Looking for Gaming PC. Need some Ideas

Dαññ¥

Dαññ¥

A Little Darkly
Basically I want a computer that runs games nice and smoothly. The PC I have right now is pretty bad. Here are the specs.

To start off I just wanna say, this computer runs Windows XP. 32-bit :feelscry:

Motherboard - MSI MS-7309
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X Dual Core 2.61 GHz
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
Hard Drive - 298 GB. (Ew.)
RAM - 3 GB DDR2 (Windows XP has a 3 GB Cap.. rofl)


As you can see I need a lot of shit. Like a whole new computer. I'm just looking for price ranges and maybe specific models to look into! I'd appreciate as much input as you can give me! Thanks a lot! :P
 
zackychuu

zackychuu

TD Admin / Wanker
I think all you need is a new graphics card.

If you have the money to upgrade though, go for it.
But first I would look in to the Graphics card...I think that's what is dragging you down.
 
TurboTaco

TurboTaco

TD Admin
you need 64 bit OS for sure, 3GB Ram is on the low-end for gaming

New HDD for sure

New GPU for sure

Not sure how well your AMD is for overclocking, but if u can squeeze out some more clock without overheating, then it could be OK. If u end up getting a new CPU, you will likely need a new Mobo too. If you can't OC without overheating, a $30 HSF might help, otherwise you can use it for your new CPU anyway.

Most new CPUs are $150-350 depending on quality/brand
Most mobos are $100-300 depending " " "
Non SSD HD are $100-$200 depending " " "
New Case around $50-200 depedning " " "
GPU anywhere between $100-600 depending " " "
RAM between $100-300 depending " " "

Windows 7 64bit Free, torrent an AIO or find a friend who has an install disc
 
iac

iac

Future Ban List Occupant
I dont know a lot about your motherboard or processor, but you only need a small upgrade in your vid card you should be fine. Find an 8800 geforce nvidia gts to replace yours and you will have no further issues really. and buy the windows 7 upgrade, xp started to screw me a little bit as well.
 
Dαññ¥

Dαññ¥

A Little Darkly
Alright cool! I'll probably just end up buying a whole new PC. This info helps out a lot! What are you guys runnin'? I'm interested to know :megusta:
 
zackychuu

zackychuu

TD Admin / Wanker
I suggest building from scratch, It's cheaper, and pretty fun building your own PC :D

ATM I'm running:
Case - CiT Mars Blue LED fans
Motherboard - BIOSTAR TA790GXB3
Power Unit - Some kind of cheap 500W one
Processor - AMD Athlon II x2 250
Processor Fan - Stock
Graphics Card - Radeon HD 6770
Hard Drive - 1 TB I picked up from Amazon on the cheap
CD Drive - SATA DVD RW from uncles old PC
RAM - Regular 8GB DDR3 533mhz (2x 4GB)
Fans - 2 Blue LED Case fans, one at front, one on the side.

Soon to be upgrading:
Power Unit - OCZ 700Watt ModXStream
Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 965
Processor Fan - Zalman CNPS9900

I was going to upgrade my case to a Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 but decided against it.
 
47

47

TD Admin, Chicken Licker, Top Shelf Sleeper
ppl have built sick i5 or i7 builds with ssd's for a good price. shits cheap now. make sure u build, dont buy a dell.
 
excalibur

excalibur

DARKLY Regular
check put cyperpower.com they have a ton of nice rigs if you don't want to build personally but you can customize them 100% and just have them build it for you. you can pick on on a base price and go from there find one a little cheaper than you wanna pay and do some upgrades until you get to your price, they even do overclocking and the majority of the pcs u can customize come with free liquid cooling upgrades.
 
halfbakedchef

halfbakedchef

TD Admin
For a cheap build

i3 540 (CPU)
Intel dp55wg (mobo)
Nvidia gtx 460 (GPU)
Basic ram
Cheap SSD

That's what I use runs like a dream

Bout 400 altogether
 
TurboTaco

TurboTaco

TD Admin
We have a whole post your gaming rig thread here

Some members have had a lot of success with the Intel Q6600 as well with the i5/i7 chipsets for overclocking and performance.

You don't need to build a machine with top-end parts to get the gaming quality you're looking for. You will definitely need a 64bit OS tho to take advantage of more RAM. Your video card IS outdated and while iac suggests getting a new 8800 GT, I wouldn't even consider any GPU older than 1 year at this point.

