retired_bladow_k

My PC is aging but rather than shell out for a new machine, I would rather upgrade some parts of it to get it up to spec.

I really wanna run Bioshock and Crysis.. Tried both Demo's and honestly, Bioshock has to be run at the lowest possible detail, which is so ugly its not worth it.. Crysis runs, long loading times, really low detail and far too much slowdown...

I'm really looking for specific parts/makes as I don't really know what to look for.. So if you recommend a gfx card, specific processor etc which will run on my existing setup I would really appreciate it.

Most of this is from AIDA32... not too sure on my mobo... I have the id, but thats it..

Mobo ID: 05/11/2005-nf-ck804-6a61ffkbc-00
Mobo name: Unknown

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+

Physical Memory: 1023 MB

GFX: NVIDIA GeForce 6200 TurboCache(TM)
SFX: Realtek AC'97 Audio [NoDB]PCI

michaelwoodcock

A new PC might be a better idea mate, dual core with a beast of a power supply to feed a monster graphics card if high end gaming is your goal. Throw in four GB of RAM and you should be set. Expensive yeah, but you get what you pay for when it comes to having a PC for gaming.

retired_bladow_k

There's the problem. It will take me so long to save up for a monster that I will miss out on all the gaming goodness..

Also I am saving for moving out so funds are not as plentiful as I would like

retired_mandyg

You need to decide on a budget and then get whatever you can within it. Maybe consider 2nd hand parts from eBay?

You're obviously going to need a new GFX card but, depending on what you can afford, probably a new CPU, motherboard and RAM to go with it.

michaelwoodcock

Buying yourself new components won't be cheap either tbf. High end gfx, PSU to keep it running, sound card and speaker system to exploit it plus a few gigs of RAM gonna be a couple hundred quid, and that's assuming you are able to do the upgrade yourself, while not addressing your processor problem. Throw in a new processor and motherboard and you are getting to around the figure for a new PC anyway.

retired_bladow_k

What would I expect to be paying for a decent machine which is gonna run Bioshock and Crysis and give me a good couple of years service until the next upgrade comes along?

retired_jshendel

I think it also depends on how you want to run the games. Are you happy to run them on their lowest res setting (can you on bioshock?) or do you want them running as high as possible?

michaelwoodcock

That depends, do you want to just run Crysis, or are you looking to get the best graphics out of it? Crysis is, without doubt, the most demanding game ever made in regards to hardware, it's a lofty (and expensive) goal to set your system.

Buying from somewhere like Mesh, I'd expect a £600+ bill for a high end gaming system, and that's if you already have a decent monitor to contribute to the system, otherwise it's gonna be £700+. Save a bit if you can either do a build yourself or know someone who would for you, especially if you can source the parts cheap.

retired_bladow_k

If I am honest, I don't mind if they are not "full" on everything. But I can run bioshock now on lowest settings, and its terrible.

So I want something that is gonna play these games well and look pretty good too

retired_jshendel

PC's do seem to have come down a stupid amount in price now. My PC when i got it had pretty much all the latest hardware in it and cost £900. Now less than a year on you can get a better one for 400 quid