Ram

[Krause]

So, I'm thinking about upgrading from 1GB of RAM to 3GB.
I have a Nvidia 9400 GT (1GB), and a 2.8 single core processor...
My framerate should get better on games that I can't run very well right?
Like on tf2, my computer hates it when there's more then 3 other players...
And most games that I lose fps on is the view distance. I cant run COD:4 because when I look at the majority of the map my fps drops from like 50 to 10.
More RAM should fix that right? C:

 

[shadows5631]

To put it short, no, more ram won't help with FPS.

It will help the speed at launching and closing applications. And basically overall performance with your system, but with that GPU it won't do much in games.

The GPU is a pretty decent low end card, but if you upgraded to a 9500gt, GT220, you would notice a HUGE difference. Also, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're running a Pentium 4 or a Celeron?

Both of those CPU's are drastically being outdated, so there lies another answer to why the FPS is low.

 

[shadows5631]

Did a little bit of research, and it would be around the same price to buy a new video card as it would be to buy 2GB's of ram.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5366250&CatId=3669

^ That's a great card for the price and uses almost no power, you could expect your FPS to double. Also, MSI is a great company to work with if you have problems.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4902100&CatId=3670

^ This one costs a little bit more but you could have x4, x5 the performance.
That card is a underclocked 9800gt (which those cards run just about everything very well) so if you have a stock PSU, it shouldn't be a problem. Sparkle makes great affordable cards.

 

[Passerby]

ram wont help you for your fps even vram your problem is that the 9400 has a pretty slow gpu with a 9800 or better you will see a huge improvement it should allow you to run tf2 maxed out with anti-aliasing full and still get 80fps ish but good chance that your cpu would bottle neck a new video card the cpu wont be able to tell the video card to do things fast enough so the card wont be used to it's best.

but more ram will make the operating system feel snappier application will open and close way faster and you will be able to run a ton of programs at once with very little slowdown

 

[Passerby]

ya msi is pretty good to work with i dont have in graphics cards from them but my last 2 computers i built have msi motherboards.

 

[JunK]

2.8 ghz single core too...yikes.
even if you get that 9800 your CPU will bottleneck the performance pretty good. meaning that video card will not run to its full potential because of how old and bad your cpu is. i would honestly put up with it for now and ask for nothing but money for the holidays, and buy/make yourself a new computer early into the new year.
sure you can get that 9800 card, but it'll run just as well as a 9500 or something because your CPU will hold it back. i just have a 8600 OC and when i swapped from an athlon 64 x2 4400 2.2 ghz to a phenom II x2 550 3.1ghz, CSS jumped from 50 frames to 250.
i could tell the cpu was holding it back because when i changed my resolution it did not have an effect on my FPS. so 800x600 ran just as good as 1680x1050.

 

[Krause]

Thanks for the input guys. I see what you mean, and I would've gotten a 9600 GT or a 9800 GT but sadly, im still only a regular PCI.

 

[Krause]

And with the card I have now, 800x600 res and 1280 x 1024 res barely make a difference in FPS for CS:S.

 

[reflex99]

REGULAR PCI!???!@#!@#!@#!@#?!!!!!@##%^$%^%
wow that is old you should just save up something like $500 and build a new rig

 

[Krause]

Yeah I want to, but I still need a job, let alone a car...

 

[shadows5631]

90% chance you have AGP.

They make good cards for AGP, well used to.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3855381&CatId=318

^ Competes with the 9600gt

 

[Krause]

I have PCI though...?

 

[Krause]

Is it possible to just get a new mobo and replace the one in my rig with it?

And if so, which should I get?

And can PCI express run regular PCI?

 

[shadows5631]

Depends...If you have DDR 1 or 2.


And I know you have PCI, above it should be a brown slot that looks similar to a PCI-E slot.


http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3290828&CatId=182

There's one that supports DDR2 and PCI-E

 

[reflex99]

exactly what processor do you have?

 

[Dmanbiker]

So does you motherboard used AGP? I would say a new system is a good idea, but if that is not an option, there are a few nice AGP cards still in existence, if your system can handle them.

A friend of mine could run Oblivion on Medium settings with a 1.8GHz Single-Core Processor, after an AGP Graphics card update, and a RAM increase.

Not the most glamorous thing, but TF2, and other source engine games are uber-demanding when you run them on medium settings, and you may be able to get a nice AGP card off Ebay, or somewhere else, as the Newegg AGP cards are dramatically rising in price, as AGP is phased out. Quality is also dropping I think.

The main issue I usually see with powerful AGP cards, is that they tend to be major power hogs, and more expensive then they ought to be.

I'm not one to recommend a card, since I suck at bargain searching; I'm just sayin'.

 

[shadows5631]

exactly what processor do you have?

That would help alot. Unless you have a school or business computer, you should have AGP.

And the 3850 I recommended only uses up to 90 watts. That's less than a 9600gt.

 

[Krause]

But I have pci?... Can you run AGP on pci?...
And I have a Pentium 4.

 

[JunK]

no you cannot run agp in pci. you would need to know exactly what cpu you have because it has a "socket" which allows it to fit into your motherboard. so you can get a new motherboard in order to run pci-e which would be vastly better for gaming, but the cpu probably wouldn't be the correct "socket" for your motherboard, meaning you'd need a new one. also the ram might be different as well, meaning that needs upgrading too.
pretty much you need all of your components to work together, and it all starts with the mobo.

seriously do not worry about upgrading what you currently have. just look to saving up as much money as you possibly can (including holiday season) and you can get a good rig that is great for a lot of games like CSS for maybe 400 bucks, especially if you can keep your old case/HDD/monitor/keyboard/mouse.

what i would suggest would be something like this (assuming your case is not fullsize and is a micro ATX case):
CPU
MOBO
RAM
PSU
VGA

total comes to 417.95 with a 10 dollar MIR with only the mobo and ram having shipping costs. add tax onto it and there ya go. upped the graphics to gtx because you could afford it in the 400-500 budget, especially if you wanted to go cheaper for a PSU (but i favour corsair). You can also go a bit more expensive on the mobo if needed or wanted, but that would get you where you need to be.

 

[Krause]

Wow, thanks man. I'll look into it! C: