[Bodiniho]

Hi there I currently have a computer with the current specs:

• Asus A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
• AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (2.21Ghz) Processor
• 1GB RAM (2 x 512mb)
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS Graphics Card
• 250gb 7200rpm hard drive

The Main Fan at the back of the PC has stopped working, and the case is fairly small and the side has broken off.

The problem is I can run my favourite games like Half Life 2, Football Manager 2010, Age of Empires 3, BUT my graphics card over heats and my PC will freeze. And that is while running the games on there lowest specs.

How much would a computer cost that could easily handle games such as the ones mentioned above?
Or could i get away with a new graphics card, more memory, and a decent graphics card cooling system?

Cheers, James.

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personally, i think your computer should not be upgraded. I say this simply because in the last 6 months, i have not installed a single IDE hard drive or CD-DVD drive in 12 computers i have built. SATA HD's and DVD drives are the easist to find. All the new motherboards only give you a single IDE connector and quite a few now do not have any IDE connectors. Every component made today is not compatible with your computer so you are buying old stock to build it again. The newest hardware will let you upgrade your computer next year without replacing most of the computer.

SRX660

[SRX660]

personally, i think your computer should not be upgraded. I say this simply because in the last 6 months, i have not installed a single IDE hard drive or CD-DVD drive in 12 computers i have built. SATA HD's and DVD drives are the easist to find. All the new motherboards only give you a single IDE connector and quite a few now do not have any IDE connectors. Every component made today is not compatible with your computer so you are buying old stock to build it again. The newest hardware will let you upgrade your computer next year without replacing most of the computer.

SRX660

[Bodiniho]

Cool sounds good cheers, I will have to have a look online and work out some components that I want to build it with. I have seen computers ready built for £500ish that seem pretty decent and good enough to play the latest game mid-full spec, is it worth building a computer with bought parts, or buy ready built? It's just I don't know if I could build a PC for £500 as good as one that I could buy built for £500!

[phillpower2]

Here is a system you can put together for £470;
http://www.novatech....h/ACHILLES.html
http://www.novatech....0-G0EAY00Z.html
http://www.novatech....630WFGIBOX.html
http://www.novatech....ch/57501GB.html
http://www.novatech....S2GB1333D3.html (2X2 GB = 4GB)
http://www.novatech....WD1002FAEX.html
The psu supplied with the case is 500W so you may decide to purchase a bigger
& better quality one but I couldn`t do much with the £30 that was left.
Here is a link to the tutorial on how to courtesy of Troy;
http://www.geekstogo...er-t208831.html

[Bodiniho]

wow thanks this has opened my eyes alot, that looks a pretty decent computer to be honest, i will probz add in some extra cooling for the gfx card to be on the safe side! Thanks alot for the reply i will get looking online tomorrow!