Hi there guys Im quite into computer games, more than I was say last year, Ive only ever played counter-strike and my current compaq 1.86 dual core could handle that no problem, but games like farcry >>> it chokes on. So I want to buy a new pc. Its an ADVENT T9509, I know someone who can get me the base unit for about £400. The specs of this system are: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2GB RAM 320GB Hard Drive Nvidia Geforce 8300LE So I know the graphics card isnt gaming material but I plan to upgrade that to an 8800GT Now this is where my problem is, I know these specs are rather good for the money and when I upgrade the graphics to the GT it should easily be able to handle Bioshock. The only problem is that this system only has a 350 watt PSU which is definately not enough I know which PSU i want to buy, I read on another forum about someone who had this same pc and upgraded the psu to a 550 watt and a 8800GT and he sayd it ran like a dream. So this is the upgrades I plan to buy AKASA 550w PSU AK-P550FH Quiet ATX12V/EPS12V v2.01 Sli £30.00 Evercool SB-F2 Dual PCI System Exhaust Fan Blower £4.50 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro £10.00 Evercool HD-117 3.5" Hard drive Cooler HDD £7.00 Ok so those upgrades seem pretty good, to me that is, but I dont have a clue what im talking about, im a noob and have never upgraded a pc. So can you tell me if these seem a good choice and is it easy to install a new PSU and all of these parts, or should I go to a specialist especially since ive never done it before. Thank you all, much appreciated
Everything here is pretty good for gaming and such especially that Intel Quad. The graphics card, like you said, will need some work! I would definitely upgrade to a 8800GT. I don't know about your friends computer specs... but if your planning on buying a 550Watt PSU with the parts above AND these cooling systems... You might as well take a blow torch and fry those parts Assuming that your going to upgrade to an 8800GT, your going to need something in the 600W-700W range. If your NOT going to upgrade and buy a 8300 than it MIGHT run on a 550. In either case i recommend a 650 so youll have extra wattage to upgrade in the future. Things you need to look out for when buying a new PC: RAM - Make sure your MOBO supports the RAM's speed (i.e. 800MHZ, 667MHZ) and the type of ram (DDR2, DDR, SDR). CPU - Make sure the CPU you are buying matches the socket type of your MOBO. MOBO - Buy a MOBO that will have room for future upgrades (2 PCI-E's for SLI, 4 RAM slots, few PCI slots Audio Cards etc...) VGA - Nothing to worry about here but just make sure it fits in your MOBO's PCI-E or AGP PSU - VERY IMPORTANT... make sure the PSU comes with wires that are compatible with your MOBO. Check if the PSU comes with the right MAIN POWER CONNECTOR (ATX cable... 24 or 20), a CPU POWER CONNECTOR if your mobo needs it (usually 4-pin cable)... and if you want to SLI in the future make sure the PSU has SLI support and alo has a 6-pin POWER CONNECTOR
