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how best to upgrade my aging computer

B

burnhamd

Junior Member
I currently have a computer with the following specifications

amd 64 3000+ 939 socket
Nforce 4 Motherboard with one pcie slot /dual channel memory with two slots open
512megs of memory
nvidia 6600 graphics card
300watt power supply

I only have a budget of $250 to upgrade this machine to try and get it playing some of the newer games with modest settings. I know that i will first have to upgrade my psu to add any components so that knocks off a good chunk. The big question is what component should I focus on upgrading to for playing some of the newer games such as battlefield 2142. I was thinking upgrade to 8600gt and get 512megs more ram but some have suggested buying a new cpu. Where do you guys think my money would best be spent.

 
with the prices dropping pretty fast on intel c2d, I would say try and get some more cash and buy a new system and then sell off your current one to someone who doesnt need something too special.

e4300 is at 139 right now and might get a bit lower in the coming weeks!!
 
Definitely get some RAM. It's the best thing you can do. The 512Megs is the weakest link in your system, as it is far too little for today's games. You should easily be able to double, or even quadruple your RAM, and have money left over for a new graphics card, i.e. the 8500 or 8600gt. Added RAM will also significantly improve your overall systems performance, games and otherwise.

Good luck,

Mark.
 
If you are only going to use $250, get 512MB of RAM and upgrade your card. You can probably sell off your old one when you're done. If you have PCI-E, you can get a very kick-ass card for your price range (X1950 PRO or 7900GS/GT).
 
Originally posted by: burnhamd

300watt power supply
Click to expand...
What make and model PSU? There's quality 300 watt units that could power serious systems and no-name ones that couldn't run a 386.
 
Originally posted by: Laminator
If you are only going to use $250, get 512MB of RAM and upgrade your card. You can probably sell off your old one when you're done. If you have PCI-E, you can get a very kick-ass card for your price range (X1950 PRO or 7900GS/GT).
Click to expand...

It takes a new member to make the perfect post, sometimes.

I'm surprised someone has already recommended upgrading to Core 2 Duo with his $250 budget. Get realistic here, this is not enough cash for a new motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card by a long shot. Even if he sells his old stuff.

OP says he wants to improve his gaming performance. First two ports of call are 1) GPU? 2) RAM?. He should have 1GB of RAM for games these days, and getting a single stick of RAM would bring him up to 1.5GB (which is better than 1GB and worth losing single channel for). Then a radeon X1950 Pro for the rest of the money.
 
Going for the XFX 7900GS Extreme for $139 AR first,
XFX 7900GS Extreme
then on to the RAM, which we haven't determined what brand you have.
If you buy a matching stick to your existing stick, then you can run in dual channel mode which will help your performance, but just getting up to 1GB is going to help noticeably. Figure on $25-30 for another stick. That leaves you with enough to buy a better PSU if needed, or just stay below your budget and save for games or an LCD.

Post your memory currently in the PC and we'll see if we can't find a match.

Rereading your post, you probably have 2 sticks of 256 in there already, so scrap the 2 256's and buy a 1GB kit with 2 512 sticks for around $80. I like these sticks for the price:
Patriot
 
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