Building a computer? or buy a new one?

4

405volume

New Member
I have..
dell dimension 8300
pentium 4 ht 2.8 ghz
512 mb ram
soundblaster audigy sound card

i am wanting to upgrade, or make it into a gaming computer.
i want to play counter strike source on high. but i cant cause it takes forever.. on this rig.

I can either upgrade it, or buy another computer like a amd,alienware used from ebay? what u think.
 
With this high of a gaming computer it will be cheaper to build it yourself, but you won't have any warranties or technical support to fall back on from a manufacturer. So, I guess that the question is, are you comfortable with building and maintaining your own computer?
 
So..i should buy ram. like 2gb. with a new video card? what goes with a dell dimension 8300, that can play counter strike source on high.... and with ram will that help play it on high?
 
lion149 said:
No, buy some ram and use it as a nice back up PC, and save $$$ for a new build.
Click to expand...

I agree with this if it is an option for you.


Otherwise, purchase at least 2GB of Ram (DDR400 for your machine) and a new graphics card. I would suggest a Radeon 3850 for your GPU upgrade. You will also need a new power supply. I would suggest a high efficiency 450w or greater unit.

Take a look at these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131141

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007
 
Agp

That motherboard will only support AGP, so the highest end GPU that you can get (that will work) is the following:


httBFG NVidia GeForce 7800GS OC 256mb DDR3 AGP
p://cgi.ebay.com/BFG-NVidia-GeForce-7800GS-OC-256mb-DDR3-AGP-High-End!_W0QQitemZ160323485590QQcmdZViewItem

That should be able to play CS: Source on high settings.
 
the best agp card out is the 3850 agp from ATI. It has 512mb of GDDR2 memory with 320 shader processors. runs most games on my dad's old system on high with 20-25 fps
 
If the OP is good enough with computers... maybe it would be more worthwhile to upgrade mobo+cpu, then get a pci express videocard for future upgradability since agp is dying....
 
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