Upgrade time

Sunny Squash · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:13

Hello everyone I would like to upgrade my pc with a budget of around £235 max
My system specs are below

Celeron E1200 1.6 GHz
MSI MS-7525
DDR2 1536mb dual memory
160 GB SATA 7200 rpm
NIVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
300w power supply
vista 32-bit

use it for gaming
as you can see not a great rig for gaming.
css max settings I get about 25-32fps max
I'm wanting to play such games as bfbc2

I was thinking is it worth to upgrade these parts and if so can you list some idears.

thanks

Ast3r · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:26

This will offer the best performance increase for your money.I've done some research and it looks like your mobo supports newer sk775 CPUs(45nm),DDR2 and 1xPCI-E slot so you can keep that.The 9800GT is the Green Edition version and it will not need any additional power connectors so its perfect for your 300W PSU.And I also suggest you get a new HDD to allow you to store all the games that this new setup will allow you to play.

Sunny Squash · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:30

wow great thanks for finding time to do this its is much appreciated

Cookeh · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:35

Ast3r said:
This will offer the best performance increase for your money.I've done some research and it looks like your mobo supports newer sk775 CPUs(45nm),DDR2 and 1xPCI-E slot so you can keep that.The 9800GT is the Green Edition version and it will not need any additional power connectors so its perfect for your 300W PSU.And I also suggest you get a new HDD to allow you to store all the games that this new setup will allow you to play.

Looks good to me, although I reckon he could stretch to a HD4850 or even HD4890 on that budget

HD4890: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-124-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1403

HD4870: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-002-OE&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=939

Sunny Squash · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:41

Cookeh said:
Looks good to me, although I reckon he could stretch to a HD4850 or even HD4890 on that budget

HD4890: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-124-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1403

HD4870: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-002-OE&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=939

would my psu be able to handle a hd4870?

stulid · 13 Feb 2010 at 11:47

You will need to tell us the make and model number,

Cookeh · 13 Feb 2010 at 12:01

Sunny Squash said:
would my psu be able to handle a hd4870?

Good question.
It should be able to - not sure about the 4890 though.
Google power usage of a 4870 ( Im too lazy atm

)

Ast3r · 13 Feb 2010 at 12:21

For the HD4870 & HD4890 you'll need at least 500W PSU and for the HD4850 you'll need at least 450W PSU.The HD4850 and the 9800GT have the same performance sometimes with a 1-2% difference between them.

wow great thanks for finding time to do this its is much appreciated

You're welcome.We are here to help so if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

stulid · 13 Feb 2010 at 12:26

A corsair 400watt cx will easily run a 4890, its all about getting one from a tried and tested manufacturer, a cheap 500w psu that costs £20 will either blow up or only provide less than halve its rated power.

Sunny Squash · 13 Feb 2010 at 16:42

cheers ill be getting the crosair 400watt with the 4890 (the £99 one at ocuk) and the dual core e5300.
getting 2gb ram stick to go with my 1gb stick so ill have 3 altogether

found out my dad has a spare hdd so ill be using that

Cookeh · 13 Feb 2010 at 17:00

Awesome
Have fun mate