Need some help

[Payne4real]

Hi, I want to get a new pc soon and I am in need of some help figuring out the right parts for me.

The PC I would like to have is a solid running one, that can play newer games on default or better settings. I want it to be around $450 and no more than $500. Is this possible? Or am I going to have to raise the budget.

I want to get a dual core processor, and atleast 2 Gb's of memory.

Any help? Or are these boundaries too small to get what I want.

[minsonngo]

500 is good for a basic system.

If you want a gaming machine... the budget needs to go up.

[blue60007]

Honestly, yeah that's really stretching it. Let me see what I can do...

Case of your choice - $40
FSP AX450 - $55
ASUS P5L-MX - $75
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 - $115
Corsair Valueselect DDR2-667 2x1GB - $65
EVGA 7600GT - $110
Seagate 7200.10 250GB - $65
LITE-ON DVD-RW - $30
Windows XP OEM (or Vista if you want) - $90

Dual core and 2 gigs of memory is no problem because it's so cheap...but what I've got above has minimal CPU and video card.

That's $650 from newegg.com, less shipping (taxes if applicable). As minsonngo said it's decent for a basic non-gaming system - you could drop the seperate video card (motherboard has onboard I believe) and 1 gig of RAM. As well a smaller hard drive but that's only going to save a few bucks (80gig is $40). That would bring you just under $500, but it won't play any games. $800-$900 would be more feasible for a pretty decent gaming system...

[Cricket]

Yeah, $500 for a computer capable of playing new games is pretty much impossible to do...it's possible to build a decent gamer for twice that amount. Normally when I'm asked to do a game rig I tell the buyer to budget for $1500 and possibly $2000 depending on the video card they want. And I build pretty mild gaming rigs, not high end ones...those start at $2500 and go up...way up...

Cricket

[Payne4real]

thanks for the help.

Im running a 2.4 ghz celeron d, 1 gb memory, ati radeon xpress 200 onboard video, and a crappy mobo right now. I wanted a decent upgrade.

I think Im gonna buy the pc in parts, the processor now, mobo in a week or two, etc.

[Cricket]

Give us the full specs of you current computer and maybe we can help you upgrade it into a decent gamer.

Is this a home built or name brand computer? Name brand computers really aren't worth upgrading.

Cricket

[Payne4real]

yea, its an HP Pavilion, so its deffinately not worh upgrading

[Payne4real]

Well Im going to just list the full specs like you asked anyway.

Intel Prescott Celeron D 341 2.91 GHZ
MOBO: Asterope HP mobo. ati chipset
RAM: Single 1GB DDR2 Hyundai Electronics
HDD: Seagate 160 GB 7200 RPM HD
Nice Lite-ON DVD-RW w/l lightscribe
onboard ATI Radeon XPress 200 video, 256 mb SHARED memory
EL Cheapo 250 WATT PSU
17 inch VGA monitor


and Ive got a nice Microsoft Keyboard and a Logitech G5 Mouse

[minsonngo]

Double your system memory to 2GB would help.

Also... adding a video card will make a big difference compared to the onboard one. But in order to do so... you may need a stronger PSU too...

And a processor upgrade from the Celeron would make a big difference.

[Payne4real]

But, would my motherboard be able to handle it?

[minsonngo]

Do you know the model number of the motherboard?


Otherwise... give us the brand and model number of your system.






Not sure if it is even worth the upgrade. You may be better off building a new system... but you need to budget more than 500 dollars if you want a gaming system. Maybe around 1000 dollars or so.

[Payne4real]

Alright, the pc is an HP Pavilion a1200y w/ ATI Chipset.


It runs great, but, I want a gaming machine.

[minsonngo]

Here is what your motherboard will support: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...829053&lang=en


So... going from a Celeron to the Pentium D would be a good change.


You can also max out your memory in the system to 2GB.


And... add a PCI Express x16 video card to the system also. But you will need a PSU upgrade.




In the end... it is probably best if you just build a new system. But it is your choice to make.

[Payne4real]

Yea, Im deffinately not gonna upgrade on this PC. In fact I was going to get a new pc then sell this one, a mate of mine said hell buy it for 350, that ups my budget a little.

So could someone do me a favor and make a list of parts for a nice medium gaming pc, that can run new games at regular or better settings. My budget is now about $870, so I think its possible now. Disregard a keyboard and mouse, I have that.

Ohh and, In the future I would like to upgrade this rig even more

[minsonngo]

Do you need a monitor also?

[Payne4real]

Yea that would be nice...

[minsonngo]

This comes out to $854.39 without shipping... but if you are a hardcore gamer... you need to set a bigger budget... that will allow you to get a better video card, processor, and maybe a better monitor...

But the build I put together will be a decent gaming build.

MOTHERBOARD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

MEMORY:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098

VIDEO CARD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062

PROCESSOR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115016

HARD DRIVE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140

OPTICAL DRIVE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

CASE & PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

MONITOR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009088

[Payne4real]

Thanks alot, i wanted to start out with a pc like this that I can upgrade later, this build looks like what I want.

Thanks alot.

[minsonngo]

No problem.