I was looking into OBS [url]http://obsproject.com/[/url] and it turns out I need at least DirectX 10. I found the options to update drivers but it tells me "You have the most recent DirectX" which leads me to believe my graphics card is incapable. Am I stuck here, or is there some option for recording gameplay that is more suitable for an older computer? I've seen other choices like camtasia, playclaw, gamecam etc but I'm unsure. How does the whole buying graphics cards thing go? Do I have the option of buying a new graphics card to put into my six year old Compaq Presario or should I not bother and opt for a new computer altogether? I get the feeling that a new desktop with better processing power would serve me better anyways, but yeah money.

The other issue is my internet provider... I've read that for streaming/recording, it's best to have an upload speed of at least 2, and according to the speed test website I'm a bit below that with 1.29 and a 7-10 download speed. I don't think I have many options on this, zitomedia is what we have, which is a phone/internet/cable all for one price bundle (around $100/month) and it's the only service we have to choose from where I live, other than Dish Network, which I don't know anything about satellite and Dish's website could use some more details on internet speeds and such.

Any video card you get will be limited to PCI. Baically, buy a new computer.

This is actually kind of fun, picking out pieces to build. I want to do Wal-Mart because my bro has 10% discount, and the cyberpower build-it-yourself thing seems really good compared to other brands. Every piece it's asking me to put in I'm googling to see wtf it does, but I feel like I'm coming up with some surprisingly decent answers. I just compared the total price of what I've put together vs. the features of another computer at exactly the same price point (Centaurus Lynx, $850), and mine has better guts in motherboard, memory, and it has a BluRay drive. I punched in all the same stuff and it totaled $1,210 on their website. What's the catch, does the Space Pope bless the parts before they assemble it?

If I can put something nice together then it should be enough motivation to save for it. I already hit my goal of strong performance under 1K... I think I'm doing all right so far. Unless Cyberpower brand comes with Polio or something...

>_< I just googled CyberPower to see why they're cheaper... customer service nightmares...

You can build a damn good gaming pc for $700-$1000. I'd recommend an Intel build with an i5-2500k processor, 8gb of RAM, a video card in your price range (AMD Radeon 7870 for example), and a bronze certified (very important) power supply with a single 12v rail (also very important) for the key specs you should hit.

Ahh, you know what, I think I see one of the appeals of building, you can buy the pieces individually as you go! I hadn't thought of that. I think I know one person who may be into doing that kind of stuff, fuck I think he's going to school to be an engineer of some fashion. From your selections I'm glad to see I'm in the ballpark, when I was putting it together on the Walmart site, I selected the i5 3570 and a GeForce 630. My current monitor is 16 inches wide, which seems like it would be good enough to use the 630, but I looked into the Amd card you pointed out, I checked Nvidia's similar 660, and it was much more capable than the 630. I may want a bigger screen, so I think it would be worth the price increase. Is there any particular reason to choose Nvidia or Amd over the other? It seems like it's just certain game architectures that run better on certain cards, but is that it?

It''s nice that you mentioned the power supply, curiously for the cyberpower build they don't list the specific product for the powersupply, calling it Power Efficient Power Supply/AC 120V/230V in the description of every case. Would they just be giving me a generic unit?

A 630 is a newer model, but it's still the newer model of a low end card. For Nvidia I wouldn't go below a 650/550. Also the 3570 is one generation above the 2500k, but the benefit is negligible in games, maybe 1-2 fps since I thiiiink the 2500k is powerful enough to not bottleneck the GPU. If you're tight on the budget (who isn't) you can just use your current model until you buy a new one. Games will run better on low resolution monitors anyway. However, you'll see a framerate decrease if you buy a full 1080p monitor in the future. That's just the way it is. Rendering more pixels is hard work. That's why you wanna put most of your budget into your video card.

As for AMD vs Nvidia, that's preferential. AMD cards normally have a better bang for your buck. Especially the 7870. Yes, some games are optimized for AMD architecture. Yes, some games are optimized for Nvidia architecture. Doesn't really matter if you buy a good card though. And, yes, prebuilt machines normally have shitty, low-wattage aftermarket PSUs.

I really appreciate the help. My ability to purchase is limited to Sears but I found something I like that is pretty close to the target specs at $849. I think I'll get it.

[url]http://www.sears.com/cyberpowerpc-lm240-w-intel-i5-3570k-3.4-ghz/p-00343389000P?prdNo=15&blockNo=15&blockType=G15[/url]

It says 600 watt for the psu, so that should be good for now. I'll definitely consider picking up a bronze certified psu when I get the chance.