How much does it cost to upgrade a computer?

[Ben]

Ok so recently I have decided to give my computer an upgrade. It is a very old gaming computer and totally out dated. I am short on money so I would like to get a good upgrade but still in a small budget which I have not decided yet. I don't remember all the specs of the computer. I had the graphics card upgraded recently so I know that does not need an upgrade but the rest does.

My specs I remember or know.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core processor
2gb Ram
Gigabyte S-series GA-MA790X-DS4 motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 (I am pretty sure)
Windows XP Home edition service pack 3

I have know idea if I did all that right as I am not computer savvy and it has taken a while to find all this stuff. I play the games not the computers if that makes any sense at all haha.
My case is 19 inches long and 8 inches wide if that is the measurements you are meant to useand I have no idea what the power supply is. Like I said I am not computer savvy. I don't mind not running games like FPS on ultra settings as I am not really an FPS kinda guy but I really love RTS and RPGs of all sorts and various other adventure games I guess you could call them. I get that these games are much bigger so the graphics are generally not as good and the card I have runs them pretty high but still slows a bit because of my other specs so anything that can run those kind of games I would be happy. I am definitely getting Windows 7 because so many new games have come out requiring vista or above and many of these games I miss out on because I can't play them.

[kyle]

it costs about 600 at least to get a decent one. (in us dollars)

[Calvin]

Alright. Let's leave your graphics card out of this list I'm making.
Since you're using AMD, I'm assuming you're choosing AMD again.The best processor I know for a low budget with good performance is...
AMD FX-8350. It's for about 200 dollar and has 4Ghz and even higher on Turbo and 8 cores.
Next is RAM. I suggest for a low price, you get a 8gb one atleast! About 80 dollar if fine for this.
Then motherboard. I'm not so familiar with this, but I would say about 100-150 for this part.
Windows 7 or 8
100-120 dollars
Total for the parts I listed is about 600 more or less.

[NBSN]

Unfortunately your system is pretty outdated right now, but its great it has lasted this long. Based on what you state as the specs, it looks like you will need to update the CPU, RAM, Motherboard, and OS to get the computer up to date. Your RAM is DDR2 and a pretty slow speed, so you will need to go for some DDR3 1600 MHz or better and at least 4 GB of it. You need to replace the motherboard so that it will support better RAM as well as a better CPU. I would advise you to go for a dual channel memory supporting motherboard and a single 4 GB RAM module for now and to upgrade with another 4 GB later on. Unless you really feel as though this build should last more than three or four years, in which case I would advise you to get one 8 GB RAM module and add another 8 GB in a year or two. Whatever you feel is best since there are no games that require 8 GB of RAM right now, although there are some that recommend it. So if within a few years some games should require 8 GB RAM and recommend probably 12 GB.

For your CPU, a quad core should be what you are aiming for. A 3.0 GHz quad core CPU, should be fine for another few years, but will require you to replace the motherboard to do so. I don't know what sort of power supply you have for your current system, but you would need to consider replacing it based on the power needs for the upgraded system you are trying to build.

Your graphics card is not horrible...and I am sure you understand that it will not play graphics intensive games like Battlefield 3/4 on ultra settings. Since you recently upgraded that, I doubt that you plan on switching that out anytime soon, so you may want to take a look at motherboards that offer SLI capabilities in case you find another GTX 650 on sale and want to try running them together.

The OS needs to be at least to Windows 7 now, and depending on how much RAM you plan on putting into your system you will need to choose different versions of it. What sort of budget are you looking at? And what size is your case? That information would affect whether or not you could get cheaper on the build or not. More than likely if you get to reuse your case and power supply, you would still end up paying about $500 or maybe more for a decent upgrade.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NBSN/205302762950470 if you have any more questions.

Note: AMD core and Intel cores are not the same. That is why an 8 core AMD CPU costs the same as a 4 core Intel CPU.

[C Goto]

I would think about this carefully because there are so many permutations. Some are unfortunately expensive. That is not a recent graphics card for modern games.
You have a low end graphics card which could be good for PhysX though.
You need AT LEAST a GTX 670 or GTX770 graphics card to get any traction in modern games. But you are low on CPU and Ram power.

You actually have to give a budget to get a proper answer; because performance is related to budget.

If you say you have a buget of $200 or 300 pounds then say so. But to get proper performance you have to go beyond that if you want to buy new parts. You could find some good used gear on e-bay (second-hand) or find surplus stick from a major retailer? Ask someone who works there?
If not...
It is assumed you have a 450w-500W Power supply (PSU)? Its important.

But you could get a short-term Cheap/er boost, by going to crucial.com and getting the software to tell you what EXTRA Ram you can buy to improve things for you for the lowest cost improvement of around 40pounds/55USD. You need AT LEAST 4Gb to help your overall system owrk efficiently.

Install CPU-Z to find out exactly what RAM you have as 2Gb is very low for gaming.

I would say the second or third cheapest way to improve your PC running (on a low-end CPU, is to install a fresh copy of windows onto a new Samsung 120Gb SSD, and that should do while you re-install? keep all your other installs/stuff on the existing drive. But you need to be able to follow instructions if you want to install an SSD. Samsung do have free cloning software if you plan to uninstall lots of programs/files you can re-install later.
Second or third option is installing a new graphics card. The cheapest GTX 670 or GTX 770 you can find.
You do not need an SLi bridge to use your GTX650 to run PhysX in one of your mobo-slots (for the games that use PhysX [game special effects]). 125pounds to $150-ish.

But if you want the best rennovation for a proper gaming PC you would need a Motherboard, CPU, RAM and a New Graphics card. thats the reality. A PS4 would be cheaper. But you could buy something pretty decent second hand (depending on where you live); and use your existing PC for light Web browsing?.

Fairly cheap fairly GOOD gaming PC upgrade is this;-
GIGABYTE motherboard intel Z87 LGA1150 ATX standard GA-Z87X-D3H is around 100pounds/130USD: This motherboard is good for Long-term improvements. It does 8x8 crossfire/SLi.
i3 LGA 1150 around 100pounds/135USD (a better `i5` is maybe too expensive [and may need a bigger cooler]).
2 x 2Gb DDR3 Ram around 35pounds $50.
For an extra 150 pounds (225USD) you could then get away with a GTX 760 or GTX 770.
For an extra 300 pounds (450USD?), You could then eventually use two GTX760s to SLi (@ x8x8) and use your 650 to do PhysX only (x4 PCI-e slot). (In NVidia Driver settings)

All in all a tough spot.

I would maybe go for the PS4 if I were you. Or a steam box in a couple of months.