Hello all (and help please) :)

[GrolUK]

Hello all that browse this topic

I recently bought a pc, which tbh is a bit crappy. Turns out i didnt know as much as i thought i did. The one i have is:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.209-7032.aspx

The single core processor and graphics card are'nt really up to the task of playing many newer games. And so i would like to replace both of these. However i have no idea what to go for. Iv been looking at some of the AMD dual and quad core processors in particular, but would i have to change my motherboard or anything else to use one? I dont want to spend masses of money, maybe up to £200 if its only a processor and g card i need, and any suggestions or tips you could throw at me would be most appreciated

(And of course once i know what i need, all will be bought from novatech)

Many thanks
Matt

[kevin36thi]

A single processor is definitely not enough for the latest games.

IIRC Sempron 140 is a AM2 processor so you'll have to get a AM2 processor.

If you get a new and better graphics card I would suggest a new power supply as well as the one Dell give supply isn't that great.

What kind of games are you hoping to play?

EDIT: When did you buy it? Can you not take it back?

[system7]

They say that when the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch! Can't have that! :rolleye:

In fact that Dell Inspiron 570 is not an utter disaster. It is an AMD 785G AM3 motherboard with 4GB of DDR3-1066 memory and a puny 300W ATX supply. :)

Firstly update the bios for latest processor support:
http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/home/Desktops/inspiron-570/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-570&cs=ukdhs1&s=dhs

Now fit a £66 Athlon X4 630:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/processors/amdathlonx2andx4/amd/adx630wfgibox.html

You are running on onboard graphics. You can do a LOT better with a Corsair CX430W supply which should fit OK judging from the photo: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/powersupplies/corsair/cmpsu-430cx.html

Graphics to choice, but the AMD HD 5750 is still the best value graphic card about:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/atiradeongraphicscards/atihd5700series/novatech/57501gb.html

Seemples! Very nice gamer, actually. :cool:

[guardy06]

Steve, you're back!!!!! :)

[system7]

Steve, you're back!!!!! :)
I weakened, mate! Nice AMD topic. ;)

Not planning on making a habit of it... :D

[guardy06]

Haha, just couldn't resist could you!! :)

@GrolUK - good advice from system7 there.

[GrolUK]

Thankyou so much! Pretty much cleared that up for me. As for which games i want to play, Newer CoD, MoH, Metro etc not at rock bottom settings pretty much hehe. Next step is to find someone in this town trustworthy to fit it all properly. Best i dont try myself, looks a bit too fiddly :)

Also how certain on the power supply fitting? :P

And i have also bought this monitor:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/monitors/22inchmonitors/lg/w2246s-bf.html

When i have this new graphics card in do i need to buy a HDMI cable to get full hd? If so can you suggest one? As you can see im really new to this :)

[guardy06]

Don't think that monitor has a hdmi or dvi input, just a d-sub(vga).
So you can use the cable you're using at the moment, just plug it into the appropriate gfx card output when its installed :)

[GrolUK]

Ah yes ofc. Well then maybe il take it back and spend that lil bit extra on one that does hehe

[guardy06]

have you not used the monitor yet?

[GrolUK]

Yeh i have, but tbh its not all that hd like. And only for a few days. Unless thats just because its not got HDMI port and the gcard i have now sucks :)

[guardy06]

I think you've got 7 days cooling off period, where items can be returned without reason, as long as the item is complete and in a resalable condition including original packaging :)

[GrolUK]

Well il look into it then :)

Just placed the order for the processor, graphics card and psu. Have contacted local shop and they quoted £65 min to fit. This sound fair?

[guardy06]

Have you got any mates that are good with computers?
And you're definitely not confident to do it yourself?

£65 min seems like a lot to me.

[GrolUK]

Well iv been watching videos and reading up on fitting the items, however as you may have noticed im not that clued up with this kind of thing. When it comes to the practical bit im pretty much a newbie :D So just to be on the safe side, paying someone to do it sounds like the better option. As for the price that is for the only place open today, i should probably ring round tomorrow morning and get a few more quotes.

[guardy06]

Yeah i'd do that.

Seriously though, i built my current system myself and it was my first build.
Just did plenty of research, asked alot of advice and took my time. Worked perfectly :)

[GrolUK]

Id love to do it myself, just if i mess it up i have nothing to fall back on and have to spend more money replacing. Just fitting the cpu that looks like the more worrying bit

[Helior]

normal VGA supports full HD, you'll get nothing from using HDMI (unless your monitor has speakers!)

