Looking for advice on a new build

[PurpleSuperman]

Ohai =D

I've taken a read through the "How To Successfully Build A Computer" thread and taken some notes from there, but I'd like a few mixed opinions on where I should go from my current build to one that can play games in higher quality. To start I guess I should note that I'm in the UK, this PC would be used primarily for gaming. I'm planning on expanding my games library to some more recent games that require better graphics to actually get anywhere. And I'm looking at as low a budget as possible. £200-£300 would be ideal, but I'll go further should I need to.

 

My current specs (as provided by Xfire) are:

Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 2.80GHz

Memory: 2048MB RAM

Hard Drive: 80 GB

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT

Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor (17")

Sound Card: Realtek AC97 Audio

Speakers/Headphones: TEC^Sound CPT - 200SX Subwoofer

Keyboard: Logitech USB Root Hub

Mouse: Cheetah High Precision Optical Gaming Mouse

Mouse Surface: Wooden Desk

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.100216-1514)

 

I honestly can't make much sense out of all of that But I know that it's just enough to allow me to play Team Fortress 2 on minimal settings without any lag or crashing.

From the other thread, I read that my first priority is cooling, so should I start off by looking at a power supply/fans and then other hardware, or straight to hardware? I should mention that my room gets pretty warm, anything upto 25 degrees (Celsius)

Is there a way of determining the temperature of my PC, just to know what I'm dealing with?

 

If you need to know anything else I guess asking would be the best bet. I've been planning on getting this piece of junk upgraded for a while now, so it's about time I find out what to do >.< Thanks guys =D

[MandoPatriot]

One main thing should be a new case! Those store bought ones are pretty bad. Some don't even have fans. After that, I would get a bigger HDD (hard disk drive) to install all of your games on. Then a bigger power supply and video card. RAM and CPU should be upgraded but that budget isn't that much... Hope this helps.

[VaporX]

Don't upgrade, build new. The parts you have all are old enough that you should not bother to bring anything forward.

[_TheAlexO]

Don't upgrade, build new. The parts you have all are old enough that you should not bother to bring anything forward.

 

yes i agree, you really should think about saving and getting a couple hundred more if thats an option. that would be a MUCH better use of your money.

[MandoPatriot]

I was going to say buy new but the budget is what kills it.. though, you could get another store bought for that price that will way put-due your current setup.

[dihartnell]

I dont think I would carry anything through to a new rig. Better to sell that off and start again. 300 pounds is more than 300 USD so that may not be too bad a budget to start with and if you can get money for your old rig as well. Where were you planning to buy from?

Edited December 30, 2010 by dihartnell

[eisbar]

Don't upgrade, build new. The parts you have all are old enough that you should not bother to bring anything forward.

pretty limited to what you can do with that. but i guess if you didn't want to build new, you could pick up a c2q or a c2d then a 5770 or something that can actually play games

But IMO building new is the best way.

[PurpleSuperman]

A bigger hard drive is definitely what I need. I have alot of music and pictures also D:

 

So I guess it's clear I should just save and build from scratch. That's initially what I planned, but not being from the wealthiest of families has it's downsides

[eisbar]

You don't exactly need top of the line gear, just a quad core or even a decent dual core + something like a 5770 would be fine.

what games do you play?

EDIT: just reading OP again. download Coretemp to find out the temp of your cpu.

Edited December 30, 2010 by eisbar

[PurpleSuperman]

You don't exactly need top of the line gear, just a quad core or even a decent dual core + something like a 5770 would be fine.

what games do you play?

EDIT: just reading OP again. download Coretemp to find out the temp of your cpu.

 

Right now I'm playing TF2, CS:S, Garry's Mod and Minecraft. They all run flawlessly on minimum graphical settings, so I'm happy with that. But recently in the Steam Sale I wanted Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but didn't even have the minimum requirements D:

 

And also "This intel processor is not supported"

The CoreTemp programme doesn't like me D:

[eisbar]

Realtemp < try that one then :S otherwise you have to go to the Bios.

minecraft <3 one of the most demanding games i have ever played, takes my cpu usage up to 70-80% and ram to almost 3gb. never has a game ever done that to me before

yeah a 5770 would be perfect for that. You could get something like an i3 or phenom II.

[PurpleSuperman]

Realtemp < try that one then :S otherwise you have to go to the Bios.

minecraft <3 one of the most demanding games i have ever played, takes my cpu usage up to 70-80% and ram to almost 3gb. never has a game ever done that to me before

yeah a 5770 would be perfect for that. You could get something like an i3 or phenom II.

 

Yeah, that didn't work either D:

 

And Minecraft only lags out if I play it in browser. Downloaded it's fine, as long as the server isn't having problems.