Upgrade my PC for gaming.

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Enigma

Enigma

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Hi guys, I am looking to upgrade my PC if possible.

It's a Packard Bell S3810
Intel Core i3 540 @ 3.07 Ghz. (Clarkdale) Socket 1156 LGA
Installed Memory 3.00GB.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.
I think the MB is microATX style though not 100% sure.

I was looking to upgrade the PSU, add some more RAM and fit a graphics card. The case is a compact design so I would have to change that aswell to allow the graphics card to fit.

It is mainly to play iracing but if it could play BF3 aswell that would be a bonus but I'm guessing with the i3 it might not be powerfull enough.

Do you guys think it will work? If yes, could you recommend a PSU, case and graphics card.

I was hoping to connect it to my 47" LG tv, will this be ok?

Any help would be welcome, thanks.
 
The i3 is powerful enough. I think should upgrade to 4GB RAM. Also, can you tell us your power supply specs? What quality do you want to play the games in?
 
find out the specs of ur mobo and power supply. AMD has some 28nm gfx cars on the way. the mid range stuff doesnt come out till february/march. 7970 comes out january 9th for $549 MSRP. :P midrange stuff that sips on power will be out a month or 2 later.

you can snag a used i5 or i7 for pretty cheap and sell your i3 maybe? also, get new gfx card and sell the 3 1gb sticks and get 2 sticks of larger capacity?


maybe you can unlock the bios as well for more tweaking. since a lot of premade systems come w/ locked motherboard bioses or mediocre motherboards to begin with.
 
I think it'd be best to give an idea of the price range your looking in here because to me it looks like it'd be a lot better to build an all new computer for around $600?
 
Enigma
Hi guys, I am looking to upgrade my PC if possible.

It's a Packard Bell S3810
Intel Core i3 540 @ 3.07 Ghz. (Clarkdale) Socket 1156 LGA
Installed Memory 3.00GB.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.
I think the MB is microATX style though not 100% sure.

I was looking to upgrade the PSU, add some more RAM and fit a graphics card. The case is a compact design so I would have to change that aswell to allow the graphics card to fit.

It is mainly to play iracing but if it could play BF3 aswell that would be a bonus but I'm guessing with the i3 it might not be powerfull enough.

Do you guys think it will work? If yes, could you recommend a PSU, case and graphics card.

I was hoping to connect it to my 47" LG tv, will this be ok?

Any help would be welcome, thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi there, I haven't read any of the other posts, but I'll try and answer your questions, please let me know if I miss one. To be up front, I've worked with computers for more than 10 years, I've been a PC 'user' for over 15, and have built 3 new computers and worked on several in the last 5+ years. So I may have some small experiences relevant to your queries.

In reverse order, yes, connecting your 47 inch television to your computer should be quite easy, you'll simply need to have a graphics card with an 'hmdi' out port, or an adapter which depending on your budget may be cheaper to skimp on the GC and get the adapter afterward, DVI and HDMI are the same quality signal, HDMI simply includes audio as well (forgive me if this is obvious).

For the Power Supply, you do have a nicely efficient system in place there, and a 'single' graphics card shouldn't require too much power, I'm guessing you currently have a 400W PSU, perhaps slightly higher, I'd recommend (for future proofing reasons) to buy a 750 PSU+ you may be able to get away with a 650 PSU.

The big question is the graphics card, now I've been a loyal Nvidia user for many years, my current card was the best single graphics card of the DX 10 era, the 285GTX, but I would not recommend Nvidia for this era (DX 11) as their technology per price is neither superior at the top end, as it usually is in the past, nor better priced in the middle. I think the best card for the price point would be the 6950, its the second best single card they offer, but it can easily be changed to perform almost as well as the 6970 (depending on brand, you can look up which ones you can normal clock).

As you identified, you will need a bigger case, a mid-tower will be gigantic for your current MB, but should also be perfect for any future normal size ATX MBs should you wish to recycle that case in the future (it'll also hold the new PSU nicely).

