Upgrading my old PC

[Slayerr555]

I am currently using a prebuilt Dell Inspiron 5375 with Intel Celeron cpu 450@2.19GHz and 2GB RAM. It's running on 32bit Vista. I would eventually like to get Windows 7, a new HDD, CPU, and GFX. Along with a new MOBO, case, etc. But for now I need to know what to upgrade first to enhance my gaming experience. Right now I play games such as League of Legends, Minecraft, and lots of different games on Steam. I get constant lag spikes, forced closes, etc and I'm ready to remedy the issue. So with my computer specs and keeping everything compatable what would you guys suggest I do? Also I am not sure but I think my RAM is DDR2. So I would have to upgrade my RAM at the same time as my MOBO. I am looking for a cheap alternative to play my games at decent speeds and graphics. I need to know in what order to upgrade, and I need a final build UNDER $400 excluding OS, mouse, keyboard, screen, and Optical Drive. If there is any info that is missing or something isn't quite clear let me know and I will try to elaborate.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Guest]

The first thing I would do before any upgrading is clean the dust inside the PC. It is likely the culprit overheating your GPU, causing the forced closes and "lag spikes" (possibly from your frame rate dipping below 30 fps) that you're experiencing.

 

[Slayerr555]

Thank you for the suggestion but I actually clean out my case every other month or so. So it's usually pretty clean.

 

[tsnor]

Hi, I could not find specs for a "Dell Inspiron 5375" any chance this is a 573 S ? maybe this one http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-537s-002b/4507-3118_7-33703095.html

What video are you running? The PC I linked is using integrated video from the MB. This is normally the first upgrade. To upgrade we's need your specs to know (1) If you need a Low Form Factor card or a normal one. (2) confirm you have an available 16X PCIe slot and (3) check out how much available power you have from your power supply (PSU). Adding a video card can tax the PSU, so if you have a low wattage PSU you go for either a low power card (there are some excellent ones) or a stronger card knowing you'll also need to spend $60 on a power supply swap.

If you end up changing MB, Processor, Memory and video it usually makes more sense to start from scratch than upgrading. Get a new case and new parts, give the old working system away to a friend or EBAY it.

Net: you have an older, single core CPU. It can game with a decent $75 video card much better than build in video. It can't keep up with all modern games, but many will be playable.

If you PC is the one I linked I'd either
(1) get a good low power video card. You have a low form factor x16 PCIe slot. You could add something like this and game much better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150657 hd6570 $70.
(2) get a refurb system like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2PF12T1055 HP DC7900 Intel Core 2 Duo 3000 MHz 1 Terabyte HDD 8192mb DVD ROM Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit Desktop Computer $300 then add a $150 video card. You can find better refurbs if you check the HP and lenovo outlet stores.
(3) build you own with any of the $500 gaming builds. The problem will be adding another $100 for windows, so if your budget is $500 then look at the $400 builds like this one. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-budget-pc-overclocking,3623.html with windows added you are at $500.

Me, I buy refurbs then add video cards. I've found it the cheapest way to make a gaming PC.

 

[Slayerr555]

Sorry, yes that should have been 537s you have the correct PC linked. As far as buying a refurb, it isn't an option for me. The idea is that I have about $150 to spend right after christmas to upgrade my current PC and the lady of the house has been so kind as to grant me permission to do so. Eventually it will be all new parts but for now im pretty much looking at a new gfx or a new cpu. I don't know if you can find the wattage of my ps online with the link you provided but it is the exact system you linked. So any information you need would be the same as that. And my concern with cpu vs gfx is that I want to get rid of the lag. Not spike my graphics. So I was thinking my best option for now at least would be to upgrade my ps and cpu. Then get a new gfx later.

 

[sora]

you'd probably have to first get a new psu before you get a newer cpu and gpu.

 

[tsnor]

One Big problem. Thats a slim case. A normal video card will not fit. You will not be able to get a video card strong enough to carry forward and still make it fit in that case.

If you need to stay in that PC then get a 'low profile' or 'low profile ready' video card like the hd6570 I linked. It will run with your current power supply, it's has max power of 44W. That uses up $70 of your "..about $150 to spend..." Try gaming. It the PC is good enough you are done. If still not enough then see what CPUs the Dell MB BIOS will support. Somewhere on the Dell site you can find the upgrade CPUs supported by your BIOS. A used Core 2 CPU is cheap., say $50 for a Q6600 quad core on ebay another $10 for thermal paste like artic silver and you are all set. Just make SURE that you have the latest BIOS loaded to your MB before you pull the old CPU, and that the new CPU is on the supported list.

Good Luck.

 

[tsnor]

p.s. your power supply is 250W. With a video card that uses 50W you will not have any trouble upgrading to any CPU that is supported on your MB. Here is the ref for the PSU wattage, it has a nice picture of your case open: http://www.computershopper.com/desktops/reviews/dell-inspiron-537s

 

[Kisianik]

eBay will be your retailer of choice.

