Need advice on upgrading x1300 PRO

[LeeCards]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2008
BUDGET RANGE: Up to $120

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming; ArmA II, ArmA III, Tera, Sid Meier's Civilization V, Stronghold Legends
CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: ATI Radeon x1300 PRO (Could not find drivers, running on x1600 drivers), 350W PS
OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.20 GHz
OS: Windows XP
ATI Radeon x1300 PRO specs I could find:
Core clock: 600 MHz
Size: 256 MB
Type: GDDR2
Reccommended: 350w

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, but if theres a cheaper price I would reconsider. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America, Arkansas

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would prefer Radeon, and I hear Sapphire is a great way to go.

From what I've researched these are probably what I should go with, but I'm not so sure.

7750 vs. 7770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006519%2050001561%2040000048&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48%7C14-202-002%5E14-202-002-TS%2C14-202-011%5E14-202-011-TS



OVERCLOCKING: Don't see any reason I would need to. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Lol no, budget is low.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680 x 1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My PSU is total crap. The sticker says max Watts are 350, but below it (in tiny print of course) it says 300W. The GPU's I've been seeing require 400w, but i've found all over forums that 300w is still enough to run cards, as long as they aren't OC'ed. If there is a possibility I can keep this PSU and still upgrade cards, that would be awesome, but if not I don't mind dishing out up to $50 extra to upgrade my PSU aswell. My CPU looks pretty good, at 3.20 Dual Core, but it somehow fails all the tests on games set at 2.4 GHz (???)

If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to fire away! I know my computer is pretty old, but it is built well and is still able to run ArmA II (Somehow), albeit very low, and its' age is starting to catch up with it. If there's no hope in upgrading successfully I could also wait a while and get a new computer, but I'd hate to see this computer put up in the attic for the rest of its' lifespan. Thanks again!

 

[kitsunestarwind]

Your CPU is pretty bad
Pentium D's are terrible much slower then then Core 2 Duo's that pretty much all game reccommend as a min these days

Ideally if u want a new GPU go the 7750 to be on the safe side, it does not require external power, so should be safe even if your PSU is total crap and will be a massive upgrade over a X1300 pro

 

[LeeCards]

Your CPU is pretty bad
Pentium D's are terrible much slower then then Core 2 Duo's that pretty much all game reccommend as a min these days

Ideally if u want a new GPU go the 7750 to be on the safe side, it does not require external power, so should be safe even if your PSU is total crap and will be a massive upgrade over a X1300 pro

Thanks for the quick reply. I am a little sad to hear this news, but I guess I had the feeling that was going to be the answer (Concerning my CPU) anyways. I would think about replacing the CPU, but they are too costly for my amateur level of computer knowledge to be playing around with. I had the feeling I should get the 7750, since it is the same size as my current X1300 PRO, and supposedly doesn't use much power at all, but I was confused at why the superior 7770 was the exact same price... I'll wait for more answers and hopefully make the right decisions. Thanks again.

 

[LeeCards]

Best answer selected by LeeCards.