Anything usable from this system... or start again?

Graham27

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Hi folks,

I want to get back into PC gaming at the least expense possible. I have an ageing PC which has the following components:

MSI K8N SLI mobo (s939)
Athlon X2 4200+
2 GB Ram
XFX Nvidia 7900GT 256mb

Would a new graphics card let me play some modern games, or would my graphics card run anything current if I changed the mobo, processor and Ram? Would picking up another 7900GT cheap for SLI be of any use?

Basically, is anything usable, or should I just start again?!

Many thanks for any advice! :smashin:
 
You'd be better off starting again to be honest.

Depends which games you want to play?

If you want to play games like Battlefield 3, then you'll need a lot of grunt.

If you just want to play console ports like Modern Warfare 3, then you could just upgrade the graphics card and get it running fairly decently.
 
Bummer, that's kinda what I thought. That's what happens when you leave your PC uncared for for 5 years :D

Guess I'm as well starting with the mobo/processor/memory if I need to replace all of it?
 
Try GPU first... check that your motherboard can take a modern card and that it's not an AGP slot motherboard.

Put that in, try one of the games you want to play... if it doesn't work very well, get the rest of the upgrade.
 
Depending on your budget... Check my sig.

What's below will be able to play anything you throw at it.
 
Depending on your budget... Check my sig.

What's below will be able to play anything you throw at it.

i bet you can not play Ping Pong with eiren's wallet with your system he is too busy saving up for the first mission to mars before he upgrades.

:laugh:


Graham start again from the ground up:thumbsup:
if your into Mame32 ect i.e the old retro 80's arcades you could save it and use it as mame system:cool: i have an some old pc hardware that people have give me to build just for that job:)
 
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Guess it's a fresh start then. I'll give that PC to my Dad, he'll be amazed by it. He's just started computing at the age of 69 and is currently using a 1Ghz Athlon!

I only really thought about upgrading due to the cheap games on Steam and in the sales. I think my bargain games might turn out to be rather expensive. D'oh!

Thanks a lot for the info though! Much appreciated :thumbsup:
 
You could try a cheap upgrade updating the graphics card (assuming it's PCI-E, you could then carry over the new GPU onto your next build) and see about another 2Gb of RAM. You really will have to consider other things though. if you're getting rid of the whole thing by giving it to your dad, what's your budget for the replacement? I'm assuming you're keeping the mouse, KB, any speakers/headphones and monitor? Do you have an OS to install and if so, what is it? BF3 only supports Vista or newer.
 
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I thought about that when Eiren mentioned it, but I thought I was best buying a graphics card last, as it's the most important component? My current PC is PCI-e, what would be a 'cheap' upgrade? :) Unfortunately I have the 4 memory slots currently filled with 512mb sticks, I'd need to toss that away and buy 4gb new, at a cost of £72 or so.
 
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It is PCI-e, what would be a 'cheap' upgrade though? :)

well you can get a 275gtx very cheap think there around £45 even then that card will be bottlenecked with current specs, but still a big leap over that 7900,there is a few cards to pick out really.

have a look on classifieds here and see what there is :)
 
Thanks Namuk, I'm totally out of the loop with regard to PC stuff, I don't really know what I'm looking for to have a look in the classifieds :D

Would a 275GTX run current stuff, if and when I update the rest? I just don't want to have to upgrade again by the time I'm finished :)

Incidentally, the monitor is a 1680x1050 res. I also have the PC hooked up to a 1080p 32" TV, but that's mainly for iplayer and SkyGo, I think running games in 1080p would get expensive?

I don't really have a budget for new stuff, but I'm thinking something mid-range that will play most games, even if it doesn't play the very latest stuff particularly impressively. I'd even consider pre-built, as I'm in the Channel Islands so we get the VAT taken off by the likes of Dell, Dabs and Amazon, etc. Which is nice!
 
