Upgrade

[Haizzaa]

Okay, so I simply dont have the funds to build a new pc from scratch, or buy a new one right now; but was thinking of slowly upgrading my current one? is this advisable? It is a store bought pc and this is its specs:

CPU Intel® Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard MSI® MS-7358
Memory 3GB DDR2 PC2-5300 (2x1024MB + 2x512MB)
Hard Drive 320GB SATA hard drive
CD / DVD Drive Dual layer DVD±RW
Floppy Drive Not installed
Card Reader 8-in-1 Memory Card Reader
Modem Not installed
Video / Graphics Card nVidia® GeForce 8500 GT 512MB (with TurboCache) PCI-Express
TV Card Philips TV Card
Sound Card Realtek High Definition Audio (7.1)
Network Card Intel® 82566 Family Gigabit Ethernet Controllers
Network Card MSI 802.11b/g wireless LAN


Mainly I need a new graphics card, but im pretty sure my PSU wont handle it, 250 watt.

So just wondered really what you guys thought

Thanks

[glc]

What makes you feel it needs an upgrade? What's the brand and model of the computer?

The power supply absolutely cannot handle a graphics card upgrade.

[Haizzaa]

I use my pc for games quite a bit, and its beggining to not be able to handle some of the newer games, and gets rather frustrating!

Pc make and model number is : ADVENT QC 4001

I thought as much, don't recognize make of PSU either!

[Haizzaa]

Whether this is any help im not sure?

http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={c1ad3f28-c4d1-4bc6-b89e-ec4d2b0344ee}&CatID={4890d8e3-33cb-47f9-a7e6-07b3e4dddc4f}

[glc]

Is it a standard ATX power supply or is it a micro? Does the case have room in it for a larger video card?

What is your budget for an upgrade?

[Haizzaa]

Its a standard ATX power supply, and yes my case does have room. I did check all this, but was just worried about whether it would even handle an upgrade, I guess the best thing to do it upgrade the PSU before anything?
Budget is pretty variable, im gonna do it over a time period.... like upgrade the PSU...... then the graphics card etc etc etc. this okay?

[glc]

Yep - do the power supply first - I'd recommend around 500 watts from Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec. Other than that and the video card, there really aren't any other meaningful upgrades you can do that would be worth the cost.

[Haizzaa]

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated

[birddog_61]

Like GLC said get a quality PSU that is larger than you think you will need, when you do have the funds to build a new one the PSU can go into that build if you buy a quality brand with enough power. After your graphics card upgrade your kind of at a wall, are you running a 64bit os or 32bit? When you get to this point in order to get more performance you will have a couple of options and one is free or cheap (a new cpu cooler) and the other could be cheap or run you a few bucks depending on what os you have. After the PSU and graphics card upgrade I would make sure you are running a 64 bit os if not I would switch to one and upgrade ram to around 6 gigs, after that I would buy a new cpu cooler and overclock the processor to around 3ghz to keep it safe and call it good until you can afford a new build. If you are not comfortable OC the processor you can read up on it and see if its something you think you could do.

[glc]

That computer really isn't suitable for overclocking. The core components weren't designed with that in mind. You don't need to overclock the processor for decent gaming performance, the video card is MUCH more important.

[birddog_61]

Im not sure about his board, but the cpu is for sure OC capable to around 3ghz on air. With a modern graphics card he is probably going to be cpu bottle necked, and the only way to make his computer faster after ram upgrade will be to OC. He will need to decide how far he is willing to take this computer, if he wants it to run modern games at decent frame rates OC is the only way. If he isn't a gamer then it really won't make to much of a difference.

[glc]

Birddog, please check your private messages.

I don't think his budget is going to be able to handle a card strong enough to bottleneck a stock Q6600. Besides, almost anything is going to game better than that 8500GT.

[Haizzaa]

Only just seen all your latest comments thanks for your replies, im in the UK and my budget for a graphics card is around £100. I have also been looking around at Power Supplies, is this one any good?

Antec Trio 550W TP3-550

Thanks Guys

[Haizzaa]

Rephrase that

Be honest would it just be better, if I saved up for a lil while and built my own from scratch?

How good a pc can I make for a budget of around £500? (im in the UK)

Thanks

[glc]

You could buy a power supply and video card now, and use those as a basis for a new build when you get some more money. To make it worthwhile, you need to plan on at least 200 quid to upgrade both.

Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80.. | Ebuyer.com

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[Haizzaa]

Thanks so much, I think I'll do that! Will those Video Cards definitely work with all of my components? Im just worried my components may not be good enough?

[glc]

Either one will work fine.