Upgrading Acer Aspire M1100 for Gaming and Windows 7

[i360]

I need help upgrading my old Acer Aspire M1100. Its lying around and i need a PC for gaming. Budget = £200-£300 ($310-$450)

Specs:
AMD Athlon 64
512MB , 160GB HDD
ATI X1200 (integrated i think)
Windows XP SP3 (came with Shitsta Home Basic, Tried W7 Starter, worked well )
250 Watt PSU

I just want to upgrade it so it can run new games eg COD, BF3, LA Noire etc. Can this PC be upgraded? Do i need a new mobo? I want to upgrade the CPU to phenom II and a good GPU. Im guessing i have to buy a new PSU right? I need tips what to put in and how. Im a noob, i've never even opened a PC let alone change the parts!

Help!

 

[DustSailor]

Yikes, yes sir, you'd need a new computer. Yours. The case might be worth something though...

Don't know that you can get anything that will play BF3 with 400US$ o.0

Could try to build it yourself

 

[i360]

Yikes, yes sir, you'd need a new computer. Yours. The case might be worth something though...

Don't know that you can get anything that will play BF3 with 400US$ o.0

Could try to build it yourself

Yeah i know, but i want to make this PC better. Just for normal gaming (low-med settings) and I have an old HP laptop (bought from around 300-400) that can play BF3 with low settings.

 

[DeaconFrost]

No, that computer is too far back in terms of platform changes to accept the kind of hardware needed to play BF3. By the time you are done "upgrading" it, you would have built a new computer.

 

[DustSailor]

well, you'd need a fair CPU (doesn't have to be anything amazing, usually), a high end Graphics card, and a lot more Watts on the PSU. The hard drive might be fine, mostly only effects loading times. So you might keep the hard drive, but may need to replace everything else. You could keep the motherboard and just build off it with older high-end compatible parts. That can be very hard, hard to find, hard to do. Compatibility might still be an issue.

To build your own computer can make parts much cheaper. I really recommend for simplicity and value, building your own. You will need to do some research before you decide what you want to do, and how you want to start. You might wait till you have more money to spend, especially for those new high-end games.

 

[i360]

Can i use that body for my new PC then?

 

[DeaconFrost]

It's possible...if it is a standard ATX style case. If it's an OEM case, such as a Dell, HP, etc...then most likely no.

 

[DustSailor]

While not completely sure, I would guess your case can be used. However, motherboards, graphics cards, PSUs, etc al differ in size. There are many different computer case sizes, from custom to small to medium to large and beyond. You are just going to have to know the size of what you buy for it and whether or not it will fit. I just buy full tower sized cases in order to ensure that my oversized graphics cards fit, that wires aren't bunched, and that air flow runs smoothly.

You might check your case and see if you are able to remove the components easily. If not, then it will be difficult to put componants in.