Just got myself a shed load of games from the steam sale and I have found that recomended specs for some games surpass my current setup - namely BFBC2.

I know that I can upgrade either the cpu to a Quad Core (prefered) or the Graphics to what ever (I normally go for the best card on Tomshardware.com that offers the best value for money in the lower range).

Now I am not really interested in whats better for more money etc.. but either yay or nay if I should bother upgrading, considering that a new quad core CPU will probably cost me arround £100 vs throwing away current pc and buying a base unit costing me anything from say £450 upwards.

Current Setup:

Intel Core 2 E2200 2.2 Ghz
4GB 800 Mhz DDR2 RAM
600W psu
ASUS HD 4670 512MB GDDR3

Depends what quad core you can go to. What motherboard is it?

If your going to spend £450 on a base unit, it could be worth upgrading what you need and seeing what you can savage from your current set up to keep costs down.

Might have to bang this cpu upgrade on the head and start from scratch.

The motherboard I have is a foxconn G33M02 : http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/M ... -us0000319

The web site says it will run a Quad, but googling arround the net I have found that there are compatability issues with using a Quad core on my version of the board. G33M03 supports quad, G33M02 does not : http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282 ... -wont-boot

This now restrics me a to a Dual Core instead of a quad, not good news

Quite keen on deals like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =FS-210-OK

Yeah looks like a second hand e8400 would be the only real option for a cpu upgrade for that board.

Is your ideal plan just to buy a fully assembled base for £450. Or are you willing to reuse some old bits?

Well thinking of just getting a new bundle, might use the old PC as media streamer or something like that.