I have been looking at computer parts for upgrading and I'm more confused than ever.

My computer is about 4 years old and it needs upgrading. I have a:

Studio XPS 8000. Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
intel (R) core (TM) i7 cpu
860 @ 2.80 GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8 GHz
memory: 8192MB Ram

My Graphic card is Nvidia GeForce GTX260

Can you guys give me a clue as what to get. I know I will have to upgrade my power supply but which one and what video card. I play a few dark side games like Skyrim, but mostly adventure and casual games. Do I need more fans?
Thanks
Kay

Unless you are planning on replacing the motherboard and completely rebuilding it, I would stick with everything as-is except for the video card. What video card you get will depend on how much you want to spend! Do you know what the wattage of your current power supply is? How many fans does the case already have?

If this is what you have now, and you play mostly adventure games, why you think you need to upgrade?
Are there some games that are sluggish for you?

According to what I read ***here*** the XPS 8000 has a 350 Watt power supply. So if you want a faster video card, you'd also need to replace the power supply.

Hi Draclvr, I only have 350 watts now. The only card I can get and keep the same power supply is the GTX 750 Ti. How is it? I may have to get another power supply unit. I don't have a lot of money but I will spend what I need too.
I'm not very technical and I couldn't rebuild anything.

The reason I asked about fans is because I downloaded a couple of things to read temperatures and mine runs a little warm when I load a game. The CPU reads 67 or 68 and graphics reads 80 something. It hasn't cut off or anything, but they seem warm. I had heard the Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 runs warm, so I am a little concerned.

The only fans I have is one on the cpu, one on the graphic card and one case fan.
Anything you say can help me bunches.
Thanks
Kay

Hi Jenny,
A new video card, power supply unit, and maybe a fan is mostly what I was talking about. Do you think I should just leave it along? Sounds great to me. I don't really care about it being faster, just the heat concerns me. Just thought maybe another video card would help.
Thanks
Kay

Unless there are games that aren't playing to your satisfaction, I wouldn't bother upgrading the video card -- especially if you don't have much money. The video card you have is still a pretty good one.

If you feel your computer is running hot, adding a fan won't hurt and shouldn't cost much. But before getting one, you might want to check your case to see if there is a place for an extra fan, and if so, what size fan would fit.

If the computer is running hotter than it used to when it was new, check to see if there is dust accumulation that might be interfering with cooling. It's best to blow out dust with canned air or something like a ***Data Vac*** rather than using a vacuum because a normal vacuum risks electrostatic damage.

I had a GTX 260 for 4 years - I loved that card, but it did run a tad hot. If heat is what you are concerned about, then I would look into where you can put another case fan or two. I don't know if this case has expansions for more and/or bigger fans, but that's definitely worth checking into.

And definitely take a look at the dust build-up in the case, as Jenny suggests. I "try" to remember to blow mine out at least 3 or 4 times a year. My DataVac has been the best investment ever. In addition to using it for my computers, I can also blow crud out of my keyboard. I also used it last week when I was refinishing a wood door. Between coats, I used steel wool to smooth the finish out and the DataVac worked great for blowing the door off.

Thanks Jenny and Draclvr,
I will see if there's room for another fan and check into it. I blew out the dust a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't check to see if there was room for another fan. That's my main concern now. I also put new thermal paste on the CPU, but it didn't help any. The DataVac sounds like a winner. Will check that out too!
Thanks again
Kay

The DataVac is great. I got one for my daughter for Christmas a couple years ago. She recommended the Metro vacuum, but I saw the DataVac on Amazon (there is a neat video showing how it works). She works with a lot of computers and was very happy with it and thanked me for recommending it. It is a big saving over using canned air.

I would not give up on that 350 watt power supply if all you want is an upgrade on a video card.
The EVGA site offers several lines of cards selling direct. Here is a link to one card, the EVGA Geforce GT 610. It has 2 gigs of of memory requiring a 300 watt power supply. It also accepts a PCI-E 2.0 16x slot on your MB. Some cards in the 600 series require a PCI-E 3.0 16x. The card depends upon what you have and the power supply. The PS you have is ample. It appears to have its own fan. This one is only $54 bucks direct from the Manufacturer.

EVGA

Clicking on products at top of page brings up a list of all their cards. The specs for this one is found on the Details tap of the page I linked.

I agree a 350 watt power supply is rather low these days but there are still cards out that that might work for you. The price range for the 610 on this site is $54.99 down to $42 that's not a huge upgrade costs if a card is all you need.

I have a GTX 240 which ran that new Tex Murphy game without a hitch. That too required a 300 watt PS but you can't find one these days.

Shop around EVGA's site may have something better you can use but this one should be enough for what you say you want.

EDIT
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The 610 does not support 64 bit Win 7. The 630 does support both 32 and 64 bit. It also takes a PCI-E 2.0 16x slot something you need to factor in as well.

It will be good to hear what those who know more about this than I have to say about this suggestion.

I believe the GTX 260 will run circles around the 610 several times over!

I agree Drac but I could not find one anywhere. The only 200 series I could find was the 210 at New Egg. That 600 series is available and rather cheap. The 630 seems to be a viable upgrade for little money.

I'd have to check, but to actually "upgrade" the GTX 260 video card she have to go much higher in the hierarchy. That GTX 260 card was a gem!

You are quite correct Drac. I missed him saying GTX260. I thought he had a lesser card. It appears since I last checked Nvdia did a major over haul. The only 200 series they continue to make is the Geforce 210 not a GTX, GTS, GT It is a straight GeForce 200 no letters. The GT and GTS lines include only the 610, 620, 630 and 640. Regarding GTX all that remains are 590 and up.

For anything better than the 260GTX a power supply upgrade is needed.

Many thanks everyone!
Your right Draclvr, the card is a gem if the computer didn't run so hot. Going to see if I can get the temperature down first. If i can I may keep the card a little longer.

Thanks oldmariner, that Evga site was great. Have been looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 ti at Amazon. I wouldn't have to put in a new power supply if I got it.

Thanks Pokey, I'm sure going to order me a DataVac from Amazon. Would be a big savings for me from the canned air. I blow mine out about every 4 months. I use 2 cans of air everytime.

I find I use my DataVac for LOTs of things! Handiest little thing ever. I hope you can put a couple more case fans in that computer, KayC. My GTX260 ran a bit hot for me for 4 years and it's still running in a rebuild I did in a new case for a friend of mine.

oldmariner, again my rememberer doesn't work so well any more, but I seem to remember that Nvidia simply rebranded some of the older cards. I don't think they do that any more though. I've always thought all the letters and numbers were pretty confusing!