Upgrade or build?

[RV1428]

Hi everyone

I am seeking advice about my pc build and whether I should upgrade a few parts to keep it updated or just build a completely new pc.
The primary use of the computer is web surfing, MS Office and gaming, I'd like to play the latest games at high level without much effort (doesn't need to be max settings).
There is some occassional video converting and Photoshop/Flash editing but no heavy use here.

I'm looking for upgrades/a new pc because most 2011-2012 games only run on medium settings and anti-aliasing is limited to 4x (when it's set higher games start to lag).
The other reason is it doens't run 64-bit operating systems despite the CPU supporting it, when I install one (Windows Vista/7 64-bit) the pc crashes about every five minutes because of some hardware incompatibility.

Most important parts:
CPU : Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz - Kentsfield 65nm
RAM : 4,00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz (5-5-5-15)
Graphics : 512MB GeForce 9800 GT (1680x1050@60Hz)
Motherboard : Dell Inc. 0TP406 (CPU) - Intel X38
Hard Drives : 2 X 233GB Western Digital WDC WD2500AAJS-75VWA0
Optical drive : Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5170S
OS : MS Windows 7 32-bit SP1

Thanks in advance

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

You'll need a Total New Build.

So, whats your Budget?

 

[RV1428]

That would be around 600$, I don't know exactly how much can be done with this budget but like I said, a pc that keeps up with recently released games will do and it needs virtualization capability too but only to run some incompatible devices.

 

[camohanna]

I suggest this

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yu1K
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yu1K/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yu1K/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.99 @ Compuvest)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $612.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-19 19:52 EST-0500)

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Actually I think you can do more than you think. What kind of power supply do you have? Personally I have an fx 8120 and 8 gb of ram, as well as a radeon 7850 which would be a beast compared with the 9800 gt. 500 or so should get a nice board, fx 8320, 8gb or ram and a 7850 or close to it. Then leave enough for a new power supply.

My fx8120 might be considered to not be great, but at 4ghz it really moves along quite nicely.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Actually I think you can do more than you think. What kind of power supply do you have? Personally I have an fx 8120 and 8 gb of ram, as well as a radeon 7850 which would be a beast compared with the 9800 gt. 500 or so should get a nice board, fx 8320, 8gb or ram and a 7850 or close to it. Then leave enough for a new power supply.

My fx8120 might be considered to not be great, but at 4ghz it really moves along quite nicely.

 

[camohanna]

Actually I think you can do more than you think. What kind of power supply do you have? Personally I have an fx 8120 and 8 gb of ram, as well as a radeon 7850 which would be a beast compared with the 9800 gt. 500 or so should get a nice board, fx 8320, 8gb or ram and a 7850 or close to it. Then leave enough for a new power supply.

My fx8120 might be considered to not be great, but at 4ghz it really moves along quite nicely.

7870 +i3 > 8320 + 7850

For gaming

 

[RV1428]

The stock Dell 375W supply, is the difference between the i3 and the FX 8320 really an important factor? I often read that Intel beats AMD for gaming but here the AMD has 4 ghz and the i3 3.3 ghz?

 

[camohanna]

Yes, but if this is mostly for gaming a i3 + 7870 will beat out a 8320 + 7850

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

The op is free to do what he wants, I can't speak for the i3 for gaming, but I'm happy with my 8120. Like I said I've got mine clocked at 4 ghz, and the things I've read say the 7850 can be easily overclocked to the level of the 7870. I have not done overclocking on my 7850, but the 8120 at 4ghz and stock 7850 does very well for me. I probably still have headroom but 4ghz is pretty fast. Windows 8 scores the 8120 at 7.9 on Wei.

I'm not saying the i3 is bad, but the op should realize the i3 is a dual core essentially pretending to be a quad, though the same can be said on the fx 8 cores that they are quads pretending to be 8 cores. But as games more multithreaded the 8 cores may be of some benefit. However I think the i3 handles much of what is out there today, but I've never used one in a gaming PC.