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Thanks Namuk, I'm totally out of the loop with regard to PC stuff, I don't really know what I'm looking for to have a look in the classifieds :D

Would a 275GTX run current stuff, if and when I update the rest? I just don't want to have to upgrade again by the time I'm finished :)

not hard to get out of the loop mate some times it goes woosh sometimes lol

the 275 is a good card and will run current stuff but not max games ect if you want lastest and greatest to carry on to the next system you really need to look at the nvidia 500 cards or the ati 6### cards (soon tobe replaced with 7### cards) if you really want to future proof or last for a while.

depends on your budget and gameing ect you want to do with the system.
 
Good stuff, thanks!

I'm just on Tom's Hardware looking at their benchmark charts, good to see some things don't change :) I'll have a look at those cards you've mentioned.
 
Graham, if you set yourself a budget it would be easier for you... and for us. If you tell us, what is the max you want to spend, do you have Win 7 already, do you keep keyboard/mouse and monitor, I'm sure somebody could help you build something descent... assuming you want to build the PC yourself that is.
 
A very good mid-range card is the 6770. I've seen them for £76.99 and they can play Battlefield 3 on Medium at 1080p very happily!

As Adrian says, give us a budget and we'll do our best :)
 
Yeah, better to go for something with DX11 on it so you can run that when it comes up.
 
I have no idea of budget yet as I'm still struggling to work out what's reasonable. I'm slightly lost :D

I think I'll abandon the upgrade idea. No point spending money on a graphics card that won't last very long, and I'd need to buy more ram, so better just starting from scratch.

Thanks for your input, chaps, but I think I need to do a lot more research. I'll start a new thread when I have half a clue what I'm talking about.

Cheers :thumbsup:
 
good idea Graham :smashin: it is just like walking into a av shop and buying a Hdtv blind , your better off knowing what is needed and wanted in the first place, not saying you need to no the Bleeding edge just an idea like you say, at least then once the system is built ect you can appreciate what you just bought.

when you no just post here sod the other thread:)
 
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Right, I'm back, after much reading of websites and magazines.

Currently looking at these components, thanks to Computer Shopper's Component Tests :D Feel free to chip in with other options, better ones or even just to tell me I'm a clueless eejit.

Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 mobo (£80)
Core i5-2500K (£160)
Sharkoon T9 Value case (£50)

Not sure about RAM, I'm not going to bother with OC'ing or anything (getting old... :)) but I'm going to be doing a lot of photo/video editing, so I was wondering what the optimum amount is at the mo? I see you can get 8GB for £35 or so, is it worth putting any more than that in?

I have spare HDDs here which I can use.

GFX: No clue. Still. Could I get anything decent for £100? Like the 6770 mentioned earlier, or maybe a 6870? Or is it a bad time to buy with new cards around the corner? I would like to play some games but it's not my main priority.

Ideally I'd like to buy as much as I can from Amazon or Dabs, as some companies charge a fair bit for delivery here whereas they're free, and they both take the VAT off. Every little helps :)

Thanks in advance gurus! :smashin:
 
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Those components are decent enough, should be able to get a decent overclock on that chip if you get a good cooler on it.

I'd wait till youve saved about £150 for a graphics card to get one unless you can pick one up cheap from the classifieds.
 
If you don't plan on over clocking why buy the k?

Just go for the i5-2500.
 
Why not go second hand and go for an i7 since you're gonna be mostly video / photo editing? Can get a good CPU/Mobo/Ram combo in classified for around £250 mark
 
You could just take the side off of that rig and use it as a bin...

That's about as good as it's gonna ever get!
 
ASUS or Gigabyte Z68 Mobo.
Intel i5 2500K or 2600K, if you require HyperThreading.
8GB of RAM.
+ a graphics card depending on your budget.

Done!
 
If you don't plan on over clocking why buy the k?

Just go for the i5-2500.
They're the same price, last time I looked the 2500k was actually £2 cheaper. Might as well get the K, in case the urge to fiddle with things grabs me :)
Why not go second hand and go for an i7 since you're gonna be mostly video / photo editing? Can get a good CPU/Mobo/Ram combo in classified for around £250 mark
Good suggestion, but I'd really rather buy new. I quite like having the peace of mind of a warranty, and with being able to get my VAT back it makes the difference in price a bit smaller.

Jambo, have you read any of the other posts? :D
 

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