Upgrading my comp, im kinda clueless :(

[clubsauce]

Alright so my comp   I've had for like 5 years, atm can run for example, tomb raider on medium, but can't handle tressfx. Or i can play skyrim with only lower quality performance enbs.

 

I wanna get ready for new games like, dragon age inquisition, witcher 3, and any other new game. And I don't wanna spend TOO much money.

 

So my question is, would it be enough to just get a new graphics card? Or are there more things I should get?

 

Also I didn't build this so that's why I'm so clueless

 

 

I don't know exactly how to post my specs properly so any help is appreciated (im learning!)

 

Operating System
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 965    39 °C
    Deneb 45nm Technology
RAM
    4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
    MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD 785G-E53 (MS-7576) (CPU1)    35 °C
Graphics
    VX2250 SERIES (1920x1080@60Hz)
    767MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 (EVGA)    37 °C

[Guest endgameaddiction]

Your rig is slightly better than mine and I can run Skyrim with ultra settings, HQ textures and performance ENB capping at 30fps. Not sure about Witcher 3 or Dragon Age since I don't play those.

 

try finding out your PSU wattage as well. It matters as far as upgrading your other components.

 

[Content Consumer]

Well, let me offer my own opinion, bearing in mind that I do not know the system requirements for the games you mentioned.

 

OS: Should be fine, hopefully, unless Microsoft makes their next DirectX platform specific to Windows 8, in which case fuck Microsoft, really fuck them hard. They did the same thing to XP. 

And, by the way, Skyrim runs (a little jerkily) on my VERY old PC that has XP, a Pentium 4 processor, and an old graphics card, and it was not supposed to be able to work there, so... take system requirements with a grain of salt.

 

CPU: I'm sorry to say I don't know much about AMD processors, but I'd assume this will run most things. It's not the newest, but it's not too horribly outdated either.

 

RAM: At this point, 4GB ram is the bare minimum to run most games. And it's rarely a bad idea to add more RAM. Just try to keep the RAM speed at the same, or higher, than your current RAM... or replace it entirely. Note that you see a lot of guides out there that say that adding RAM is the best and easiest way to increase system performance, and that is true, to a point... just remember that once you've got enough RAM to run everything, adding more doesn't actually do anything for you. I'd say that to stay current you'd probably want 8GB or more.

 

Motherboard: From a purely consumer standpoint, if everything plugs into the mobo fine, don't worry about changing it. However, if you are getting some updated components, and you have an old motherboard, it's likely that they won't be compatible, necessitating an upgrade. Basically, if you're planning on upgrading your CPU, check to see if the new one is compatible. If not, get a compatible motherboard too.

 

Graphics: That's actually on the very low-end of graphics cards for modern games. However, I keep coming back to the fact that Skyrim runs fine on an old 256-mb graphics card in my old computer, just jerky and not pretty. Generally speaking, the better your graphics card the prettier it will be.

 

Overall, I'd say you should probably upgrade your RAM, CPU, and your graphics card, making sure that everything fits with your motherboard, and that your PSU has enough to power everything.

 

Maybe not helpful, since it just boiled down to "yes, you should upgrade everything" but there you go. My two cents.

[...0...]

You can plant a new card on the motherbaord but i won't do it it not only bottleneck to extreme if you lets say pay 300 dollars/250 euros for it you will get 50% maybe even less benefit on this old system because it's also lowend.

 

If you short on money i say upgrade to more ram and get some cheap 100 euro card with 2gb at least this way its not totally a waste and it cost you not to much.

 

Other wise replace this system it will not run The Witcher very well don't forget it will be a full DXX11 game with huge open world you need a better system unless you wanne play it on low settings.

 

Skyrim runs bad because its badly programmed and DX9.0c with the hacked ENB and all the other demanding graphics mods it's just not optimized enough even for high end.

 

Good luck.

[RitualClarity]

• You should be able to pay the game currently maybe not at the best specs but decent.
• Upgrading the graphics card also entails checking the power supply to be sure it is enough. Chances are that your system is older and the power supply is already old. The added stress could kill it If upgraded to a newer graphic card.
• I would say get the games and try them. If in doubt check the processor and graphic specs. If your specs are similar or better that you should be good to go. If they are on the very low end then perhaps hold off on that game until a proper upgrade.
• AS Evasia stated above. Ram might be the way to go. Provided your Motherboard will take the added memory. ( which if my link is correct it should)  Another option is a SSD. SSDs might not speed up the system on a computer that old however it will increase responsiveness and loading screens which will be a benefit in itself and make playing a bit more enjoyable on lower end machines and work with the computer in general.

This is a very old system. Great for the older games however the newer ones might need a better rig if you want to maximize the resolutions or run heavy mods.

