what do i need to change to my pc everything or just a few parts whats cheaper?

[albertio411]

hi this are my specs i know iam gonna need a new graphics card and more ram but do i need a new mother b0ard please tell me what things i should replace my budget is 450 dollars

System Manufacturer: Compaq-Presario
System Model: KJ383AAR-ABA SR5450F
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2180 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 1918MB RAM

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7100 / NVIDIA nForce 630i
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

isplay Memory: 824 MB
Dedicated Memory: 121 MB
Shared Memory: 702 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor

 

[ke7fck]

That's a tough one. I would probably replace everything but the case and power supply. It's so old that almost anything you get is going to be an improvement. It's got a PCI-e (1.0) x16 graphics card slot, I don't know that I would bother trying to keep the board. If the case and power supply is good you could reuse it for your build, but $450 is a tight budget.

What is the intent for this system? Specifically, what is the most graphically challenging game you are going to play?

My boy runs a Pentium Dual Core 2.0G with 4Gb RAM and an AMD 7750 graphics card. He can play DOTA II nd a few other similar, but Skyrim, Planetside and a few others are out with any reasonable quality. He likes Mechwarrior Online but cn only run Medium graphics, ven still lags a little when things get busy.

 

[albertio411]

ok i see i wanna play skyrim and new titles like bioshock infinite at atleast high settings i just want a starter gaming pc that i can upgrade as i go along but yeah a decent gaming pc is what iam looking for so i will keep the case and power supply. the case its not too big decent size i dont know if that matters

 

[ke7fck]

Bioshock is the tougher one, unless you like to mod Skyrim a lot.
AMD boards and chips are cheaper than Intel ones at about the same performance level, but Intel has more absolute performance. If cost is the deciding factor then that limits you to AMD.
Again, anything you get is likely to be better than what you had, but you do want to get the best you can for your budget. There are 1000 right answers at that point.

An AMD FX-6300 is about $120.
An MSI 970A-G43 is about $70.
8GB 1600 Ram is about $65.
An NVidea 750Ti or AMD 270 is about $170, similar performance.

Reuse everything else and you've got a major upgrade that will play everything you want and need pretty well, maybe not on ultra, but mist high settings shouldn't be a problem. When you get a spare $170 you can upgrade to 2 video cards and really play whatever on max.

 

[albertio411]

thanks very much thats around my budget i think for the graphics card iam gonna pick the Amd 270 since the processor is an Amd fx6300 just to keep everything made by Amd