• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Upgrading current PC

K

KHazard

n00b
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
18
First off, I would like to thank whom ever responds and I appreciate your willingness to help out. With that said, I am currently using a PC that I had built for me in 2004, so I'm really out of the loop when it comes to upgrading my PC. I'm looking to salvage any component(s) that are still worth keeping around.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming will/has been the primary use for this PC. Games that I plan to play in the future include: Diablo 3, BattleField 3, Modern Warfare 3, and Star Wars The Old Republic.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

I'm looking to spend $600-$900 on upgrades for my computer. Obviously, the lower the cost the better, but I still want to have a decent PC that will last me awhile. Taxes/shipping are Not included in that budget, I'm looking to spend the listed above, plus whatever taxes/shipping come to.

3) Where do you live?

I live in the state of Oregon.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

I was hoping I could list the current specs of my PC and be pointed in the direction I need to go as far as upgrades go. I know for sure I need a new power supply, mine is currently starting to go out. The rest of my specs go as the following:

Mobo: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe.
CPU: DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2200MHz 4200+
PSU: I know it's a 500W PSU, but it's going out and I need a new one for sure.
RAM: X2 Kingston 1GB DDR2 SDRAM.
Disc Drive: I currently have a DVD drive, I'll salvage that.
GPU: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB.
Sound Card: None, part of the Mobo.
Fans: I'll salvage those.
Case: I'll salvage that as well.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Listed above.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

I have a 17" Dell LCD monitor and plan on keeping it.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

As soon as possible, within 1 to 2 weeks. However, I'm patient enough to wait for feedback.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.

None of the listed about, just to be able to run my PC for gaming. I know my current mobo is SLI ready, but I don't use dual GPU's. So, nothing special in particular with needs on the mobo.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

I do not have a legit OS. Currently I'm using a 32bit xDark mod version of windows 7. I no longer have the copy of this OS in my possession, so I would need to purchase a new OS.

Note:

Like I said, I am currently running the PC listed above and I'm looking to upgrade the sh*t parts for decent parts. If all the parts listed above are completely obsolete, then I'm willing to upgrade everything. Again, I thank you in advance for taking your time to help out, I do sincerely appreciate it.
 
CPU/MB/RAM all need to be upgraded together since your current platform is obsolete. Since you don't plan to overclock and don't need SLI I'd suggest a cheap H67 board with a sandy bridge i5 and 8GB of ordinary DDR3.

You will probablly want to upgrade your GPU as well but i'll leave others to make reccomendations on that. You don't have to do the GPU upgrade at the same time as the CPU/MB/RAM but you probablly need to do it.

PSU wise I think arround 600W should be enough for pretty much any single GPU setup, afaict good brands include corsair, seasonic and antec.
 
Yeah, you're looking at a new CPU + mobo + RAM without a doubt. Definitely a new PSU as you mentioned. And a new GPU as well considering that we're talking about BF3 here. Almost a new PC altogether. Now what case are you reusing?
 
We definitely need to know what case you're reusing. Depending on the video card(s) chosen for your new rig, we may need to "upgrade" that as well.
 
Its nice that you dont plan on upgrading the 17" lcd (gpu wise) but why not?
 
$900 should be able to get you a pretty decent new gaming rig. Also, if that DVD drive is PATA you might be upgrading that as well. And definitely find out what case you have because I can see that needing to be replaced too.
 
Wow! Thank you everyone for the replies, I do appreciate the input.

The DVD drive I am currently using is a Pioneer DVR-111DBK. As for the case, I honestly have no idea what model it is. I know the brand is Antec, but that's about it. I've attempted to find a serial number or some form of identification to identify it, as well as looking through Antec models online, but I haven't had any luck with matching it. To me, it seems like a very "standard" case, it somewhat resembles Antec - Atlas 550 http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=Mjg= . Now, my case isn't exactly like that one, but it is Very similar.

