Need help upgrading.

[micky124]

Hey everyone just needing some advice on a little upgrading. I'm starting with a stock Dell Inspiron 570, i know this is NOT a gaming computer but it does run World Of Warcraft pretty good. Just checking if there are ANY upgrade that will improve gameplay.

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 250 Processor (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
RAM: 6gig
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4200

Ran a test in windows
Processor: 6.5
RAM: 7.1
GRAPHICS: 3.7
GAMING GRAPHICS: 4.7
HARD DISK: 5.9

Also, anyway to run dual screens?

Thanks for reading, hope you can help.

[n0cturnal]

What motherboard and PSU do you have?

[micky124]

Motherboard:
Manufacturer- Dell Inc.
MODEL- 04GJJT A00

PSU is just 300w

[n0cturnal]

You have the option to upgrade the CPU to a Phenom II x4 965 on that motherboard from what I can find.

You can also upgrade the GPU to pretty much any current generation that will fit your case, however you should upgrade your PSU if you go any further than a Radeon 7750.

[micky124]

Wow, didnt expect i could upgrade to that.

So i can i install these without any problems?
(wont let me post links)
newegg
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Would it be a decent boost in World of Warcraft? Could i play other games without problems?
Sorry so many questions, just got into computer gaming a few months ago. Thanks for all the help.

[n0cturnal]

With a 965 and a 7750 you should be able to play at close to ultra settings.

Everything should work out but there is a small concern that your PSU might not be able to handle it. Technically 300W should be enough but you never know what kind of PSU is in a pre-built computer, is it possible that you can check the specs on it? There should be a sticker on it that says how much Ampere it can deliver at the 12V rails.

Here is a comparison of a 7750 and a GT240 which is the closest to your Radeon 4200 that they offer in this database.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/535?vs=611

In reality your 4200 is weaker than a GT240.

[Seldirion]

300W PSU is a bit too low for it to be safe to upgrade to a more power hungry GPU.
SSDs are superb for MMO gaming as there is a lot of loading and pop-ups being handled by the HDD. In short: less loading and more fun! 128GB is enough for your OS, important programs, WoW and a few other games and programs. To be honest, I would suggest that you upgrade your CPU too, as it's quite bad for gaming. I base this on tests that measure pure gaming performance of CPUs. The cheapest i5, even the old 2500K, is miles ahead of your Athlon. The i5 3570 performs quite well and would be a good upgrade. It delivers more punch than AMD's FX-8350 when it comes to programs which do not utilize all of the cores - WoW does not officially do so as of yet as the x64 version is still not officially released and has some performance issues. You would need a new motherboard to use an intel processor though.

You can get upgrade sets from several online stores where you get motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM and SSD - all in one package (including wires etc.), for a reasonable price. You don't really need to upgrade your RAM though, as 6GB is more than enough. Try to look for packages which suite your needs and desired price range and compare them to see where you can get the best deal

Good hunting!

[micky124]

PSU says max output is 300W but "SHALL NOT EXCEED 160W" .... that sounds like bad news..

[Seldirion]

Indeed it does... It's always good to have some "headroom" and it will make it easier to upgrade later on too, should you decide to go fro SLi/ Crossfire or go for more powerful parts. A PSU can often live long enough to be part of several custom PCs

[micky124]

I found a combo on Newegg..
(srry still cant link)
- Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-750-M 750W ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
$207.97 with shipping

Would these work with my motherboard, and if so what is the best graphics card for around &100-150.

[n0cturnal]

If you are lucky you can find a Radeon 7850 for $150 on sale.

[micky124]

ok, this is what i found so far...

>Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit
>Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-SB 400W ATX 12V v2.2 Power supply ( the tool newegg has told me id need at least 351w so i figure 400 to be safe)
>AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125w

>Will all of this work with the 570's motherboard?

>The PSU is 5.91" x 5.51" x 3.35"(WxDxH)
the 570 is (6.93 inches) x (17.44 inches) x (14.8 inches) (WxDxH)
Will it fit decently?

>Anything else(cheap) i can add to improve proformance?

[Seldirion]

If you go for the 7750, I advice you to get a PSU with more W, as the recommended minimum is 400W (as stated on AMD's site). My recommendation: COOLMAX ZX Series ZX-500 at 39.99$ - the cheapets 80 plus certified PSU between 451- and 500W.

