Okay, My current PC, going to the canyourunit? site, fails for running Sims 3. I don't play many games that are heavy on graphics. I play Sims 2, world of warcraft, warcraft 3, starcraft, and do some audio/video editing at times. I have an HP a6203w Desktop, with 4 gigs of ram, and everything else is stock. I think it came with an Athlon AMD 64x2 4400+ 2.2 or 2.3 ghz processor. Right now I can't afford a full build up of another computer, I am only working with 100 to 200 dollars and was wanting to replace the PSU and get a new video card. I know I can't get anything high end, but ANYTHING out there HAS to be better than the crappy 6150se Nvidia integrated that I have...right? Help please? Also with the PSU and video card, I am a noob when it comes to computers. Are there certain power chords or connections I need to look for? Is a 12v rail or whatever better than two smaller ones? etc. Thanks. EDIT, Two things, First off, I have looked at my MoBo capabiliteis, and I can upgrade from my current processor, to the AMD Athlon 64x2 5600+ at 2.8ghz. I don't plan on unlocking or overclocking, but I was just wondering, for the money i will be spending on the new proc, is it even worth it? Or should I just stick with the video card for now? Secondly, I have done some research and been looking at the ATI Radeon 5670 Video Card. The 512 MB. Do I need a PSU for this? I have read that is only runs off of the PCI E slot power. Thank you.
No point buying a new CPU, it won't be enough of an upgrade to warrant the cost, and the 4400+ you have now is ample for playing the sims 3. The 6150se is, as you said, the weak point. The best card you can buy for that system is indeed the HD5670, so congratulations on getting that right - You should not need a new power supply to run that card. Simply buying and installing the HD5670 should be enough to get you running the sims 3.
Okay, Would I notice an improval at all if I got the 1gig over the 512mb version? More power needed or what? Also would you prefer one brand over the others? Sapphire, etc.
Okay, not to resurrect a dead thread here, but I noticed on newegg, it says the 5670 (the xfx one) is pcie 2.0 but on the manufacture site and comments, word came about of a pcie 2.1.....will my pcie x16 run the 2.1 cards?
2.0 and 2.1 are perfectly interchangeable, minor revision to specification that doesn't affect anything much. It's fine to run a 2.0 card in a 2.1 slot and vice versa.
and what about ones before that? Because on the HP site, my a6203w, on the motherboard specifications it just says PCI-E x16. not 1.0 or 2.0 or any of that
The a6203w is likely to be PCIe 1.0. With the vast majority of cases, this is also backwards compatible, so you shouldn't have any problems using the new card.
Okay, thanks again for all the help. After that card, any advice on the next upgrade? I considered the proc, but you said not too, and then I also considered upgrading my ram to a faster mhz speed (800 I think, going from PCI 5300 to PCI 6400... after the card I am working with about 30 to 80 bucks a month to spare, roughly. I might get windows 7 even, if that would help performance.
To be honest, there's not much upgrade potential left in the other components, when you next come to upgrade, the CPU, motherboard and RAM will all need to be replaced together.
