Old pc Upgrade so it can run new games (doesn't have to make ultra high settings)

[martijn0801]

My pc set-up is now a couple of years old and i did spend quite some money on it then. Now it starts to let me know its getting old, newer games are getting more glitchy and with most of the newer games i dont get above 40 fps at all. So i started looking into my set-up to see what i should buy and replace.

This is my set-up now:
CPU: Intel core 2 quad Q8200 (socket 775LGA 2,33GHZ)
Mobo: Dell 0m017G
Memory: 4 x 1GB DDR2
Graphics: AMD Radeon R6950 2GB (this is a overclocked version of the HD6900, its called the twin frozr 3)
Hard discs: not to sure anymore but i got a 120GB SSD next to a 1TB Hard disk.

My graphics card is not that old, is this still ok for newer games?

Right away when i saw what memory i was running in this i kinda had to laugh and thought to myself well no wonder this pc is getting owned by the newer games. I think the memory in this might be the biggest problem?

Then i started researching and i believe that if i want DDR3 memory in my pc i also need a new mobo and then also a new processor because the old one wont fit on the newer mobo? Is this correct?

My budget is not 2 high, i would like to spend something around 200 euro's, is that doable?
How do i know what components work well together? what should I buy and replace?

The last question i would like to ask is: is it better for me now to immediately go for a system with DDR4 RAM? or is that not that big of a difference?

Thanks!!!!

 

[gussrtk]

your upgrade paths are very limited. That's because you have an older motherboard which probably supports only LEGACY bios, which locks you to certain newer GPUs only. That being said... your 6950 is right around the max strength GPU that you could throw at your old CPU (you might be able to get a better GPU... but it will not seem worth the money). Your Ram is alright at DDR2 (yes you could have more, but price does not justify gains, DDR2 is really expensive now and you need to find 2gb sticks? meh... really not worth it). but for a DDR2 system it's plenty in those terms

everything depends on your location.. pricing changes a lot.

You should save your money and do a full system upgrade. Start saving, you could get an i3 with a GTX1050 (1060 preferably) build which will work really well for next 2-3 years before you see major slowdowns (budget). Otherwise, you should research if your PC can handle any of the NEW games to you that you want to purchase in the meantime.

good luck

 

[martijn0801]

your upgrade paths are very limited. That's because you have an older motherboard which probably supports only LEGACY bios, which locks you to certain newer GPUs only. That being said... your 6950 is right around the max strength GPU that you could throw at your old CPU (you might be able to get a better GPU... but it will not seem worth the money). Your Ram is alright at DDR2 (yes you could have more, but price does not justify gains, DDR2 is really expensive now and you need to find 2gb sticks? meh... really not worth it). but for a DDR2 system it's plenty in those terms

everything depends on your location.. pricing changes a lot.

You should save your money and do a full system upgrade. Start saving, you could get an i3 with a GTX1050 (1060 preferably) build which will work really well for next 2-3 years before you see major slowdowns (budget). Otherwise, you should research if your PC can handle any of the NEW games to you that you want to purchase in the meantime.

good luck

I am quite new to this so i have a couple of questions about your answer, sorry
Are you saying that i also cant fit my GPU on a newer mobo? or that it would be to slow anyways?
So that would mean then i need to buy a new mobo, cpu, qpu and memory ( so basically a new pc right? )

I really thought buying a newer mobo would solve all my problems but i geuss it doesnt

Thanks for your time!

 

[gussrtk]

You could definitely still use it. It's not amazing "today" but there should be plenty of games still playable with that GPU (of course low-medium settings).

But yes, the weakest of your system is the CPU. Changing motherboard alone will not change anything. You would look to buy a new Generation CPU, which would require you to buy a New motherboard (because of the specific fitment design of CPU into motherbaord/ or different "socket type"), but this would also require you to get New ram because the Motherboard would support different ram (DDR4 for example). So all of this kind of comes as a package... CPU+MOTHERBOARD+RAM, then you would need to check your power supply to make sure it would have correct power plugs for your newer hardware.

you can double check all of this by making another post when you decide what you want to aim for and ask for upgrade path on components.

all of this being said, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. if you do wish to use your 6950, you would need to be very careful on which motherboard you would purchase, because not all of them would be able to support the 6950 (as it's an older generation card). So it's a little bit of a headache.. but im sure it would be worth it.

Go slow, gather some info and decide on what you would be doing to upgrade

 

[thx1138v2]

You may need to add a new copy of Windows to your budget also. If you are using a 32-bit version of Windows, you will need a 64-bit version to use more than 4Gb of RAM. You also may have problems finding drivers for your old version of Windows depending on what it is.

You may also need a stronger power supply depending on what is in the Dell now.

You are correct about the memory. DDR3 does not fit a DDR2 socket and DDR4 does not fit a DDR3 or DDR2 socket.

All in all, a completely new system will be best. Unless you are willing to go through the entire build process from design to finish I suggest saving your money to buy a new pre-built machine but you'e not going to find a decent gamingh system for 200Euro.

