I need an upgrade

[wootwoot]

K, so here are my current specs:
Windows XP SP2
AMD Athlon XP 3000+
447 RAM (weird )
VIA/S3G UniChromeP

Yea...it's about 3 generations out of date. I'm REALLY not looking to build my own comp; don't have the time =/. I live in Vancouver, BC. My budget's about $500-750. Any good stores I can go to? Btw, as you can probably tell, I WANT A GOOD VID CARD =D. Tired of f***ing 64 mbs...
Also, I have a question about processors:
I've been doing a bit of shopping myself and I was wondering it was worth it to get Core Duo over Pentium Dual Core. Is there much of a difference?

 

[Maddjaxx]

Looked at the Dell's?

 

[saltynay]

Looked at the Dell's?

shun the non-believer beat him with marshmellows until his eyeballs bleed!!!

The effective real world speed of the pentium dual cores come nowhere near matching the same theoretical speed Core 2 duo. You haven't actually told us what this computer will be used for? Kinda hard to reccomend without knowing the usage. It takes 30 mins to build a pc if you have never done it before we are going to save you tons of time by you not having to research components into indepth detail and a computer that you build will be more reliable. As you really don't want to build it may be worth going on craigslist and finding your local teen who's offering a computer building service as they aren't official companies they are cheap

 

[wootwoot]

Like most of the people here, this comp will be a gaming PC. Partially. I like my movies as well. My games aren't too needy (Gunz, WC3, CS:S).
Yea..

 

[saltynay]

CPU: E8400
Mobo: P45 made by either; gigabyte, asus or evga
Ram: 2gb on xp or 4gb (g-skill pi blacks) on vista 64bit
psu: 500w antec any model that fits the deal <-- your current one may be reusable
gfx: ati 4830 or 4850 (whichever brand is cheapest or comes with the nicest deal i.e. game)
hsf: Core contact freezer
case: reuse or make a selection and i will tell you if its any good

 

[wootwoot]

Salty how's this case? NCIX.com - Buy Xion XION2-BK Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT 2X120MM Fans 450W W/ LED Fans & Window - XION2-BK/GN In Canada.

 

[saltynay]

I think its ugly as anything but the cooling is quite good your the one who has to live with it

 

[wootwoot]

The fan is the main reason I chose it. Can you recommend any other ones with decent built-in power supplies?

 

[Nagasama]

for 500-750 you can include a good PSU in your build.