jwu

Alright, I'm not 100% sure this is where this thread should go so if not sorry bout that. Anyways, recently I have had a desire to upgrade my computer, but I'm not sure where to begin. This is a Dell Inspiron 530 and I have made some changes to it (upgraded GPU, PSU, and added an old HD). After reading a bit I'm starting to think I might be better off building a new pc.

So I'm not exactly sure where to start upgrading or if I should be saving up for a new PC in general. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Phaedrus2129

The one in your sig?

A better graphics card, maybe the Radeon 5750... Get a new motherboard and CPU heatsink and overclock the CPU. Maybe a new case as well, the Antec 200 and 300 are really good if you're on a budget.

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dudenell

I would save up... The issue with dells as far as I know is that you cannot unlock the bios and overclock your CPU. A new motherboard would help with that.

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Error 404

I think your first priority should be a new motherboard, simply because that'll open up more options (IMO). Next would either be RAM or a new GPU, then a case.

If you don't want to OC (o_O), and game a lot then grab a new GPU, if you don't game a lot...Then I dunno why you're upgrading

Edit: Also grab a new HSF - One of the Xiggies would be perfect.

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pow3rtr1p

Well, it depends on how much you are willing to spend. The E7300 isn't a terrible chip, and you have a decent amount of RAM. Ya, the video card is kind of old, but still capable, as is your PSU.

I would say step one would be a new motherboard with OC options. Anything with a P45 chipset would be decent. I'm not certain on if that Dell case would use standard ATX or not, though. They do a lot of proprietary form factors and stuff, so you may need a new case to get a new motherboard. However, if you have a decent budget to work with, give us an idea of what you're willing to spend, and we can look into a complete build that may serve as a decent upgrade.

Welcome to the Community,
pow3rtr1p

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shadow19935

Id get a new mobo, and cooler the case can wait for now and the gpu is still decent if you dont have massive ammounts of money to waste on pc.

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jlchavis0844

That motherboard has got to go. That's step one. The processor can be overclocked later and the amount of ram is fine. I'd upgrade to a newer chipset like the p55. Here is a good cheap board that supports DDR2 (so you can use your current ram) and DDR3 for later upgrades. Building a new system is always more fun though.

thachamp05

yeah the e7300 is still a decent chip. its the dell motherboard holding it back.

if you just want to game honestly the best thing you can do is get a new video card tho. ur cpu is not holding you back and won't until more games start using 4 cores.

if you want the best OVERALL upgrade my advice would be to get a motherboard and hsf so u can crank the chip up a few notches.

the main issue is going to be the case you have.. most dells are btx while normal motherboards are atx. so you may need a new case to go with it.

Phaedrus2129

The P55 has an LGA1156 socket and won't run his CPU. And I've found those mixed RAM format mobos to be a PITA compatibility wise. Plus I've had bad experiences with Asrock. So...



Upgrade:
New case and motherboard (P45 or P43 chipset is good)
New graphics card (Radeon 5000 series?)
CPU cooler so you can overclock

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jwu

Thanks for the replies so far! So based on comments so far I'd guess I would have to just build from scratch or at least start with the mobo. I'm willing to spend around 600 dollars (Canadian). Also for the mobo should I be going to DDR3? Or are the one's that support both DDR2 and DDR3 just as good?