A lot of upgrade advice needed please.

OldDevlin

OldDevlin

OldDevlin

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Joined
18 Apr 2007
Posts
98
I'm looking to upgrade my PC to play current games, preferably really well.
I haven't touched the PC for around 5 years (it's covered in dust inside and out, but seems to be working well.
I have absolutely NO idea how to build a PC, so I was initially looking at buying prebuilt for around the £800 mark, but I'm wondering if it'd be more sensible and cost efficient to just upgrade the one I already have.
I ran Piriform Speccy and got the following results for specs:

Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz 23 °C
Conroe 65nm Technology
RAM
2.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-5-5-15)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N32-E SLI (Socket 775) 40 °C
Graphics
Philips 230C (1920x1080@60Hz)
640MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS (BFG Tech)
Storage
465GB Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAKS-22TMA SCSI Disk Device (RAID)
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S183L SCSI CdRom Device
Audio
High Definition Audio Device

I'm sooo out of touch with PC hardware, but even I can tell that pretty mucg everything needs to be replaced. But, the HDD still seems to be ok (although I'd be tempted to add a SDD...although I'd have no clue how to install it or set it up)
I THINK the case itself is pretty good. Very big, a lot of ventilation, and there are two large fans (with pretty blue lights) at the front, and one at the back (the case is 'Antec').
The tiny bit of writing I can see on the PSU says 850W, which I'm guessing would be ok.
There's also a large fan attatched to the motherboard, called a 'Freezer Pro 7') ...but I have absolutely no idea whether that's part of the motherboard, an additional fan or what.
As I said, I have absolutely no idea when it comes to the insides of a PC!

So, what should/could I do? Do I bite the bullet and buy new, or can even an idiot like myself mane to upgrade the PC?
Can go up to around £800 but around the £600 mark would be even better if it wouldn't mean taking too much of a hit to quality, so what ready-made, or components would you go for?
Lastly, Windows 7, or 8? Would it be easy enough to install it onto a new SSD?

Thank you!
 
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To be honest you have two ways to go.

1) Take the plunge and build (reusing your case, HDD and MAYBE the PSU)
2) Buy a pre-built one.

To upgrade that you'd need to gut it anyway, as the CPU, motherboard and GPU are all quite old now.

Are you more in the buy pre-built camp?
 
Hi, to be honest, so long as there are online guides to help me through the process, I'd like to build. If I can reuse the case, hdd, psu and dvd drive, it's all savings that can go towards other components.
I took out the psu and grabbed a picture. You think it'd be reusable?
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Its good to hear that you're willing, its pretty easy, not to say its not daunting, but if fools (and i use that in its correct meaning) like me and Ethel can do it theres no reason why you can't. :)

OCZ are a pretty decent make and while i wouldn't suggest buying a OCZ PSU new re-using an old one is just fine. It'll see nowhere near its limit anyway.

Will do a spec in a little bit for you, Dinner calls. :)
 
Thank you, I really appreciate it.
It's mainly for gaming, but as I use a Cintiq for photoshop and Manga Studio, it needs a hdmi connection as well as dvi for the monitor I'll be reusing (not that I imagine there are many cards around without these connections!)
Around £600 would be great, including os, but could go up to around £800 if it'd make a substantial difference :)
 
 
That's great, thanks guys. I'm more than a little lost when it comes to the motherboards and cpus!
That motherboard would definitely fit my case then? :)
 
I ordered the suggested components, but I've just realised that there's been no mention of thermal paste. Will this come with one of the components, or will I have to buy is separately?
 
The PSU should be compatible so long as it has an 8pin connector for the motherboard.

OldDevlin you will need to order thermal paste seperately but one tube will last a long time!

Make sure you give the case a good thorough clean/wash (and dry!!) before installing the new components, be a shame to install shiny new components into a dusty case!
 
Thanks guys, I picked up some Arctic Cooling MX-4.
I'll definitely give the case, and reused components a good dust off, amd I'm going to check out that video.
Thanks!
Just a quick question...as I'm reusing the hdd, and adding an ssd, would it be easier to upgrade the vista to windows 8 beforw building, or just format the hdd completely, and go straight for a new install on the ssd aftwr the build? Just wondering whether having windows on the otger drive would make the process any easier.
Thanks again guys, you're a bloody godsend.
 
Oh...and I checked for the 8-pin connector. There is one (well...it's actually 2 4-pin connectors on the same cable, that's plugged into the motherboard, and say 'cpu' on them?)
 
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