PC gaming requirements

[drew12696]

Im fairly new to pc gaming and kinda need some help. I have an Inspiron 520 64-bit system win an AMD Athlon II X4 630 processor 2.8 GHz and 6 GB of RAM. I was wondering what i should do to make it run faster. I usually play just call of duty 5 and team fortress 2 but it runs slow, and the fps is really low. Just wondering if I could get any suggestions on what to get. Thanks

 

[GullyFoyle]

I'm thinking you need a video card, and with a pre-built system like yours, probably an efficiently powered one.

I recommend you post your question in the video card forum.

 

[shortylickens]

We need a special forum just for summer newbs.

 

[natto fire]

We need a special forum just for summer newbs.

Or we could help people enjoy pc gaming and either try to answer the question or direct the poster to a forum that can?

The specs I am seeing for the Inspiron 520 are saying it has a 256MB GeForce 6150 LE video card. Download cpu-z to find out for sure what you have, if it is the 6150, then that is definitely the problem.

Make sure it is a discrete card, and that you have an x16 PCI-e slot, then determine how much you can spare on a new video card. Power envelope will also be a factor, you probably have a 200-275 watt power supply.

 

[Fire&Blood]

^What he said. If you decide to buy a video card, make sure it has 1 6pin power connector, the PS in your computer most likely can't drive power hungry cards. You should be able to find a card that's great for the games you listed way under $100. Wouldn't hurt to pop the case open and check if you can fit a double slot GPU and see what length of a GPU you can fit in there.

 

[nsafreak]

I took a look through the Inspiron 520 manual and the GeForce 6150 LE is the card that comes built in to the motherboard. Fortunately the motherboard does have a PCIe x16 slot so the op can put in a better video card. As others have stated the power supply doesn't have a ton of juice but it should still be enough for a relatively low powered card. I think a Radeon 7770 would probably be the op's best bang for the buck, unless that's over his budget.

 

[Gordon Freemen]

Or we could help people enjoy pc gaming and either try to answer the question or direct the poster to a forum that can?

The specs I am seeing for the Inspiron 520 are saying it has a 256MB GeForce 6150 LE video card. Download cpu-z to find out for sure what you have, if it is the 6150, then that is definitely the problem.

Make sure it is a discrete card, and that you have an x16 PCI-e slot, then determine how much you can spare on a new video card. Power envelope will also be a factor, you probably have a 200-275 watt power supply.

RIGHT ^ +1 and to OP you need to get yourself a dedicated GPU "Graphics Processing Unit" like this one http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=70905&vpn=01G-P3-1464-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1067
also you may need a new PSU "Power Supply Unit" as well so you can run a dedicated GPU.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

^What he said. If you decide to buy a video card, make sure it has 1 6pin power connector, the PS in your computer most likely can't drive power hungry cards. You should be able to find a card that's great for the games you listed way under $100. Wouldn't hurt to pop the case open and check if you can fit a double slot GPU and see what length of a GPU you can fit in there.

definitely make sure whatever you buy will fit.

 

[wuliheron]

It's a disposable computer and you takes yer chances with any upgrades. If you fry the power supply it's not even a good paperweight. Those games require a better processor with L3 cache and shoving a graphics card in won't help.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

It's a disposable computer and you takes yer chances with any upgrades. If you fry the power supply it's not even a good paperweight. Those games require a better processor with L3 cache and shoving a graphics card in won't help.

i was using an old athlon x2 4200+ with a 8800GT and it was fine with many games. His cpu is newer, so it should be good enough. No doubt hes going to be CPU bottlenecked, but it will be good enough for him im guessing.

As for frying the PSU, get a newer card that is less power hungry (example - my old 8800gt uses way more power than a newer card with the same performance) As long as it doesnt require its own power, i think it should be fine.

Yes its not ideal, and you or i would be dissatified with it, but im sure itll handle most games at a decent framerate. Ive found casual PC gamers dont care to have all eye candy turned up and whatnot. One of my friends plays civ V at about 10fps and doesnt mind it.

 

[cppguru]

It's a disposable computer and you takes yer chances with any upgrades. If you fry the power supply it's not even a good paperweight. Those games require a better processor with L3 cache and shoving a graphics card in won't help.

An idiot member - clearly doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

Back to the topic. I'm running a Core 2 Conroe with a 240 GT. I can play most games maxed out (except for Crytek engine) @ 1440 Res. The CPU you have is more powerful than mine So I'd take the advise given by another member above for mid range less power hungry gpu like the 640 GT if your mobo has a pcie slot. Other viable option would be 6670. Both are very efficient gpus.

 

[wuliheron]

One of my friends plays civ V at about 10fps and doesnt mind it.

10fps is a slide show, not a game. All I'm saying is he's taking his chances throwing money into a disposable computer for marginal benefits.

This member should be banned - clearly doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

Back to the topic. I'm running a Core 2 Conroe with a 240 GT. I can play most games maxed out (except for Crytek engine) @ 1440 Res. The CPU you have is more powerful than mine So I'd take the advise given by another member above for mid range less power hungry gpu like the 640 GT if your mobo has a pcie slot. Other viable option would be 6670. Both are very efficient gpus.

