Computersight -

Not everybody wants to buy a gaming pc. But everybody wants a computer that they can play all the latest games on, that can open a word document at lightning speed, and that can load an entire photo album in seconds.

Many would have you believe that to achieve this it costs at least £1000, probably. In reality, you can have it for far less.

In this article, I will show you components that you can install to seriously speed up your computer, for a few hundred pounds. Granted this could still be quite a bit too much for many people, so I’ll also be posting some cheaper alternatives, in case you don’t have quite as much cash as you would like.

The components

Motherboard (ASUS PSN-E SLI) =£56

This motherboard is one of the cheapest SLI motherboards available. This is important as it means that you can attach two or more graphics cards to it, which will mean you can buy one graphics card now and a second at a later date to boost the power, and to delay the time before your computer needs another upgrade. It can also take up to 8gb of ram, has support for up to a quad core, and has onboard audio which supports 5.1, meaning you won’t have to purchase a sound card, at extra cost.
If you don’t need two graphic card slots, and you aren’t planning on getting a quad core any time soon, then a motherboard that can handle a core 2 duo can be bought for around £30.

Processor (Intel Core 2 Quad, Q6600 2.4ghz) =£116

This is probably the cheapest quad core processor going, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks quality. It has four processors working together, at a decent 2.4ghz, meaning that games that are very processor dependant (such as real time strategies), will work perfectly, and documents and pictures will open very quickly. For the tech geeks, this is also a great model for over clocking, and can be over clocked to between 3ghz and 3.2ghz with a decent amount of cooling).

If you can’t afford this, or you just reckon that a quad core is a bit over the top, then a decent core 2 duo running at 2.4ghz can be picked up for about £75 and would be fine for gaming.

Corsair 2gb DDR2 667mhz PC2-5400 Memory =£29

2gb of ram isn’t a huge amount, but is more than sufficient for most games, and meets the recommended spec even for Windows Vista Ultimate. More can always be purchased at a later date, to increase the machine’s gaming power further.
If you can’t afford this a good alternative would be to buy just 1gb of ram, then add an extra 1gb at a later date, but just remember that 2gb will increase the speed of your computer by quite a considerable amount. 1gb of ram can be picked up for under £15 if you shop around.

Maxtor Stm3250310As 250gb Hard Drive =£28

This is a standard 250gb hard drive. It spins at a decent 7200rpm, which is a standard for most desktop hard drives. 250gb of space should be more than enough for the average gamer, and short of downloading blue-ray discs onto it you will have a hard time filling it. If you feel you can fill it though, then you could always get an extra to give you a total of half a terabyte.

Once again, if this is going to cost too much then you can pick up an 80gb or 160gb hard drive for slightly cheaper, but the savings are minimal, and the extra memory really helps with future proofing.

Nvidia 8800gt 512mb DDR3 =£95

This is by far not the best graphics card on the market, but by no means is it the worst. At just under £100 it’s pretty cheap (compared to many), but the power it packs is great. It has 512mb of DDR3 memory, which is considerably faster than its DDR2 equivalent. For maximum power you can get two of these cards, and use them in SLI to have enough graphics power to run the latest, graphics intense games such as Crysis on high detail. But by itself its more than enough to run HD movies, and do any other picture and video work you need it to do, as well as play most games recent games at a decent resolution with decent graphics, and any older games you should be able to max out with ease.

If you don’t have a £100, but still want to play older games, or newer games on low detail, then cards such as the 7600gt can be picked up for as little as £40, even cheaper if you shop around or buy them second hand.

FINAL NOTES

The total cost for the more expensive components listed is £324.
The total cost for the less expensive components listed is approximately £180.

I hope this article gives you a better idea of how you can upgrade an old computer, and turn it into a gaming pc that can run games with decent settings, for a few hundred pounds; and even less if you use cheaper alternatives.

Please remember that the components listed here are only the internal components.  A monitor, mouse, keyboard, case, speakers and power supply are not included in this: using ones from your original PC are a great way to save a lot of money, and can easily be upgraded at a later date.