upgrading pc whole or at least parts

[trappedslider]

So,i'm looking to upgrade my PC either parts of it or the whole thing

Here's what I have currently after a graphics and power upgrade about 2 years ago:

Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 255 Processor
Manufacturer AMD
Speed 3.1 GHz
Number of Cores 2
CPU ID 178BFBFF00100F62
Family 10
Model 06
Stepping 2

RAM 4.0 GB

I don't remember which one is in use

Video Card NVIDIA GeForce 9200
Manufacturer NVIDIA
Chipset GeForce 9200
Dedicated Memory 304 MB
Total Memory 1.9 GB
Pixel Shader Version 4.0
Vertex Shader Version 4.0
Hardware T & L Yes
Vendor ID 10DE
Device 084B
Plug and Play ID VEN_10DE&DEV_084B&SUBSYS_02281025&REV_A2
Driver Version 9.18.13.4052


Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 (90% this is the one that is running)
Manufacturer NVIDIA
Chipset GeForce GT 610
Dedicated Memory 977 MB
Total Memory 2.6 GB
Pixel Shader Version 5.0
Vertex Shader Version 5.0
Hardware T & L Yes
Vendor ID 10DE
Device 104A
Plug and Play ID VEN_10DE&DEV_104A&SUBSYS_26153842&REV_A1
Driver Version 9.18.13.4052

and a 1TBHDD

I'm not sure about the power supply
Sadly my budget is going to be about 400-500$, the goal is to run FO4 and the next warcraft xpac,if not Civ IV

[altpersona]

what is the motherboard, what is the details on the ram, what is the budget?

[trappedslider]

what is the motherboard, what is the details on the ram, what is the budget?

Failed a spot check did you?

RAM 4.0 GB
budget is going to be about 400-500$

As for the motherboard,I'm not sure about it

[altpersona]

yup, guess i did. 

mobo make n model will tell what your options are for keeping it and upgrading the other bits... 

tomshardware has a budget pc build every few months.

as of two months ago this is their 500 $ build

CPU AMD Athlon X4 860K
Graphics Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x 4GB)
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-D3H

technically, thats a build submission from a reader...

they built

Q1 2016 Low-Budget PC Component List
Processor   Intel i3-6100 (Skylake)   $129.99
CPU Cooler   DeepCool T200   $14.99
Motherboard   ASRock Z170 Pro4S   $79.99
Graphics   Asus Stric GeForce GTX 950 2GB    $155.09
Memory   Mushkin Redline DDR4-2400 CAS13 (2 x 4GB)   $42.99
System Drive   WD Blue 1TB 3.5"   $53.99
Power   Antec VP-450   $37.99
Core Cost   $515.03
Case   Rosewill Redbone U3   $42.99
Total Performance Cost   $558.02
Storage Drive   None   $0
Optical Drive   None   $0
Total Hardware Cost   $558.02
OS   Windows 10 x64 Home   $104.48
Complete System Price   $662.50

my boys pc, i bought from walmart in 2012, we upgraded ram, video card and hard drive since then.

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor,
8GB Memory,
1TB Hard Drive
and Windows 7 Home Premium
GeForce GT 520 Graphics

added

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition OC 2GB
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3



here is hierarchy chart for comparison of video cards.

[trappedslider]

The mother board appears to be Aspire X3400G, which fits sense since my computer started out as a standard Acer Aspire before upgrading the graphics and power and the case.

yup, guess i did. 

mobo make n model will tell what your options are for keeping it and upgrading the other bits...

Are oyu saying there's a site that I can easily use that will tell me what I can keep and what to upgrade? If so can oyu give me the link cuz my google-fu is weak...

[altpersona]

looks like a link i thought i posted didnt...

the aspire looks like it tops out at 4gb ram.

i suspect that trying to keep the cpu will hit that same wall, the controlling chipsets are funny that way sometimes.

will google around and see.

[altpersona]

here is the cpu chart

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

i believe the aspire tops out at a phenom x4 965

at this point my formal recommendation is to go w/ either of the to previous builds.

reuse the your case and drives....

[trappedslider]

here is the cpu chart

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

i believe the aspire tops out at a phenom x4 965

at this point my formal recommendation is to go w/ either of the to previous builds.

reuse the your case and drives....

That's what I'm thinking of doing, however I also have my eye on this http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2427000, what do oyu think about it?

[altpersona]

for the games you listed, the video card is probably 'fine'.

otherwise im not loving the card.... (or the amd cpu, but cpu is not a huge factor for game performance)

[trappedslider]

then all i need to pick is an optical drive


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883101274  it has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 which http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/NVIDIA+GeForce+GTX+745/review a 3 star review out of 5