Im planning on increasing my resolution a bit. Like 1280x960. Or is my resolution okay?

 

[opteron1983]

Your current motherboard is a socket 775 upgrading your current motherboard would not be useful as you would have to change the processor as the newer core i3/i5/i7 are using socket 1155.

so if you change your motherboard you might as well upgrade the processor at the same time.

For your current budget i would at least an extra 2 gigs of ram, ideally 4

Videocard id look at a midrange card : ATI 6770/7770 Nvidia 550/560.

Both of these together would give your a pc a good shot in the arm and should stay below your 250$ budget.

 

[rdx07]

if those are the games you play, you won't be needing a higher end GPU. and if you plan on upgrading and as a suggestion from your post, for the budget you can get ASRock H61 U3S3 and i3/i5 Sandy Bridge. mind you though that you'll need new RAMs

 

[iMonty]

Can the said video card be used in any of those two kinds of motherboard? Cause I dont want to buy another GPU if I'm planning on upgrading my motherboard and processor.

BTW what do you mean by "Im going to be looking at a full upgrade in the near future"?

 

[iMonty]

if those are the games you play, you won't be needing a higher end GPU. and if you plan on upgrading and as a suggestion from your post, for the budget you can get ASRock H61 U3S3 and i3/i5 Sandy Bridge. mind you though that you'll need new RAMs

What kind of games that needs a high end PC? Cause I play different types of games.

 

[rdx07]

of course! as long as it's PCIE for mid-high end GPU, games like crysis, metro2033, etc. but you might wanna lower the settings especially for Revelations if you'll use your previous one

 

[randomkid]

My monitor is 17 or 18 inches. Should I increase my resolution?
...
My resolution in my PC is 1152x864. My bad the other one is the resolution I play in games.
Im planning on increasing my resolution a bit. Like 1280x960. Or is my resolution okay?

Your resolution statement is quite confusing. a 17" monitor is usually 1280x1024 while an 18.5" is 1366x768. There are also 19" monitors that have 1440x900. To remove any doubt, can you give brand & model of you monitor.

My budget is around 250-350 USD

It's a good budget. In my opinion, you do not need to upgrade processor & motherboard at all. Get additional 2GB maybe + the decent GPU that is match to your monitor & your PC is still good for a year or two.

 

[rdx07]

agree to randomkid just gave suggestions in case you want to upgrade. but what randomkid said can help you save a lot

 

[iMonty]

@Randomkid
Ohh you mean the resoultion of the monitor itself? I thought the one you set on settings lol. My monitor came from korea. I dont think if this is good. The brand name is Hyunju computer.

My budget includes the cost for cooling system cause Im thinking to overclock my system.

ATI 7770 or Nvidia 560? Will this GPU last for a bit long?

 

[iMonty]

@rdx07
Yeah I just need a PC to play incoming games smoothly. Im not a graphics fan boy anyways lol.

I think Ill save the motherboard and CPU for later.

BTW I'm planning to upgrade at around late October. So by then the prices have dropped

 

[rdx07]

well that's a good approach that's how i'll do it too if i'm to buy. wait 'til the price drops the GPUs above, man!!! sure it will last for long! not just a bit!xD more than the 6790 which i plan on buying! hahaha

 

[iMonty]

Quick question ATI 7770 or NVidia 560?

 

[randomkid]

@Randomkid
Ohh you mean the resoultion of the monitor itself? I thought the one you set on settings lol.

:lol: Actually, you get the best results when you set the resolution at the display settings equal to the native resolution of your monitor. Usually, Windows will say "(Recommended)" beside the resolution that is native to monitor. Like this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
So what resolution does Window recommend for your monitor?

@Randomkid
My budget includes the cost for cooling system cause Im thinking to overclock my system.

ATI 7770 or Nvidia 560? Will this GPU last for a bit long?

Yes. GPU usually last very long & are often outdated before they fail. However, I think your powerlogic PSU will not support these GPU because powerlogic is not refutable Power supply. They are okay for GPU's which does not require 6PCIe connectors like 7750 800Mhz & below.

 

[iMonty]

There is no Recommended. Dunno why =))

So what PSU should I get?

Is it okay to overclock my PC?