I cannot recommend the RAM too well, make sure its as fast as the CPU or faster, I haven't researched any of the i3s, but a 3.07GHz i3 must be one of the better ones, I'm going to guess its front side bus (the speed in which the processor communicates with the ram) would be atleast 1066MHz, perhaps 1333MHz, so get ram that maximizes that, confirm whether or not your MB can handle the amount you want, 6-8GB should be a good amount, 2 or 4GB modules (if the MB supports), are a good idea, preferably 4GB as they'll last longer.

Any budget? eBay is a good bet for parts, but be careful, I've bought a MB from there before and it didn't work because it was used and mistreated.

Let us know how you go, hope I've helped and answered all of your questions.
 
CMvan46
I think it'd be best to give an idea of the price range your looking in here because to me it looks like it'd be a lot better to build an all new computer for around $600?
Click to expand...

I don't really have a budget, I just thought it would be more economical to use my existing components where possible, obviously the less I spend the better but at the same time I don't want to buy stuff that is rubbish.

Conza
The big question is the graphics card, now I've been a loyal Nvidia user for many years, my current card was the best single graphics card of the DX 10 era, the 285GTX, but I would not recommend Nvidia for this era (DX 11) as their technology per price is neither superior at the top end, as it usually is in the past, nor better priced in the middle. I think the best card for the price point would be the 6950, its the second best single card they offer, but it can easily be changed to perform almost as well as the 6970 (depending on brand, you can look up which ones you can normal clock).

As you identified, you will need a bigger case, a mid-tower will be gigantic for your current MB, but should also be perfect for any future normal size ATX MBs should you wish to recycle that case in the future (it'll also hold the new PSU nicely).
Click to expand...

So we are talking about something like this http://www.ebuyer.com/275772-asus-h...4s-2gd5?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products will this work well with the i3 and standard motherboard?

If I get a mid-tower case are the mounting points for a micro ATX and a normal ATX the same?
 
Get CPU-Z and HWmonitor.

Install them both and run it.

They will tell you exactly what you have on your computer and we will be able to tell you if you can easily fix a new graphics card and whether you need a new motherboard or processor.

To be fair, 250W power supply is rather low and would be one of the first components to be replaced if you wanted to use a dedicated graphics card.
 
Submerged
Get CPU-Z and HWmonitor.

Install them both and run it.

They will tell you exactly what you have on your computer and we will be able to tell you if you can easily fix a new graphics card and whether you need a new motherboard or processor.

To be fair, 250W power supply is rather low and would be one of the first components to be replaced if you wanted to use a dedicated graphics card.
Click to expand...

Is this any help?
http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/...rricane_007/?action=view&current=Capture6.png
 
Yes, that would give us some information to search on and find the correct information as to whether an upgrade is possible or a new computer would be required.

To be honest though, I cannot see the processor being a limiting factor with most games anyway, as I have an AMD X2 240 processor which is clocked to 3.23GHz (from 2.8GHz) and most games run relatively smoothly on it. Only real issue is Supreme Commander 1, as that does keep using the processor far more than the graphical unit.
 
Enigma
I don't really have a budget, I just thought it would be more economical to use my existing components where possible, obviously the less I spend the better but at the same time I don't want to buy stuff that is rubbish.



So we are talking about something like this http://www.ebuyer.com/275772-asus-h...4s-2gd5?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products will this work well with the i3 and standard motherboard?

If I get a mid-tower case are the mounting points for a micro ATX and a normal ATX the same?
Click to expand...

Most decent cases have multiple sets of mount points so you can fit most motherboard standards.
 
Enigma
I don't really have a budget, I just thought it would be more economical to use my existing components where possible, obviously the less I spend the better but at the same time I don't want to buy stuff that is rubbish.



So we are talking about something like this http://www.ebuyer.com/275772-asus-h...4s-2gd5?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products will this work well with the i3 and standard motherboard?

If I get a mid-tower case are the mounting points for a micro ATX and a normal ATX the same?
Click to expand...

