what should I upgrade for max perf...

[xodus212]

hello all.

A year ago I bought my computer and it has served me well. However, I experiece lag problems in some 3d games like battle field 1942. I also want to play the upcoming world of warcraft mmorpg with no undue lag. What Im trying to say is, I want to upgrade my computer for as cheep as possible (since im saving for a car )

here are my specs:

gcard: Nvidia geforce 4 mx 440
mboard: GA-7VAXP
ram: 256 ddr

its a 17 gig AMD athalon

So, I know my comp isn't the best but is there a cheep way to upgrade so it can at least play these modern games. maby just a ram chip?

thankyou very much for any advice.

 

[ThirtySixBelow]

Its definately not as easy as just getting a new ram chip. If you want to see the biggest jump in gamming performance you need a good video card. Your processor is decent, your ram is a little on the low side, and you graphics card is holding you back a lot. I would suggest a middle of the line card such as the ATI 9600 Pro/XT since that is what I have and can play games like UT2k4 with it fine. You might want to invest in another 256 stick of ram also. It depends on how much you are willing to spend. Only getting a little more ram wont really do anything, its not a cheep process. The video card is what will make the biggest improvement in your gamming experience though.

 

[xodus212]

ok

ok, thankyou for the info. I will look into a new video card right away.

 

[xodus212]

$300!!!! girgle girgle

is there a cheeper way?

how about a used video card, like this NVIDIA Geforce4 TI 4200, would that be any good for games, i can get those cheep...

 

[fiezk]

Eaven a Ti-4200 would inprove your performance quite significantly.

You could however obtain a ATi 9600 pro for about 130 bucks. This card is, apart from being faster than the 4200, DirectX 9 compatible. another 256 mb of RAM shouldn't cost much eather. The total would probably be around $200..

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-301&depa=0

 

[xodus212]

yes, but I live in canada, everything is more expencive here


anyway, im gona splurg and get either the one you mentioned or a nvidea 9600.

 

[Ry-box]

Its definately not as easy as just getting a new ram chip. If you want to see the biggest jump in gamming performance you need a good video card. Your processor is decent, your ram is a little on the low side

ThirtySixBelow is totally right on this one, and it won't cost $300 bucks. Buy what you need online. I spent 5 minutes looking and I found it for under $200.


http://www.smksuperstore.com/catalog/memory.asp?ID=290

http://www.buyxtremegear.com/r9600xt256oem.html