Big problems, need advice

[girl-aflame]

OK so it's definitely time to get a new computer. Here's the deal:

My current computer is a Dell Dimension 2350 with an Intel 4 1.80ghz processor. I have 256MB ram. But the computer is infected with a rootkit that has harbored several trojans. I've been told that the only way to get rid of rootkits is to reinstall windows. I don't know where my original CD is.

I play World of Warcraft and the game is slowly becoming unplayable, which I'm guessing is due to only having 256MB ram and all the spyware on my computer. If I don't change something soon I'm going to have to quit playing. But I don't know if it is worth it to buy a whole new computer. Would it be cheaper to buy a new motherboard or something else? I'm really kind of clueless as to what the best (and cheapest - money is a big concern) course of action would be.

How can I get rid of this spyware and improve my gaming experience?

 

[DILLIGAF]

Try this:

Sophos Anti Rootkit


and these:

Spybot

BitDefender online scan

This post assumes you are pc literate enough to run the mentioned software

EDIT: Your main problem as I perceive it (hardware wise) is a lack of ram. Add more ram

 

[freestyler105]

The minimum system requirement for RAM for that game is 512 MB.

I would recommend adding an additional 512MB of memory so you can surpass the minimum requirement, but you at least need to add 256MB to let it run smoothly.

512MB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820153101

256MB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820136009

 

[mammikoura]

well the best option would be to find the windows cd. If you can't find it, and can't remove the spyware then you could just borrow a friends cd, and use the key that u have. (assuming you have a legal version of win xp) Just reformat the whole hdd and every trace of the spyware will be gone, and the system will also be running quite much faster.

a program to find the product key of your current windows installation:
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

Also getting more ram would help alot with the game, but if it has been running fine before then the biggest problem is the spyware.

 

[girl-aflame]

OK, well another thing people have said is that sometimes they buy ram for the game and it doesn't improve it a lot, but that a video card would do more good. How would I go about upgrading one of these?

 

[D-Lew]

It's a pretty easy upgrade, I think that would do a lot of good. Based on your processor speed I'd say you have either integrated graphics or an AGP port if there's one for a graphics card. If you can check to see if you have integrated graphics, pop open the PC and look for an AGP slot. If there's not one that looks different than all the regular PCI slots than you're probably out of luck. But I had a Dimension with a 2.0GHz pentium and a GeForce4, when I upgraded to a FX5200 I saw a huge difference (even though it's still not that good of a card). A bunch of people here will recommend ATI AGP cards, I'm not too much of an expert on those so just do some shopping or wait for other opinions.

As far as the upgrade itself goes, it's very simple. My first computer work ever, all you do is pull one card out, put the other in, and change your drivers.

For the spyware, I use AVG free edition that comes with a free spyware scanner, you might want to give that a try.