Okay, so here's thing, I want to start gaming more on Steam, but my computer is barely up to the task of handling even the most simple games. I'm much too poor to afford my own gaming PC, so I thought about just making a few upgrades to mine instead. From what I've read so far, the things that are most important are: CPU, RAM, Video Card, and a power supply decent enough to support it all. My budget maximum is $200-$250. Would it be possible for me to make the necessary upgrades for comfortable PC gaming? I'm not looking to play Skyrim with 120fps on the maximum resolution, just games like Portal 2 and Infestation. If I can play games on normal resolution with a smooth frame rate, I'll be happy. Right now I can't even play Portal 1 on the lowest resolution without the frame rate drastically dropping as soon as I fire the second portal.
Well, depends on several things: What is the normal resolution for you? (not everyone has a monitor supporting 1920x1080, that`s why I ask) What`s your current system? (hardware, os...) Important to know because of the limited budget. The more we don`t need to improve, the better. Comfortable PC-Gaming usually starts with 30 fps, I think we can arrange something. Some hints for the beginning: If it comes to a CPU, stick with either Intel or AMD. They both have decent pros and cons. E.g. AMD is almost always cheaper to buy (without any majoy lacks in quality), but Intel CPUs are usually a bit more reliable and powerful. As for the RAM, I`ve always been good with Kingston and Corsair. Currently I use 8 GB (2x4) with a frequenzy of 1333Mhz, and as far as I can tell there`s nothing to complain about. Although in your case, 4 GB should be enough for a start. Video or graphic cards are often (but not always) the most expensive part when upgrading a computer for gaming purposes. Again, because of the limited budget, I would recommend not the currently top-of-the-top cards, but maybe something a little older. The card I`m using might cost you approximately 50 to 150 $, I just looked it up on Amazon. (it`s a Radeon HD 4890, Sapphire Edition. Works perfectly fine, also with high resolution gaming). So, long story short: Tell us what your current system is made of, and we see if we can help you out a bit edit: By the way, something I just thought of: don`t forget the mainboard! That`s important too! ;-)
Bare with me as I'm a complete retard when it comes to computer hardware. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01581193#N101 That's my tower exactly. No upgrades have been made.
I would say upgrade the memory, but I'm no expert myself. Not sure about the graphics card though. Power supply and hard drive may need to be upgraded as well, but check with others first.
Looking at that computer, I'm surprised considering I used to have a computer with similar specs, and even the same GPU. And the problem is that your GPU is integrated and cannot be replaced. It's also a very weak GPU, the latest games I owned it could handle were Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and the first Portal (but on low settings). Also, your CPU clocks up to 1.5GHz (according to my source), and for more modern games you'll need at least 2.0GHz. You're better off just buying a whole new computer all-together, and for gaming it will definitely be more than $250. Save your money, and try to find yourself a new PC with a dedicated GPU, a processor that's higher than 2.0GHz, and 4GB RAM or higher. Before you buy, do research on the graphics card and CPU on the system you want to check their benchmarks and make sure you're getting your moneys worth. You can even ask the guys at http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc to build a PC for you within a set budget, then you just order the parts.
I can't agree with this more, and, unfortunately, you do need more than 250 dollars. One of my friends made it his quest to build a budget gaming PC. He did a mountain of research, figuring out which specs were best for the price. He bought his parts for only about $600, and it can run almost any game at maximum settings. (I could ask him for the specs, if someone wants me to.) He's not a computer expert. It's not hard to build your own PC, as there are many video tutorials, and the parts are just made to fit, a bunch of plugs. Unfortunately, you would need more money to do so. Bottom line, you just need a new computer.
That's not really a problem the motherboard has a PCI-E x16 graphics slot. Depending on the motherboard it will automatically disable the integrated video when a card is connected. If not, you do it through the BIOS. Anyways... You will not be able to upgrade all of that on a $200-250 budget, but I'll at least point you in the right direction. I will also assume from the link you posted that that motherboard model is what you have. CPU - Your motherboard's processor socket (Socket AM2) is made for AMD processors (do not get Intel it won't work). This is an old socket and support for new processors is not possible. You can try to find some Socket AM2 AMD processors (that haven't been discontinued already) that are better than the clock speed you currently have. I will post back here if I can find a suitable example. Video Card - Pick an AMD 6000 series card that fits your budget. A 5000 series will not run modern games well. Stay away from 2GB video cards. Low-profile (low power) cards are an option but are of course for low end gaming. RAM - Your motherboard has 2 slots, this model of motherboard is capped at 4GB of RAM max. If you buy new RAM sticks make sure it is DDR2 not DDR3. Power Supply - Literally the most important component. If you put in a dedicated video card similar to the ones suggested above you need to get at least 500 watts power supply to run (safely). I recommend Corsair or Coolermaster as they're my goto brand for these things. Don't get a cheap dollar PSU you will regret it. http://newegg.com is a good place to purchase parts. Let me know if you need any clarifications. I will also point out that beefing up old computers does pose a risk. Video cards may not perform as expected, and if the power configuration is wrong you can get some serious issues (damaged components). That's my disclaimer.
