So I've been thinking of saving up around $1000 to build my own computer to play some games on. What I have right now was from best buy Gateway AMD Phenom 9150e Quad Core 1.80GHz 4GB RAM Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit ATI Radeon HD 3200 Internal DAC (400MHz) 1917MB DirectX 11 High Definition Audio Device That's all the specs I could find on my own. Not sure what I'm missing. But what would be the better option? To upgrade the card, maybe add some extra ram? Or build a whole new PC from scratch? I'd like to build my own, if not one for my girlfriend, just for the experience. But if I don't need the extra grand and just need a couple hundred I'd rather take the cheaper route.
That video card seems pretty low, I'm assuming it's an onboard video card. What speed is the RAM? I would say build a new one, but I'm not too sure because I don't know all the specs of your current computer. Pre-built computers are limiting. The bios will be custom and most likely very limited. They don't allow for overclocking or much (if any) adjustment of any hardware (FWIW). If you go with AMD like you already have, you can build a new computer very cheaply. The Intel route can be expensive as new Intel quad cores are about $300 at the cheapest IIRC, and used won't be much cheaper either. I don't think there is a new AMD CPU for sale that is over $300 (the most expensive 8 cores are $299 on Newegg). Are you happy with your current monitor or do you want to buy a new one? I would definitely recommend doing your research on this stuff. I can offer some more assistance if you want. I have built my own computer and upgraded it multiple times over the years and am going to upgrading it again this Christmas. I will be doing a cheap upgrade via AMD CPU as I won't the money for anything else. Here's a calculator to help you figure out what kind of power supply you will need: www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Machine name: DESKTOP Operating System: Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.130707-1535) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: Gateway System Model: --------- BIOS: Default System BIOS Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9150e Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~1.8GHz Memory: 3838MB RAM Page File: 1744MB used, 6172MB available Windows Dir: C:\\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 11 DX Setup Parameters: Not found Card name: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. Chip type: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (0x9610) DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz) Device Key: Enum\\PCI\\VEN_1002&DEV_9610&SUBSYS_01551025&REV_00 Display Memory: 1917 MB Dedicated Memory: 253 MB Shared Memory: 1663 MB Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz) Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor Driver Name: atidxx32,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atiumdva,atiumd64.dll,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll Driver Version: 7.15.0010.0142 (English) DDI Version: 10 BGRA Supported: Yes Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 8/30/2008 04:49:12, 2143744 bytes WHQL Logo'd: Yes I'm not familiar with processors other than the cores. I don't know the difference between intel and AMD (assuming it's like BMW vs honda?) I have a nice 20 inch LG monitor to use with a logitech illuminated keyboard and mouse. I just need the body. However, I have a 5.1 logitech x-530(may be 540) hooked up to the computer since the monitor has no speakers if that could pose a problem when making my selections. I've done a little but of research and I stumbled upon this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg1UqLfOwNw It doesn't seem too bad for $530 (from my knowledge)
Yeah, that would be pretty good. And that build is about what I will have when I upgrade my computer. However, I don't recommend going with one stick of RAM like he listed. You won't get the full speed of your RAM with only one stick because it's dual channel. You need two sticks of RAM. So if you go for 4GB, get a 2 x 2GB set. If you are interested in seeing how well different systems/parts handle games (what kind of graphics they can handle and at what FPS), then there are a lot of sites like Guru3D, Anandtech, etc that have benchmarks in different games and programs with different systems. So you can search on those sites for that video card and/or that CPU to see how well they do.
thank you very much! He noted in his description to go with 8 gigs instead of his original 4GB. I found two 4GB for $70. I'll try those programs out today but my question is what is a benchmark? I'm assuming like a cap on fps? Like the most heavy graphics part of the games?
No, it's a test that tests the performance of a certain computer component and gives you the results/score. Sites that do them then compare these tests of different component (CPU, GPU, etc) with other scores/performance of other similar components (CPU with CPUs, GPU with GPUs) to give you an idea of how good or bad each one does and how they compare. There are programs made specifically for testing components and some video games also have their own tests added in.
You don't have to download anything, unless you are wanting to test your own hardware. What I'm trying to say is: you can go to these sites and type in a CPU or GPU model name (or search for it through the article/benchmark sections) you are thinking of buying and look at the benchmarks that they have done to see how good those components are and how they compare to other components to get an idea of how good what you are thinking of buying will be for gaming.
if you have 1k to spend, i'd get a new setup... you can get a six core i7 desktop for around 1k. http://www.ascendtech.us/intel-core-i7-3820-windows-pc-computer_i_dtwinci73820001.aspx not sure if you want amd specifically, but i7 is going to outperform phenom: http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-4770K-vs-AMD-Phenom-II-X4-955/1537vs2935 you can find some great deals and builds on pricewatch.com
I 'm trying so hard to find this lol. Do I just run a search under the hardware reviews? I'm struggling so hard haha. I don't have the 1K to spend but that's the amount I'd like to save up to in order to start buying all the hardware. Or should I buy it all little at a time? I have no prefrences when it comes to brands. I just want to be able to run the games I like with at LEAST 60FPS. I play L4D2 (PC) Gauntlet(PC) BF3(PS3) CoD BO2(PS3) (might get AW when I get the computer) Dark Souls(PS3) Warcraft 3(PC) League of Legends(PC) and would like to get GTA V when they release it for PC. I'd like to buy all the games I have for PS3 for PC when I get it all put together. I also probably wont be gaming as much as I did back in high school, but I will be playing games on it as the main focus. I would also like to purchase or "purchase" a version of Sony Vegas at some time afterwards and a Elgato 60FPS 1080P gaming recorder. So it needs to be able to run the software and the games.
I'd say build a new one. Sell your current one on craigslist or just have two comps lol. Go to toms hardware and PC part picker.
I never even thought about selling my PC lol. I'm kind of sketch about that though. I'd have to delete everything and I'm not sure how, it's been a while since I've had to reformat a PC. How much might I be able to get for it? I'd be selling just the tower, no keyboard or anything else. I've been looking at part picker. I like the system that I posted in the youtube video but I'd like to do some browsing on newegg to make up a parts list. Then I'll just keep searching for price drops for all of the parts and get them when a good deal comes around. The little bit I have been looking around I'm starting to be convinced that list over at pcpartspicker that I posted had the perfect setup for me. I don;t plan on having to upgrade for a few years once I get this.
Did a little searching around last night for different price range models of the same parts and came up with this build. $808. I just wanna get started already lol!
what i did was just upgraded the video card on my old core 2 duo and my kid uses it for minecraft so now im just gonna build a nice one slowly when I can buy each part I want
I'd like to go that route and I just might if I'm not buying all the parts at once. Whenever I have a few extra hundred dollars I can just get a good intel processor. If I do end up buying part by part, is there a good place to start? Like start with a processor to base the rest of the parts off of that?
So I'm thinking I'm too eager to play some pc games...thought I might just upgrade my graphics card and a better power supply for now until I have some cash saved up. Then depending on how well my upgraded PC works I might just stick with that so then only my girlfriend would need to build one.
I thought so just because of the fact that just the gfx card and the psu I was going to aim to buy is pretty much about half of what an entire computer setup would cost.
So I got a friend who's trying to sell his computer with his steam account for $775 Windows 8.1, 64 Bit (unregistered OS) Intel Dual Core 3.20 GHz Processor, 8 GB of RAM. 1 TB harddrive, Asus Maximus Hero mobo, Asus Nvidia Geforce GTX 760 GPU, HP CD/DVD RW disk drive, and he said there's over $400 of steam games also should I jump on it? that dual core I'm not so sure about though