Thinking of upgrading...no idea where to start!

[Planeswalker]

I've been thinking of upgrading my PC lately, get a bit more power into it, but this would be a first for me. I'm not sure what parts would need upgrading, what's good, compatibility issues, and all that jazz. This computer is old, it was used primarily as a work station at my dad's office until they upgraded and his boss let him take two of the computers.

What I'm looking for are parts that have a great cost/performance ratio. Saving money is the name of the game, but I want to make sure that the parts still have kick to them .

Any suggestions? Here's what I've got right now, taken using EVEREST Home Edition...

CPU Type: AMD Athlon XP, 1666 MHz (12.5 x 133) 2000+
Motherboard Name: Asus A7V600 (6 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 WiFi, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset: VIA VT8377 Apollo KT600
System Memory: 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 6200 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator: nVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP
Audio Adapter: C-Media CMI8738/C3DX Audio Device

I think those are the relevant parts, but I can certainly pull up any others you guys are interested in

Thanks!

 

[ZANtehMAN!]

what the hell is evrest lol

 

[Planeswalker]

what the hell is evrest lol

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Runs diagnostic stuff and gives you pretty complete system information .

 

[InfenXi]

wow get a better Video card and more RAM
Crucial.com
and
nvidia.com

 

[Ryken]

can you open up the box and let us know what the ratings are on your power supply? If it is enough, you might be able to use it.

How much are you looking to spend, and what do you do with the computer? After knowing that, I'll take a look at what is cheap and effective.

Most likely you'll be wanting a new motherboard, processor, ram, and video card.

 

[yellowbadger52]

Well it looks like you got a pretty old pc there. My honest opinion would be to save up your money and buy/build a new one. You will be getting better performance for your money.

The parts you would have to buy to upgrade that pc will cost a little more and wont be as fast of components.
ex: to upgrade your ram i looked at newegg. the cheapest 2 gb set of ram is $59.

The cheapest price for ddr2 ram that fits in newer computers is only like $19.

If i were you i would consider buying a new computer from ibuypower or cyberpower pc if you dont feel comfortable building a new pc on your own. and also reuse your monitor mouse, keyboard, speakers to help cut costs. It will be a much better investment. You can get pretty decent rigs for about 600. It will out perform your computer you have now by a lot.

 

[Wal-Mart Security]

That system is getting old. So to "upgrade" your pretty much going to get a whole new Motherboard, CPU, RAM, and Video Card combo and maybe a new power supply. So basically a whole new computer

If you want the best performance for the money, I'd probably go with a nice high-end AMD or Intel Dual-Core. AMD = Little less performance than some intel dual-cores but at a cheaper price, Intel = More money, but you get some better performance:

Intel: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...50001157 1051707842 1302820275&name=Dual-Core

AMD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...051720996 1302820275 1050923825&name=Brisbane

I'd recommend an ATI Radeon 4850 for the graphics card because that is almost the best car for the money out there as of now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0048 106792627 1067940677&name=Radeon HD 4850

And for memory, I'd keep it strictly DDR2 dual-channel. That stuff is pretty much dirt cheap now with the development of DDR3 memory.

For lulz I'll throw together a couple mock-up computer systems for you:
(Maybe you'll like them)

AMD build:
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186150
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161259
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Total: $496.94

Intel build:
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
CPU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161259
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Total: $659.94

And hell, if you want it even cheaper and don't think youll need 4GBs of ram, here is a Gskill 2GB kit for $30:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098 (But I think I'd go with the 4GBs, its only $10 more)
Or 2GBs of of DDR2-1066 for the intel board for $30 as well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231144

 

[Planeswalker]

Ugh...this was what I was afraid of . It's a tear down...I'll have to save up a bit to pull this off, but I appreciate the help. Gives me some direction when it comes to this sort of thing Thanks!

 

[bigwilly]

I've been thinking of upgrading my PC lately, get a bit more power into it, but this would be a first for me. I'm not sure what parts would need upgrading, what's good, compatibility issues, and all that jazz. This computer is old, it was used primarily as a work station at my dad's office until they upgraded and his boss let him take two of the computers.

What I'm looking for are parts that have a great cost/performance ratio. Saving money is the name of the game, but I want to make sure that the parts still have kick to them .

Any suggestions? Here's what I've got right now, taken using EVEREST Home Edition...

CPU Type: AMD Athlon XP, 1666 MHz (12.5 x 133) 2000+
Motherboard Name: Asus A7V600 (6 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 WiFi, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset: VIA VT8377 Apollo KT600
System Memory: 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 6200 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator: nVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP
Audio Adapter: C-Media CMI8738/C3DX Audio Device

I think those are the relevant parts, but I can certainly pull up any others you guys are interested in

Thanks!

Not much you can do:

CPU: AMD XP 3000+ around $60 from e-bay, probably used
Video: ATI 3650 AGP for $80 or 3850 for $125 new
RAM: 2 GB PC3200 for around $50 new

Around $200 total to limp on another year and I'm not totally sure it's worth it.

 

[Overheal]

AGP is years out of date tbh. I'd recommend saving up to build a new PC.

 

[Ryken]

You can more than likely save the case, hard drive, optical drive, and maybe the PSU. That's some money.