[clubsauce]

Thanks for the responses guys! Basically from what I'm reading here, if I want to run the future games at high quality i'd need a new rig entirely. Which is fine by me, as long as I can at least play the new titles coming out I'm happy. I can afford to get a nice computer, but it's not that i'm broke, im just stingy.

 

I do have another question while I'm here. My computer did cost approximately $900.00, and it's lasted me for years. Would the same money get me a good computer for the future titles coming out? And i'll be doing my own research, but a more informed opinion would help a lot.

[Guest endgameaddiction]

$900 can get you a good pre-made PC, but you can always get better out of $900 building it yourself or even (maybe) having the place build it for you if you pick and choose what you want. It's always better to build your own because when you buy a factory made rig, your basically paying extra money for the brand.

 

And from personal experience buying factory made gaming rigs, you can purchase one for an arm and a leg and still not get the best of the best. I would just research a lot and understand each hardware because buying the top knotch GPU, CPU, PSU doesn't mean you are going to get the maximum performance and quality out of the rig. It's more of a balance. And if you take the route to build one or have it build, remember that the case is very important, get one with enough space for airflow. It's very important.

[afa]

Go with a video card first, and see if you are ok with the results.

 

Also if you already have games in mind, DA3 and Witcher, then you might be better off wait those games to come out and some benchmarks start showing. Unless you want to tweak around with skyrim right away.

[Kuロi]

You've had a couple of advices so far, but I'm just go and confirm this : More Ram would do wonders. The gap between 4Gb and 8 is quite noticeable, and there really is no need to go over 8, unless you really want to play more than 3 games at a time. Should amount to an easy 100$ upgrade.

[RitualClarity]

Thanks for the responses guys! Basically from what I'm reading here, if I want to run the future games at high quality i'd need a new rig entirely. Which is fine by me, as long as I can at least play the new titles coming out I'm happy. I can afford to get a nice computer, but it's not that i'm broke, im just stingy.

 

I do have another question while I'm here. My computer did cost approximately $900.00, and it's lasted me for years. Would the same money get me a good computer for the future titles coming out? And i'll be doing my own research, but a more informed opinion would help a lot.

Depends on what you want to do. Some graphic cards on the mid to high end cost 300 dollars +. They give you the graphic power you need if you want to really run the newer games at higher frames or run ENB and heavy texture mods. Then you have the power supply to feed that bad boy (or boys if you want cross fire or SLI).. The choice is up to you. 800 to 1000 dollars should get you a lower-mid to mid range computer that is competent for gaming.

 

Like others have stated building your own is better in general because you choose the parts however you also have to do a lot more research and matching. IN the end this can give you a better bang for your buck. I have been building my computers for years and recently had to change out some memory. In the future perhaps the graphic cards. I have a power supply and basic MOBO that can handle most any upgrades for the next couple of years. ( AMD 990FX. ) 1000 watt power supply.. ( however realistically you really only need a good 650 or so power supply for most main stream graphic cards. Corsair, EVGA, etc make good power supplies that should be very reliable across the board. Other companies make good power supplies but you have to be more "selective" of their products and really look at the AMPS and watts etc. Perhaps even give more of a cushion. I got the 1000 because I entertained the thought of having SLI or a dedicated Physix card.

 

If you do buy or build please post back for use to review and give suggestions. At least give you info on what you are buying..

[clubsauce]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess I'm gonna just be patient wait for the games to come out, and see if I can handle them with what I've got. But when I decide to build a new comp, I know where to go for advice

[RitualClarity]

There is another option besides here as well. Especially if you think you might like to try to build it yourself. Try one of the Computer magazines that have a build inside. Several times a year magazines build a computer and show you all the parts and how to assemble the computer and various things you need. Very useful. I followed one years ago with my first build and it went off very well. Never turned back. These magazines also give you results, expectation of what the hard ware can do and sometimes even alternates. With that in hand you can then make a few minor changes like type of SSD/ hard drive, blu-ray instead of DVD rom etc. Some of the accessories. If you decide to change out say the graphic card for a better one refer back to here and on line for requirements and suggestions..   In my case at that time I had known someone in computer sales that helped me make some upgrades to the components listed on the magazine. Needless to say it was the best computer I had to date. Previously just 3 years before I spent 1700 dollars on a "gaming rig" and it was awful, constant troubles and issues.

 

Custom built computers also generally last longer than those built for you. I think it is the higher quality of both the parts and the assembly. You take more care in building than some factory worker. I have now a few computers that are quite old. One even older than yours and runs great even now. Very nice for older games as some games might not like being installed into newer OS's without some heavy work on them. One of the old computers I have can still give many off the shelf computers now a run for their money with the exception of graphics. ( PCI express 1.0.) Even your current build is better graphic wise than mine.