Im a Newbie Needing Advice from you experts

[micharei]

Hi everyone. I am new here but have enjoyed reading the posts. I have a question that you may be able to help me out with.

I have a computer that my old friend built for me very cheap. It has served me well for over a year.

However i am interested in playing some games that my system just cant seem to handle. Farcry, World of Warcraft, Everquest 2, etc...

Purchasing or building a new system is not financially feasible right now.

So my question is, based on what my system specs are, what in your opinion should i upgrade on my current computer.

I am in a unique financial situation which pretty much frees up about 200 dollars every once in a while that i can spend on myself. I am interested in upgrading my comp little by little, but want the best impact in the least amount of time.

My system information is below. Thank you so much for your advice.

AMD Athlon XP 1800+
1.53 GHz
512 MB RAM
NVidia GeForce 4 MX 440
Creative SB Live Series (WDM)
11.3 GB Free Hard Drive Space
Samsung CD-Rom SC-148F
Compaq FS740 17" Monitor
Other infor available upon request....
Thanks again.

 

[thursday22dp]

hmm...Id' OC it first off

then maybe 200 on a new gfx card

 

[bluewall21]

You need a new graphics card to play those games well, and overclcoking would not be a bad idea.

 

[micharei]

can you recommend a new graphics card that can play those games that wont break the bank?

 

[Bonesdad]

how much is in your bank?

 

[bigpow]

You would buy a faster VGA like 9800Pro AGP ($200), but your CPU would be the bottle-neck.
You then would buy a faster CPU, like XP3200+ ($150), but then the newer games would not go smoothly still..

If you save around $650, you could get a decent A64 system (CPU+mobo+RAM/PS) with 6600GT -> that would run any of today's game (relatively) smoothly

 

[micharei]

well when you say " but then the newer games would not run smoothly still" are you saying that if i buy the 200 dollar graphics card and the 150 dollar motherboard it will not have solved my problem?

 

[bluewall21]

Originally posted by: micharei
well when you say " but then the newer games would not run smoothly still" are you saying that if i buy the 200 dollar graphics card and the 150 dollar motherboard it will not have solved my problem?

He means that you need both for games to run smoothly. IMO, the best video card for this situatino is a 6600 GT or 9800 Pro.

 

[micharei]

ive been hearing the 6600 GT alot in these posts, if you say its compatible with my system then i will purchase and install it tomarrow.

 

[KnobCreek]

I like the 9800 pro myself

But both are nice cards for what your after,

I just put a 9800 pro in mine about 3 months ago so i could play WoW, upgraded it from a Matrox G400 dualhead.

 

[micharei]

what kind of performance do you get in WoW? Does the rest of your system compare to mine?

 

[micharei]

ok then in everyones opinion, which is better for my sytem and gaming needs, the 6600 GT or the 9800 pro AGP ???

 

[stevty2889]

The 6600GT is the better card, the problem is that your CPU will be a bottlteneck for either graphics card.

 

[micharei]

ok, but little by little i want to upgrade my whole system. i think i just want to start with a new video card, then maybe in a few weeks get a new cpu, gradually replacing the older parts and eventually ending up with a kickarse system.

I dont pretend to know much about this, is this feasible or does it sound completely ridiculous?

 

[stevty2889]

Nothin wrong with upgrading a little bit at a time. That video card will give you a very nice boost when it comes to gaming, and even better once you have a CPU that can fully utilize it. Best part about upgradin a little at a time, is you usualy end up with enough leftover parts, that you could easly throw together a second system..I've got a cpu, motherboard, hard drive, and a gig of ram sitting around, from upgrading my backup rig.

 

[Bonesdad]

If you get the 6600, you will have to get an AGP card, which will limit your upgrade choices when you get a new motherboard etc. It's a tough situation to be in. When you upgrade to A64, you will either want to stick with an AGP board or sell your 6600(AGP) and move to the Socket 939 platform and get a new video card with that, which of course will cost you more $$ (offset somewhat by the sale of your AGP 6600). Good luck.

If you wait , you will have to save enough $$ for a mobo, cpu and a video card (if not a PSU as well). It's a high "ARGHHHH" factor.

 

[Special1Sauce]

Video Card first, I could play UT 2003 on my Dell (450Mhz, 192MB Ram, 32MB ATi Radeon) smothly, Just because I had a good videocard. Second get more MHz To utilize that New Video card. Thridly get more ram. Then your done
Good luck!

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Special1Sauce
Video Card first, I could play UT 2003 on my Dell (450Mhz, 192MB Ram, 32MB ATi Radeon) smothly, Just because I had a good videocard. Second get more MHz To utilize that New Video card. Thridly get more ram. Then your done
Good luck!

wow i doubt it, but each to his own. surely a 450mhz what p2? p3? isnt good enough no matter what the gfx

 

[Special1Sauce]

p3, It ran UT 2k3 @ 8x6 everything on Low, but it ran it nonetheless I averaged 19 FPS

 

[KnobCreek]

Amd 1700+
512mb Ram
ATI AIW Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb.
Turtle Beach soundcard
1 80gb WD and one 40 gb WD


I average about 30fps in WoW

Drops down to about 20 or less in heavily populated areas. I believe this is due to my ram more then anything, system ram not video ram.

 

[bluewall21]

Yeah, in my opinion, the graphics card will give you the most extra performance based on the current setup. The CPU is a close second, though.

 

[ddviper]

o/c that cpu and get the 6600GT, later save up some cash and get a good A64 and 939 mobo

 

[bigpow]

Yeah... normally you could upgrade a computer bit by bit and still able to use all the components.
However... you're talking about transitioning to 64-bit here.
You'd want to buy new mobo & CPU (939 preferrably) and new VGA (PCI-E).

Now if you just buy a 6600GT AGP or 9800Pro AGP, then later on you won't be able to use it with your new CPU/Mobo

 

[micharei]

So then you think it would wiser to upgrade the Motherboard and CPU first, despite the lack of immediate impact, and then upgrade the video card later?

 

[micharei]

and if so, then what Motherboard/CPU combos do you recommend i purchase, (maybe a link from Newegg), something that i wont need to upgrade in the next year or so to stay on top of the latest games.