I recall my case having mounting points for multiple motherboards, be sure to check the manufacturer's manual before purchasing.

Yes, that looks to be an appropriate card, if you know whether or not this can be clocked up to a 6970, thats even better.

Packard Bell's terrible website makes it almost impossible to find anything of use there, basically what you need is PCI-E slot, the slot will use the below PCI slot as well (if my current computer knowledge is still accurate), so be sure you have nothing taking that slot either.

This does sound a bit risky though, be prepared to purchase the case, PSU and GC and find that the motherboard can't support the new card, in which case you'll need to go out and buy a new MB and CPU, and once that happens you'll basically only be retaining your HDD, possibly your Ram (though you mentioned you may buy of that as well, I'd wait buying that untill you can confirm if the current MB will work).

Good luck.
 
dchPSUone
Most decent cases have multiple sets of mount points so you can fit most motherboard standards.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Conza
I recall my case having mounting points for multiple motherboards, be sure to check the manufacturer's manual before purchasing.

Yes, that looks to be an appropriate card, if you know whether or not this can be clocked up to a 6970, thats even better.

Packard Bell's terrible website makes it almost impossible to find anything of use there, basically what you need is PCI-E slot, the slot will use the below PCI slot as well (if my current computer knowledge is still accurate), so be sure you have nothing taking that slot either.

This does sound a bit risky though, be prepared to purchase the case, PSU and GC and find that the motherboard can't support the new card, in which case you'll need to go out and buy a new MB and CPU, and once that happens you'll basically only be retaining your HDD, possibly your Ram (though you mentioned you may buy of that as well, I'd wait buying that untill you can confirm if the current MB will work).

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks, here is a couple of pics of the motherboard if it helps, it definately has the PCI-E slot, not sure about the other slot you mentioned. Please ignore the GT320 (the guy has added that himself) the slot is normally empty.





Will this motherboard be suitable?
 
Is that GT320 right beside the bottom of the case? That might limit you on your choice and the colling for your graphics card. You could get a single slot card.
 
He could get away with something like a GT450 or such. Any upgrade is an upgrade, but a new PSU is deffo in order. And the RAM, of course.

However, I don't see why his current Video card wouldn't suffice as is. A friend of mine owns a GT210, and he can run Crysis on High settings at around 25FPS, give or take. If this is what you're looking for, your current GPU should do fairly well (in retrospect, based on assumption). :)

SO apparently I'm dumb and didn't read everything properly. My apologies. Yes, I'd suggest a GT400 series, or possibly an HD 5000 series (some aftermarket brands have single slot cards that should fit that space.

If you want to squeeze a little more out of the system, you could go for a very mild overclock of the GPU, CPU and RAM. I'm talking like, only 100 - 200Mhz, but it still makes a difference. Since it's a slimline case, cooling is quite limited, so only a very small overclock is suggestible. You should be able to stay on the same voltage, so all you need to change is your core multiplier. You most likely can't overclock a whole lot due to that being a branded, locked, all seals and padlocks, motherboard...soooo there's that.

*waits for people to pick my post to bits and yell at me, as this section of GTP is all about*
 
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Great value GPU is the HD6850. (great bang for buck if cost is an issue)

CPU is fine more then enough for most games.

You just need a PSU and maybe a little more ram and the above graphics card. (and perhaps a case)
 
Thanks everyone for your help.

Just thought I would give an update, I managed to buy the bits and get my pc built. I have only tried iracing so far gaming wise and it seems to run fine on max settings on my 47" LG tv.

This is the parts I went for
Item: Coolermaster Elite 430 All Black Interior Mid Tower Case with Side Window
Qty: 1 Cost: £35.59

Item: Corsair TX 650W V2 PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified
Qty: 1 Cost: £58.32

Item: Asus HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Quad DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card
Qty: 1 Cost: £185.36

Item: Crucial 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Rendition Memory Module CL9 1.5V - RM51264BA1339
Qty: 1 Cost: £9.99

Item: Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 - BlueTrack
Qty: 1 Cost: £24.99

Item: HDMI Cable 1.4 Black 2 Metre
Qty: 1 Cost: £4.99

These prices are plus 20% vat which was a total of £383.11

The build went fine, it was handy having the 4 RAM slots which allowed me to use the RAM which was already there to gave me 7gb in total.

