should i upgrade?

[imported_Kehcalop]

I just got Doom3 and it run decently well on my computer but I want it to run well at 1024x768 on high. My system now is as follows:
P4 3.06 533fsb
Asus p4pe mobo
Mushkin 512mb 2100 ram
radeon 9600xt
extigy

Should i upgrade my video card and if so what one? I'd like to stick to ATI but I could be motivated to slip to Nvidia. My ram is kind of weak but i dont know how much better ram would help or if i should change anything else. The cheaper the better.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

more and better Mushkin 512mb 2100 ram

 

[azazal]

is that ram in dual channel? if not pc2100 is kinda half of the memory bandwidth the 533 mhz p4 would like, which could be bottlenecking you quite significantly

 

[imported_Kehcalop]

No its single channel. Its rather old its what i had in my last xp1900+ system. The asus p4pe motherboard doesnt support dual channel but does support up to 2700 ram. Should i upgrade my ram first or video card?

 

[3chordcharlie]

What kind of frame rate do you get at 8x6? If your frame rate is good there, a video card may be the ticket. If it's already slow there, the ram or the motherboard would be my first target (the CPU should be quite adequate).

The first thing I'd try is loosening your ram timings and trying to get the ram to run at pc2700. That's probably overly optimistic, so the next thing would be buying new ram.

 

[FullRoast]

P4PE will not do dual channel. If you want to upgrade I would get a faster video card. Reviews show that is where the best improvement is, though probably more expensive than upgrading your RAM. I just got 1 GB of PC2700 for a P4PE with a 3.06 P4. I was thinking of trying 1 GB of PC3200 at 800 MHz (latest bios supports 800 MHz FSB) but at 800 MHz, you can only use 1 dimm, according to Asus. I'm putting a 9800 Pro in (from a PC that was upgraded to a 6800 GT).