Upgrading Computer / Or Buy new

leaf91

Reputable
Oct 3, 2015
2
0
4,510
Hello, I am wanting to upgrade my current computer and have no idea what is good or what is supported by my current computer. Im new to this so please forgive me if i am incorrect/ignorant. I am also wanting to upgrade to windows 7 at the same time. And the computer will be mostly used for casual gaming.

Computer Specs.

Windows xp(32bit) yes its old, I want to upgrade.
intel core 2 duo e7400 @ 2.8ghz, 2gb Ram
asus p5ql pro mother board
asus engtx460 top direct CU 1 gb GDDR5 video card

My question is, do I have anything here I can work with? such as the video card and motherboard? Can I upgrade around those? or am I better off buying a new computer. I would like to keep my budget as low as possible as well.

Desired specs

Windows 7
(maybe new processor?) 3.00 - 3.2 ghz?
4-6 gb of ram?

No idea what Ive got to work with here,

Thank you in advance.

 
Hi leaf,

It might be helpful for some of the forum system builders to have an idea of what budget you have available for a new build. They can put together a pretty great system if they know the price range.

Also, knowing what type of games you had in mind would help as well.
 

Mason1204

Honorable
Sep 14, 2015
116
1
10,715
Well considering what you have and what you'll need to upgrade, you might as well just build a new PC. Go on pcpartpicker.com and start a build. For a nice gaming computer I would recommend a intel i7 4770k or 4790k cpu. I would get 16 gigs of ram but you can get 8 if you don't plan on playing big title games such as ac unity and such. For the graphics card, it really is up to you but I would recommend a Nvidia geforce gtx 960 as its a good safe zone for mid to high level gaming. The case and psu and other components are up to you and will depend on what main components you get. For a motherboard I would make sure it has at least 4 memeory slots, 2-3 pci-e 16x 3.0, and a onboard USB 3.0. I would also recommend it to be a z97 chipset but you can go with a z87 if you wanna save some money. I would also recommend it to be an atx board. As for the psu, I would select that last as once you get all your other components selected, you can google a psu calculator to help you get the best recommended psu wattage for your build. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
 

leaf91

Reputable
Oct 3, 2015
2
0
4,510


Thanks, I'm currently looking at all options. Right now on my setup I can run ARMA 2, empire total war, tropico 4 and war-game red dragon with no problems. I ignorantly bought cities skylines and company of heroes 2, to later find out I'm out of spec. I would like to keep the upgrade/build as low (maybe under $200 idk if thats possible either), and if possible make the most affordable upgrades. how much would a build cost just to reach the specs of the 2 bought games I mentioned?