Why not go for the RADEON HD 7850 instead? The HIS H785F1G2M Radeon HD 7850 costs 164.99$. Its performance more than justifies the price difference between it and the 7750. Since a bad PSU can make your system sluggish and/ or result in shutdowns, I would also recommend a certified PSU to ensure the system is running well. One cheap, certified PSU is the CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 at 59.99$ - if you want to stay safe and have solid performance, you will have to pay This is a very good deal with the 10$ discount(original price is 69.99$). Note that you won't need this kind of power if you go for the 7750.

I can't seem to get hold of the information regarding your motherboard and the maximum dimensions it can handle when it comes to a GPU.
It's usually the length that becomes the problem, if the card is not improved with custom cooling form the third party(custom cooling tends to add to the height of GPUs).

[n0cturnal]

If you go for the 7750, I advice you to get a PSU with more W, as the recommended minimum is 400W (as stated on AMD's site). My recommendation: COOLMAX ZX Series ZX-500 at 39.99$ - the cheapets 80 plus certified PSU between 451- and 500W.

Why not go for the RADEON HD 7850 instead? Its performance more than justifies the price difference between it and the 7750. Since a bad PSU can make your system slugish and/ or result in shutdowns, I would also recommend a certified PSU to ensure the system is running well. One cheap, certified PSU is the CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 at 59.99$ - if you want to stay safe and have solid performance, you will have to pay This is a very good deal with the 10$ discount(original price is 69.99$). Note that you won't need this kind of power if you go for the 7750.

While I agree on getting a 80+ rated PSU there is no need to go above 400W for a system that will hardly ever use 200W.

[micky124]

Trying to keep cost under $230.

How about this?
(still cant link)
Coolmax Power Supply ATX 500 Power Supply - ZX-500
XFX AMD Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card FX775AZNP4;FX-775A-ZNP4
AMD Phenom II X4 965 AM3 3.4Ghz 512KB 45NM 125W 4000MHZ

I can get this for $232.33

[Seldirion]

@ n0cturnal I beg to differ as people have reported problems with this very system when using a 7750 and AMD Phenom in combination with a 400W PSU The 500W PSU I chose is so cheap that it doesn't really matter anyway. The cheapest certified 400W PSU is 44.99$ from Newegg, while the 500W PSU from Coolmax costs 49.99$.

@ micky124 Yes, that's a nice combo

[n0cturnal]

@ n0cturnal I beg to differ as people have reported problems with this very system when using a 7750 and AMD Phenom combo

What system are you talking about? We have already established that he needs to replace the stock PSU anyway.

[micky124]

Ok good, but will all THAT fit in my case?
What should i be expecting to run wow on? ( mostly questing and some 10man and a few 25man)

[n0cturnal]

Must've been some really bad PSU then. The power consumption of a 7750 has been measured at below 50W in several reviews. combine that with the rest of the system that probably only uses about 160W or so and you can clearly see that any decent PSU that can deliver even 300W will be enough to run it.

[Seldirion]

@ n0cturnal Yes, they were most likely bad PSUs, but the main point with my recommendation was that it is the only certified PSU in that performance range and for only 5$ more than the certified 400W PSU from Cougar. The cheapest 300W PSU with certification costs 37.99$, so you're not exactly saving a ton. I see your point, but I have found that it is always wise with "headroom" when building a PC. Suddenly you find that you need to upgrade yet again, and that since you were cheap when buying a PSU, you will have to buy a new one.. Again. You are also guaranteed that the PC will get enough power, even if you overclock to squeeze some more performance out of the components.

@ micky124 I finally found the info I needed and yes, you have room for all of the components you list

You may run World of Warcraft at 1920x1080, but you will not be able to max everything and maintain 60FPS. If you have high settings with your new PC, you will have about 40FPS(min 36, max 42.3), according to Tom's Hardware. If you lower the field of view, AA, shadow quality and lighting effects, you may get a decent result. This is why I recommended the 7850, as the difference when running the game at 1920x1080 is quite large. With the 7850, you will get min 39FPS and max 46.1 with ultra settings. These are just numbers from tests, but should give a rough estimate of the performance you will get.