Upgrading my old horse

[swarren777]

In 2006 I bought a great computer and played BF2 'til my eyes were hazy. Since then, my computer has been neglected and has been used for nothing more than emails and music.

When BF2 got old, I tried downloading some new demos to see whether or not I could run more recent games. They were choppy and unplayable. Bioshock barely ran without crashing, Blacksite Area 51 didn't run at all.

Recently I've attempted to watch movies and they don't play very well. The images are noticeably pixelated.

So, I thought I'd join this forum and ask the experts what I can do to my system with $300 to upgrade it.

This is my system:
M2A-VM motherboard
690G chipset
4200+ 2.1 ghz (OC'd to 2.3)
450W PS
3 Gb RAM (2 x 1 gb, 2 x 512 mb DDR2 667mhz)
Nvidia 7300GT video card (OC'd to 400MHZ)
Internal 16 x DVD ROM
External HP 8 x DVD/RW with Lightscribe
(Unknown model ) altec lansing speaker system with sub
Acer 22" Wide screen

If you think I should just wait for a fire sale on another computer for a few bucks more, I won't waste my money. The motherboard supports up to 8GB unbuffered RAM @ 800Mhz. I thought of buying a few GB's of RAM and a better card. I saw an 8800GT for 60 bucks the other day...

Your advice please...

[Taxmancometh]

Your better off with at least a dual core. the 4200+ is a dual core, right? If so then maybe your graphics card could use updating. A better CPU probably won't do much for you. I'd think.

Official BioShock System Requirements 7900 or better.

Blacksite: Area 51 System Requirements

Can You Run It?

[swarren777]

Thanks for the input. I'm not looking at playing the newest games and on my budget, replacing the CPU would be a waste. I still have some unused potential here. On my budget I'm better off getting a better card and some RAM. The problem is, I don't know what to get. Should I try 2 GB of extra RAM and get a 5770? That would work but I would have to spend more money on a 500W PSU. What about 4 GB of ram and a 9500GT? Will that help me to play HD content?

[nickslick74]

The 5770 would be bottlenecked (potentially) by your cpu. Also, depending on the quality of your power supply, a 5770 would require a psu upgrade. Can you tell us the brand of your psu and the amps on the 12v+ line(s)? You can find the amps on the sticker that's on the side of the power supply.

[swarren777]

I should have listed this infor on my specs. My CPU is an AMD athelon 64 X@ 4200+ 2.12 Ghz.
My PSU is an Antec 450W. I can't give you the amperage because the computer is at home and I'm at work. sorry

[ultimatedesk]

If this is a computer you plan on keeping for a while and are going to upgrade again in the future, this is what I would recommend:

CPU, RAM and Motherboard - don't bother. If you're going to upgrade, you might as well go for a new chipset, which involves replacing both, as well as the RAM.

3 GB is enough RAM for todays games and applications. 2 GB is the minimum, so you're above that.

I would recommend going with the 5770, as it is a good performer, and it is in the "sweet spot" for price right now (150 Canadian if I'm not mistaken).

With the extra money, even though you will not see a performance increase, get a good quality power supply in the 600-700 Watt range. This will cover you for using the 5770 (Seasonic, Enermax, Corsair, preferably).

This way, your next upgrade will be for motherboard / cpu / ram, and hopefully then, the video card will still be a relatively good performer, and you won't have to worry about power.

In the short term, this will give you an improvement in performance, and you will be able to use the components in a future build.

Hope that makes sense for you

[stroyal]

An Antec 450w would probably run a 5770.
I would want to see the specs though.

You have enough RAM, but could go to DDR2 800, from DDR2667,(not sure how much that would gain) You only need 2GIG

You could get away with just a video card.

As nick said the 5770 might be bottle-necked, by the CPU.


If the power supply is good enough, and you only need a video card, there is a lot of room for improvement, though not as much as new everything.

The 7300GT only scores 232 in this bench mark.
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - Mid-Range Video Cards

While the 5770 scores 1,615.
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - High End Video Cards
Even if you got a lesser card, you could do a lot better.


I comes down to how much you can afford at the moment.

I know I waste money on upgrades sometimes, because i can't afford a new computer.
You have to have money to save money.

[swarren777]

An Antec 450w would probably run a 5770.
I would want to see the specs though.

You have enough RAM, but could go to DDR2 800, from DDR2667,(not sure how much that would gain) You only need 2GIG

You could get away with just a video card.

As nick said the 5770 might be bottle-necked, by the CPU.


If the power supply is good enough, and you only need a video card, there is a lot of room for improvement, though not as much as new everything.

The 7300GT only scores 232 in this bench mark.
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - Mid-Range Video Cards

While the 5770 scores 1,615.
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - High End Video Cards
Even if you got a lesser card, you could do a lot better.


