Worth upgrading or best to start over?

[mantadog]

To cut a long story short, when i bought my pc about 6 months ago i had no real intention to game on it, so i left out a dedicated GPU knowing i could add a mid ranged one in at a later date without much trouble should i decide to play a few games.

From the day i got the pc i have been thinking about slotting a dedicated GPU as some of the new games really look amazing.

I have since found out that i would probably need a PSU upgrade to even fit a GTX 560 to my system, this is where the problems start for me. If i want to make my current rig into a gaming machine i need to upgrade PSU, GPU, add cooling to my case as its the elite 310 and probably in the not to distant future upgrade my ram to 8Gb, which would mean buying 2 x 4 sticks as i only have 2 ram solts...

OK that was quite long sorry!

But what do you guys think, should i sell that pc and start fresh or hang in with the upgrades. Budget for new would be Approx £1k providing i can sell my pc for something approaching £500 and a Driver by the name of Sebastian Vettel is the F1 champion this year....

Current system is:
i5 2500
4Gb ram
Integrated graphics
Caviar black
450W PSU


I really am stuck in 2 minds over this so any help really would be a great help.

 

[Teaz]

firstly a gtx560 would have no probs with a 450watt psu unless you mean the gtx560ti then you will need to upgrade the psu.
secondly 4gb ram is plenty for games and the pc itself, ram is the last thing to look into if you want to game. thirdly, you have an interesting great spec already for gaming. you can keep the pc abit cooler if you add a side fan since your case should support it.

not sure what cpu cooler you have but depending how it is, you pretty much only need to get a bigger psu which should be a very simple thing to install if you are getting a pretty power hungry gpu. the case is optional but is pretty recommeded to get some good cooling, a decent haf 912 case is a good starting choice to look at

the gpu card is the only thing to look into or psu too if its pretty power hungry but i would include a psu to get some breathing room if you decide to add in extra components.

psu and gpu. case and ram are optional.

 

[mantadog]

I have a few PCI cards installed so adding even a normal 560 would take it to the edge.

I am of the opinion, if i decide to get a GPU i should get a decent one. So it can handle games on good settings now and decent settings for the new releases, rather than decent settings now and lower later. So a PSU would probably be needed. Not too worried about the case as i know i can just bolt on a side fan, the ram is just another niggle that i was thinking MIGHT be needing an upgrade but not too sure what the newer games will want. Having to buy 2 x 4Gb sticks wont cost too much more then 2 X 2Gb sticks anyway?

I am edging towards upgrading what i have as it is slightly cheaper overall and gives me a chance to dig about inside with a few simple jobs. Then another day i think the the other way hence the post....

Thanks for the input!

 

[Teaz]

you could perhaps sell them as components but if not, the whole pc an perhaps start over if desired. although you may not get much depending on how you sell it.

what motherboard do you have? a 560 or 560Ti shouldnt take up too much room.

 

[mantadog]

Anyone else got any opinions, would honestly take onboard any input anyone has. Im really 50/50 and i suck at making a choice...

 

[Wozza63]

With that current rig you wouldnt make £500, custom PCs value drops like a sack of potatoes

 

[mantadog]

Im confident i could get £500 for what i have to sell - i would be selling it with a monitor and speakers i had before i upgraded. If i couldn't get something near £500 i would be shocked.

Thats besides the point anyway, i have been looking about and think i will swap out the PSU, fit a case fan, slot in a nice GPU. That way for a smaller outlay i can get myself back into some games and consider an new build in a year or two.

 

[vanthus]

Thats besides the point anyway, i have been looking about and think i will swap out the PSU, fit a case fan, slot in a nice GPU. That way for a smaller outlay i can get myself back into some games and consider an new build in a year or two.

I think that would be the best solution.

 

[Wozza63]

I personally dont think you would be offered more than £400, and if the monitor is old and not widescreen its pretty much worthless now

 

[mantadog]

I personally dont think you would be offered more than £400, and if the monitor is old and not widescreen its pretty much worthless now

I don't want to debate if its worth £300-£400-£500 or 5 monkeys and a carrot, my budget wold be in the £1k zone no matter what. Perhaps i wasn't clear enough earlier.

Was just looking for some outside input on the update or renew route