what can i do to upgrade a compaq presario cq5500f most efficiently

[trystanr2008]

i have a compaq presario cq5500f and i want to be able to play at least diablo 3 on it. i have $250 and was wondering what i should get first to upgrade it.

 

[uthvag]

i think you should get a better system sir, that one is a bit out dated

for 250$ you can get a decent i3 with a intel HD 4400 GPu and 4gb ram

which can play diablo 3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

 

[trystanr2008]

well the reason i want to upgrade is because i just bought it. couldnt find much that was any better for what i paid which was 125. can you give me any upgrading tips for this system?

 

[uthvag]

well the reason i want to upgrade is because i just bought it. couldnt find much that was any better for what i paid which was 125. can you give me any upgrading tips for this system?

first and foremost you would need at least a 500w psu (recommended antec bronze rated)

The Phenom X4 9650- might need a bios update

another 2gb ddr2 ram(please mention your freq)

maybe a GPU like r7 260/250

but i wouldnot expect too much

 

[trystanr2008]

ok well i figured all that. i went to newegg a couple days ago and found some item that will get me started please let me know if im on the right track.
ram i found : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371071
i dont know about GPU yet, but i was looking at the gtx geforce 750 ti, would that be good? i know its a little pricey but is it worth it?
and havent looked for a cpu

 

[trystanr2008]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 is other ram. pc2 6400 is what is supported, but i think the stick thats installed currently is lower, read in the specs somewhere i think

 

[MasterMace]

I haven't fully set up a list of power supplies yet, so my apologies for not being able to recommend something cheaper. This PSU will do a significantly better job than the one you linked. (the website is a price aggregator for vendors). At the best price, it's also cheaper than the one you linked. It's a Tier 2a 550W Bronze Certified Power Supply for $55 ($45 on promo), with 44A on the 12v rail.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9


When upgrading a system for gaming, the first thing you upgrade is the power supply (PSU). If you try upgrading a performance part (CPU/Graphics) before the PSU, the old PSU will explode. The primary ability of a PSU that you are looking for is not Wattage (i.e. 450W vs 550w vs 750W), it is the 12v rail Amperage. CPU/Graphics use the 12v rail.

[edit] Sorry for the edit, deleted stuff before I realized my math.

After the PSU, you'd upgrade a performance part. Upgrading the CPU would require upgrading the motherboard in most cases, and thus you'd upgrade the Graphics card, normally. The problem is your Sempron is awful, and that PC has you using DDR2 RAM, and a tiny amount of it. If you were to upgrade all of this, you'd be above your $250 budget. As a result, I'd have to recommend upgrading your CPU, and going the APU (CPU+Graphics on the same part) method (the route the PS4 and XB1 went). This requires a different motherboard.

APU - A8-7600 - $98
Motherboard - MSI A55M-E33 - $46
RAM - AData 1x4GB DDR3 1600 CAS 9 - $35
PSU - XFX TS 550W Bronze - $55 *previously mentioned*
--------
Total - $234

 

[trystanr2008]

yeah i knew that, just didnt check to look for it, which was really stupid on my part lol is that on newegg?

 

[trystanr2008]

will that fit into a mini tower case? idk the difference between a minitower and a mid tower they look the same size to me

 

[MasterMace]

Updated the previous post. The PSU should fit fine, as it is an ATX form factor. The motherboard is a micro-ATX form factor, which matches the form factor of the M2N68-LA inside of it.

 

[trystanr2008]

ok, i understand what youre saying, but arent apus awful as well? i had a gateway a while back with an apu that only had 2.0 GHz and it was slow as moses! im perfectly ok with over the budget, thats just all that i have to spend right now.altogether id say that i have a 350 400 budget, i just dont have all of it now. my motherboard actually does support better cpus, i could put a phenom II quad core in it i think. would that help by that way the apu that was in the gateway was the A6-5200. are apus the only thing that will fit into an FM2+ socket or could i late get a cpu and discrete GPU combo? thank you for your help so far

 

[trystanr2008]

im not completely computer illiterate but i know that i have a lot to learn. id like to get a CPU discret GPU combo because i have read that they are more worth it in the long run than an apu

 

[trystanr2008]

i looked at that apu and wow thats a big difference from my experiences with them thank you for the suggestion

 

[Mokyu]

You just bought a Compaq Presario? Is it too late to return?

 

[trystanr2008]

lol yes. im going to take mastermaces advice and spend 300 to make it a budget gaming comp