Will this PC upgrade work?

[sbch]

I am trying to upgrade my old desktop PC into a budget gaming rig that can play modern PC games. I know very little about modifying/building computers but am trying to learn and have done a bit of research. I'd like to know if the below components I've selected would be compatible and effective together. If they are not, suggestions about alternative parts would be greatly appreciated.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6Mb 1333MHz CPU
MSI P4M900M2-L (Motherboard already in computer)
Leadtek WinFast Nvidia GTX 650 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics card
8GB (2 X 4GB) 240p PC2-5300 RAM

 

[clarkjd]

According to this:
http://us.msi.com/product/mb/P4M900M2-L.html#/?div=Detail
That motherboard will only support 2 Gb of ram.
That build is several generations behind the times.
If we knew your budget, maybe we could suggest a better option.
Go here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgrade-advice
answer all the questions and we will be more than happy to help you with this upgrade.

 

[princejeet]

What is your total budget .....?
Then we can help u our best.
Thank you.

 

[kristisdbs]

First of all whats your budget, so i could recommend. Because i would surely go with amd 7870 + free games (costs about 50$+- more than 650,but performs better).http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/857?vs=781 I would also go with i5,but mobo wont support it,so i would say go for a new mobo,so you could upgrade with more rams, and a better CPU

 

[sbch]

Firstly thanks for the quick replies

My budget is very limited and was hoping to only spend €250 (I'm from Ireland). I was hoping to not have to buy a new motherboard and so be able to buy a better processor and graphics card. Is this practical or is it impossible to make a respectable gaming pc for such little money with outdated equipment? Also does the 2gb ram limitation mean the build would be useless?

 

[kristisdbs]

250 euros is very limited, and yes 2gb of ram would be a very bad thing,because a lot of new games need at least that much, or it will lag very much. And for that much money, you could go with a new video card and a motherboard only (not the newest models for sure).

 

[princejeet]

I think you have to check
i5-3470 and asrock h77 or h61 chipset mobo and you can use onboard graphics for most games play on lowest settings.
Yes 2gb ram works fine on gaming pc. I m using personally 2gb ram 1333mhz from samsung brand never feel anything lags.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

 

[kristisdbs]

a 2GB system could also perform quite well if you also have a good graphics card, a fast hard-drive as well as tweaking and adjusting various Windows settings that can help improve speed and performance as well.

 

[princejeet]

a 2GB system could also perform quite well if you also have a good graphics card, a fast hard-drive as well as tweaking and adjusting various Windows settings that can help improve speed and performance as well.

Can you bleave i used yesterday my friend's pc which have Asus m4n68 mobo and athlon duel core cpu , 2gb of ram and nvidia gt8400 gs gpu 512mb. It runs all games perfectly on lowest and medium settings.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

 

[sbch]

I think you have to check
i5-3470 and asrock h77 or h61 chipset mobo and you can use onboard graphics for most games play on lowest settings.
Yes 2gb ram works fine on gaming pc. I m using personally 2gb ram 1333mhz from samsung brand never feel anything lags.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

Thanks again for the help, just one more quick question. Can you tell me am I right in thinking that only an Intel core 2 duo processor will fit my motherboard? My thinking was that I could use a top of the range core 2 duo as they are very cheap now but would consider an i5 if it was compatible. Also I'd like to point out I'm not fussed about running 2013 games on ultra, just a smooth framerate at medium settings would be perfect A lot of the games I intend to buy are a few years old anyway (batman arkham asylum, gta IV, alan wake etc.)

 

[kristisdbs]

I think you have to check
i5-3470 and asrock h77 or h61 chipset mobo and you can use onboard graphics for most games play on lowest settings.
Yes 2gb ram works fine on gaming pc. I m using personally 2gb ram 1333mhz from samsung brand never feel anything lags.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

Thanks again for the help, just one more quick question. Can you tell me am I right in thinking that only an Intel core 2 duo processor will fit my motherboard? My thinking was that I could use a top of the range core 2 duo as they are very cheap now but would consider an i5 if it was compatible. Also I'd like to point out I'm not fussed about running 2013 games on ultra, just a smooth framerate at medium settings would be perfect A lot of the games I intend to buy are a few years old anyway (batman arkham asylum, gta IV, alan wake etc.)

your current motherboard won't be compatible with i5, nor even i3. But his mentioned motherboard will, so that would be your solution and if you would also look for cheaper gpu (20 or 30$+-),but with similar performance i would also go with amd 7770 (only if you have extra cash,plus you should get free games)

 

[sbch]

I have the potion to buy the amd 7770 for €30 extra. If this was still within my budget, would it be worth the extra money?

 

[sna]

I think you have to check
i5-3470 and asrock h77 or h61 chipset mobo and you can use onboard graphics for most games play on lowest settings.
Yes 2gb ram works fine on gaming pc. I m using personally 2gb ram 1333mhz from samsung brand never feel anything lags.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

Thanks again for the help, just one more quick question. Can you tell me am I right in thinking that only an Intel core 2 duo processor will fit my motherboard? My thinking was that I could use a top of the range core 2 duo as they are very cheap now but would consider an i5 if it was compatible. Also I'd like to point out I'm not fussed about running 2013 games on ultra, just a smooth framerate at medium settings would be perfect A lot of the games I intend to buy are a few years old anyway (batman arkham asylum, gta IV, alan wake etc.)

Here are some tips ,

First, Don't use 64 Bit OS , use the 32 bit windows7/8 , they need "less" memory than the 64 bit.

Second , Buy NVidia GTX 760 you will be happy ,never go for AMD .. PhysX is a Must and it makes a difference.

and here is an example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ZHfJRrFLU

2G of Ram are ok for gaming don't worry . just do it smart.

sadly , your motherboard is Via chipset, which has limtations on total RAM,

Intel chipset however supports upto 16G of RAM .

your Core 2 Duo can work with 4-16G of Ram ... if you can find some cheap intel motherboard on ebay , then do it.


here is an example of a motherboard that takes your cpu ,


http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2843#sp

 

[princejeet]

I think you have to check
i5-3470 and asrock h77 or h61 chipset mobo and you can use onboard graphics for most games play on lowest settings.
Yes 2gb ram works fine on gaming pc. I m using personally 2gb ram 1333mhz from samsung brand never feel anything lags.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

Thanks again for the help, just one more quick question. Can you tell me am I right in thinking that only an Intel core 2 duo processor will fit my motherboard? My thinking was that I could use a top of the range core 2 duo as they are very cheap now but would consider an i5 if it was compatible. Also I'd like to point out I'm not fussed about running 2013 games on ultra, just a smooth framerate at medium settings would be perfect A lot of the games I intend to buy are a few years old anyway (batman arkham asylum, gta IV, alan wake etc.)

Yups your mobo and cpu both are 775 chipset means compatible with each other. No problem. it will works perfectly.
I hope it helps.
Thank you.

 

[sbch]

Thanks for all the help, it sounds like 2gb ram is enough for what I plan to do so I'll just invest in a better graphics card and keep the motherboard with the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500