How to upgrade my computer?

[David1990]

Hello,
I am looking to upgrade my computer
with a new graphics card only I don't know
if it's compatible. I am willing to get a new power supply and motherboard and processor along with
it. I would like a computer that will play the newest games for the nest 1-2 years. I am only willing to pay up to $600.

 

[tenaciousk]

That should be plenty to get a decent system, do you prefer AMD or intel?

 

[Cons29]

specs please?
how old is your rig? if you will be replacing almost everything then i would suggest that you go for an i5 with a z77 board, 8gb ram and a 660ti if budget permits.

sorry, havent seen the prices in a while, but you can check them out

 

[David1990]

AMD and price is anywhere from $400 to $600

 

[lxgoldsmith]

here we go. you'll need to provide a few specs such as whether it is manufactured or homebuilt, and if it's homebuilt, provide info. if it's manufactured, you may need to change that which you have stated.

if you want it to play the newest games, you'll need a $200 gpu, plus cpu&mobo, and maybe ssd

 

[tenaciousk]

Check out this Set up $500 all new gaming system
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wgaP

 

[lxgoldsmith]

if you have an atx case on a manufactured,
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yHCU
if you have matx, use a different mobo
if you want more airflow, add a case or add some fans to your existing case.

I don't know how good amd stock coolers are, so I put in a trusted cpu cooler to maybe oc with

 

[David1990]

Alright lets say I am new to computer just got my first one
I did use my dad's and he knew everything about it
I however am a complete noob....so please treat me as such
so by specs you mean....

 

[lxgoldsmith]

Alright lets say I am new to computer just got my first one
I did use my dad's and he knew everything about it
I however am a complete noob....so please treat me as such
so by specs you mean....

processor, processor clock if overclocked, motherboard, ram type(ex. ddr3 1600mhz), amount of ram, video card chipset & amount of video ram, cpu cooler, hard drives, any extra fans, and the case itself.

we can find most of this by pc model if it's manufactured, but you can find a lot of this info by typing msinfo32 in "run" or "search all programs and files" in the start menu if you use windows, which most people use.

 

[David1990]

System Manufacturer- Hewlett-Packard
System Model- p6823w
System Type- x64-based PC

 

[lxgoldsmith]

that's good, you have an open pcie slot, based on the specs here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02863024&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&contentType=SupportFAQ&prodSeriesId=5080733&prodTypeId=12454

you may want to get a graphics card first, then if it's bottlenecked by your cpu (slow cpu, fast graphics), then you will want to upgrade your processor.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/352244-28-phenom-processor-bottleneck

be warned that upgrading your mobo may require an extra windows product code.

if you need overall performance in addition to gaming, add some RAM and a solid state drive

 

[David1990]

what graphics card would you recommend?

 

[David1990]

Or just tell me what i need to get doesnt matter what it is as long as the total price is not over $600

 

[bigshootr8]

I feel you would be happier building the new computer. Yes you could hold onto what you have. You could replace the motherboard, processor, ram, power supply, and graphics card and hold onto everything else and save a little doing it that way. The only thing I worry about with retail computers is that they love to lock the bios in such a way that expansion is very hard to do. For example my friend Sonja she couldn't use a graphics card on her HP or Acer I can't recall because her bios wouldn't allow her to disable the onboard video and switch to PCI_Express within the bios.


I like tena's build I have a few things I would change though.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($60.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ 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: $502.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-21 16:27 EST-0500)

 

[lxgoldsmith]

to play the newest games for 1-2 years, radeon hd 7850 will work with good price/performance, assuming that you don't require ultra settings for 2 years

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150642&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[bigshootr8]

a 7850 is a decent option as well I wouldn't go beyond a 7850 or 660 with a 965 processor.

 

[David1990]

and that would work fine with what I've got?

 

[bigshootr8]

It will work yes but your CPU will more then likely bottleneck any of the mid line cards at the moment. With a substantial CPU overclock. Also, things that I don't know that you may know. If you have regular form factor expansion slots or smaller ones called low profile. Also most power supplies from retail companies dell, acer, hp, gateway come with poor quality power supplies. And you have a 250watt power supply based on the specifications from HP.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02863024&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&contentType=SupportFAQ&prodSeriesId=5080733&prodTypeId=12454

 

[David1990]

Best answer selected by David1990.