@hossdaddy, the reason for not upgrading the monitor is because I'm content with it, I don't need anything too fancy. Also, since I have so much that needs to be upgraded I'm trying to keep the cost down by not having to purchase a new monitor. Will it honestly make a significant difference? Like I said, I'm pretty out of the loop since I haven't looked into computer components for the past 6-7 years.
 
which would you rather watch tv on a 22" lcd or a 32 lcd? It will fit more on the screen and you will be more emmersed on the games you play.

Here is a sample build,

Combo: $384.00
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core +
ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 +
G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 +
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W +
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit $99.99 + free shipping

XFX HD-679X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB $139.99 - $10 mir + free game + free shipping

Asus VW226T-TAA 22" WideScreen LCD Monitor $129.99 + free shipping

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $19.99 + free shipping

Total: $773.96 - $10 mir
 
Thank you hossdaddy for the quick reply. I'm definitely liking that sample build you put together, as well as the price for everything. I don't really have any questions on it, because I honestly don't know jack about computer components today. Unless someone else has any further input, I feel like I'll go with that build.
 
That would be significantly inferior to hossdaddy's build
 
A higher end build ($900.42) with a more powerful CPU, GPU, and higher resolution monitor would get you:

$185 - Intel Core i5-2300
$85 - ASRock H67M (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 (Chosen for price + USB3, which may provide a future benefit to you.)
$34 - G.SKILL Value Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$165 (before $25 MIR) - XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB + AMD Gift - SHOGUN game coupon + Dirt 3 Download (see this link.)
$52 - Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM + Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B
$60 (before $10 MIR) - COOLER MASTER HAF 912
$55 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W
$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
$150 - Acer G235HAbd 23'' WideScreen LCD monitor
Subtotal: $885.90
Shipping: $14.52
Total: $900.42
Total after MIRs: $865.42

If your budget was slightly larger, I would upgrade to a Samsung F3 1TB for another $19, then upgrade to the Intel Core i5-2500 for another $10, then the Antec Neo ECO 620C 620W PSU for another $10, and finally look at either a different GPU (can spend quite a bit more here, but even $35 gives a good bump in performance) and/or a nicer monitor (the one I linked is good, but there are nicer ones out there for $25 to $50 more.) You can also consider doubling your RAM to 8GB. For these upgrades, I would do them in the order I listed.

This is a different price point than what Hossdaddy linked, but still within your budget (assuming you don't object to being $0.42 over.) Also, if you do decide to go with Hossdaddy's build, you might consider getting a single 4GB stick of RAM rather than two 2GB sticks. This leaves you an open slot for upgrading in the future, and you don't take much of a performance hit. However since it's included in a Newegg Bundle I'm not sure how to go about that.
 
Thank you everyone for your input, I do appreciate you taking your time to help out. I'll be purchasing the build you suggested hossdaddy, I don't need anything too fancy or high-end. I'll be looking forward to testing it out once some decent games come out, thanks again everyone.
 
gl with the build! Please try to post some pics of your build when you are done.
 
KHazard,

Good luck with the build! You've made a wise decision to go for the combo hossdaddy suggested instead of the TigerDirect barebones kit you linked to.

Here's why:

1) The i3-2100 is faster than almost all of the current-generation AMD CPUs in gaming. The only current AMD CPU that might match the i3-2100 at stock speeds would be the substantially overpriced Phenom II X4 975BE.

2) The Sonata III case comes with a substantially better quality included PSU (the EA500) than the Thermaltake V2 in that TigerDirect kit (a pretty shitty TR2 series PSU).

3) Although the TigerDirect kit comes with a larger hard drive (1.5TB versus 1TB), the 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11 hard drive has had far more than its share of reliability problems while at the same time it's of a much older platter design than the 1TB Seagate 7200.12 SATA 6.0 Gbps drive that hossdaddy linked to. The 1.5TB 7200.11 needed four 375GB platters to achieve its 1.5TB capacity while the 1TB 7200.12 uses only two 500GB platters in its design.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for explaining E4g1e. Come Monday, I'll put my order in through newegg and patiently await for my new PC :) And a big thank you to everyone, I appreciate all your input.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top