[hirow]

I decided to post to get opinions from experienced PC builders on how I should upgrade my budget gaming PC that's over a year old. I want to get a boost in performance while spending as little as possible. My current specs are:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-SKN2-GP

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 460W ATX12V V2.3

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

GIGABYTE GA-M57SLI-S4 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

Since I'm running on Windows XP, simply upgrading my RAM won't do much for me. I was thinking maybe I could get a Geforce 9600 GT, but I'm not even sure if it works with my mobo, or how much better it would be than my current 7600GT.

Advice is greatly appreciated.

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Welcome to GeeksToGo,

My name is Cbarnard I hope I may be of some assistance to you.

Please keep in mind this is not our job and I'm not here 24\7. It can take a little bit of time for me to reply back to you, if it has been more than 48hrs since a reply, please PM me and I will be with you as soon as possible.

With that said lets take a look.

How much is your budget? I can better help you if I know this.

Since I'm running on Windows XP, simply upgrading my RAM won't do much for me.

I have XP 32bit, I have 4 gb of ram installed my system sees 3.25 gb of it. That is alot better than the 2 you have, and it is a cheap upgrade on your board... 30 bucks

Corsair xms2 ddr2 800


I was thinking maybe I could get a Geforce 9600 GT, but I'm not even sure if it works with my mobo, or how much better it would be than my current 7600GT.

You should be able to purchase a 9600 it is PCI express 2.0, but your board should handle that.
For gaming the GPU is pretty important this will help your gaming experiences.

I have more ideas but I need to know how much the budget is...

Reply back and I will assist you further...


Cbarnard

[cbarnard]

Welcome to GeeksToGo,

My name is Cbarnard I hope I may be of some assistance to you.

Please keep in mind this is not our job and I'm not here 24\7. It can take a little bit of time for me to reply back to you, if it has been more than 48hrs since a reply, please PM me and I will be with you as soon as possible.

With that said lets take a look.

How much is your budget? I can better help you if I know this.

Since I'm running on Windows XP, simply upgrading my RAM won't do much for me.

I have XP 32bit, I have 4 gb of ram installed my system sees 3.25 gb of it. That is alot better than the 2 you have, and it is a cheap upgrade on your board... 30 bucks

Corsair xms2 ddr2 800


I was thinking maybe I could get a Geforce 9600 GT, but I'm not even sure if it works with my mobo, or how much better it would be than my current 7600GT.

You should be able to purchase a 9600 it is PCI express 2.0, but your board should handle that.
For gaming the GPU is pretty important this will help your gaming experiences.

I have more ideas but I need to know how much the budget is...

Reply back and I will assist you further...


Cbarnard

[hirow]

Cbarnard,

Thanks for your reply. I have no particular budget, so I'm open to suggestions. I'm looking for low cost parts because I don't need top of the line items, just "good enough". However I don't want to sacrifice stability for pricing, so a cheap part that will burn out on me is what I'm trying to avoid. This is why I can't just look for the lowest prices on newegg, and need to ask for what parts are reliable. I hope to keep the upgrade below $200, but it can be lower or higher depending on how much better the upgrade would be.

Also, do you have suggestions on which 9600GT I should get?

[cbarnard]

I have no particular budget, so I'm open to suggestions.

Well I can give you those...



Also, do you have suggestions on which 9600GT I should get?

I would look at other EVGA video cards, and for an extra $25 I would look at the 9800 series



To spend the least:


I would get a 9800gt video card (Gigabyte, EVGA, Asus, and MSI)

Upgrade the ram to the specs of my link from my 1st post.

Maintain your current CPU, it's pretty fast.(you could probably OC it and get 3ghz reasonably speaking, although this may require an aftermarket cooler.



To spend more than 200


purchase the 9800 video card

Get the ram

and purchase a AMD 7750 This one is a black box, meaning it has unlocked multipliers to make OCing easier cost $60



And then the one that would cost you the most, but you would again have a new computer.

New Asrock mobo $80

AMD 9950 CPU $150

Corsair Ram $34

You could squeak by with your current PSU but I would get something like this OCZ $69

All of the prices are after mail in rebates.

You would also have to use your other remaining parts from your computer to finish the build in this setup.

I hope this has helped you if you have any other questions feel free to ask them.

Cbarnard

[hirow]

Thanks again Cbarnard,

I think I'll get some RAM and a new 9600GT.

For the RAM, should I get this G-SKILL or CORSAIR?

For the GPU, ASUS or EVGA?

I'd like to stick to as low of a cost as possible, but I want some feedback before I commit to buy.

Edited by hirow, 17 April 2009 - 01:07 PM.

[cbarnard]

Hey Hirow...

Ok looking over your last post:

The G skill ram you selected is PC2-8500 what you need is PC2-6400
G skill or Corsair

Those are both good.

They have excellent support if needed and they stand behind their products... And the price is beautiful... I build all systems mine and others with Corsair

And as for the EVGA or Asus video card they are almost exactly the same.

I would purchase based on the reviews of them and your preference...

Good luck, I hope I have been helpful to you,

Cbarnard

[hirow]

Thanks again, and yes you have been very helpful.

I've taken a look at BFG since their tech support seems to have gotten great reviews, and was wondering if you think this http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814143161 GPU would fit in this http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119104 case.

As for the RAM, I've decided on G skill. Thanks for pointing out that it's the wrong type

[cbarnard]

Hirow

I've taken a look at BFG since their tech support seems to have gotten great reviews, and was wondering if you think this http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814143161 GPU would fit in this http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119104 case.

From what I can see you will have to wait for Newegg to receive a shipment of that GPU, as they appear out of stock...(not sure, but it is set to auto notify when available)

It appears that that case and video card should be compatible.

As for the RAM, I've decided on G skill. Thanks for pointing out that it's the wrong type.

No problem always willing to help...

If you need anything else don't be afraid to ask

Good Luck

Cbarnard

[cbarnard]

Hello,

I see that you have not replied to this post. Do you still need assistance?

If the problem has been resolved please post a reply stating this is resolved. If the problem resurfaces again please reference this thread in the new thread you start.

If you continue to need assistance please reply back with requested information asked for previously in my last post.

I like to hear how things are going for the people I'm assisting, please let me know how it is going good or bad!!!

Thank you very much and good luck

Cbarnard

[hirow]

Yes I've bought my parts, thanks.

[cbarnard]

Hirow,

Thank you for your reply:

I wish you good luck with your build if you have any other questions. We will be here for you.

Let us know how it turns out!

Cbarnard