I need help upgading.....seriously!!!!

[zackzd]

OK, hi everyone, i really really need some serious help on upgrading my PC.. any help will be extremely appreciated! OK:
I'm currently running a Dell Dimension $700 with the following specs:
Intel Pentium 4 3.00ghz (hyper threaded)
Nvidia 8800 graphics card
3GB of ram (ddr2)

I just bought GTA IV for my PC and it runs like sh*t...even when hyper threaded the game is laggy...its playable but TBH im not pleased, Ive got my mind set on upgrading to a Core 2 Quad...obviously my old Pentium 4 supporting mobo needs seriously upgrading to a quad core supporting mobo. Well, that's the thing...im on a budget of £200 to get a quad core processor and a supporting mobo..so basically could you please tell me what i should buy and whether it will fit in my Dell Dimension 4700? Im really worried about the motherboard not fitting inside it.

BTW once Ive upgraded im expecting to be playing all the latest games for 1-2 years without having to EVER get another upgrade for anything.

So thanks in advance for your help!

 

[zackzd]

bump

 

[ainarssems]

Will be hard to get new stuff for under £200. You can try Q8200 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q8200-Yorkfield-Core-S775-233-GHz-1333MHz-4MB-L2-Cache-7x-Retail processor and P45/P43 m/b http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-EP43-DS3L-iP43-Express-S-775-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-1600-1200-1066-800-SATA-II-ATX .
Or second hand Q6600 on e-bay. with the same m/b

Or if you switch over for AMD then AMD Phenom II X3 720 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X3-720-Black-Edition-Sok-AM3-28GHz-75MB-Total-Cache-95W-Retail
and Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4 m/b http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-MA790X-UD4-AMD-790X-AM2plus-PCI-E-20(x16)-DDR2-1066-1200-800-SATA-II-SATA-RAID-ATX
But that is also sligtly over budget.
Either way You probably will want to overclock CPU to get best out of it so You will need aftermarket CPU cooler.

 

[zackzd]

Aha thats almost exactly £200....that will do well....thing that im really worried about though is will this new motherboard actually FIT inside my dell dimension 4700? ive read before that dell make it impossibel to switch mobos?

 

[ainarssems]

Also You might need to add some more memory later down the road. I suppose You have 3x1GB 800MHz memory so You could get this http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(2x2GB)-Corsair-TwinX-XMS2-DDR2-PC2-6400-(800)-240-Pins-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-5-5-5-18 and bring it up to 6GB and dump one of Your sticks.
If Yours is slower then dump Yours and get this.
If Your graphics card is 8800 GTX/GTS512/Ultra it should get You through 2 years(don't expect to play on maximum settings) but if it is 8800 gt/gts320/640 it might be hard for it to keep up

 

[zackzd]

i will probably upgrade ram when the latest games require it...as RAM is reletaviely cheap....so will i be able to fit the mobo into my dimension 4700 and then insert my ram and graphics into that?

 

[ainarssems]

It was impossible on older Dell PC's. Never had anything to do with 4700. When You open it up check whitch side is m/b on when looking from front. If it is on left it will not fit if on right then it should unless case is for uATX cases only.

 

[zackzd]

aha.......it is on the right hand side...so presumably any mobo should fit there?

 

[zackzd]

and should i get a PC technician to insert the new mobo or is it fairly easy to do by yourself?

 

[ainarssems]

I looked up some pictures of 4700 m/b on web and it looks like it is uATX. So none of my recommended boards will fit let me lookup another one for You.

 

[zackzd]

ok post back wen u have your answer please :S

 

[ainarssems]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-G41M-ES2L-Intel-G41-S-775-PCI-E-(x16)-DDR2-1333-SATA-3Gbps-MicroATX-Onboard-VGA should fit. It is not as great as other one but also cheaper and can save You some money to put towards better CPU like http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q8400-Yorkfield-Core-775-266-GHz-1333MHz-2MBx2-L2-Cache-95W-Retail
That is if You are sticking with Intel

 

[zackzd]

OMG THANKYOU!!! your an absolute legend.......id jsut given up and tihnking of buying an xbox 360 but you saved me!!!! w0000 thanks a lot mate....can u give rep on these forums?

 

[ainarssems]

Don't run shopping just yet. I might have missed something. Hopefully somebody else will post and confirm or turn down my advice. Also as You probably have noticed all boards I recommended are Gigabyte. Thats because That is what I have been using for last couple of Years( used to use Abit before) Many people will recommend You Asus but I cannot because I had bad luck with them. Seems to be just me.

 

[zackzd]

ok thanks alot you really helped