PC Upgrade Plans

BikerTech

Hello all,

I am thinking of upgrading my current PC with better parts to play games like Sim City 4 and The Sims 4 and games like Rome/2 if possible.

I have a HP Pavilion 500-242ea which was bought some months ago and has been perfect for light everyday duties which is the bulk of my usage on a PC,but recently I came across a couple of older games I had from my previous PC and I found I cant play all of them, I.e Sims 2, C+C Generals Deluxe Ed and Age of Empires 3.
Then other games I have will play i.e Tycoon city New york plays fine and also Medieval 2 play fine except for the screen size being tiny but that probably to do with my usage of a 32" HD TV as a monitor.

Maybe the games are too old or maybe my current PC is not up to the task.

The specs of my current PC are:

HP Pavilion 500-242ea Desktop PC
Windows 8.1 64bit version
AMD A8-5500 processor
AMD Radeon R5 235 Dual Graphics + HD 7560D
6gb ram
1tb hard drive
300w Power supply

I have read up on the current graphics card and it seems to be a fairly low end one so no doubt I would need to upgrade that,but unless I,m mistaken I cant go for one of the most up to date graphics cards as the motherboard wont handle it,correct me if I,m wrong there but I,m still a newbie with all this tech stuff and learning as I go,but I also dont want to find if I go and buy something and it aint right, I have wasted money so I,m hoping to get some help from you good people.

Thanks and appreciate any helpful advice.

Tom

TerrorFirmer

If those are the only games you're looking to play your PC is more than enough. Your graphics aren't high-end but they're capable enough for light gaming on modern titles, and older titles like that are no challenge whatsoever. I would imagine whatever problems you are encountering are compatibility related to your OS and not graphic related.

BikerTech

Ok, Thanks for your comment.

BikerTech

I,d appreciate some advice as to what graphics card I could upgrade too as if I,m not mistaken I have an intergrated graphics card on my pc.

Would I be looking for a Graphics card that has an FM2 socket which is the same as my motherboard or if not, what specs and details should I follow to ensure compatibility with set up.

I understand I may have to upgrade my PSU also, I have the same question about that how wold I know what PSU would be the correct supply and not overdo it or get one that is too weak.

I,d appreciate the help,

Thanks

SterlingArcher

BikerTech wrote: »

I,d appreciate some advice as to what graphics card I could upgrade too as if I,m not mistaken I have an intergrated graphics card on my pc.

Would I be looking for a Graphics card that has an FM2 socket which is the same as my motherboard or if not, what specs and details should I follow to ensure compatibility with set up.

I understand I may have to upgrade my PSU also, I have the same question about that how wold I know what PSU would be the correct supply and not overdo it or get one that is too weak.

I,d appreciate the help,

Thanks

No, graphics cards go In the PCI express slot. Which you have in yours.

You could get a gtx 750Ti without the need for the PSU upgrade. If this is something you would like to do can talk further.

The older games are most likely not your pc.

BikerTech

Thanks for your reply SterlingArcher,

The expansion sockets it says I have are :
1 x PCI Express x16 (Gen2.0)
3 x PCI Express x1 (Gen2.0)

Are these up to date with modern graphics card or are they old hat?

Appreciate the help

SterlingArcher

BikerTech wrote: »

Thanks for your reply SterlingArcher,

The expansion sockets it says I have are :
1 x PCI Express x16 (Gen2.0)
3 x PCI Express x1 (Gen2.0)

Are these up to date with modern graphics card or are they old hat?

Appreciate the help

PCI express x16 is the one you be using. yes is up to date.

If you are getting the gtx 750 ti. You need to be aware some brands of that card require a PSU with a PCI six pin connection. so you will need one of the ones without that requirement. MSI one for example.