upgrading old pc into gaming

[shadowbro8]

hello, my problem is that i have a PC into which i would like to upgrade game worthy. it runs games such as tf2 at 30 fps and amnesia and dota 2 at 20 fps. i want to upgrade gpu to the raedon 270 and cpu to the i3. i want to avoid bottlenecks and i dont really have money for new pc so here are my specs (They are not the best)
intel core quad cpu
ATI raedon 3400 series
4gb of ram
360 watt psu

 

[okcnaline]

You need 4 more GB of RAM, some vastly improved PSU, and pretty much any low-range Desktop GPU would kill the 3400 in performance. That'll cost quite a bit, so I'm not sure if you want to go this way.

 

[bignastyid]

If you have the core 2 quad you can't upgrade to an i3 without a motherboard replacement, you'll also need a new PSU, more ram. You might aswell start from scratch. You might be able to salvage the case(aslong as its a decent case), optical drive and possibly the HDD.

 

[agnhd]

I think that an Nvidia gtx 750ti (<$130 card) would be a plug and play solution for you, the only problem may be the PSU (does it have the pci-e 6 pin connector?). The games you play are not that graphically intensive to warrant an upgrade to an i3 and 270. That would cost you around $400 due to the change of the i3 (>$100), 270 (around $150), new motherboard (cheapest around $50) and new psu (more than $30), new ram set ($60). That is if you can reuse your hard drive bays, case and optical drive. You would be building it pretty much from scratch at that point.

 

[bilton]

Given you don't have much money for a new PC i'd go with agnhd's suggestion and get a 750ti, if you're Mboard and HS/Fan allows you can also do a little OC on your CPU. Just the new card should get you 80~100fps for tf2 at 1080p which will get you by until you can afford a new rig.

 

[shadowbro8]

I think that an Nvidia gtx 750ti (<$130 card) would be a plug and play solution for you, the only problem may be the PSU (does it have the pci-e 6 pin connector?). The games you play are not that graphically intensive to warrant an upgrade to an i3 and 270. That would cost you around $400 due to the change of the i3 (>$100), 270 (around $150), new motherboard (cheapest around $50) and new psu (more than $30), new ram set ($60). That is if you can reuse your hard drive bays, case and optical drive. You would be building it pretty much from scratch at that point.

 

[shadowbro8]

i was thinking about the 750 ti for its upgradibility. the actual starting from scratch isnt actually that. its more the price. i am going for the 750 ti gballistics ram i3 and a 500 w psu. thanks for the quick response

 

[agnhd]

i was thinking about the 750 ti for its upgradibility. the actual starting from scratch isnt actually that. its more the price. i am going for the 750 ti gballistics ram i3 and a 500 w psu. thanks for the quick response

Just checking that you know that the core 2 is a lga775 socket and the i3 is a lga1156 socket, the motherboard would have to be replaced. I saw that you didn't write it down in your response so didn't want you to order the stuff and then get a surprise.

As long as you keep playing just those games, i dont think you need to spend more than the gpu upgrade as far as from the pure dollars to fps. Yes it will be bottlenecked, but not that much as the 750 ti is a budget card, so upgrading to the i3 platform will not net you that much from the fps/gaming stand point, certainly not enough to warrant the extra $200. Those games will run plenty fast enough with just the 750 ti upgrade, if you need more then think about upgrading. I am sure you will be plenty pleased with the extra performance of the gpu that you probably would not think it's worth the extra investment.