Pointers for anyone upgrading the s3810, the way the motherboard is designed when I was fitting the GPU it was going to make contact where the front panel wires plug in to the motherboard. I actually had to remove a small piece of the outer metal casing on the GPU to avoid contact.

Only other hitch was finding out which order the front panel wires went on to the motherboard because the board wasn't marked, don't know if that is always the case or if it was because I was using the standard motherboard but it was a pain pulling the 6 wires on and off till I found the right order.

So I am a happy chap looking forward to delving into the world of pc gaming :)
 
eSZee
So you have 3 sticks of ram?
Click to expand...

Yes, I actually thought the ram I had ordered was 2 sticks of 2gb but it turned out to be 1 stick of 4gb.

So now I have 3 sticks, 4gb 2gb 1gb and 1 empty slot.

Is it ok to do it that way?

EDIT:@Gabkicks, I will see how things go and monitor the temps and performance, if all is well I may do some research into overclocking.
 
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I'm not sure if the newest CORE processors use FLEX memory but with three sticks, he'll have one set running dual channel and one stick running single channel. Make sure you have the the same size modules int he same color ram slots. Your speeds will be about half way between dual and single channel speeds.
 
Ok, I will order another 4gb card so I can use the two 4gb cards in the same bank(same coloured slots). I think I can only run a maximum of 8gb so I will leave the other bank empty.
 
That's what I would do as well. 8GB is likely more than you'll need for your day to day tasks. I have 8gb and am still questioning why.
 
8GB is more than enough, and will be just right (I've played both BF3 and MW2 completely maxed out, and never seen either pull more than 4GB). Most semi-elite gaming rigs have 8GB, the next step up is 12GB (on triple channel motherboards), then to 16GB, etc etc.

Now you have a much better case and cooling, I'm going to suggest, again, a mild overclock on your CPU, and I stress it even more so now you have gone WAY overboard with your video card. What will happen when you're running high end games, is that your CPU won't be able to work as fast as your GPU, creating a bottleneck. Ordinarily I'd suggest a new CPU and/or new CPU and mobo, but money dosn't grow on trees, and I'm sure you'll agree (however things are much much cheaper in Europe, it is a consideration...just don't move to Australia before you do it). Your board is a stock branded board, so it'll be locked (as is your CPU) and a large overclock will not be obtainable (since you don't have an aftermarket CPU cooler, a large overclock is strongly not recommended anyway). Your board should be able to have a few settings that overclock mildly, using preset bus speed changes. You might get 200 - 300MHz overclock, which will do just fine. It all makes a difference. I suggest this, or else you've wasted heaps of money on graphics power your system can't use. A mild overclock will in no way make the system completely balanced, but it will help if nothing else.

I'm assuming you know how to do this, if not give me a shout (I don't' know how technologicaly minded you are :lol:. My apologies if I insulted you).


Another alternitive is you buy an HD 6850 and sell the 6950 to me for a song. Say...$150 AUD (100 quid)? Overly reasonable on my part, don't you think? :lol:
 
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I don't think any overclocking is possible, I checked the bios and there are no available adjustments in there at all.
 
Well you've heavily bottlenecked your system. You shouldn't have bought such a high end card. Maybe look into a CPU upgrade, a higher end i3 or an i5 would suffice. This should only cost another $150 or so, you could have saved that on your video card... Oh well.

Apologies for the bump, just had to mention this.
 
Meh...it shouldn't be too bad with most games being GPU-bound. There will be some but it's not like there won't be a huge difference on 99% of the games between a 6850 and 6950. A higher-end i3 wouldn't be worth the money to upgrade to and a new motherboard would also be needed.
 

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