Need Help on XPS upgrade

K

Kevinm13

New Member
Newbie and novice here looking for some advice on upgrading my sons XPS 720 which he games on.

The system has 1000w PS, E6750, 4gb 800 (the 2 GB factory oc'd corsair 1066 memory died) and 9800 gtx 512mb, and win vista 32bit.

I was thinking of win 7, and a new GPU, maybe 4 more gb ram OR would it make more sense to replace the ram in it with more oc'd memory?

Just seems like a shame to scrab this system for a new system.

I figured I could buy a kick ass GPU, and he can keep that and move it into a new machine down the road

What would be the limit before it would be overkill (bottlenecked by something else) or incompatible altogether? I was thinking a GTX 560 would be about right.

Thanks, Kevin
 
What brand of PSU is in it? If it is some offbrand PSU, then you will need an upgrade.
If you need an upgrade, then it can be transferred to a new build.

You may need a CPU upgrade, but I can not really comment on that. If you are planning a build down the road, then skip it.

GPU, if you are planning to game, get a GTX560ti or higher or a HD6870 or higher.
RAM, get some cheap DDR2 to make 4GB. Don't go overboard, as it can not be transferred to a new build.
 
I believe the PS Dell PM480 1Kw it was original equipment on the xps 720. I wasn't planning any kind of "build". I would just buy something if needed down the road. It has 4gb in it already, i can put 4 more in. I was just curious if it paid to get the overclocked stuff like it had originally. The computer shop that repaired it when the corsair died said that the corsair memory stunk and it wasn't worth overclocking ram anyway. Just wasn't sure if it was true.

My kid is an odd kind of gamer spends all the time on the games but is even more clueless than i on the hardware.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
In all honesty it's not really worth upgrading that system. It's on a dead socket, DDR2 RAM is EOL, and I highly doubt the capacity of s dell-selected "1000w" power supply.

You could probably sell that system as it is for $250-$300 at most, which is a smart thing to do if you have some budget for a new system already. Below is a budget-minded gaming machine:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227725

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148701

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

Total cost: $799.92 before shipping/rebates.
 
Well, never done anything like that before, but this could be a very interesting project for my son, and lesson since he spent so much of my money on the other rig and polluted it with software thats now making it buggy.

Question, is that everything that is needed in that list including "hardware" such as screws and such or would there be other things needed and instructions on which to put together first, and pitfalls to watch out for?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
the motherboard comes with the sata cables, the case has a ton of screws and all the standoffs and pretty much every thing else needed other than a screw driver
 
Kevinm13 said:
Well, never done anything like that before, but this could be a very interesting project for my son, and lesson since he spent so much of my money on the other rig and polluted it with software thats now making it buggy.

Question, is that everything that is needed in that list including "hardware" such as screws and such or would there be other things needed and instructions on which to put together first, and pitfalls to watch out for?

Thanks,
Kevin
Click to expand...
Building a computer is one of the most rewarding things you can do. When people ask what kind of computer you have, you can proudly say you built it yourself.

Everything is included. All you need is a screwdriver and some time. There is a guide at the top of this forum for building a computer, and there are countless websites or videos on youtube that will show set-by-step on what to do. And there is always us if you run into any trouble.
 
great. Maybe I will put him on it, maybe even do one myself some time. One thing I would avoid is all the garbage software they put on the new ones.

If I spent another 100 or more, where would it go? My assumption would be a bit more CPU then more GPU? or what?

Kevin
 
going by linkin's list, i would go up to a 6950 first (2gb is better for future-proofing), and the next upgrade would be to go intel for a i5-2500k. although there are some things on his list you could change, a cheaper mobo would be fine, but more expensive ones have better little chips and power distributing and stuff, that make overclocking better and stuff (i think, idk too much bout that). also there is some better ram for about that and i think a cpu/ram combo for less than that. also a ssd is a nice thing, but i'd go to a 6950 and 2500k before worrying about that. also there's a 1tb for a few bucks more (105 i think).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top