Well Im a new forumer so forgive me if I posted in the wrong section. Is my computer still upgradeable? I bought it in late 2006. Its a Dell Dimension E520. If yes, read on. If no, then ignore the rest of the thread. Hm yeah. My computer cant run most games like Crysis smoothly anymore. So I've decided to upgrade it. Its my first time doing so. Some specs of my com. If you need more, dont hesistate to ask. Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz (2 CPUs) Memory: 1022MB RAM Video Card: Radeon X1300/X1550 Series I've got about $480 to spend and Im from Singapore. So yeah, what would you recommend? I just want to run most games smoothly and dont wish to spend too much. I dont need a monster, but if its achievable with that budget, I dont mind. The main things I hope to upgrade are the CPU speed the system RAM and the Video Card. On a side note: Is the RAM = the computer speed? I seriously have to upgrade my com's speed. Its taking like 10mins just to power up or shut down. If not, then what determines the computer's speed? And is the processor upgradeable? Its got me wondering for some time. I hope that at least someone would give some advice. I posted on other forums and no one replied me. Please. All help is appreciated.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/OM_en/NH730A01.pdf This is your pc if im not mistaken? why don't you try overclocking your processor to around 2.3 - 2.5ghz? use a decent heatsink as well. that will save you going out buying another one. Also upgrade your ram: your board supports ddr2 dual channel upto 667mhz. since you've only got 1Gb of ram, 1 module i take it, its only running in single channel configuration. Amazon.com: PNY OPTIMA 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit DDR2 667 MHz PC2-5300 Desktop DIMM Memory Modules MD4096KD2-667: Electronics thats dual channel memory 667mhz 4gb kit, thats the most your board supports best off buying them in kits, because to be dual channel memory its gotta be same speed ram, same cas timings etc, then put that in dual channel config on your motherboard. thats should speed up your pc abit, but if your running windows xp32bit it will only show 3Gb of ram, you will have to upgrade to windows xp64bit show to shows all 4gb of ram. Computer speed is determined mostly by the CPU, quicker and more cores the better. Also other factors contribute to speed such as memory more memory available the better(but you can only go upto what your motherboard supports) , quicker the memory speed the better (but you can only go upto what your motherboard supports), lower CAS timings the better. hard drives contribute aswell e.g. WD raptor harddrives sataII excellent seek times of around 4.2ms, will also make a noticeable difference from standard 7200rpm sataII harddrives with seek times of around 8.9ms.
Wow Im definitely surprised. You're very efficient. Yup thats my PC alright. Overclock? How? Decent heatsink? O_O Do I have to buy something in order to achieve the above? Hm. So do you think I should get that part ? Sorry. I couldnt understand like 50% of what you're saying. Im a total noob at computer hardware so yeah. What are the parts that you think is worth getting?
Hey dude i just noticed your board handles a maximum FSB of 1066mhz, and your cpu it self runs at 1066mhz, so basically your on your maximum CPU speed and cannot go above 1066mhz fsb. so no overclocking. 1.86ghzx2 isnt bad total = 3.72ghz, which is not bad. you want to upgrade your RAM to DDR2 Dual Channel Maximum 4GB, Maximum memory speed 667mhz. (go into a computer shop and tell them that) 3. you want a pci express x16 graphics card such e.g. Nvidia geforce 8800gts, Nvidia geforce 9800 gtx. (go into a computer shop and tell them that) all that stuff i mentioned shud make a reasonable difference to your computer, you have a fairly decent processor already core 2 duo. no point replacing that. your ram is a let down really so upgrade, so is your graphics card. by the way what wattage is your Power supply unit? because the geforce 8800gts & geforce 9800gtx graphics cards will require around 500w power supply unit. your system takes 10 mins to boot and shut down damn. I think you need to keep on top of your harddrive Defragmentation, Run Anti Virus, run spyware scanners such as AD-AWARE, do a disc clean up as well to clean out your temporary internet files. do this on average every month. it will keep your system in tip top condition, and you will notice it will be alot quicker.
Oh man. Sorry for the late reply. The web keeps saying the page cant be displayed after every visit :dry: Hmm ok. So what do I have to do in order to be able to increase the max cpu speed? I want to since its like a borderline pass for most games T_T Out of the 2 cards, which one is better? O_O And how do I find out the wattage of my power supply unit? Then is it still possible for me to upgrade the processor? My budget may increase since my father may help me pay some. :chk:
hey dude, In order to upgrade your cpu, your gonna have to get another motherboard because basically that cpu you have got now, its the maximum your board can support. you can get another board and use the current cpu and overclock it or you can just go for a completely new system. A fairly good setup is: CPU: Intel Q6600 core 2 quad - 4 cores, very good overclocker.BX80562Q6600 SLACR - GO - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield, S 775, 2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB Cache, Retail + Far Cry 2 - Scan.co.uk Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo-F, not a bad board fairly cheap aswell Intel chipset, good FSB. Eclipse Computers - Product Details RAM:OCZ Reaper HPC Edition Dual Channel - memory - 4 GB, good ram 1066mhz max the motherboard can handle with low CAS latency. Graphics card: PNY GeForce 9800GT, PNY GeForce 9800GT 512Mb PCI-Express Graphics card - Misco.co.uk power supply unit: OCZ Fatality 550w PSU, OCZ 550W Fatal1ty Pro Gaming SLI CrossFire PSU Power Supply This is not a bad setup, would cost around £450. In singapour I presume it would be alot cheaper, possibly around your $500 range??
Hmm. My budget is increased to about $560 now. Changed tons of coins with my mum so yeah. ;D That sounds reasonable. Will most likely be checking the shops this Saturday. The only thing now is just that I dont know how to fit the stuff in. LOL.
Ok. And.. one of my friends told me that he doesnt recommend changing the motherboard. Reason (quoted from him) : Changing Motherboard usually involve re-installing the OS, as there could be capability issue with existing OS with new motherboard. I believe most pre-built PC like dell/ Acer/ HP, etc only come with a recovery disk instead of a windows disk. In worst case, if you changing your motherboard and your exising OS not running properly, you will need to spend extra $100 on new OS. And he gave me this build.. CPU: E7500 (optional, you could probably OC E6300 to 2.5GHz) GPU: ATI HD4850 RAM: Get a stick of DDR2 2GB, I guess you've got 32bit OS. PSU: Quality 500W O_O
hey, yea you will have to re-install windows with a new motherboard, but how else are you gonna speed up your processor speed? your mate should know you can get windows xp etc others ways so what your gonna have to do is if you do decide to get another motherboard is back up all your current stuff on that hard drive onto disc or external harddrive.
Hmm. Then how do I know if my OS would be compatible with the motherboard? As in there wont be any issues when I replace the current motherboard. And Im not sure if I still have that disk to reinstall my OS. @_@
you will have no problem running windows xp on that system. ask your mate if he can get you a copy of windows xp. if he can your all good to go.
Well I've just dug out all the CDs that came along with the computer. Theres this red CD that says Operating System " already installed on your computer " Im guessing this is it?
do you not have a booklet saying windows xp certificate of Authentication? sometimes the cd key is written in there
