Do I need better graphics, CPU, or both?

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ajf

ajf

ajf

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Currently have a Dell PC with an AMD Athlon X2 4200 (2.2Ghz) with 2Gb RAM
Graphics is a pretty lowly ATi Radeon X1300 128Mb

I am not a gamer obviously but would like to try a few of the more recent games such as COD4 and Crysis.
Would a graphics upgrade on my system be enough to play these at decent resolutions and detail levels, or do I really need to look at CPU upgrade also?

Not really sure how much impact the CPU has these days - is it all done by the GPU with modern games?

If I just got a graphics card, was thinking along the lines of an X1950 as they seem to give good performance for reasonable money.

Thanks.
Andrew
 
Thats still quite a good processor you have and 2gb is fine for almost everything. A new graphics card would make a world of difference to gaming. One thing you might need to check is your PSU to power a newer card. Something like a 3850 pro would be a huge improvement and are quite good on power consumption aswell. I would leave the CPU alone unless you were going to go all out and buy everything!
 
GFX card would be a good start. I have a 1950pro and would class myself as infrequent gamer. Its not a bad card. I could acheive medium settings in the crysis demo
 
Thanks for feedback so far.
Budget? Cheap as possible but say £100 to £150. Suspect though for the likes of 3850 etc I would need a better power supply so not sure if I could do that on that budget?
Current supply is generic Dell rated at (don't laugh) 300W!

I could spend more but for me I do not play games enough to justify the expense of a 8800 for example.

Andrew
 
OK.
Just been looking at my power supply. Think I need a new one anyway as it appears to NOT have any power connectors for graphics cards - the 3850s on here say they need a 6 pin connector - which I do not have.
What about this for a replacement PSU:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-026-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=
If I went for that and this card:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-166-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=416

Would just about squeeze in the £150 max budget.
I assume the power supply has the correct plugs for the card and works with AMD processors?
Anything else I need to check on it?

Thanks again :)

Andrew
 
What Dell have you got!
You will need to double check that it can take an ATX power supply, not a unique to dell power supply :)
 
You can use a molex (4 Pin) to Pci-e (6 Pin) power convertor, most cards come with one, my powercolour 3850 did.
As RJC said, make sure that your dell is compatible with a standard ATX power supply before buying one. Dell's PSU units tend to be conservatively rated, you might find that 300W will handle the 3850 OK, though I can't be sure.
 
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