Upgrading a computer

[Eefluxx]

So this is the computer I have. It is an Emachine w3644

 

http://support.gateway.com/emachines/emac/1015006R/1015006Rsp3.shtml

 

 

These are the motherboard specs

 

http://support.gateway.com/emachines/MOTHERBD/Shared/4006232R/4006232Rsp2.shtml

 

 

I am building me a new computer and giving this one to my son.

 

Only thing I have upgraded over the years is two 2x1GB of ram and a 8600GT video card.

 

What I want to know is if I can upgrade the CPU and what should I look for. Also the computer specs say upgradeable to 2GB Ram while the motherboard specs 4GB. Can I put 4GB in? It takes DDR2.

 

Only other thing is if I can find a better video card and possibly PSU for it. I have played FO3 and Oblivion with it with glitches along they way and occasional crashes.

 

All he will be doing is playing a few games on it. It won't be used for the internet except updates and such. I know he will want ot try New Veags on it when he sees me playing it on my new build and was wondering if that would be possible.

 

Everywhere else I have asked have said buy a new computer and use this as a paperweight and have offered no other suggestions to what I am asking except changing the motherboard and cpu together. That is not an option at this time.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Erik005]

You could look for a second hand Athlon™ 64X2 Dual Core which would improve performance, but you already added the 8600gt so a more powerful processor might be to much for the power supply.

 

You should not invest to much in this machine though.

 

I checked with a psu calculator and while not 100% accurate it shows 307 watt park load with a mid range 64x2 so there is not much room for improvement.

 

I would recommend keeping it this way and using it as an internet PC

Edited July 7, 2012 by Erik005

[Eefluxx]

What if I upgraded the PSU to a 400W or 450W? And is 2GB the max ram? The motherboard specs say 4GB. I don't mind spending some to do this.

[Erik005]

You will never get more than a decent internet PC out of it, It will have problems even playing 1080p video.

 

You need to change the motherboard if you want to do any gaming with this rig.

[Ihoe]

These are all the processors your motherboard currently supports. and they're used as fossil fuel these days.

 

changing the motherboard, naturally, would mean changing the processor. 2 GB of DDR2 ram is also pretty weak for normal modern usage, much less for gaming. the 8600GT is below decent, but not bad for playing the games of 2008 and earlier. I suggest dumping this thing and buying your son a 360 and yourself whatever type of PC you want, your son might have told you it's a bad deal. :biggrin:

[Erik005]

You will have to spend 400 dollar to get this pc new Vegas worthy, new mobo, CPU, PSU, RAM and maybe a new GPU.

 

As Ihoe said a 360 or PS3 might be cheaper.

[Eefluxx]

He has a 360 with both FO3 and New Vegas. The problem is he has seen me play FO3 on the computer and wants the gun mods and I know he will want them for New Veags when he see me play it.

 

I am almost done building me a new one.

 

current build

 

Antec 300 case

Asus M5A97 Motherboard

AMD Phenom II 965 X4

2X4GB G.Skill Ripjaws

Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD

OCZ Vertex 3 SSD

Sony DVD Burner

Rosewill 850W PSU

 

All I am missing is OS and GPU which I plan on crossfiring (any suggestions here would be cool too) :)

 

I will probably just build him a much cheaper rig than mine. I might be able to reuse the emachine case. I don't know about airflow in it tho.

I might just get me a bigger case since I want to crossfire 2 GPU's and give him the 300 case.

 

Thanks for your help guys.

[Erik005]

I would not get a vertex 3, go for a vertex 4 or Samsung 830.

[hoofhearted4]

or Crucial M4 (SSD)

[Erik005]

If you get a Crucial m4 update the firmware immediately.

 

I have both the Crucial and Samsung and favour the Samsung for the software you get with it.