I appreciate the help guys, but I'll probably end up just selling this thing and putting the money towards a better computer. I'm not sure how much of a price and performance difference I can make by buying one as opposed to building one. Gotta do more research.
Yeah... I've been in the same boat As you and found out that it would just be more cost effective to scrap it and get a whole new one... I don't think the memory would be that difficult but I remember on mine at least, I would have had to get into the FREAKING MOTHERBOARD to make it able to run minecraft at all... So I just gave up because I didn't have money for either :/ so yeah... Just get a used gaming pc online... It's much less expensive.
Well I can help you out here: For a start most Steam games lag anyway... If you have a desktop then feel free but laptops are complicated! The CPU is most important since having slower ones will make other components slow too. Don't buy too much RAM and Video! I have been able to game fine with a cheap card and 4GB of RAM but I would recommend about 6GB and a fairly good card. Cooling is important, hot chips are less effective and degrade faster! Make sure you have enough power... Gaming PC's are rip-offs! Clean out your temp folder, recycle bin, running processes (Make sure you keep core system or it'll crash!) and use basic colour schemes. One last thing, don't spend too much money! If you need further help don't hesitate to PM or Skype me... Source: I salvage computers and build them with a friend.
Well, if you don't have enough to upgrade, maybe we can try something else. You see, there are far more advanced optimization options available for a game than just what's included in the in-game settings. If you do some research into advanced optimization options for the game you are wanting to play and do it correctly, you may see a performance increase of at least 15 percent. If the game is a Steam game, you can go to the games launch options and input "-high", this should help. I don't recommend messing with any other launch option like "-maxMem=" or "cpuCount=" unless you know what you're doing. Remember! Before you decide to upgrade, try to optimize!
Yeeeh... After a while you get used to 10-20 FPS... Just bear with it and save up for a entirely new system. That's what I'm doing.
I'm going to revive this for now. Despite all my complaining about PC gaming, I really only dislike playing with a keyboard and the fanboys. I've used Cyberpower's custom PC builder to make my own system and I'd like some opinions on if it's worth it or not. Please don't say I'll save money by building my own yadda yadda. I've heard it thousands of times already. Anyway, here is what I came up with: Case (EOS 204S Mid-Tower Gaming Case with Power Efficient Power Supply, Black) Motherboard & Processor http://i.imgur.com/y5aYuf2.png AMD FX-6300 Vishera, 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Multi-Core Technology: Six-Core Processor Socket: Socket AM3+ Turbo Core Technology 64-bit computing Cache Memory: 6MB L2 Cache Memory (CPRM8000 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM Performance Gaming Memory) Hard Drive (CyberPower CPHD2000 2TB Hard Disk Drive) Graphics/Video Cards (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card) Optical Drive (CYBERPOWER PC Samsung 24x DVD+/-RW Dual-Layer SuperMulti Optical Drive) Operating System (Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition (PC)) Final Value: $738 I'd like to play Battlefield 4 with some friends, even if it's on medium settings or whatever. Don't need ultra-mega-super-hyper graphics with all modern games. I will also be playing Skyrim again. As long as I can play those 2 with a less than jittery frame rate, I'm satisfied. Oh, and obviously this will be an all-around PC, not just for gaming.
I'd recommend paying the ~50+ dollars for the 2GB variety of the GTX 750 card. Since they have that Memorial Day special going on right now they may also tell you that you are able to freely upgrade to the 2GB GTX 750Ti which would be even better. Also what model motherboard and power supply have you selected?
I've already upgraded the graphics card to the Radeon R9 270X 2GB. Since I'm ordering this from CyberPower's custom PC build they say they provide sufficient power supply depending on the parts I've selected. I'd imagine somewhere between 600-750w, but as for the brand I have no idea. Here's the motherboard: http://www.walmart.com/ip/MSI-760GM-P23-FX-AMD-Socket-AM3-Motherboard/29568788
Okay yeah you're good For the PSU any name brand is fine really, just that sometimes Cyberpower will select ones with no brand name to shave off the price, they're cheaply made and are really just terrible. 750 watts will be fine, I typically don't go much lower than that though.
I was going to add a second monitor, but they don't know that. Do you think I'll run into any complications?
In terms of power, you're good the monitors draw from their own power supplies. The video card will use a bit more power for the increased resolution but no problem on 750 watts. The R9 series are made for handling multi-monitor configs, only one HDMI port on the card though so keep that in mind.
Just made my purchase today, but I had to get a lower quality graphics card to stay within my $800 limit.(Put it on card) I went with the GTX 750ti 2GB. zomg I'm part of PC master race. hinga dinga durgen! I'm such a hypocrite.:magic:
