Upgrades for a Inspiron 530 (not slim)

[blazexd]

So I've wanted to to upgrade my 530 inspiron to something better for medium gaming, games like skyrim, fallout, COD, BF3, APB reloaded, deadrising and left 4 dead 2.
Specs of 530: Intel Pentium R dual cpu e2220 @2.40 GHz 2.40Ghz
Ram:2gb
TypeDR2 SDRAM(667/800-MHz)
Memory capacities: 512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB
max memory(ram): 4 GB (Inspiron 530 only )
Hard Drive 1.0 x 320.0 GB - Standard - S-ATA
Im not sure if my pc has a graphics card but if it does then its a bad graphics card
PSU: 300 watt

so what i wanna know is what should I upgrade from the desktop to make this games run good even at med-high quality
and if please if the upgrades could be the most important things that it needs and i'm on a budget less than $300
thanks.

 

[jwk3]

hmmm, BF3 on a dual core pentium, that will be interesting with 64 player maps! anyway, to the upgrades!

as I'm unsure on what connectors your PSU has, I'm going to assume you don't have any 6 pin PCI connectors. These are needed to power the higher end graphics cards. Can you check what spare connectors you have with that PSU? The best graphics card which doesn't require a dedicated power cable is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969

you should also add in 2GB more (to get the 4GB max), as games like skrim and BF3 need more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313127

I hope this helps.

 

[WR2]

Im not sure if my pc has a graphics card but if it does then its a bad graphics card

This does not bode well for your planned up grade.
Have you even looked inside your case yet?
Graphics cards are kinda hard to miss.

 

[blazexd]

Im not sure if this helps but it has complete specs of my desktop. I opened my pc before but i did not see a graphics card.
here the link that might help:


http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-530/4507-3118_7-32953389.html

 

[WR2]

It helps a lot.
That particular model had a graphics card installed - ATI Radeon HD3650. Your specific model may, or may not, have it too.
It probably looks some thing like this:

 

[WR2]

The inside of your case should look like this.

This Dell 530 owner had already replaced his power supply with one of 500W to get a more powerful graphics card in his system.

 

[WR2]

One upgrade option ~ $286 plus tax, if any:

Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16Ghz CPU - used - $120 shipped
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00116SLZS/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Memory Kit $51 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP $115 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969

Right now - the CPU cooler may be an issue. I'm not sure you want to re-use that little cooler on the faster, hotter E8500 CPU.

Why not hang around in the Dell Support forums and see what other Insprion 530 owners are doing for upgrades.
You could get some other good ideas there.

 

[WR2]

Here is a web page you'll be spending a lot of time on:
Inspiron 530 Series Owner's Manual > Removing and Installing Parts

 

[blazexd]

Thank you very much for the suggestions but i was looking to get another cpu i found some offers in microcenter which is my preferred place to buy this pc parts since its close to where i live

i3-2125 $119 comes with Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2 1155 MATX

OR

Phenom II X6 1045T 109.99 OR A8 X4 3870K-unlocked Black Edition

which both of these two cpus (phenom and A8)
come with this mobo: BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ATX for $40.00

 

[blazexd]

mobo for i3 was $49.99

 

[blazexd]

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/95f7a97d#/95f7a97d/27 here is the magazine i found the deals from between page 27-36 is all PC parts please help me through this thank you so much for at least reading this thread

 

[blazexd]

all right so i went to microcenter and i asked a guy if he could help me ppick the stuff i would need for the computer so her is his list

amd phenom ii x6 1045t AM3..............................................99.99
gigabyte GA78LMT-S2P AM3+ MATX....................................10.00
SAPPHIRE HD 7770 1GB D5 PCIE DH2DP...........................127.99
wd 1tb 3.5 INT SATA GREEN...............................................89.99
DIABLOT 600W ATX V2.2 PSU.............................................35.99
ADATA 8GB DDR3 1333 DIMM KIT........................................32.99
diablot evo atx mid-tower case.............................................39.99(the guy told me that the inspiron's case was garbage so i had to get a new one)
(tax included)TOTAL: 452.23

 

[ohyouknow]

diablotek psu no bueno. Spend extra cash on a good rated psu like corsair, seasonic, antec. You're going to have to include WIN 7 if I am not mistaken so add on $100. If you're going to microcenter I'd pick up the 960T if they still have it in stock. GL and cheers.

 

[WR2]

-> Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz
If you can find a X4 with a faster clock for about the same price get that. 4 cores - Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4Ghz - beats six cores @ 2.7Ghz for gaming

 

[blazexd]

ok then Here is all im gonna buy for my pc (im going to use my old hard drive 500gb and dvd burner thing):

these two websites imma buy from but idk if the psu is good enough if you fellas could give me advice for a psu less than 20$ and the fan are for the case i know it will fit and can you tell me if case is good???