Upgrading my PC

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:42 am Post subject: Upgrading my PC Post Rating: 0

Hi

Firstly, i apologise if i am in the wrong section, and if i am, please delete/lock or do whatever, lol.

I generally need help in regards to upgrading my PC.
I am hoping to upgrade my PC enough to play the latest games like "CRYSIS" and "Need For Speed: Pro Street"..and also getting prepared for GTA that "may" come out in PC, so generally i need it good enough to play smoothly.... Whistling

I'v played FIFA08, but i could not even play that at its best graphics...rofl

My current specs are:

OS: Vista
Processor: Intel Pentium D CPU 2.8Ghz 2800Mhz
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GEFORCE 7500 E (128mb?...256mb?..not sure)
RAM: 1GB (not sure if it'' DDr or SD...)
HDD: 200GB

Please let me know if i need to list more specs...or info
Any help would be great! thanks! Laugh

Chaper solutions would be the best! lol Laugh

Thanks^^

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:15 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I haven't upgraded my PC since DEC 2003...and I bought mostly lower end stuff (at the time.) I don't know how I managed to keep this computer running with all those new software and existing softwares' upgrades bogging me down.

According to www.crysis-online.com, the recommended system hardware for Crysis is:

CPU: Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 or better
RAM: 1.5GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 7800 Series, ATI Radeon 1800 Series or better
VRAM: 512MB of Graphics Memory
Storage: 12GB
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
ODD: DVD-ROM
OS: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
DirectX: DX9.0c or DX10

so, I would get a Core2Duo at around 2.2 or better, 2GB RAM, and a few steps up above the cards listed. That way, the new computer will last you at least 2, maybe 3 years.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

And maybe you should consider changing your operative from Vista to Xp if you can, if you are serious about gaming, because Vista uses a lot more ram memory than Xp.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 10:33 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

You'll want to find a Motherboard that has "some" support for next gen technologies. Features like SLI / Crossfire, SATA II and Quad Core support will help you alot.

Core Duo processors are pretty cheap with a 2.8 being a very good price / performance choice the last time I checked.

RAM is the trickiest thing to pick as they come in many speeds, sizes and types (DDR 1,2,3). My experience shows that saving alittle on the RAM and spending that little bit extra on the Graphics Card instead is a good idea since RAM tends to fall in price very fast as soon as a new generation comes out (Two year from now cheap upgrades yay!)

Finally as far as Graphics Cards go it is mostly based on your preferences. Some like ATI, some Nvidia. I'd suggest you read up on the card you want before you buy it as cards from different manufacturers can often vary in quality and features.

Anyways, best of luck with your upgrade. Wish I could afford one Laugh

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 2:54 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Thanks guys for the help! ^^

I'll have a deeper look into the "Next Gen" stuff since i have no idea what that is atm..lol
Hmm....I heard XP is better compared to Vista...but...yeh...lol

So generally, i should get btter RAM, Processor and Graphics Card yeh? ^^ ( which is..basically EVERYTHING! lol)

Anyways, it helped alot! thanks!

Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

First of all, unless you have money to waste SLI is not the way to go. Nowadays many quality parts are cheap. If your not a very avid gamer that wants to run all games on max with 60+ fps; value RAM/8800GT and maybe a Quad Core considering if you encode videos, etc. I do suggest newegg.com (If you live in the States) or try to compare prices on pricegrabber.com to buy your parts since the site always daily discounts and rebates. A factory Superclocked 8800GT 512mb is about in the $150 range, a Q6600 @ about $200 or a E6750 @ about $170 (Both are great for OCing). Value Gaming RAM is the way to go, 4Gigs (2x2) are around $100. PSU and other parts you should be able to choose to your preferences, I doubt you need to replace everything though.

]上戸彩, Ueto Aya

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:18 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I'll throw in a recommendation for a video card. I built 8 machines using nVidia 8800GT's and nVidia 9600GT's for LAN parties at my home. I recently purchased an ATI 4850 which retails around $199 USD but you can find them cheaper on-line. The ATI 4850 blows my 8800GT's away *and* with ATI's UVD2 technology, you can offload H.264 (x264) and VC-1 to the ATI 4850 which means you don't need a hefty CPU to play back HD 720P and 1080P files. It works great installing PowerDVD Ultra 8 for the UVD enabled drivers along with ATI's AVIVO drivers. Then I just use Media Player Classic to view them.

Good luck on your upgrading!

Cheers,
Kermee