How to Upgrade your Old Gaming PC for Latest Games
Latest big games requires huge amount of resources and latest hardware configuration to run smoothly on your PC. This means gamers who have old hardware have to update some of their components so that they can match their system specs with the ones required by the latest demanding games.
Every gamer does not have the required budget to upgrade their whole PC to the latest hardware as it is an expensive matter, so here in this post I will guide you on how to upgrade your PC for the latest games. You do not have to upgrade the whole PC but only the selected major components that are slowing down your PC in gaming performance.
Find out Which Components Need Upgrading
First of all you have to know or find out that which hardware components need upgrade as you may be fine with the graphics card and memory but your processor is too much outdated or you may be fine with the processor and memory (RAM) but your graphics card needs upgrading. Other scenario would be that you are ok with processor and graphics but need more RAM which is generally required in large amount by the latest high end games. So here are the list of major components that may or may not require upgrade according to your needs and budget you have.
Processor / CPU
If your processor is not able to cope up with the games that are CPU intensive then you may want to upgrade your processor. But here also the latest processor may not fit in or compatible with your old motherboard because of different sockets found in newer generation of processors. Socket compatibility is the major issue when upgrading your processor, so what you can do here is that you can buy the higher processor model for your current motherboard socket. Older processors may not be available as new as the companies’ do not manufacture older processors anymore. In this case you can buy the second hand or the refurbished processor from a reputed vendor or hardware supplier.
A Refurbished or Second hand Core 2 Quad Q9650 Processor
Even if your processor and motherboard have the same socket and pins then also you should check whether your new processor is supported by the manufacturer of your motherboard. In some cases it is not and in some you have to update your current BIOS to the latest one to support new processors. Another thing you can do is overclock your processor to gain maximum performance out of it.
Graphics Card
If your graphics card has become too old for new games then you can sell your current graphics card offline or online and buy a new mid-range graphics card. You can also overclock your graphics card for additional performance in games. Here below are some useful articles that can help you to buy a new graphics card.
Finding Best Graphics Card in your Budget
Best Mid-Range Graphics Card 2014
How to Get Maximum Performance from your Graphics Card
RAM
Latest games require at least Windows 7 64-bit operating system with at least 4GB of RAM. So if you are having 2GB of RAM or less then you should upgrade it to 4GB or even 8GB to remain on the safer side.
How to Find Best RAM for your PC
SMPS or PSU
SMPS upgrade should be in conjunction with the upgrading of the graphics card because if you have upgraded your graphics card to a high end or a decent one then you should also change your PSU to the one that should match your graphics card requirements.
How to Find a Good SMPS for your PC
Best SMS or Power Supply Brands
Perform Compatibility Check
When upgrading your hardware components you should always check the compatibility of your new hardware to the ones that are already present in your PC. Here are some most important compatibility checks that you can perform before buying the new hardware component.
Is your new Processor compatible with your current Motherboard?
Is the new RAM compatible with your Motherboard?
Does your Motherboard require a BIOS update for supporting new processor?
How much RAM can your Motherboard Support?
You can gather the above required information by looking at your computer component manual or find it the at its manufacturers website on the internet.
Find out if your Computer can run this Game?
Upgrade the Components
Lastly after conducting a proper research and performing necessary compatibility checks you can buy the hardware components that need an upgrade.
Buy Computer Components Online
About Author
Akshat Verma
A Professional Blogger, Web Developer, Hardware Enthusiast, Gamer, Geek and Founder of many other websites. He holds M.Tech degree in IT and B.E degree in Computer Science & Engineering.
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Hi akshat my problem is I just upgraded my processor of intel dg41rq to core 2 quad q9550 2.83ghz and I used my Pentium duel e5300 2.6ghz processors heatsink.. And when I play letest games this processor heating too much I just watch the temps on hwmonitor all cores are on 70c in hwmonitor so tell me akshat what we do…. Is this mobo can handle this processor..or need to change heatsink.. all other parts are cool just this processor heating while playing letest games…
E5300 is not a power hungry processor and does not heat up that much so it has got a small heatsink, but Q9550 is a quite a powerful processor and requires more power and bigger heatsink than E5300 and can reach much higher temperature. Your motherboard is fine because it has supported the Q9550 processor. For reducing the temperature on Q9550 you have to buy a good branded aftermarket cooler for it. Deepcool has good budget coolers while Cooler master ones are a bit expensive. When buying a cpu cooler make sure that it supports LGA775 Socket.
Thank for reply….My specification is now q9550 , 4gb ddr2 tram, Gtx 750 graphic card with VIP gold 500w smps is this spec good for gaming and now I disided to choose deepcool gamma Archer cooler is this cools my processor and last question my systems windows experience index shows same rating that is got from e5300 is 6.1 q9550 showing 6.1 and showing 2cores but when I run cpu-z software it shows me 4 cores now which is correct?? Is this need to update latest mobo bios I never update its bios..
You PC is OK for decent level gaming and the Deepcool Gamma Archer does support LGA775 socket and will cool your processor better than the intel stock cooler. Windows experience index is not a reliable tool. CPU-Z is a trust-able tool for finding your CPU specs. You may update your BIOS to the latest version to get maximum support for Q9550 processor as some older motherboards have problem in running Q9550.
Thanks for quick reply….
Hi Akshat. Can u please tell me which motherboard to choose between asus maximus vii ranger or msi z97 gaming 7. And their compatibility with my graphic card msi r5770 hawk??
Hello Nitin
Both the motherboards are equally good and has almost the same performance, but if given a choice between the two then i would prefer ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER for its trust, slightly cheaper price and rock solid build quality. MSI R5770 Hawk will be compatible in both these motherboards (Asus and MSI). Here are the approximate or very close to market prices for all these products (as prices vary from store to store and region to region)
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER – Rs. 14750/-
MSI Z97 GAMING 7 – Rs. 16000/-
MSI R5770 Hawk – Rs. 12.5k
Thanks !! Ur help is highly appreciated
Hi Akshay as ur suggestion I just upgraded my processors heatsink to cooler master now my heating problem is solved and every thing is working fine but last night my PC does not booting up no beep all fans are working..I tried to on my PC it won’t start..but now morning I tried my PC to turn on it start normally..what’s wrong with my pc..what is problem in my PC..is there any problem with bios…i never update its bios Is updating new bios solve it.??
It’s normal. Just make sure all the internal connections are tight and remove and plug-in the RAM again. If everything is detected properly then it is not a BIOS issue and you may update your BIOS to the latest if you want, but make sure to do it properly otherwise you might end up in a huge problem.
OK thanks…