Serious noob. I want to beef up my PC.

S

Spinks4

New Member
Hey everyone. I have a Dell Dimension 4700. It's really fast compared to my old VAIO but it's still incapable of playing new games, and taking on a huge load. I want to beef it up and make it just a ridiculously capable PC but I don't want to spend a fortune.

Here are my current specs.

Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.2GHz 3.19GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00GB (3.00GB usable)
32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate

That's the specs I get when I press start + Pause/break.

The graphics card is some kind of ATI Raedon or something of the sort. Not sure what the specs on that are though.

I'd like to know some ways I can boost performance without paying a ton. Should I upgrade motherboard? Or processor? I really don't know lol.

Please chime in with suggestions.
 
You have 32-bit processor. If you want to use more then 4 GB of ram you need to upgrade your motherboard, cpu and GPU (if you want to play newest games).
 
Yeah, your best bet is to upgrade your Motherboard, which in turn would mean that you would need to upgrade your Processor, RAM and Graphics card.

Your only problem is that you are running a Dell computer. Dell build their motherboards differently and therefore you would have to either buy a dell board or a new case etc...

Personally I think that you will need to start from scratch. but you would be able to use parts (such as the Hard drive, DVD drive) from the Dell.
 
You'd be better off pretty much just getting a whole new machine (since yours is too old), but if your motherboard has a PCI-E slot a good graphics card should make for a great upgrade.

Can you get in your device manager and see what GPU you have? (go to control panel -> device manager -> display adapters)
 
Dropkickmurphys said:
Yeah, your best bet is to upgrade your Motherboard, which in turn would mean that you would need to upgrade your Processor, RAM and Graphics card.

Your only problem is that you are running a Dell computer. Dell build their motherboards differently and therefore you would have to either buy a dell board or a new case etc...

Personally I think that you will need to start from scratch. but you would be able to use parts (such as the Hard drive, DVD drive) from the Dell.
Click to expand...

I don't want to spend much money and a new computer...well. I am getting a Dell XPS M1710 sometime next week. Would that be a better platform for upgrading?

hackapelite said:
You'd be better off pretty much just getting a whole new machine (since yours is too old), but if your motherboard has a PCI-E slot a good graphics card should make for a great upgrade.

Can you get in your device manager and see what GPU you have? (go to control panel -> device manager -> display adapters)
Click to expand...

I think Windows 7 is different for finding my GPU. Those options don't exist lol.
 
Spinks4 said:
I think Windows 7 is different for finding my GPU. Those options don't exist lol.
Click to expand...

Click on Start and in the search bar type "dxdiag" (without quotation marks) and press enter. When the DX window pops up, click on the "Display" tab and it should be listed there.
 
To be honest at this point I would save your money and live with your current system. Get $800 to $1000 up and build your own PC. At this point in order to upgrade for future gaming you would need to buy a PSU/Motherboard/CPU/Memory/GPU. The GPU will require you to upgrade your power supply as well.

To make matters even worse is the fact Dell makes their parts differently so your going to pay through the teeth. I would either buy a new Dell or save and build a superior system.
 
Like said before, save your money... computer manufacturers can go lower in price than buying everything separate, but the quality you get is unmatched and you'll never end up with a completely crap PC unless you stop making regular upgrades for like 3 years.
 
What speed is your ram rated at? If it's only 800 or 1066 you might try picking up some 1600 and sticking it in there. You will need to overclock the motherboard a little, but you should notice something.
 
I can't save that much money I will go and spend it on my car before it gets saved. =\. Like I said though I am getting a Dell XPS M1710 this week, is that a better platform for upgrading? What would be best for upgrading if I just wanted to spend around $100 here and there?
 
Spinks4 said:
I can't save that much money I will go and spend it on my car before it gets saved. =\. Like I said though I am getting a Dell XPS M1710 this week, is that a better platform for upgrading? What would be best for upgrading if I just wanted to spend around $100 here and there?
Click to expand...

The XPS M1710 is a laptop, so there's not many "upgrade" options available to you, except maybe the addition of more ram.
 
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