[Lorem-Ipsum]

normal VGA supports full HD, you'll get nothing from using HDMI (unless your monitor has speakers!)

lul wut????


VGA is Analogue. Dvi is digital. HDMI and DVI are the same except for sound.

You can easilty tell the difference between Dvi/HDMI and VGA on good resolutions.

[GrolUK]

Well finally found someone to fit it all for £30, RESULT! Thanks to everyone who helped me here, much appreciated. Should be up and running by Wednesday ;)

[Helior]

lul wut????


VGA is Analogue. Dvi is digital. HDMI and DVI are the same except for sound.

You can easilty tell the difference between Dvi/HDMI and VGA on good resolutions.

These days analog processing has improved so much that i doubt you would be able to tell the difference, except at maybe super high resolutions.

[GrolUK]

Ok guys here is my next problem. The pc is still in the shop as the power supply blew :( When i last spoke to them he asked about reinstalling the operating system after the work was done. Me having little knowledge on this doesnt help, so, as i have only had the processor and graphics card replaced, will i have to reinstall? I dont have the disk as it came preinstalled on the pc when i bought and i never got a disk with it. Is it time to panic? I have looked on the internet, with many sites saying you wont have to, but with the guy doing the wrok asking me a question like that, i need a definite answer :)

[kevin36thi]

If the hard drive is in working order and the they're replacing all the parts that are faulty for you with identical parts then there shouldn't be a problem with the Operating System.

If you want to prevent this from happening again I suggest investing in a better power supply as the generic ones are rubbish and I don't understand why people would include them in PC builds.

Kevin

[GrolUK]

Well the processor and graphic card are upgrades suggested at the start of this post. The power supply was brand new, a Corsair CX430W supply which blew once they fitted apparently, and will shortly be on its way back to novatech. But back to the os, will it still need reinstalling even with the upgrades?

[system7]

That's very disappointing, GrolUK. :mad:

That 28A Corsair CX430W, albeit a newish model, has enough grunt for the application here. :huh:

Put it down to bad luck, I guess. If a power supply is going to blow, it does tend to happen at switch-on, but even so, these things should be tested in the factory. The rest of the PC is likely undamaged.

The OS should cope with new hardware, but latest graphics driver would be required. Restoring a Dell Windows install, Windows Premium 7 here, seems to involve tapping the F8 key at boot:
http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?docid=62A668E1C3A0857AE040AE0AB8E12942

Otherwise you use a Windows retail disk and use the COA number off the machine.

[GrolUK]

Yeh tis a bit unlucky, they also told me that the power supply didnt hve the right connector for the graphics card too. How correct this is i dont know, but they have had my pc for nearly a week now to do such little work. Hoping to hear back from them tomorrow to find out what is actually going on.

Big thankyou System7, yet again you have cleared things up for me hehe. When i get it back, if it does need reinstalling il give that a whirl.

As a last question, the rig i have is currently running 4gb ram, but has a maximum capacity of 8. Would it be worth going for more, or upgrading the 4 i already have? And would that also mean getting a bigger supply again? As i said earlier in the thread this rig will be for the most recent of games, running at decent settings.

(PS. Sorry for the million questions, but better to get all the info i need from someone who knows in one thread) :D

[system7]

The Corsair CX 430W is newish, as I said, but is more than up to the task here.

http://www.corsair.com/products/cx430/default.aspx

It has a PCIE 6+2 connector for graphics, and a 4+4 CPU connector. Really can't see any connection issue. :huh:

I wouldn't think 8GB of memory would be much use to you frankly. Most games and Windows 7 never use much more than 2GB. But more IS good for running several programs at once. 4GB additional memory doesn't use much power, maybe another 10W here. But actually, running 4 sticks can cause some big issues which need some knowledge of the bios voltages and timings to fix. I'd duck that one. It woun't make your PC run faster. :)

Edit, FWIW, CPU-Z is the application to run to look at memory speed and spec:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

[GrolUK]

Hmm something doesnt quite add up with what they've told me then, il have to get onto them tomorrow. As for them ram il give it a miss then, maybe i can put the money i have elsewhere to make some improvements. As the rig isnt so great as standard, sure there is much tht can be replaced :)

Thanks again dude