Got a prebuilt PC--looking into upgrading for gaming.

[Densen]

Hello guys, I've finally decided to give in and join the PC gaming side of the force. I got a pre-built system as a present a few months ago and I'm looking into upgrading it to play games at...well I don't mind if it's not at the highest setting, but I'd like a bit of an improvement over what I have right now.

As it is, I can run(for example) games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Batman Arkham City at around medium settings(give or take a few shadows) and very low resolution, like 1024x768. Anything above that is laggy as hell.

My pc is a Gateway DX4860-EF16P and thoes are its specs:

Intel I5-3450 3.1GHz, 16GB DDR3 Memory, 2TB SATA HDD, AMD HD7350 1GB Graphics, DVD-R/RW , Card Reader, 7.1CH HD Audio, GLAN, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

I don't have a fixed budget though I'd rather not go over around 500 dollars in upgrading. What I'm looking for is to know whether this is the kind of system that can be upgraded and what I need to look out for to know if something is compatible with it. I'm kind of new to this, so I don't know too much about that stuff.

Thanks in advance for the responses!

 

[patrick47018]

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11197-03-40G/dp/B009B6Y01Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358479167&sr=8-3&keywords=radeon+7970

This is all you will need

 

[Densen]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[shening]

and a quality power supply 600-700 Watts.

Something like corsair or antec or OCZ.

Pretty much if u get a better graphics u will be set for gaming (anything like a ATI 7870/ATI 7950 will do the job fine) u will just need to upgrade the power supply almost 100%.

 

[Densen]

Power supply, graphics card, got it. Thanks guys I really wasn't sure what I had to upgrade.

 

[patrick47018]

OCZ I would go with, here http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-ModXStream-Modular-Performance-compatible/dp/B001EYV690/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1358479986&sr=1-1&keywords=ocz+power+supply

 

[Ananan]

Can you upgrade the PSU on a Dell?

 

[patrick47018]

totally, why couldn't you?

 

[jessterman21]

What model is your Dell? Size, length, and cooler type are important considerations when upgrading an OEM box with a video card.

If it will fit, you definitely want an HD 7970 - it will last you a good long while in all games on Ultra @1080p.

 

[Ananan]

totally, why couldn't you?

I must be thinking of older Dells. There was a time that it was pretty difficult to do; I had an 8100 in the early 2000s that was impossible to upgrade.