Help with PC upgrade project

[AchillesLast]

Hi There,

I'm a long-time reader, first time poster here and I could really use some insight/knowledge on where to go with my current PC upgrade. I've put a fair bit of time into researching parts/upgrade directions, but I've become stumped as to whether at this point I should be trying to work with what I've got in upgrading, or start fresh, and further to that second question whether I can use some of the parts in my current PC. Before the nitty gritty technical stuff I should admit that while I have a decent grasp on terminology from the internet, I'm pretty practically inexperienced, so hopefully I dont ask too many questions I've unwittingly read answers too.

I've got a Dell Inspiron 530 with 3GB of RAM, a 2.40GHz Intel Duo Processor E4600, NVIDIA GEforce 8300 video card, running vista home basic 32bit. I want to put 3-500$ in my PC to make it a better gaming machine, specifically for Star Wars the Old Republic (SWTOR).

When running the game my CPU rarely maxes out (60-70%), which has led me to believe that my graphics card is the main bottle neck in my machine. In looking into all this I also discovered that my power supply, 160w, is far less than the recommended 450w for gaming machines. This is the main source of my issue, if I'm going to put money into my machine in the form of a video card, is it a waste to do so without an adequate power supply? If so, can I upgrade my power supply without screwing over the rest of my machine?

Any help/advice anyone could give is much appreciated, if you need any more specs I can post them, with directions on how to find them much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[pure_drivel]

Might I humbly recommend dropping more coin, and having yourself a very nice rig that will last you a while:

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5twQ
Part price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5twQ/by_merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Intel DP67BAB3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($115.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme Series, Division 2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Microcenter)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6770 1GB Video Card ($132.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $861.47
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-07 12:50 EST-0500)

 

[pure_drivel]

Thanks pure_drivel, I remember researching quad vs. dual core for my 2008 buy (which in hindsight may have been poor research given my PSU and some other components), and I remember reading that the quad vs. dual difference was negligible, that you were better off just going with a high speed dual core. Is that still the case? I'm not gonna lie the prospect of doubling the # of cores sharing the workload just seems fundamentally appealing to me.

I'm definitely not opposed to the upgrade, does the upgraded processor have the same compatibility with the other components? and do you have any suggestions as to what should I be looking at for the PSU upgrade?

To hold you over for future upgrades, a 750-850w PSU will do nicely.

Processor compatibility is fine with the Mobo you selected. It's all LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge).

I suppose the difference between a dual-core and quad-core may arguably be negligible at the moment. And by the time they actually start coding games to use all four cores the architecture will likely have changed again. Maybe disregard this suggestion.

Also, the HD 6870 is a marked upgrade is a marked improvement over the 6770. Stick with the high-end i3 and get the better GPU.

 

[pure_drivel]

REVISED:

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5tyb
Part price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5tyb/by_merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($125.35 @ Compuvest)
Motherboard: Intel DP67BAB3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($115.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme Series, Division 2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Microcenter)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($177.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $882.14
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-07 13:18 EST-0500)