Upgrade'ing PC Advice

[montrej]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to look for advice, so if it isn't just trash this thread.
This is the only forum I'm registered at, hence the thread.


I've got an old pc setup (6 years old), and sometimes even flash games posted at these forums run very choppy, and I would like to ask you guys what to invest in to make my pc decent.

My specs:
Athlon 64 X2 3600+
2 Gb RAM DDR
Connect3d Radeon x1800GTO (256RAM)

Now, the main questions are:
If, for example, I buy a new graphics card, would that help with games/flash games? Or should I also invest in the CPU? Is RAM important?
I've got limited funds, and also I don't really need estimates or examples of components I could buy, just which parts to upgrade.
I would be very grateful for any advice.


Sorry in advance for any mistakes I might have made. Not my native language.

[BlueLight]

It depends. What you should do is open up task manager and keep it open. It will give you a little bar chart in the task bar. Run something that you know will run choppy and see if your running high on the CPU. This mean's you likely need a better CPU or to turn off process that are using up CPU power.
If it's not increasing about 75% i'd say that isn't a problem (Even running at 100% isn't necessarily a problem but most likely i'd say that is the problem.).

Memory, the rule of thumb is, put more in to make your computer faster! I consider this bull but since i've never added a couple GB of ram, i have no personal experience. I think the theory is that if you have 2 sticks of Ram, than you have the storage speed of {ram} *{2} but if you have 4 sticks you have {Ram} * {4} and this is based on sticks of ram you add. However, as said, i've never upgraded ram before so i can't say for sure. I don't consider Ram to necessary make your computer faster like everyone says because of the fact that your computer will only be as fast as your bottleneck. (basically, whatever is slowest will determine your top speed) but everyone i've talked to says it does, and it's the cheapest thing unless you get a good deal on a GPU or CPU.

GPU... the only thing i can tell you is find the driver software for it and see if you can benchmark it or something.


for a 6 year old computer, it's going to be pain to upgrade but i would probably switch that Radeon card out with a nvidia card. Look for something with 512MB at least. You have to make sure of 2 things while buying this stuff. first, that you motherboard can handle the new hardware and second that you have enough power. Ram is the cheapest but i doubt that a 6 year old mother board can't handle anything above 2 GB. You'll have to check your Hardware to be sure.

[Jumbo70]

The thing is that your motherboard on the comp is 6 years old.
So i put a couple of questions here.
What kind of ddr ram memory you are using? ddr, ddr2 or even ddr3?
and what kind of processors can you install on your motherboard?

I belive you have windows xp as operative system wich means that your system can support a maximum of 3,3 gb of ram. The rule with ram goes that the more ram you have, the more shit you can run at the same time.

So in your case the bottleneck in your system is the graph card. I cant really say anything bout your ram because i dont know how fast it is.

If you want my honest opinion, wich you didnt ask for but i share it anyway. Scrap that system and either buy or build a new one. (with building i mean buy different components and combine em to a working system)
with 500€ or perhaps in your case $ you can already make or buy a decent comp. If you know nothing about how to build a comp, then i suggest you buy a comp or if you have a friend who knows his shit around computers, build a comp using him as help.

Built computers are better because you get more for your money, atleast in the Europe it works that way. And you dont get a shit-ton of ready installed programs that ruins your computer before you even manage to install your everyday viruses and malwares on it.

[Duplicity]

I agree with buying a new comp. If you start upgrading, then parts will run faster while putting more strain on the older parts. So you could spend money on parts and then over heat your computer or find that compatible part actually isn't compatible.

I live in Australia and it is generally cheaper to buy a pre-made computer. Plus you generally have a year warrenty and the knowledge everything is nice and new.
But do note I am not a computer person. I know how to use them, kill viruses and clutter up HD's with crap.

[BlueLight]

I belive you have windows xp as operative system wich means that your system can support a maximum of 3,3 gb of ram. The rule with ram goes that the more ram you have, the more shit you can run at the same time.

well not entirely true. The maximum would be 3.3 gb if he was running 32bit which include most XP. So while we are arguing semantics there is a a way to get 64 bit XP which should remove the mim for a very long time to come.

Now that rule of thumb, makes sense to me. What i've been told doesn't.

[Jumbo70]

well not entirely true. The maximum would be 3.3 gb if he was running 32bit which include most XP. So while we are arguing semantics there is a a way to get 64 bit XP which should remove the mim for a very long time to come.

Now that rule of thumb, makes sense to me. What i've been told doesn't.

Ah yes i completly forgot theres a 64 bit version of xp out there too, tough it's not in common use (or was either)
if i remember the limits right, 32 bit supports to 3,3 gb, 64 bit supports to around 62 gb and the windows vista/7 pro versions support even more, I dont know how much windows 8 pro supports.
But a normal person who dabbles with their games photoshops and god knows what usually are fine with 6-8 gb of ram. Tough more and more people start to recommend to aim for 12 gb of ram.

Offtopic: Bluelight i drew a human, youl find it in my art dump

[montrej]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Actually, I'm using Win7 64bit, have been for a while. My ram is DDR (500 mhz ? not sure). And the main problem with the graphics card is, it doesn't support directx 10/11.
Basically what I'm trying to acomplish is to be able to run recent games. I've been able to play many games from 2012 or even 2013 on this setup, but I had to set graphics to, let's say resolution 640/480 with some anti-aliasing and lowest possible details. It looked terrible, but it was working quite smooth in some games and I didn't really complain.
I think this setup will have to do for some time, I guess it's time to scrap this s*it and finally get a new one. I'll do some research once I get some more money and build one.

Again, thanks a lot guys.

[BlueLight]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Actually, I'm using Win7 64bit, have been for a while. My ram is DDR (500 mhz ? not sure). And the main problem with the graphics card is, it doesn't support directx 10/11.
Basically what I'm trying to acomplish is to be able to run recent games. I've been able to play many games from 2012 or even 2013 on this setup, but I had to set graphics to, let's say resolution 640/480 with some anti-aliasing and lowest possible details. It looked terrible, but it was working quite smooth in some games and I didn't really complain.
I think this setup will have to do for some time, I guess it's time to scrap this s*it and finally get a new one. I'll do some research once I get some more money and build one.

Again, thanks a lot guys.

-_- normally games support directx 9 because it's faster at the very least. It's kinda the same thing with graphic card where getting the beefiest thing will in fact lower your FPS but it can do more. It's basically a trade off on power vs speed.

What i suggest is looking on new egg for a graphics are your like, will work for this computer, and your next one; then buy it one it's on sale at a less cringe worthy price. That way, you don't have to buy a graphics card with your next computer.