This is the list of possible CPU upgrades:

W3YMN Wolfdale Dual Core kit, E5400, 2.70GB
K151N Wolfdale Dual Core kit, E7400, 2.80GB
F31F5 Wolfdale Dual Core kit, E7500, 2.93GB
H399J Wolfdale Dual Core Kit, E8400, 3.00GB
D923J Wolfdale Dual Core Kit, E8500, 3.16GB

F824K Yorkfield Quad Core Kit, Q8200, 2.33GB
099K1 Yorkfield Quad Core kit, Q8300, 2.50GB
80X97 Yorkfield Quad Core kit, Q8400, 2.66GB

Stay away from Quads, because you will have to dramatically upgrade your cooling and your power supply is not strong enough for them, too much headache, E8400 is the best choice.
Next you will have to add video card. HD 7750 low profile is the best one your PSU can handle - Sapphire is the best choice Sapphire 100357LP, it is out of stock at newegg ($99) and at amazon is whooping $119.99 http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-100357LP-128-bit-Express-Profile/dp/B0095MRLJ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387866623&sr=8-1&keywords=Sapphire+100357LP

This is about it. Power supply is upgradable, but then you will be around at least $200 budget if not more.

Anything else I can help you with?

 

[tsnor]

Nice list of supported CPU upgrades. I agree that low profile 7750 is excellent choice, but could not find it for a reasonable price thus the 6570 recommendation matching Tom's GPU recommendation @ http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

I'm surprised by "Stay away from Quads, because you will have to dramatically upgrade your cooling and your power supply is not strong enough for them,"

Power draw of E8400 is 65W http://ark.intel.com/products/33910
Power draw of Q8400 (highest wattage quad on the list) is 95W. http://ark.intel.com/products/38512

An extra 30W is not going to kill his case temps or PSU. And modern games have started to use more than single thread thus the re-appearance on the low end of quad core AMDs on Tom's best CPU list replacing the dual core Intels that used to own that space. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html

EDIT: Aside here is a compare of a Q8400 to your CPU. Not a bad increase. http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/493/Intel_Celeron_450_vs_Intel_Core_2_Quad_Q8400.html
The dual core E8400 shows an excellent 80% single thread improvement and a more than 3X capacity increase. http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/382/Intel_Celeron_450_vs_Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8400.html The E8400 is better than I thought, the extra frequency is really helping. (The Q8400 is literally two E8400 chips in a package making a quad core).

 

[Kisianik]

I'm surprised by "Stay away from Quads, because you will have to dramatically upgrade your cooling and your power supply is not strong enough for them,"

Power draw of E8400 is 65W http://ark.intel.com/products/33910
Power draw of Q8400 (highest wattage quad on the list) is 95W. http://ark.intel.com/products/38512

An extra 30W is not going to kill his case temps or PSU.

Unfortunately I am right:
Celeron 450 is 35 watt (this is what OP has now) http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Celeron/Intel-Celeron%20450%20-%20HH80557RG049512.html

I provided possible upgrades for motherboard (Mini Tower and Slim share the same motherboard), so it is possible, but look below for the explanations.

Now about CPU coolers. You think the are all the same? Wrong, they are different, Dell tried to save every penny here.

I could not find Celeron cooler picture, but I seen one in actual PC (not on the picture), it is smaller or very close in size than first picture below

C957N Heatsink & Fan Assembly for 65W CPUs

C955N Heatsink & Fan Assembly for 95W CPUs

It is known that upgrade from 65 watt CPU to 95 watt CPU requires cooler upgrade - many people complained about overheat in Mini Towers, Slim version even smaller, so you see.... And now OP has to jump from 35 watt to 95 watt on the same cooler, humor me....

I had same cooler (65 watt) on my Inspiron 570 before and I did extensive research in this area, so prove me wrong... (no offense please).

I know that people were making extra holes with drill on the side panel for extra ventilation and so on - this all combined makes cooling upgrade a huge headache! Increase from 35 watt to 65 watt will require only cooler upgrade, no extra fans necessary, so this is minor upgrade.
Also, you can not use after market CPU coolers so easy - look at the motherboard connectors, those are screws for LGA775 socket (how do I know?).

So, if OP is ready for the challenge - go for it, just be ready for serious cooler upgrade and maybe some improvisation, add 7750 to the mix and you are have 50/50 chance of burning your low power CPU, it can be upgraded using TFX Seasonic (350 watt), but this is extra money...

Anything else I can help you with?

 

[tsnor]

@ Kisianik, "...so prove me wrong... " Nope, I think you proved that both the 65w CPU and the 95W CPUs need coolers, and that the upgrade you suggest is workable for $150 ($100 for HD7750, $50 for used CPU+cooler). You in turn will probably not show that my advice from first post is wrong.

edit: here is article that compares quad core2 vs dual core 2. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-20.html

"If your PC is the one I linked I'd either
(1) get a good low power video card. You have a low form factor x16 PCIe slot. You could add something like this and game much better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... hd6570 $70.
(2) get a refurb system like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2PF... HP DC7900 Intel Core 2 Duo 3000 MHz 1 Terabyte HDD 8192mb DVD ROM Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit Desktop Computer $300 then add a $150 video card. You can find better refurbs if you check the HP and lenovo outlet stores.
(3) build you own with any of the $500 gaming builds. The problem will be adding another $100 for windows, so if your budget is $500 then look at the $400 builds like this one. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-budg... with windows added you are at $500."

p.s. I use a 'Napoleon Plus' cpu cooler. Not the best, but it handles my 135W i7-920 without any fuss.