I've had this comp for awhile..

I use it for WoW and just internet stuff and it runs great, I just want to get more into PC games and I dont know what I need to make this comp better. Im sure it needs a better processor but I've never put anything like that in a comp. If anyone could help me out here that would be great. This is a link to the comp as I bought it http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01063553&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&site=null&key=null&product=3443509( I dont know how to make the links smaller or like " here is the link" type stuff) . It now has 3 gigs of DDR2 ram, a GeForce 9500 GT Video Card (512GB DDR3),and a 400W power supply (I think i needed it for the card). I dont have money to buy a whole new comp so if anyone has any suggestions Thank you in advance.

try t nab an old athalon 64 x2 + 4800 and then up the ra to 4gb and swap the gpu for an hd 5570

thatd be about the best you could do without swapping out the motherboard and consequently reinstalling the OS basically giving rise to a whole new machine

thatd be about the best advise i could give.

Alright thanks. I found this on tigerdirect, you think that would make a big enough difference? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=5619575

Alright thanks. I found this on tigerdirect, you think that would make a big enough difference? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=5619575

King_Conrad

So I would probably be better off just saving and buying/building a whole new comp somewhere down the line then huh? I mean like I said, this comp runs fine now I just want more out of it. I should be getting a $500 job sometime within the next month so I'll just check back in here when that happens and see what I can do.

So I would probably be better off just saving and buying/building a whole new comp somewhere down the line then huh? I mean like I said, this comp runs fine now I just want more out of it. I should be getting a $500 job sometime within the next month so I'll just check back in here when that happens and see what I can do.

King_Conrad

If you don't mind trying to put parts together yourself you could start with motherboard, case and CPU from something like this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6820445&CatId=3508
adding maybe a GTX 460 video card and a good 500W PSU (Antec and Corsair are good) - then reuse your RAM, hard drive, OS and optical drive to have not quite a whole new computer but salvaged one that runs better. You'd be able to run just about anything.

This is just an idea, but something I actually ended up doing fairly recently (getting a new CPU, board, case, PSU) - reusing everything else.

Edit: Just realized you'd also have to get a heatsink/fan for the CPU as it doesn't come with one, but again, this is just an example of what you could do.

yeah and you could even cut corners and costs a fare bit

the hard drive and optical drive are salvageable.. the ram is ddr2 800 probably so thats keepable.. so would be the gpu if you really had to

thats list alone before the gou is easy 100 dollars off the top the gpu would be another 75 or so.

$325 isnt too bad if you really had to thatd really give you a nice start point for a system itd be SINGIFICANTLY better than what your trucking in now discretely you wouldnt notice the changes all that much.. but when you could swap out the 9500gt you couldreally

wreck up the place

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xVmKEycyUg

Ok that sounds awesome, I just dont know all that much about building comps. So I could use this same harddrive with a new motherboard and all that right? I wont have to buy a new windows or anything right?

If you don't mind trying to put parts together yourself you could start with motherboard, case and CPU from something like this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6820445&CatId=3508
adding maybe a GTX 460 video card and a good 500W PSU (Antec and Corsair are good) - then reuse your RAM, hard drive, OS and optical drive to have not quite a whole new computer but salvaged one that runs better. You'd be able to run just about anything.

This is just an idea, but something I actually ended up doing fairly recently (getting a new CPU, board, case, PSU) - reusing everything else.

Stinger78

ok see thats probably what I'll end up doing, I just didnt know if I could. I'd end up gettin a new vid card last I think tho. How do I know that the motherboard/processor will work with everything else? thats my main prob when it comes to building up a comp is I dont know what works with what :(

Ok that sounds awesome, I just dont know all that much about building comps. So I could use this same harddrive with a new motherboard and all that right? I wont have to buy a new windows or anything right?

King_Conrad

you may need to perhaps borrow a copy of vista off someone to run the repair but otherwise no

thats necissary when replacing a mobo unless you want to live with underpreforming for the rest of your days.. you could keep your old files and everything its jsut you would need a copy of windows vista or xp (whichever your system came with) to get it to run the repair

its a basic program that takes all of 15 minutes to do lol :P

[QUOTE="Stinger78"]

If you don't mind trying to put parts together yourself you could start with motherboard, case and CPU from something like this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6820445&CatId=3508
adding maybe a GTX 460 video card and a good 500W PSU (Antec and Corsair are good) - then reuse your RAM, hard drive, OS and optical drive to have not quite a whole new computer but salvaged one that runs better. You'd be able to run just about anything.

This is just an idea, but something I actually ended up doing fairly recently (getting a new CPU, board, case, PSU) - reusing everything else.

King_Conrad

ok see thats probably what I'll end up doing, I just didnt know if I could. I'd end up gettin a new vid card last I think tho. How do I know that the motherboard/processor will work with everything else? thats my main prob when it comes to building up a comp is I dont know what works with what :(

it was all picked because it works togeather rotfl :P

you would need a new copy of xp or w/e going that route

TC, this might help give you an idea of what it takes to put a PC together - the wires from the case to the motherboard tend to be the most difficult part for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQQ30QoF_-8

As far as your hard drive/optical drive I assumed they are SATA (small cable rather than wide IDE) and your video card should be PCI-Express. The barebone link I posted should be DDR 2 which is just about the only thing you need to know to reuse your RAM. The CPU and board will work together, but as I edited later, that particular CPU does not come with a heatsink/fan or any thermal paste which are necessary. There is always a chance your current heatsink/fan could be reused. As others said, your computer probably came with an OS already installed so you'd likely have to get a copy somewhere.