Help upgrading an older computer

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gumper

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I'm afraid to say I have not worked on computers before but the outfit that built my system over 4 years ago is no longer open. I would like to upgrade this one rather than buy all new right now. It would mainly be used for Photoshop but would like to use for gaming too.

Can I upgrade the nVidia 6600 video card with an nVidia 8800?
Would it run faster upgrading the AMD 3000+1.8 with a 3800+ 2.2 processor?
It currently has a 350 watt power supply and 1Gb of ram. Upgrading to 3 Gb ram.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Here are the board specs I copied from the PDF for the MSI K8N Neo4 Series MS-7125 (v1.X) ATX Mainboard:

CPU
�� Supports Socket-939 for AMD K8 Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 (Socket939) processor
�� Supports up to Athlon64 3500+, 3800+, or higher CPU

Chipset
�� nVIDIA nForce4 Ultra
- HyperTransport link to the AMD Athlon 64/Athlon 64 FX CPU
- HyperTransport supporting speed up to 1GHz (2000MT/s)
- Supports PCI Express x16/x1/x2 interface
- Two independent SATA controllers, for four drives
- Dual Fast ATA-133 IDE controllers
- IEEE802.3 nVIDIA MAC for 1000BASE-T
Main Memory
�� Supports dual channel, eight memory banks DDR 266/333/400, using four 184-
pin DDR DIMMs
�� Supports a maximum memory size up to 4GB
�� Supports 2.5v DDR SDRAM DIMM
(For the updated supporting memory modules, please visit MSI -- MICRO-STAR INT'L CO.,LTD.
program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_trp_list.php.)
Slots
�� One PCI Express x16 slot (supports PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a
compliant)
�� One PCI Express x1 slots (supports PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a
compliant)
�� One PCI Express x4 slots (supports PCI Express x2 device only )
�� Four 32-bit Master PCI Bus slots, includes one orange slot which is reserved as
a communication slot.
�� Support 3.3V/5V PCI bus Interface
 
Socket 939, is all but extincted, the additional 1.2 or so might not make a noticeable difference when your options for that board run as far as the 4000+ and FX 53.

If your looking for gaming performance, I would start with your ram, 3GB is more than enough, I'd settle for 2GB to save money.

If your going to upgrade your graphics card, look into another powersupply, maybe 500 ~ 600w.

Aside from that, your system seems pretty decent for it's time, the only problem is getting the processor for a board that old. Try ebay for your choices in processors.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks for that objecterror.
So my biggest question is about the graphics card then. I can replace the PCI E 1.0 card (Nvidia 6600) with a PCI E 2.0 (Nvidia 8800) card as long as I up the power supply?
 
yup you could but the 8800 will only run at pcie 1 speeds.

Hmmm, so I gather I would be saving money to just go with highest rated pci e 1 instead? What would that be? I assume something in the 7 series cards would run as fast as the 8800 on my board?
 
Well, I used the 7600GT with my last AMD 4000+ build. It depends on the settings you want via the game. Games like UT2004, COD4,Battlefield 2021, Guild Wars,FFXI,CNC 3 Kanes Wrath and all of steams products ran beautifully at 1280 x 1024 max to medium settings.

Don't short yourself on just any card, what exactly do you want to play? That's probably the biggest factor, that helps you narrow down your search and find the best recommendation for genre's or those types of games.
 
what exactly do you want to play?
Well nothing really new but I do like BF 2142. (of course my Qwest DSL connection will do me in before the card does). I am also finding that the AMD4000+ is about impossible to find. I may have to settle for the 3800+ instead, more of them still available.
 
Hey thanks for that. Its at least half the price (+ rebate) of the other ones I was considering. Thats always a plus. ;)
 
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