Should I buy a new computer or upgrade?

Question

I have a Dell Dimension E520, bought it because of a special deal couple years ago.
Its not a game player machine but I played games occasionally.
Wasn't able to play them in full mode but was able to get along.
But I would like to play them with better graphic and speed and also would like to play games that will be released in the future.
Would it better to upgrade my current computer or just start off with a new one?

Just in case, the specs for the dell I have at the moment are:
Intel Core2 CPU 6320 @ 1.86 GHz
2.00GB RAM
Windows Vista Ultimate
Graphic card: 256MB ATI Radeon X1300PRO

Answer 1

I would take it in a computer place and see what can be done. It probably be better to find it if upgrading be cheaper or if it just be better getting a all new one all together. That's probably your best bet to do.

Answer 2

The graphics card is the most important component when it comes to gaming. One important issue with upgrading a graphics card is making sure you have enough power. I took a look at the dell website to get a little more information about the specs of your PC. If you have not made any modifications to your PC then there should be a 305 Watt or similar power supply in your PC. This will definitely need to be upgraded with the purchase of a graphics card that will be able to play the games of today and tomorrow with some nice visuals. You should at least have a 500-600 Watt power supply but I usually recommend a 700 Watt power supply. This will give you enough power to supply a power hungry graphics card for now and the future. OCZ and CORSAIR make really nice power supplies. The last thing you want to do is buy a cheap power supply that will feed unclean power to your PC.



I hope this helps you a little in your decision making. If you have any other questions just send me an email.



Another issue that you may have is being able to install a graphics card into your case. But judging by the pics, I do not see why you should not be able to. If you have the money I would recommend one of ATI's 5800 series graphics cards. I currently have a Radeon HD 5850 and it plays crisis on all high settings and will definitely be able to play future games. ATI's newest cards are also very energy efficient and should be able to run two ATI's Radeon 5850 with only a 600 watt power supply. If that is not in your price range a Radeon 4890 will also be a very good choice but they are becoming harder to find.



http://www.amazon.com/XFX-RadeonHD-4890-Graphic-HD489XZSFC/dp/B002Q0V7SQ



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857



Your CPU should be able to handle most games because the graphics card will handle most of the workload.



Another problem I do see is the amount of RAM that you have. 2GB is pretty much the least recommended amount of RAM when it comes to a gaming PC, but it should not be too much of a problem for now. If you do plan on upgrading your RAM I recommend that you stay at a limit of 6GB. There is not much of an increase in performance after 6GB of RAM.



So to tie it all up you can simply purchase a power supply and new graphics card to save yourself a decent amount of cash. It will last you a while and you will be able to save up money for upgrades in the future because you will eventually run into the problem of not being able to upgrade any further. If you think you may need to upgrade the RAM and CPU then I highly recommend you start from scratch and go with an AMD 955, 790X ATX AMD Motherboard, 6GB DDR3 RAM, Radeon HD 4890 or 5850, and an Antec 300 case for the main components. Going with AMD will save you a good deal of money and get the performance you need. Newegg has some pretty good combo deals for AMD processors. If you have any further questions just send me an email and I will be happy to answer.

Answer 3

Not a bad rig .... but games are getting more hungry ... so these are the options :



1. New parts:

- CPU upgrade

- Another 2 GB would be beneficial

- 512 GB video card is now almost a min you should get.



2. New rig





I personally would wait for the new Oct core (8x) coming out mid/end of year. but will be pricey ... but wont need to upgrade for another year or so (If you like to stay intouch with the latest Tech)



BIO:

I'm a vivid gamer .... and this is my rig



Quad 3Ghz

4GB 1066 Ram

2x GTX280 OCX 1GB nVidia graphics (SLI)

3 TB HDD



Initially cost me $1500 and that excluding the video cards



Gregg

Answer 4

Hi,



What you have for upgrade options.



1: Intel core 2 quad q6600 or q6700 processor. both compatible with your boards 965g chip set.



2: 500 watt or better power supply.



3: Better video card.



4: max your ram especially when using Vista for gaming or downgrade to XP "or upgrade to 7" But that's choice of performance or appearance as your stuck running DX9 in XP but it would run faster and require less.



So it's a matter of cost to performance ratio The Q6600 even though not new is still considered high end in terms of performance. see chart



http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html



But if you can get a new system for less than the upgrade costs then go for it .

Answer 5

Your cpu is still good for another year or 2 still. i would recommend getting 4gb of ram or at least 3gb, it will be a noticeable boost. vista is fine, only stupid and ignorant people will say that its bad. make sure you're running service pack 2 though, as that fixes most of the bugs. a nice cheap graphics card to upgrade to would be a 8600gt. It doesnt require a 6pin pcie power plug and is powerful enough to run most modern games on medium settings on a 20inch screen

Answer 6

Nice comp except for the vista part. You should be able to upgrade both the cpu and the video cards to something faster. But if u looking into latest games Id say upgrade to a Core I5 or I7.

Answer 7

Estoy muy apasionada de este mundo y todos mis amigos han confiado en mí a la hora de comprar un ordenador, yo siempre les he comprado de sitios web porque tienen la mejor oferta al mejor precio, pero, el ultimo ordenador que he comprado ha sido uno de juguete para mi hija, y como siempre he acertado, tiene la dimensión perfecta para ella, buenas canciones, aprende con él y imita muy bien un ordenador portátil con su ratón con todo, a ella le ha encantado muchísimo.

Answer 8

If you think the computer you have right now is too slow or you just don't like it for some reasons.then buy a new one,Its up the kind of money you got.

Answer 9

IMO, I don't think a Dell is worth upgrading. Just get a New PC.

Honestly.

go to http://www.newegg.com/

or http://www.falcon-nw.com/

if you can afford it.

Answer 10

For me I'd buy a new one with the new i5, i6 or i7

and i guess it should be cheaper

Answer 11

Get a new one. It will be cheaper then upgrading,

Answer 12

I'm a computer builder, and I'd recommend springing for a new rig. Your machine's already outdated.

Answer 13

i think you should buy a new one along with excellent graphics you will have a new computer with excellent skinware