Upgrade or Not?

[mikkel]

Hey everybody!

I just bought the game Skyrim, and wow what a great game. My old computer is running it so-so on medium-low quality, and i would really like to get it up running on a higher quality. I am unsure about whether or not it will be worth to upgrade my graphics card, without upgrading my CPU or motherboard. i asked in a local shop but the guy gave my a pretty unclear answer.

Acer Aspire M3201 (cannot find out which motherboard it has)

Windows 7 64-bit

AMD Phenom(tm) 8450 Triple-Core Processor 2.10 GHz

Nvidia Geforce GT 120

8,00 GB RAM

what can be done?

 

[yassarikhan786]

You can use a hardware monitor to find out which Motherboard you are using.

Use this to find out: OC3D Hardware Monitor by Dugdiamond

Do you know what case your using? If not, is it possible to take some photos of the interior and the exterior so we can see what we're working with.

 

[mikkel]

You can use a hardware monitor to find out which Motherboard you are using.

Use this to find out: OC3D Hardware Monitor by Dugdiamond

Do you know what case your using? If not, is it possible to take some photos of the interior and the exterior so we can see what we're working with.

i used the program, and the motherboard is "RS780HVF" and one category under it says "ITE IT8718F"

i found a site that has plenty of pictures of the inside and outside please see: http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4008550&CatId=

thanks for the help so far!

 

[mikkel]

whoops, created a new post and cannot delete it, but just scroll down on the page in the link and you will see the pictures...

 

[ruthless_villain]

Would need to know more about the psu before anyone can say what you can/cant do

 

[yassarikhan786]

Since the motherboard is pretty old, I don't think there are any CPU's that will give a boost in performance. The information I have been able to gather indicates that the motherboard supports AM3 CPU's. I'm not sure of the validity of the information as it is very scarce at best and I don't want to suggest getting an AM3 CPU only for it to not work on your motherboard.

Even if you upgrade the Graphics Card, the CPU will most likely be a bottleneck in most games and a Graphics Card upgrade would ultimately not be worth it.

I have looked at the case you are using and it only has a 250W PSU, which means that it will not be sufficient enough to run a good dx11 card. Also looking at the lack of cable management options in the case you might find it hard to fit most of the mid-high end Graphics Cards. The case only has one exhaust fan and because of the lack of vents, it would be really difficult to keep your graphics card cool.

I think you might need a full system upgrade to benefit in any way. Upgrading one or two components would be a total waste imo.

 

[fcb]

Totally agree with you yassarikhan786. Seems like a new system build is the best option. X'mas is coming along pretty quick. It's a good time as any to think about a new system perhaps?

 

[mikkel]

Aw, i see the point about the CPU being the bottleneck. thanks alot you three for looking into this, nice to know so i don`t spend alot of money and don`t benefit from it.

One maybe very newbie question: do you get alot of more good stuff by building your own pc, rather buying a complete one? and how difficult is it really? i only have experience with changing things like RAM, harddisks and other hardware, never build a computer from scratch.

 

[yassarikhan786]

It is cheaper to build your own computer and it is a fun experience

. It is not very difficult at all if you do your research (read up on the components that are needed, read/watch tutorials and you should be good to go). The computer you see in my sig is the first complete PC I ever built and like you I only had experience with changing certain parts.

I watched a few tutorials on Youtube and I couldn't believe how easy it was.

 

[fcb]

Yup, if you do some researching into the different components you'll need and pricing, you'll end up having exactly what you want at a good price point within your budget. YouTube can be very helpful if you need tutorials and also looking through the product manuals as well. Remember to double check that everything is in the right place and connected correctly. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the outcome.

 

[mikkel]

nice! thanks for the advices! i will definitely give it at try when the time comes!

another thing, my computer is extremely noisy, and has been since the beginning. beside the fan noise there is a constant whinny noise that is really bothering. i have read other places on the net that some people are experiencing the same kind of the noise with this computer, but nobody has seemed to find any solution?

what can i do about it?

---------

ok, i just opened my computer and removed all the dust from the CPU cooling system and everything else, seems to have made the computer i little more quiet. by stopping the different fans in the computer i have found out that the whinny noise comes from the PSU (the fan?)

is there anything to be done about that?

 

[Azurite]

nice! thanks for the advices! i will definitely give it at try when the time comes!

another thing, my computer is extremely noisy, and has been since the beginning. beside the fan noise there is a constant whinny noise that is really bothering. i have read other places on the net that some people are experiencing the same kind of the noise with this computer, but nobody has seemed to find any solution?

what can i do about it?

---------

ok, i just opened my computer and removed all the dust from the CPU cooling system and everything else, seems to have made the computer i little more quiet. by stopping the different fans in the computer i have found out that the whinny noise comes from the PSU (the fan?)

is there anything to be done about that?

Coil whine perhaps? or just a very loud psu.

 

[fcb]

What you can do is isolate the sound of each component by only running that respective fan for a few seconds to hear the differences between the lowest and highest noises made by each of your components in the system. Just remember to ground yourself and not use any metal parts touching your components when testing it out with your hands.