Need computer advice

[wclem]

Well I have been out of PC gaming for years. A lot of you were in grade school when I got away from it. 3DFX was all the rage, LOL.

I got a reasonable computer for free.

AMD A10-5700 APU with Radeon HD graphics @ 3.4 GHZ
8 gb of ram
Windows 8
AMD Radeon HD 7660D (integrated 512 meg dedicated and assuming it swaps system ram)

It runs Skyrim pretty good and most other current games at Medium-High setting. I would like to get on built that would current games full out but not break me. I am thinking the best that I could do under 800 bucks, if that is even possible.

Hit me with your opinions please.

[Stark]

I'm gonna guess you meant 8GB RAM not 8MB.

Is there room on the motherboard for more RAM? You could probably get a better video card and some more RAM and you'd be there with current gen games on full tilt.

[wclem]

Should have added, it is a gateway model sx2380

Looks like I may be able to drop a new graphics board in it, though room may be an issue. If you are saying the CPU is decent then maybe a new board, a little more ram and graphics upgrade? Start over with a new case also with plenty of room.

[isiolia]

The CPU isn't outstanding, but transplanting that should let you keep the Windows license happy and all, thus saving money. It's worth trying. Of note, your motherboard is DTX size, which is supposedly compatible with ATX cases, but I haven't tried.

You'll want a better power supply, and a good GPU. Might consider a GTX 760 or HD7950, ~$250ish cards that should be able to max most games out at 1080p without a sweat.

Current games don't need more RAM, but if the Watch Dogs "recommended" requirements become more standard, you may want more. Wouldn't be a priority IMO, 8GB is plenty for now.

[MrPopo]

Should have added, it is a gateway model sx2380

That is likely going to be your biggest limiting factor. Many computer manufacturers use custom case design in order to fit things in to a smaller package. They are targeting the average user segment who will never open up their computer. It's likely that a new graphics card might not even fit (when I built my machine the board extended all the way to the front fan/drive bays and I had to do some shimmying to get all the cords to go where they needed to.

I'd recommend you take a look at the Tom's Hardware system builder marathons. It's something they do every few months where they put together several PCs at various budget levels. They just finished one, here's a link to the articles:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bui ... ,3621.html

[Stark]

Wouldn't be a priority IMO, 8GB is plenty for now.

Agreed, I just said that because RAM is fairly cheap and I'm sure you get a little performance gain from it. But as you say, not top priority.

[wclem]

The CPU isn't outstanding, but transplanting that should let you keep the Windows license happy and all, thus saving money. It's worth trying. Of note, your motherboard is DTX size, which is supposedly compatible with ATX cases, but I haven't tried.

You'll want a better power supply, and a good GPU. Might consider a GTX 760 or HD7950, ~$250ish cards that should be able to max most games out at 1080p without a sweat.

Current games don't need more RAM, but if the Watch Dogs "recommended" requirements become more standard, you may want more. Wouldn't be a priority IMO, 8GB is plenty for now.

Looking at those pics, which are accurate, do you think I could squeeze a new video card in there or should I just buy a full size case?

[isiolia]

Looking at those pics, which are accurate, do you think I could squeeze a new video card in there or should I just buy a full size case?

You'd want a new case and power supply if you wanted to add a good video card.

The slots your machine has available are half-height, for one. So while there would be some cards that would fit in there, they'd nearly all be lower end models.
Even if the PSU had the capacity to support a good GPU (it doesn't), most discrete cards relevant for gaming require auxiliary PCIe power plugs (often two these days). So, you'd need something appropriate for that, and a standard size PSU won't fit in that case either.

'course, if you're fine with spending the budget you mentioned, you might just consider leaving that one as-is for use as an HTPC or something (nice size for it) and build a second machine from scratch.

[wclem]

Looking at those pics, which are accurate, do you think I could squeeze a new video card in there or should I just buy a full size case?

You'd want a new case and power supply if you wanted to add a good video card.

The slots your machine has available are half-height, for one. So while there would be some cards that would fit in there, they'd nearly all be lower end models.
Even if the PSU had the capacity to support a good GPU (it doesn't), most discrete cards relevant for gaming require auxiliary PCIe power plugs (often two these days). So, you'd need something appropriate for that, and a standard size PSU won't fit in that case either.

'course, if you're fine with spending the budget you mentioned, you might just consider leaving that one as-is for use as an HTPC or something (nice size for it) and build a second machine from scratch.

Yeah, I think I should start over, or buy a higher end pre built. I might just let this one ride out till it starts to struggle to play newer games.

[isiolia]

It might be possible to find a PSU that fits, as I've seen some that are marketed for slim cases (example), just not a lot of selection, and I'm not sure what actually fits in yours.

The 220W rating on the factory one would make me a little wary of adding a 7750 or something to it (the 800Mhz version is about the best you can get that doesn't need PCIe power, and you can find half-height versions).

But, probably already spending $150-175 at that point, just to get a fairly low end card into the existing system.