Noob needing help upgrading Comp. $250 budget

[gurusan]

well you need to find out for sure if your motherboard supports AGP cards...

the bare minimum would be to get another 1gb ram and maybe a 7600GS or something.

but really dude...your puter is ANCIENT! Investing in such a dinosaur is a mistake IMO...but if that's your only choice then I guess you have to do what you have to do.

 

[b1gapl]

okay after talking to my mom i might have a tighter budget..
i need the bare MINIMUM to play halo, guild wars, and counter strike.

i know the RAM stuff is needed, so no need in reminding that. I need a new graphics card, got that down. If i only get those will it still run it all fine?

why would i need a new harddrive? just not enough total memory?

The bare minimum would be 1gb of ram and a graphic card. Go for the 7600GT. You won't need a new hard drive. It doesn't have anything to do with memory.

 

[M.Davies]

I would personally build the new system which has been stated in this thread, an AMD 3600 X2 is pretty good and with 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and a Nvidia 7600GT and an AM2 PCI-Express motherboard then your good to go as you can re-use most components, such as the Optical Drive and Hardrive.

One thing I would definitely get, and this isn't just for your PC if you got a new one, but for all new PC's is the Power Supply as you will find a new one which definitely works makes the computer so much more flawless than a tacky old used one which could do more damage than good.

You could possibly also get a pre-built one; but that wouldn't be nearly as good or cheap as a custom-built PC which will definitely work with the game that you want. I would recommend saving up until you can afford the right components, which will still give you a good chance of gaming.

 

[b1gapl]

Nicely said M. Davies, and welcome to T.F.!

Sometimes, people won't take our word though.

 

[veg1992]

I would personally build the new system which has been stated in this thread, an AMD 3600 X2 is pretty good and with 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and a Nvidia 7600GT and an AM2 PCI-Express motherboard then your good to go as you can re-use most components, such as the Optical Drive and Hardrive.

One thing I would definitely get, and this isn't just for your PC if you got a new one, but for all new PC's is the Power Supply as you will find a new one which definitely works makes the computer so much more flawless than a tacky old used one which could do more damage than good.

You could possibly also get a pre-built one; but that wouldn't be nearly as good or cheap as a custom-built PC which will definitely work with the game that you want. I would recommend saving up until you can afford the right components, which will still give you a good chance of gaming.

nicely said, ncix has decent prices pretty much similar to building it urself... 20-30 bucks more than building it urself... if u buy the canandian version... its possible to profit if u sell the system.... and the ncix lets u use advanced options so u can choose exactly the parts u want...

 

[Z e i g]

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
This is the motherboard, where everything is connected to.

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail
This is the processor. The brain of the computer.

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Retail
This is the memory. This is where data is stored, so the processor, doesn't have to travel all the way to the hard drive to get all the info.

Newegg.com - FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI Express, 400W Power Supply - Retail
This is the power supply, which supplies the power to your computer.

Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
This is the graphic card. It is needed for gaming.


Yes you do have one already, but chances are you need to upgrade it to power this new system.

YAY!! okay my neew budget is just 10$ above what it costs for all of that!!! YIPEE!!! i'll just use those on my current computer.

now i have one last problome..idk how to install ANY of that. RAM i do know how but idk where that even is in my comp. any hints? mabey a tutorial lol?

EDIT: but iff i am putting all of that into my computer, arn't i pretty much just gutting my whole comp i have right now except for my harddrive?

 

[b1gapl]

This is a great and easy guide to understand, on how to build computers. Great clear pictures are included as well:
Build a System: Page 1

I'm glad you went with the, build it yourself way.

 

[Z e i g]

me too, but i think it is the more, mod it yourself way >.< lol...thanks for all the help everyone! if i have any more questions about putting it together, i'll ask.

EDIT- well here are some quick Q's. porbably a huglely noobish question but, to cool you computer couldn't you just take off part of the case for a while, that is if you were absolultly sure nothing would hit the exposed components? Also, why is cooling so important? i know my computer seems to run slower when it has ran along time, but does a hot comp make it slower? what happens when it is not properly cooled?

(don't wana make a bunch off topics and be a post hoe)
EDIT- would a new windows opererating system increase the speed of my comp? or what would it really help with? ( i don't want vista )

Why would someone need TWO graphics cards? what would it help?

 

[veg1992]

yes using an older os can make ur pc "seem" faster, like using xp over vista, as vista u may see lag because it hogs ur ram and a bit of a vid card..... as for cooling get an arctic freezer 64 pro, best bang for the buck cooler out now.....

 

[b1gapl]

me too, but i think it is the more, mod it yourself way >.< lol...thanks for all the help everyone! if i have any more questions about putting it together, i'll ask.


EDIT- well here are some quick Q's. porbably a huglely noobish question but, to cool you computer couldn't you just take off part of the case for a while, that is if you were absolultly sure nothing would hit the exposed components? Also, why is cooling so important? i know my computer seems to run slower when it has ran along time, but does a hot comp make it slower? what happens when it is not properly cooled?

(don't wana make a bunch off topics and be a post hoe)
EDIT- would a new windows opererating system increase the speed of my comp? or what would it really help with? ( i don't want vista )

Why would someone need TWO graphics cards? what would it help?

You should only take off the side panel part of the case, when you have no case fans, to cool your computer. This will drop the temperatures some, but the ideal is to have one front intake and one rear exhaust. Why is it important to keep it cool? Simple they just work better under cooler conditions. If it gets hot, it could overheat leading the computer to freeze up, or possibly a little more damage.

For example:
You wouldn't want to do work in an office or a room when it's the summer season, and the ambient temperatures are 100F or 40C right? Who wants to do work anyway in the summer. But you'd be more willing to work in cooler temperatures. Like if there was an AC in the room. So that's how I see it, with computer cooling.

For the operating system. Since you said you don't want Vista, it's obvious to stay with XP.

Two graphic cards running in either SLI (for Nvidia cards) or Crossfire (for ATI cards) configurations, is for getting that extra performance boost, in games. But IMO it's not really worth it, unless you're playing at really really high resolutions, such as 1600 x 1200 or higher. You're paying 100% more, for just a 20-40% performance increase. Not to mention, you'll double the heat output compared to that of running one graphic card.

I hope these answered your questions. Don't hesitate to ask more. You're here to learn right?