GPUs are pumped out so fast every year, the newest one quickly becomes an old fart. Buying a 'new' 8800 is not going to compare to the performance a mid-range ATI/Nvidia cards that are out now. I personally have the GTX 570, but a 560 or even an older 480 will be a HUGE boost from the 8800GT/S u are using. ATI provides more Value/$ and you can get a really good performing card without burning through your budget.

Do some research, ask some questions here. So many techno-geeks willing to provide tips. Building yourself is definitely gonna save you $, but if you are completely new to building your own rig, some local shops like canadacomputers/tigerdirect/ncix will build it for you without completely raping you like geeksquad or something like that would.

My Q6600 cpu is almost 5 years old now, but with a $30 HSF I have OC'd its from stock 2.4ghz to 3.6ghz stable which is mostly enough cpu speed to run a majority of today's games no troubles. Without having an SSD I know for a fact my games load slower than the new i5/i7 chips, but my GPU takes over once the CPU loading is done and the game runs completely fine despite having a minor CPU bottleneck.

Your current setup is pretty dated and uses some pretty low-end parts. A new revamp'd PC would be quite ideal if you have the $ to spend.

My GF's brother was looking to buy a new comp a few months ago. This is the spec sheet I provided. *NOTE* the prices have likely gone down on some of these items and some may no longer even be available. The links may no longer work either. If it is however, I think this rig is fairly decent for the price and should meet your needs while being easily future-proofed with some minor upgrades down the line.

Case: Antec Three Hundred Two Premium AB All Black Gaming Series Mid-ATX w/ 1x 140mm Blue Twocool / 2x 120mm Blue Twocool -- *Canada Computers Exclusive* $59.99 w/ MIR
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=045469
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Quad-Core Socket LGA1155, 3.30Ghz, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm (Retail Boxed) (BX80623I52500K) (Sandy Bridge architecture a MUST) $229.99
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=035530
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Deluxe (Rev.3.0) Socket 1155 Intel P67 Chipset CrossfireX/SLI Dual-Channel DDR3 2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333Mhz 3x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Dual GigaLAN 8-CH High Definition Audio 4x SATA 6.0Gb/s 4x SATA 3.0Gb/s 4x USB 3.0 2xFirewire Bluetooth v2.1 ATX 189.99 w/ MIR
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=036779
GPU: Asus ENGTX560 Ti DCII/2DI/1GD5 nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti Chipset (830Mhz) 1GB (4000Mhz) GDDR5 Dual Dual-Link DVI-I/Mini HDMI Display PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card $219.99 w/ Disc. & MIR
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=036683
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 1.5V DIMM (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R) $48.99
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=044391
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Power Supply (OCZ700MXSP) $59.99
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=020479
HDD: Seagate Barracuda (ST1000DM003) SATA3 6.0Gb/s 1TB 64MB Cache (OEM) $89.99
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_1086_210_212&item_id=042240
Total before tax: $898.93
After Tax: $1015.79
 
Dαññ¥

Dαññ¥

A Little Darkly
Holy crap! Thanks guys! This is more than what I was looking for! I friggin' love you TD bastards.
 
Glocky

Glocky

Drinking your tears
Got a grand? http://source.ncix.com/eblast/eblast-Vesta-09142012/index-lp.html
Got only half that? http://source.ncix.com/eblast/eblast-Vesta-09212012/index-lp.html

That said... it depends on what you're playing/doing now, and what you plan to play/do during it's lifespan.
I buy a rig every 4-5 years, and just replace the video card about half way... nice playability that way. But it's about $2k for the new system, and another $300 for the new card. And then I give the system to my kids (another 5 yr lifespan or so).
 
cranswick

cranswick

TD Admin
get this motherboard...

EVGA-SR-X-2.jpg
 
cranswick

cranswick

TD Admin
of course not, but who gives a fuck...SLi and CF doesn't give you twice the performance, but no one gives a shit, it's kick-ass...and you can get killer FPS on three 32" monitors...who doesn't want 16 cpu cores 48gb of ram and 4 video cards...hell 8 SSD's in RAID 0 would be cool too...
 
zackychuu

zackychuu

TD Admin / Wanker
cranswick said:
of course not, but who gives a fuck...SLi and CF doesn't give you twice the performance, but no one gives a shit, it's kick-ass...and you can get killer FPS on three 32" monitors...who doesn't want 16 cpu cores 48gb of ram and 4 video cards...hell 8 SSD's in RAID 0 would be cool too...
Click to expand...
Imagine how much all of that would cost 0.0
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top