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Build, Buy, Upgrade?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by bazookafx, Jul 9, 2007.

  1. bazookafx

    bazookafx Member

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    So heres situation, i inherieted a broken computer from my dad. I fixed the comp using 2 Hand-me-down hard drives. Waht i wanna do is to upgrade my comp to al least run Battlefield 2 and some other mid quality games. Waht i wanna know is would it be esyer to just buy a new computer, build a new one, or upgrade the current one. And yes i know how to build my own if needed.

    Here are the specs of my computer
    2.79Ghz pentium4 processor
    512mb of ram
    128mb ATI graphics chip
    a 13gb and a 17gb hand my down hard drives
     
  2. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    Depends, what kind of RAM and video card is it? What setting do you want to run these games at?
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2007
  3. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    it'll be doable, but will probably require:
    new Graphics card
    New Power supply
    Additional RAM
    and depending how many games you want, more hard disk space, those two drives will only be good for half a dozen games nowadays, if that.
    What you've got to consider is how much it will cost to upgrade this one, versus buying a new one. Touch and go in this example I think.
     
  4. bazookafx

    bazookafx Member

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    im wanting to run teh games at medium or if possible high. im getting me a new HDD soon so im set in that factor. The PSU i have curently is a 300watt power suply. and Ram comes fairly cheap for my system. my video card is a ATI Radeon 9550SE 128mb card. i might be able to get the 256mb NVIDIA Geforce 7300LE TurboCache from my dad's comp seeing as he dosent use it
     
  5. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    neither are powerful enough, and the Geforce is probably PCI express anyway, which you won't have. You'll need to buy a new Graphcis card regardless.
     
  6. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    You definately nee to change the PSU. What speed does the RAM run at?
     
  7. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I'm going to guess PC2100 (266mhz) or PC3200 (400mhz). That's not really that important though, DDR1 is fine.
     
  8. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    The 7600 GS and GT comes in AGP. Maybe you could try getting those. They arent too expensive.
     
  9. bazookafx

    bazookafx Member

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    how is a 256mb nor good enough? im not going for top of the line, i just want enought to actuly run some newer games, they dont have to be at extreme quzlity. take in mind that i dont have alot of money to spend
     
  10. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    Its not about the memory. The more memory you have the more textures you can load in a game. The 7300 series of cards was not meant for gaming. Its like having a crappy CPU with 4 gigs of RAM. It's still gonna run slow. Its the GPU architecture, how fast it runs, and how fast the memory runs. How much money are you willing to spend. Do you have an AGP expansion slot in your PC? It could be just PCI and that would limit your choices much more.
     
  11. bazookafx

    bazookafx Member

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    yes i have ang AGP and 3 normal PCI slots
     
  12. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    The the 7300 probably won't fit. Money to spend or not, modernising that into a gaming computer isn't going to be a pocket money job, it'll take reasonable investment.
     
  13. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    If you want an AGP 7600 GT, it will set you back about 117 plus shipping on eBay. If you buy it there use paypal, because you are covered on most item for atleast upto 200 dollars.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2007
  14. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    The 7600GT is about the sort of thing I'd recommend but I don't buy things like that off ebay because if you get ripped off, you can't do anything about it. You MIGHT be able to get your money back, but not always, paypal aren't great about that, they just do too many transactions. Use a proper store like Tigerdirect, Newegg, Zipzoomfly in the US, Ebuyer, Scan, Aria, Specialtech in the UK and Tigerdirect or NCIX in Canada.
     
  15. GrandpaBW

    GrandpaBW Active member

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    I agree with sam. No way I would buy if from e-Bay. Newegg and ZipZoomFly are my two favorites.
     
  16. abuzar1

    abuzar1 Senior member

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    I really havent had a problem with eBay. Ofcourse I do most of my business there so I am a bit biased I suppose. I suppose you just have to buy it from a trusted seller. Zipzoomfly had a deal on the 8500 GT, it was for 60 bucks. I believe the performance is comparable to that of the 7600. Ofcourse they don't come in AGP so thast no help I suppose. Try using google product search. You can also try pricewatch.com.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2007

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