11 replies to this topic

[iAsuno]

here are my comp's specs:

CPU: Intel core2 quad q8400 @2.66 ghz
RAM: 2gb ddr2 RAM
MOBO: Gigabyte D41M-COMBO
GPU: Ge Force 9400GT
aaaaand. i dunno about the others. it was prebuilt except for the GPU.

so i am planning to upgrade my PC part by part cuz i don't really have the money right now and i have like 10-20  plus fps. 30 when lucky on medium with no reflections and with FXAA.

what should i go for first? or a saving up for a couple of months for a new PC would be more worth it.

[Elder III]

Your parts are all old enough that your only upgrade path is to build a completely new system.  You may be able to save the case and fans and the optical drive.  Depending on the hard drive space you need you may be able to save that as well.  Everything else is quite outdated at this point.

2 Questions: What is your budget? & What resolution is your Monitor?

[iAsuno]

I only have a 1360x768 VGA monitor and i think i can spend up to $1000 at max by march.

[Quaker]

As Elder said, you need to replace the CPU, motherboard, RAM, and video card, at least.

You might also need to upgrade your power supply if it's low power.

You may be able to keep your hard drive and optical drive if they are SATA. It's hard to find a new motherboard with an IDE port for older drives.

You may be able to re-use the case if it's not some proprietary design.

What's the make and model of the computer?

[Elder III]

Would you want to upgrade the monitor as well?  You can probably fit a bigger monitor into a $1000 budget, particularly if GW2 is the main game that you play.

* USA I presume?

[iAsuno]

i would want a new monitor but not entirely sure about getting a new one. my comp was a bundle from a local store and i don't really know if it has a link somewhere. and no, i am not from the US. dollars is more familiar to me and i can make a rough estimate with the currency being in dollars.

[Quaker]

Surely there's a make and model on a label somewhere.

[typographie]

iAsuno, on 21 January 2013 - 09:09 AM, said:

I only have a 1360x768 VGA monitor and i think i can spend up to $1000 at max by march.

This will definitely be a whole new system eventually, but if you need to replace it piece-by-piece over time due to budget constraints, I'd recommend starting with a new video card (and power supply if necessary). Your CPU is also very old and extremely limiting in GW2, but I think your 9400 GT is a larger issue because its probably the larger cause of your constant, non-situational poor performance.

What you upgrade it to depends on whether you think you may buy a new monitor or not. At 1366x768, I'd go with a Radeon HD 7750; no point in spending more. If you end up with a 1080p monitor, you're going to want at least an HD 7770, 7850 or GTX 660 but those are overkill otherwise.

Edited by typographie, 22 January 2013 - 04:19 PM.

[Zerk2012]

First  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zcD6
Second http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zcIo
Third http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824009420
http://www.newegg.co...PID=3938566=

Edited by Zerk2012, 23 January 2013 - 11:37 PM.

[Elder III]

iAsuno, on 22 January 2013 - 10:02 AM, said:

i would want a new monitor but not entirely sure about getting a new one. my comp was a bundle from a local store and i don't really know if it has a link somewhere. and no, i am not from the US. dollars is more familiar to me and i can make a rough estimate with the currency being in dollars.

The problem is that the prices of computer parts in almost all parts of the world are much more expensive when compared to the USA. So that wouldn't really help you too much.

[iAsuno]

Elder III, on 24 January 2013 - 02:49 AM, said:

The problem is that the prices of computer parts in almost all parts of the world are much more expensive when compared to the USA. So that wouldn't really help you too much.

i know. but i consider that in my computation. the max that i can spend is depending on my grades (yeah, I'm a student).

[Elder III]

If you could take a picture of your case then we might be able to at least determine if it supports an ATX motherboard or if you are limited to Micro ATX etc...  You could probably re-use your HDD and ODD as well as any case fans.

Do you need to include Windows in the system cost or is that taken care of?