GameBanshee Forums

Right, recently I was given a PC by an ex-neighbour who didn't want to pay to take it to America with them.

It has 1Gb of RAM, a 70Gb hard drive, a 1.5GHz processor, and I'm not sure about the rest yet, though once I get a monitor for it I'll check.

Since everything else will do for now, I figure that I first need to get a better processor.

What I'm wondering, is how much I'd expect to pay for a better processor which would support gaming needs, but would hardly need to be top notch, seeing as I'm a console gamer primarily.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks.

The cost of a processor is generally determined by the type of processor, processors fit different boards with different CPU sockets and that also limits how far you can upgrade a CPU too. I think the best way to check the motherboard would be via the BIOS, if you don't have the component manuals lying around.

I have quite a few of the games listed on this site and a 2GHz processor, that works fine for most of these (excepting Oblivion, I suppose ). I'd say a 2.5GHz (or equivalent processor) would be enough for you, depending on the type of games you'd play on it.

If it doesn't have a good graphics card already, I'd call that a better upgrade than the processor for a first upgrade for that machine.

Since I don't know about the other stuff yet I was focusing on the processor.

*nods* Fair enough. Maybe you should leave it until you sort out that monitor for it, so you'll know everything that's in it and what it is in most desperate need of replacement.

Oh, and I use this site a lot to find good prices for computer components:
http://www0.uk.shopping.com/xCH-computers

And you need to know which type of processor it is, obviously.

If you know the motherboard, you can generally work out the supported CPU's by looking for the technical specifications on the Internet...