Friend is looking for some assistance!

[Dyn99]

Hello! Looking for some assistance! A friend of mine is looking into making a whole new build or upgrading/parting out what he can use with this current desktop PC. It's just an old Gateway PC he's had forever, it's spec's are:

OS - Win 7 home pr 64-bit(6.1, Build 7601)
System Model - DX4
GPU - ATI Radeon HD5450 512MB (DDR3)
CPU: Intel Core i3 i3-550 / 3.2 GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR
Motherboard - Gateway DX4840
HD: 1TB SATA HDD
Optic: DVD SuperMulti

Not sure of his PSU but I'm guessing 300 range.

Anyhow he is only able to give in $500 (CDN). And his goal is to play games with me and our other friends. (SC2/Bf3/Skyrim/DoWII etc..) Just looking to help him out! I pre-built him some builds but nothing straightforward, he was curious to see if he could use any of his old PC parts to use. Thanks!

P.s. Purchasing from NCIX.ca or Newegg.ca

 

[computernewb]

the i3-550 is still a decent cpu and 4 gbs of ram is sufficient for gaming. a good graphics card is probably the most important.

you can just upgrade the graphics card to say a radeon HD 7850 for $175 and get a new power supply with a pcie 6 pin connector and be ready to game.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125451
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074

 

[maestro0428]

Yeah, thats not a bad PC to start out with. Like computernewb said, a gpu and psu is really all that's needed here. I'm not a fan of Gigabyte (I would buy Sapphire if I wanted an AMD card), but Seasonic is the only brand psu I recommend.

 

[Dyn99]

Hey thanks alot! I will relay the information, on my own part though, will the motherboard be fully compatible with the new GPU? Also how can I view those newegg links? The site automatically brings me to the Canadian site regardless of me being logged in or not. Totally forgot, will the Gateway's case be large enough for the upgrade?
I'm guessing something along the lines of what you both have said, like an sapphire/xfx 7850 2gb? Personally I've owned a line of Corsair PSU and can't really complain and I am not familiar with Seasonic, but don't mind change. Any good choices for that brand?

 

[computernewb]

pcie 3.0 graphics cards are backwards compatible with pcie 2.0/2.1 slots so you dont have a problem there.

as for the size of your case, you might have to measure that on your own. newegg usually gives the dimensions of the video card in the details section.

yea sapphire is a good brand. i have a sapphire card myself and never had a problem with it. Corsair, seasonic, antec are some good reputable power supply brands

good luck!