400 budget for PC upgrade.

Wintergreen

Hey guys,

A while ago I had a problem with my Dell XPS 710 which I bought sometime in 2007. I've since determined that the graphics card has died. I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the other hardware along with the graphics card or should I just buy a basic one to get the PC up and running again. Ideally I'd like use it for some gaming (Civ 5, Rome 2, Skyrim, Bioshock etc etc). Before the graphics card died, the PC was unable to meet the requirements of certain modern games due to low processing power.

Currently the machines specifications are:

- Intel Duel Core 2.66Ghz
- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (Currently broken)
- 4 X 1GB DDR2 RAM
- Windows Vista 32bit (Friend can provide me with Windows 7 32bit)
- iiyama 1440 x 900 60hz monitor
- 700W PSU
- Can't identify the mother board but it seems to be made by Dell
- The PC also contain's load's of fan's and heat sink's so I'm willing to risk that it can handle any additional heat generated as a result of any upgrades

I've heard it is difficult to upgrade these machines as Dell's motherboard is not always compatible with other manufactures equipment. I'm hoping that you guy's can tell me if it's possible to put a new processor etc into the existing hardware. As mentioned, I'd like to use it for gaming. Other than that it would be used for college work (CAD, Microsoft Office, etc) and browsing. 400 is the most I'd hope to spend. Really appreciate any help you could provide

Thanks in advance!

PS: I definitely need to get this working soon as I'm going back to college shortly. I was thinking of this laptop if the PC cant be repaired:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-5560G-63424G50Mnkk-Notebook-DVD-SuperMulti-Windows/dp/B00829IPXK/ref=sr_1_109?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1376317605&sr=1-109&keywords=laptops#productDetails

I know it's above my budget but I'd find a way

lukepaddy2

Something like this. I presume you have a monitor. What Resolution is it? If you can sell your PC for 100 or so you could put more into the graphics card or get a 1080P monitor. If you can manage the 500 mark you could have a very good gaming rig

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€101.96
MSI 760GA-P43 (FX), Sockel AM3+, ATX, PCIe|€51.58
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€45.97
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.92
4GB G.Skill RipJaws PC3-10667U CL9|€30.95
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€56.12
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 OC, 1GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€93.46
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€431.95

Wintergreen

Thanks Lukepaddy. I have a monitor already got it ages ago, think the resolution is 1440 x 900.

Ideally I was wondering if it would be possible to simply put a new processor, graphics card and additional RAM into the existing setup. Maybe that way I could spend more on the individual component's. I don't suppose you know if that's possible?

Thanks for your help though, the above looks really good for that price!

lukepaddy2

If you are only gaming at 1400*900 resolution then the above build should be perfectly fine for your needs. Everyone games on 1980*1080 or even higher resolution which is what you need better graphics cards for.

Your motherboard is outdated and won't support any new/decent processors and will still bottleneck games. It only supports slower ram as well. The Power supply is outdated is well and would need to be modified which is not easy to do. Its also an old style case which wont support new motherboards.

The processor I linked in the build there will last for years and if you eventually get an 1080P monitor all you have to do it upgrade the graphics card. You could get a much much better graphics card for another 50 euro that would be grand for 1080P gaming. Although the 7770 would be fine on medium to high setting at 1080P

Wintergreen

Ok cool, thanks very much your a life saver! I'll look into getting a new monitor/graphics card when (if!) the finances improve.

One last thing, if I got Windows 7 on a USB would I just change the boot sequence to start from the USB and then it would automatically begin installing the operating system? Sorry if I'm not making sense.

lukepaddy2

Wintergreen wrote: »

Ok cool, thanks very much your a life saver! I'll look into getting a new monitor/graphics card when (if!) the finances improve.

One last thing, if I got Windows 7 on a USB would I just change the boot sequence to start from the USB and then it would automatically begin installing the operating system? Sorry if I'm not making sense.

Yea thats all you have to do, 7770 is a decent enough card even at 1080P on medium to high settings and maxes out some games

Wintergreen

Wow that sound's pretty simple. Thanks very much for your help, I think that's definitely the best idea.

Cheer's for clearing up my question's, really appreciate it!