Right, you can max out games on a piece of crap. Perhaps you can also turn a pigs ear into silk.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

10fps is a slide show, not a game. All I'm saying is he's taking his chances throwing money into a disposable computer for marginal benefits.



Right, you can max out games on a piece of crap. Perhaps you can also turn a pigs ear into silk.

Agreed, i could never play something like that. what im saying is you have to realize that im positive he can get good performance with a small upgrade. Maybe some games will drop down to 30fps, but i doubt hell care - using my friend as an example, he just wants to play the game.

That CPU is more than enough.

 

[cppguru]

That CPU is more than enough.

+1 but the douchebag won't understand that.

 

[wuliheron]

Agreed, i could never play something like that. what im saying is you have to realize that im positive he can get good performance with a small upgrade. Maybe some games will drop down to 30fps, but i doubt hell care - using my friend as an example, he just wants to play the game.

That CPU is more than enough.

The cpu is enough for older games.

What I've seen most often though is these disposable computers are hand-me-downs that are already old, the power supplies were marginal to begin with, and have degraded over time. Anybody with half a conscience would warn people right off the bat that it is risky trying to upgrade an old piece of crap that was never really designed for serious upgrades in the first place.

 

[shortylickens]

So it seems like I'm the most polite member here.
:hmm:

 

[borisvodofsky]

Make sure your ram is paired and running in Dual Channel Mode.

Graphic card wise, ahh............ 6870.

 

[ShawnD1]

What I've seen most often though is these disposable computers are hand-me-downs that are already old, the power supplies were marginal to begin with, and have degraded over time. Anybody with half a conscience would warn people right off the bat that it is risky trying to upgrade an old piece of crap that was never really designed for serious upgrades in the first place.

It's not so much the risk of damage but the fact that the computer will probably do black screen crashes while playing games. I've had this problem with several computers. As soon as the video card tries to use some power, the PSU's voltage drops like a rock and the computer crashes.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Get a Radeon 7750.
Your power supply won't have a 6 pin connector for a power hungry video card, and I've heard Dell even deleted the molex connector on their Inspiron line, so you can't even use a molex to 6 pin adapter. With that being the case the 7750 is the fastest card you can get that is powered by only the PCI-E slot. It only uses ~55W so it shouldn't overload a Dell PSU.

 

[Rambusted]

What resolution are you running? My son has an old hand me down with an e2200 conroe and a gt440 ddr3 i think it only has 2 gig ram and VISTA D:. He games @ 1280x1024 in TF2 without much issue. Depending on your resolution I would think a 7750 would be a pretty nice upgrade from what you already have.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

The cpu is enough for older games.

What I've seen most often though is these disposable computers are hand-me-downs that are already old, the power supplies were marginal to begin with, and have degraded over time. Anybody with half a conscience would warn people right off the bat that it is risky trying to upgrade an old piece of crap that was never really designed for serious upgrades in the first place.

like someone mentioned, a 7750 will probably do the job, and his PSU should be fine handling it. Yes there might be some risk, but its ~$100 vs 600+ for a whole new pc.

Example, my friend wanted a pc to game on, ended up building him a nice rig for about a thousand dollars, and in hindsight, he probably would have been fine with something MUCH less.

Not everyone is an enthusiast. There are some people who just want something good enough to play, and theres no reason why he should spend that much more if he can get good performance out of his PC.

And whats the worst case scenario if he buys a 7750, he uses that card in the build he would have made anyway? so no money lost at all. Its worth a shot, and id be willing to bet it works fine.

 

[PhoenixEnigma]

Compared to the 6150LE, even something like an HD 6450 is going to be night-and-day better. A 7750 would be the kind of blow-your-mind upgrade the rest of us have been chasing since we got our first hit of good PC gaming.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Compared to the 6150LE, even something like an HD 6450 is going to be night-and-day better. A 7750 would be the kind of blow-your-mind upgrade the rest of us have been chasing since we got our first hit of good PC gaming.

exactly. Also, if he goes and spends a ton of money on a new PC, hes going to have super high expectations, and might be one of those people who say "screw it an xbox is 200 bucks". By spending 100, the stakes arent as high. I know if it was something i spent that much on, im gonna expect it to really deliver, and to some people they cant justify spending that much on a gaming device.

 

[wuliheron]

It's not so much the risk of damage but the fact that the computer will probably do black screen crashes while playing games. I've had this problem with several computers. As soon as the video card tries to use some power, the PSU's voltage drops like a rock and the computer crashes.

That might be true these days. I read some statistic somewhere that the current generation of home computers appears to be lasting longer then the previous one, about six years on the average. Better quality control on parts I assume.

 

[wuliheron]

like someone mentioned, a 7750 will probably do the job, and his PSU should be fine handling it. Yes there might be some risk, but its ~$100 vs 600+ for a whole new pc.

Example, my friend wanted a pc to game on, ended up building him a nice rig for about a thousand dollars, and in hindsight, he probably would have been fine with something MUCH less.

Not everyone is an enthusiast. There are some people who just want something good enough to play, and theres no reason why he should spend that much more if he can get good performance out of his PC.

And whats the worst case scenario if he buys a 7750, he uses that card in the build he would have made anyway? so no money lost at all. Its worth a shot, and id be willing to bet it works fine.

I'm not saying he shouldn't try it, just know the risks going in and plan on upgrading sooner rather then later.