Upgrading computer

[noxarcana]

There is another person that wants me to help him put together some parts to upgrade his computer and that is why i am using 2 different threads. I have posted this computer before a while ago, but now i got 200$ us to upgrade it. People laughed before and i know they will again but here we go .

Socket A (462) - ECS manufacturer and K7S5A model # ( i did not make the computer so i do not know exact name of it, from cpu-z)
Amd Athlon XP @ 1.24 Ghz
Nvidia Geforce fx 5200
DDR memory (1x256 MB)

I do now know what will help it the most without building a new one. He just wants me to upgrade it with 100-200 us dollars. Any idea on this one? He likes to play game

 

[Trotter]

The motherboard will run up to a 2600+/266FSB CPU. It has an AGP 4x slot. It can only handle up to 1 gig of RAM.

He will probably get the most performance out of more RAM. A couple of sticks of 512 will max him out, but it will also make almost everything run smoother.

1.24GHz? What model is that? My old 2000+ was a 1.6, so he's running a really slow CPU. If you can find a better one, go for it.

With a system that old, you can only do so mush.

 

[noxarcana]

Yea, thanks for the help on both of my posts. Any links to ram that you would have approved of about 10 years ago lol.

About the processor i really dont know, i looked for it on newegg and google but could not find any stores selling one that slow, i highly doubt that it is underclocked so i thought that it was wierd.

 

[Trotter]

G.SKILL Value 2GB (2 x 1GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231039

That'll work. Your motherboard is only rated for PC2100, but it can use PC3200... it will just underclock it to 2100.

You'll probably have to hit eBay to find a CPU. Socket A was discontinued a long time ago.

 

[gmanych]

Well his board can only handle 1gb max. DUH. well go for this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145439

 

[Trotter]

Well his board can only handle 1gb max. DUH.

Ooooh. Color me stupid. I posted that at 3:30 am, so I'll plead insanity.

 

[noxarcana]

Ok thanks for that advice. What would be better..Spend the extra 80-100 dollars on

1) a video card(Not sure what kind it is, pci or whatever)
or
2) cpu(it is socket A though so i do not know how good they get)

 

[noxarcana]

Can anyone tell me which one would have a better effect on a computer? A better processor or a better video card?

 

[Trotter]

That's a toss up.

The comp is pretty old, and the card in it is old as well. A better card would help out some, but then the CPU will be a bottleneck. And it works the other way around.

Go for the graphics. He can always get a CPU on eBay.

 

[noxarcana]

ok, thanks for the advice, i will check out ebay than for one of those two