Better PC: What to improve?

[Garci]

Yeah, I have a pretty good monitor (ViewSonic VA702), but I think that I could get a motherboard that would support that processor and the AMD for $200. After that I could get some 2gb of ram for said motherboard, right? Given the money I have, that looks like my best option. Should I do it or is there anything else to do? (that doesn't involve saving up $800 , I'm 16).

 

[Peter.Cort]

i have a whole list going, i was gonna edit my last post but i x'd out of the tab ... but i'll edit the list into this.

Newegg.com - Foxconn 6150BK8MC-KRSHN2 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150B(PV) GPU Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $45, $105 with a dual core combo deal.
^ 939 board, a bit outdated but still good and will last you for a long time. also its ddr1 so i'll add on a 512mb stick, and you can add more if you want when you get the money. but 1 gb is pretty good for most things, anything more for the most part is frilly, you might want to consider getting a 1gb stick. also its pcie so you'll be able to run the latest cards.

Ram: Newegg.com - AllComponents 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory - OEM $22

PSU: Newegg.com - SPARKLE ATX-350PN-B204 ATX 12V 2.0 350W Power Supply 100~120V or 220~240V UL 60950, TUV, IEC 60950, NEMKO (CB Report) - OEM $34

GFX: Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $90 -OR-
Newegg.com - HIS Hightech H165F512N-R Radeon X1650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $80

also the board has onboard graphics so a gfx card isn't needed and can cut some costs and put you under 200.

 

[csaefong]

Yea i agree with the above said your system needs a whole new upgrade from the ground up.This is why you should upgrade your parts from time to time to keep things up to date.
Oh yea being 16 dont mean squat im 17 and my rig costed me well over 1500 and thats all cash i made on my own gotta get your hustle on.

 

[Garci]

It does when you take into account that you live in the USA. 100 bucks for me is like heaven, for example, going out with my friends and taking 6 bucks is a lot of money. But I don't whine about it, I figure my way around it. That's why I'm taking this slowly, part by part, to see what is the most important stuff and what should come first.

Now, reading about the processor on the sale page, it says that the socket is AM2, not 939. I found an ASUS M2N-mx motherboard for about $120 which added to the processor would cost me $230. Maybe I should start there and start saving up for the RAM. About that, how do I know what type of RAM would fit the motherboard?

 

[Garci]

Thanks a lot for that list Peter! I'll definitely look for that stuff here, but I'm not sure I'll find them, I'll let you know.

 

[Peter.Cort]

just keep asking questions. were here for a reason

 

[Invisible]

doesn't gears of war take a lot of power to run?
i could be wrong

 

[Garci]

I used GoW as an example, and yes, it does take a lot of power. But after seeing this, I couldn't help but fall for it.

Now, my main question is: Should I fork out $200 for a new motherboard and a new processor to replace my current motherboard and processor? (Prices are not those of the page, but the uruguaian ones). Another question is: will this new processor provide 2.1GHz or 4.2GHz? And also, how do I know what type of RAM should I buy? a.k.a., how do I tell what RAM works for my motherboard?

 

[veg1992]

eh... Clock Speeds nothing anymore.. unless when overclocking.. but no it just means there are two separate cores @ 2.1ghz... not 4.2ghz..

 

[Garci]

Sorry vernon, but I really don't understand what you're talking about. I do get the last part, but the rest I don't. However, a dual-core cpu at 2.1 would run faster than a single-core at 2.1, right?