Comp update for Bday

[mthrockmor]

My Bday is just around the corner. I know there is a way I can post here what type of motherboard, video card, etc. Could someone talk me through doing that so I could then get an idea what I should consider upgrading. I need to maximize my killing experience. I have graphics dialed down though most important issue for me is keeping my frame rate up. In a crowd it will drop to below 20.  Any takers?

Boo

[Tigger29]

We can help you with some recommendations but first we need to have a budget.

I can build you an awesome system that will run AH full boat (and then some) but it could cost you several thousand dollars.

If you have a limited budget then we need to look at things from a "bang for the buck" perspective.

Also are there any parts you plan on reusing from your old system?  Peripherals, monitor, hardware, operating system, etc?

[mthrockmor]

Good question. I am not going to put together a new computer. I am wondering if I need to update memory, video card, etc. Plan to keep my monitor, etc. I'm not sure if I need to upgrade to keep my framerate high or if I simply need to learn which programs I can close or remove. I know this is really basic computer stuff, likely Comp 101 but I'm not the best at computers. I am thinking in the $300 range.

Boo

[Easyscor]

My Bday is just around the corner. I know there is a way I can post here what type of motherboard, video card, etc. Could someone talk me through doing that so I could then get an idea what I should consider upgrading. I need to maximize my killing experience. I have graphics dialed down though most important issue for me is keeping my frame rate up. In a crowd it will drop to below 20.  Any takers?

Boo

Good question. I am not going to put together a new computer. I am wondering if I need to update memory, video card, etc. Plan to keep my monitor, etc. I'm not sure if I need to upgrade to keep my framerate high or if I simply need to learn which programs I can close or remove. I know this is really basic computer stuff, likely Comp 101 but I'm not the best at computers. I am thinking in the $300 range.

Boo

Those two posts pretty much sum up a lot of threads in this forum. 

It tells me that most likely you have out of date hardware through and through, probably a "brand" name box.

Best case for you would be if the CPU and MB are somewhat up-to-date and your video is handled with Intel onboard video.
That's because, then for $300, you can install a good video card and upgrade the power supply to handle it.

You'll need to run dxdiag, then extract the bits needed in this forum, most will be on the 1st two pages:
Operating System (Win?)
System Mfg and Model
Processor
Memory
Video Card (tab 2)
Sound Card (tab 3)

Any other details you can provide, the brand name on the outside of the case etc are a given.

Hopefully the news isn't all bad...

[Tigger29]

That's exactly it.  Mthrockmor if you are sporting a Pentium 4 or older then my advice is to save up until you can just replace it all.. you're beyond hope.

If you have a Core2Duo or better (or an AMD socket AM3 processor or better) then you can do some significant upgrades for $300