I comes down to how much you can afford at the moment.

I know I waste money on upgrades sometimes, because i can't afford a new computer.
You have to have money to save money.

Thanks. 5770 requires a 500w power supply

[ShyguyXPC]

only for generic crap Power supplies, its the Amp Rating of the +12V that the video card needs.

a 5770 barely pulls 100W of power (108W), which is only 9 Amps of +12V power.

Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

and there's no way the rest of that system pulls nearly 400W more of power.

A Good Quality cheaper priced Power supply, like an Antec 380W Earthwatts. or even an FSP 350W PSU, should be more than enough power for the entire rig with a 5770.

if the Antec 450W they have is newer, and more than likely a Basiq Series, or one of the Neo Series, if it is relatively newer, it should be more than enough for the whole system with a 5770.

But as others have said the CPU is probably going to be a bottleneck for the Graphics optimal performance.

Something lesser like a Geforce GT 430 or GT 240, or Radeaon 5550, 5570 or 5670 would still be a HUGE increase in performance over the old 7300 GT and less likely to be bottlenecked by the older CPU.


The Motherboard is an AM2 socket system as well, so it shouldn't have a problem supporting a faster CPU. Problem will be finding an AM2 socket CPU, basically will have to look around at surplus sites, and used parts to find one that will work (faster clock speed)

[stroyal]

5770 requires a 500w ps if it is not a brand name.
All power supplies are not the same and the video card manufacturer, know this.
Therefore, they have to plan on people buying cheep ones and adjusting their recommendations accordingly.

When you tell us the 12v amps, we will be able to tell if your Antec will work.

A quality 450W will have as many amps as cheep 500W.

Edit
Beat me again

Anyway, what he said

[nickslick74]

If you plan on using the 5770 in a newer system within the next year, then I say go for it. Otherwise, like ShyGuy mentioned, the 5570, 5670, or the GT240 would be better inexpensive options for your current system. Just don't expect to use it in a newer system for very long.

[swarren777]

only for generic crap Power supplies, its the Amp Rating of the +12V that the video card needs.

a 5770 barely pulls 100W of power (108W), which is only 9 Amps of +12V power.

Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

and there's no way the rest of that system pulls nearly 400W more of power.

A Good Quality cheaper priced Power supply, like an Antec 380W Earthwatts. or even an FSP 350W PSU, should be more than enough power for the entire rig with a 5770.



if the Antec 450W they have is newer, and more than likely a Basiq Series, or one of the Neo Series, if it is relatively newer, it should be more than enough for the whole system with a 5770.

But as others have said the CPU is probably going to be a bottleneck for the Graphics optimal performance.

Something lesser like a Geforce GT 430 or GT 240, or Radeaon 5550, 5570 or 5670 would still be a HUGE increase in performance over the old 7300 GT and less likely to be bottlenecked by the older CPU.


The Motherboard is an AM2 socket system as well, so it shouldn't have a problem supporting a faster CPU. Problem will be finding an AM2 socket CPU, basically will have to look around at surplus sites, and used parts to find one that will work (faster clock speed)

It's messages like this one that will keep me coming back. I was told by my local computer geek that if I tried to use a PSU that was less than the recommended minimum on the box, I'd get a blank screen. It's nice to get some accurate advice that makes sense.

[stroyal]

It's messages like this one that will keep me coming back. I was told by my local computer geek that if I tried to use a PSU that was less than the recommended minimum on the box, I'd get a blank screen. It's nice to get some accurate advice that makes sense.

Except a 500w is not a 500w in all cases

That is for the most part true, but you can't trust the label on a cheap power supply, they outright lye, or they don't lye and all the power goes to the 3.3v, and the 5v.and is wasted.

We haven't even mentioned that when a cheap power supply fails, it can take the whole computer with it.
A quality PS has circuitry that protects the computer.

With a brand name you get what they say it is

[ShyguyXPC]

a quality PSU can still take out the whole PC like a Cheap one, but its just less likely is all.

[electric]

to add another wrinkle to the subject ,if you flash your BIOS to 5001
you can buy an AM3 processor

so if you do later decide to upgrade to AM3 board you already have the
processor

i already did this but on a different board

[swarren777]

I tried taking a picture of the PSU but I can't upload it so here goes nothing:
Model # ISO-500D

DC Output: +3.3V 22.0A (Org), +5V 36.0A (Red), +12V 18.0A (Yellow), +5Vsb 2.0A (Purple), -5V 0.5A (White), -12V 0.5A (Blue)

[stroyal]

I wasn't expecting that low,18 amps 12v, but that is 216 watts, it might still work.
It is an Antec, so the label is honest.

If it runs the computer, and is not hot, it will be OK.

[swarren777]

I just saw a Gt240 for $100. I'll get that instead. Thank you all!