 

[martijn0801]

You may need to add a new copy of Windows to your budget also. If you are using a 32-bit version of Windows, you will need a 64-bit version to use more than 4Gb of RAM. You also may have problems finding drivers for your old version of Windows depending on what it is.

You may also need a stronger power supply depending on what is in the Dell now.

You are correct about the memory. DDR3 does not fit a DDR2 socket and DDR4 does not fit a DDR3 or DDR2 socket.

All in all, a completely new system will be best. Unless you are willing to go through the entire build process from design to finish I suggest saving your money to buy a new pre-built machine but you'e not going to find a decent gamingh system for 200Euro.

I do have a 64-bits version of windows so that is good
I dont remember what i have for a power suply but i believe it isnt that old, and i remember having to make other cables for it to fit i with my older stuff ( so i will have to check that)

I understand i cant get a whole new pc for 200 euro's but i thought i could just upgrade it
Thanks for your time!!

 

[martijn0801]

You could definitely still use it. It's not amazing "today" but there should be plenty of games still playable with that GPU (of course low-medium settings).

But yes, the weakest of your system is the CPU. Changing motherboard alone will not change anything. You would look to buy a new Generation CPU, which would require you to buy a New motherboard (because of the specific fitment design of CPU into motherbaord/ or different "socket type"), but this would also require you to get New ram because the Motherboard would support different ram (DDR4 for example). So all of this kind of comes as a package... CPU+MOTHERBOARD+RAM, then you would need to check your power supply to make sure it would have correct power plugs for your newer hardware.

you can double check all of this by making another post when you decide what you want to aim for and ask for upgrade path on components.

all of this being said, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. if you do wish to use your 6950, you would need to be very careful on which motherboard you would purchase, because not all of them would be able to support the 6950 (as it's an older generation card). So it's a little bit of a headache.. but im sure it would be worth it.

Go slow, gather some info and decide on what you would be doing to upgrade

Thank you so much, this really helped wrapping my head around certain things! i geuss i will just have to save up and go a little bigger, when i have some plans i will make a new post and ask for some help again

much much appreciated!

 

[martijn0801]

You could definitely still use it. It's not amazing "today" but there should be plenty of games still playable with that GPU (of course low-medium settings).

But yes, the weakest of your system is the CPU. Changing motherboard alone will not change anything. You would look to buy a new Generation CPU, which would require you to buy a New motherboard (because of the specific fitment design of CPU into motherbaord/ or different "socket type"), but this would also require you to get New ram because the Motherboard would support different ram (DDR4 for example). So all of this kind of comes as a package... CPU+MOTHERBOARD+RAM, then you would need to check your power supply to make sure it would have correct power plugs for your newer hardware.

you can double check all of this by making another post when you decide what you want to aim for and ask for upgrade path on components.

all of this being said, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. if you do wish to use your 6950, you would need to be very careful on which motherboard you would purchase, because not all of them would be able to support the 6950 (as it's an older generation card). So it's a little bit of a headache.. but im sure it would be worth it.

Go slow, gather some info and decide on what you would be doing to upgrade

One more question about this (sorry ): you said that my gpu might be to old for some newer motherboards, but gpu's dont have different slots right? Could you explain to me how newer mobo's dont support my 6950?

 

[gussrtk]

One more question about this (sorry ): you said that my gpu might be to old for some newer motherboards, but gpu's dont have different slots right? Could you explain to me how newer mobo's dont support my 6950?

I'm not 100% on this, but I know that your GPU is from around the time that Motherboards on computers had gotten a new BIOS system (so... lets say it's like... getting new WINDOWS, certain things can't work on windows XP, they require Windows 10 to operate, this is the example).

The physical slot has no issues. That's why I suggested to make a post about it when you're ready to upgrade, that way, you can be sure to get some other opinions for a clear answer on what you need. (from what I saw, it seems like you need to play around with your bios sesttings for installation, then you can switch bios version to newer one once you get everything running.

 

[The Paladin]

You could upgrade the cpu with either a Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9400 or Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9550 for cheap enough.
you could upgrade the memory to 8gb 800MHZ DDR2 Ram
As for video card, if your PSu is capable you can get maybe up to a GTX750TI. to run.

 

[martijn0801]

One more question about this (sorry ): you said that my gpu might be to old for some newer motherboards, but gpu's dont have different slots right? Could you explain to me how newer mobo's dont support my 6950?

I'm not 100% on this, but I know that your GPU is from around the time that Motherboards on computers had gotten a new BIOS system (so... lets say it's like... getting new WINDOWS, certain things can't work on windows XP, they require Windows 10 to operate, this is the example).

The physical slot has no issues. That's why I suggested to make a post about it when you're ready to upgrade, that way, you can be sure to get some other opinions for a clear answer on what you need. (from what I saw, it seems like you need to play around with your bios sesttings for installation, then you can switch bios version to newer one once you get everything running.

Allright i will post it for sure, dont want to make any stupid mistakes or anything, thanks for all the advice!
I might be able to get a i5 and a newer mobo from a family member, i am looking to see if that is something i would like to add on to!