New to building computers.

[Divaricate]

I'm looking for some ideas and I'm new to this. Ive been trying to research how to begin building ones own computer or rebuilding it. So much info and costs vary as well. I guess I feel that I'm walking through a parts house not knowing what would get me by, what would be overkill and what would be perfect.

My current desktop is pretty old. I've replaced hardware when something needed replacing but that's about all.

This began when I decided I wanted to play skyrim for PC and when I looked at the requirements I thought the laptop would handle it...it did not. So I figured the desktop I use could be upgraded to support it and I know it'll need new parts. Problem is, as I've been reading, I'm not real sure that if I replace one part, what other parts might need replacing as well... make sense?

I figured I'd need a new processor, a new graphics card, memory too probably. Do motherboards factor in? See, I'm kinda lost.

I don't mind stumbling though a little and admit..yes I'm a beginner. I found one guy selling his gaming computer. I compared his stats and wondered..do I need all that? heres his stuff

I7 quad core Intel 3.9 GHz
32 gug 1600 mhz ram
nvidia 660TI graphics 2 gig mem
Z77 chipset
SSD for OS boot
2 TB harddrive- 6g's storage
corsair power 750w - 6 case fanes- cooler master heatsink & fan CPU

me (dont laugh)
pent r 4 cpu 2.40 ghz, 2.39 ghz, 512 mb ram
nvidia gforce FX5200

So I'm guessing his computer is top notch and I probably dont need all that. What could I replace and add to renew this old desktop?

Thanks for any help

 

[Tekred]

His is definitely not top notch especially with 1600mhz memory. It's still a lot better than yours and if the price is right I would say go for it. Although it's still pretty cheap to build a decent system yourself. Details would help, like what's your budget? What are you going to use the system for, gaming only, photo/ video editing, rendering?

 

[EarthDog]

Its DDR3 on Z77... 1600 MHz is perfectly appropriate, really. I agree with the rest. how much is that system he is offering you? What do you want to do with this PC. The more info you share, the better we can assist.

That video card is a bit long in the tooth as well. 2GB of vRAM will choke you on a lot of titles at 1080p with 'ultra' settings.

 

[Tekred]

Its DDR3 on Z77... 1600 MHz is perfectly appropriate, really. I agree with the rest. how much is that system he is offering you? What do you want to do with this PC. The more info you share, the better we can assist.

That video card is a bit long in the tooth as well. 2GB of vRAM will choke you on a lot of titles at 1080p with 'ultra' settings.

Ahh I just skimmed saw i7, didn't see what platform it was on... I see it now, Depends on how much he wants for it I guess Op didn't mention prices or budget so really hard to make a judgment call on anyrhing

 

[EarthDog]

Agreed, and well aware. We did both ask for that information.

 

[trents]

That hardware is kind of long in the tooth. Looks like third generation Intel I7 when we are now on the 8th generation. We are now on DDR4 where as the system you are looking at uses DDR3. But still pretty relevant from a performance standpoint and could meet your gaming needs. But like EarthDog pointed out, the video card in that system is the big question mark. If nothing else, you would probably need to look at upgrading that component.

Do you know how the CPU is being cooled? There's also the possibility of overclocking the CPU to get a little more umph out of it on that system you are considering buying. The other thing is you don't need 32 gb of RAM to play games and you could remove half of it and recoup some of your expense. What's he asking for it? What is your budget?