Help about future computer.

M

Meffaliss

New Member
Greetings,

I have been thinking about either building or buying a new gaming computer (Never really got the chance to even get one in the past). The thing is that my friend recently (In fact today) gave me a computer because he is going in the army and he doesn't need it anymore. It wasn't booting windows, but I got over that problem very easily and now it works fine.

I was thinking if it would be wise to either upgrade this computer so it can play games, keep some of its components and the tower in order to build my own or buy a brand new computer.

This computer has currently...
An Intel Pentium D running at 3.20GHz and 1.60GHz
2GB of DDR2 RAM(Two slots, one occupied)
A Radeon X1600/X1650 Graphics card with 256 MB of video RAM which can display VGA, S-Video and all types of DVI.
DVD-R/RW reader/writer (speed unknown)
Standard 450V Power supply.
The motherboard itself has ports for VGA, SERIAL, USB 2 and 1, Broadband, PS2, Audio(line-in, line-out, MIC).. and that's it

Again this computer was given to me for free from my friend.
The computer I saw that was decent for my gaming needs was an HP computer(forgot the name) for 600$. It's specs are...

An Intel I7 running at 3.30 GHz
10 GB DDR3 RAM (Three slots, two occupied)
Comes with a Radeon... 7000-something with 1 GB of video RAM
Not sure what was on the back of the mother board though I bet it's standard stuff.
Though the computer does have a few USB 3 slots.
Standard 450V power supply
Really all I remember about it. Could go to the store and check again

Just to say I have no idea what type of mother board the two computers have. I do have pictures, but I do not know how to post them on this thread.
So what should I do then? Is it a wise idea to spend money to increase the performance of the computer my friend gave me, scavenge the few parts inside and keep them so I can use them in a custom-built computer, or should I just buy that desktop computer for 600$ and maybe upgrade it later after buying it?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope I gave enough information about the computers.

Regards,
-Meffaliss
 
You'll want to build. First one is dated and second one is way overpriced. The 7000 series is the newest but many of the older series will out perform the new ones because of the way it's set up. With ATI/AMD cards it's setup like this.

First number is the family 4/5/6/7 is mainly what you'll see. The one in your first computer is old enough it doesn't follow that I think. Higher is newer.
Second number is budget range for lack of a better words. Higher is better.
Third number is the variation of that budget range.

Generally the x6xx cards or higher are what you want for gaming. As a comparison a 6850 is better than a 7750. A 5770 is better than a 6450. 6850 is better than a 6770. And so on. It's best to just google "card 1 vs card 2" and you'll get results that should point you in the right direction.

NVidia is similar but only 3 digits. 460 is better than 520. 670 better than a 460. And so on. You should get the picture.


Now the first computer is to old to really upgrade. Building is better in every single aspect. Much cheaper, higher quality parts, and you get exactly what you need and nothing that you don't. For example the i7 processor in the second computer is probably way overkill for gaming but the video card is probably pretty weak. Just ask for help on building on this forum and lots of people will help.

Good luck
 
Thank you very much for the information, Denther!
I was really thinking that the old computer was too old, but the one for sale is over priced.. mmh... Well for the I7, video recording for me would be great but the graphics card... well either I buy another one in order to replace the one already in the computer (waste of money) or .. well I kind of checked some DIY kits on NewEgg and I found this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1018162&cm_sp=DIY_PC_Combos-_-1018162-_-Combo

Would you recommend this one to me. if not which one would you recommend me the most? (I really want a fast processor in order to record and process videos)

Thanks,
Meffaliss
 
The DIY kits are decent but it's better to have your own parts picked out. I don't have time right now but I'll see if I can get a parts list when I get back from work in a few hours. Few questions.

Budget?

What of the following will you need?

Monitor
OS
Mouse
Keyboard
Speakers
Headphones
Any Other Peripherals?

Also what is your currency? I'm assuming US Dollars since you're looking at Newegg.
 
In terms of budget, we could say maybe $800 or something close to that, I don't have the money, but it's just for a future computer which might still be a few months away. Budget is undecided, in other words.

I'll need a monitor, all the spares I have at home are VGA 800X600. So newer one with DVI or HDMI would be cool.

The OS would be Windows 7, not sure which version but more home prenium or something like that(maybe ultimate one day because I like all the additional language stuff, considering I speak french natively.).

Keyboard an mouse wise, right now i'm totally fine with the ones I have, they're USB and while not the best for gaming, they get the job done (I could later buy a mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse AFTER getting the computer)

Speaker wise, I can live with a simple Stereo set and a subwoofer (which I do own, but they're pretty cheep in the market nowadays)

A peripheral I was thinking about getting would be maybe getting the AverMedia Live Gamer HD for recording purposes. (I LOVE recording for games and doing commentaries)
Also, a good graphics card for gaming (Skyrim for example).
I also would go for an Intel I7 or AMD 8 core processor running pretty much at 3.00 GHz or higher (yes, it might be overkill, but I think i'd benefit from it.)

And yes, it is in US dollars.

So those are basically my needs for a computer.
Thank you very much for taking the time or helping me, I am very thankful. :)

Regards,
Meffaliss
 
Well if you don't have the money now then getting a build list is kinda pointless since prices and products change very rapidly. What may cost 800 now will cost less later.

You'll want Home Premium 64 bit which runs for $100 dollars or sometimes 80 on sale on Newegg. If you haven't already, sign up to Newegg's newsletter, it will save you a lot of money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top