Budget Upgrading

[Le Sac Magique]

I do not have a l33t rig with which I pwn nubs; I do not include in my signature the specifications of such a rig; but it's finally time, I think, to 'upgrade' my utterly dreadful computer.

E-machines SOMETHING SOMETHING (bought at low price in PC World)

2.9Ghz Pentium 4 processor
1 GB of RAM
An entire 64 MB of integrated VRAM from an ATI XPress 200 series (whoa)
Some other rubbish

Now, I have like ?30 to play with here. I do not want to be able to play four instances of Crisis at full settings; nor do I want TF2 to look like it does now. Whilst every single component listed here is utterly awful, obsolete even when bought, the thing which in particular seems to want to be upgraded is - I would have thought - the graphics card. I've been a'looking and the cheapest ones seem to be around 20-30 pounds - but they're for laptops...

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've also considered getting a bit more RAM.

(NO NEWEGG BECAUSE THE MEANIES DON'T SELL TO THE UK)

 

[Stevontoast]

I do not have a l33t rig with which I pwn nubs; I do not include in my signature the specifications of such a rig; but it's finally time, I think, to 'upgrade' my utterly dreadful computer.

E-machines SOMETHING SOMETHING (bought at low price in PC World)

2.9Ghz Pentium 4 processor
1 GB of RAM
An entire 64 MB of integrated VRAM from an ATI XPress 200 series (whoa)
Some other rubbish

Now, I have like ?30 to play with here. I do not want to be able to play four instances of Crisis at full settings; nor do I want TF2 to look like it does now. Whilst every single component listed here is utterly awful, obsolete even when bought, the thing which in particular seems to want to be upgraded is - I would have thought - the graphics card. I've been a'looking and the cheapest ones seem to be around 20-30 pounds - but they're for laptops...

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've also considered getting a bit more RAM.

(NO NEWEGG BECAUSE THE MEANIES DON'T SELL TO THE UK)

give meh 20p and you can have my old CPU...
Nah my old CPU is worth like ?20 lol 3GHz single
nah but seriously

www.aria.co.uk

Bargin basement that
And you will find a load of decent hardware for quite low prices
The problem I see with your PC though is that it may be socket 775 but the actual motherboard doesn't support dual core so upgrade to a dual core would mean you need a new motherboard
(I had this problem)
If you want to buy a new dual core AND a motherboard I'd be happy to tell you where for cheap prices
eBay is your best friend when it comes to CPU's
I found a pentium D 2.8GHz for ?40
And then a motherboard for ?45
So if you are planning on upgrading get those two...
You'll notice a step up in performance!
If you need anymore links to different british websites lemme know ^_^

 

[Le Sac Magique]

Hmmmm.

I feel very nervous about the idea of changing around motherboards and processors and things which don't have strange CG women on the boxes...

 

[Stevontoast]

Hmmmm.

I feel very nervous about the idea of changing around motherboards and processors and things which don't have strange CG women on the boxes...

If you're a computer noob don't upgrade our motherboard without professional help
I did it on my own because I'm a moron...
But it worked
You either have to have extreme confidence or get help with it ^__^
I love computer hardware and enjoy learning so I do it all on my own...
Learn by doing.

 

[Vader]

The only upgrade I'd suggest is more RAM, only if it's DDR2.
DDR1 or just DDR is really expensive compared to DDR2 and it's worth it.
If you go to buy a video card you would likely need new PSU (power supply), you might as well just save for a new PC like I did. I saved for over a year and I'm rolling on a HD 4770.

 

[Stevontoast]

The only upgrade I'd suggest is more RAM, only if it's DDR2.
DDR1 or just DDR is really expensive compared to DDR2 and it's worth it.
If you go to buy a video card you would likely need new PSU (power supply), you might as well just save for a new PC like I did. I saved for over a year and I'm rolling on a HD 4770.

Where is the fun?
If you can slowly upgrade piece by piece you can build a new PC while keeping the old parts to build new ones...
I agree with the RAM though
2GB min for you!

 

[drbob]

If you slowly upgrade piece by piece your pieces become out of date while waiting for the next ones.

Better to save up and buy it all at once so all your hardware is from the same "era" of computing.

If you built it piece by piece you will almost certainly end up with either a bottleneck or an underperforming part.

I'd say go for a new videocard if you're gonna upgrade anything. 64mb of VRAM is just dreadful.

I got a 4650 for about $50 (like 27 pounds ish right?) and its a great lil' budget card with 512mb VRAM.

(It takes PCI-E x16 to run though, dunno if u have that or not)

 

[Le Sac Magique]

Mm, I was looking at the 4650, it looks like the right kind of thing but I haven't got a clue whether there's PCI slots on this thingy or if the power supply is good enough. :<

Maybe RAM is the easiest thing to upgrade.

 

[Stevontoast]

Mm, I was looking at the 4650, it looks like the right kind of thing but I haven't got a clue whether there's PCI slots on this thingy or if the power supply is good enough. :<

Maybe RAM is the easiest thing to upgrade.

RAM really won't do anything
It just means you have more virtual memory (how much you see on the screen)
Motherboard and CPU upgrade is your best bet...
I have been in your boat, mate
I have Pentium 4 3GHz
I upgraded to 2.8GHz dual it is miles better!
If you're locale to the manchester area (north west) I'll be more than happy to do your PC once you get the parts.

As for the PSU
I'm runing Pentium D on a 250w supply lol
I plan on upgrading to about 650 or 800
But it is not critical that i do so
Long as the temp is below 60oC
I'm happy!

 

[Cut Chem!st]

I can't even believe you can run tf2 on that thing o.o

 

[Le Sac Magique]

Obviously I have the settings all at lowest; I get 10-20 FPS, which is playable. :/

 

[Stevontoast]

Obviously I have the settings all at lowest; I get 10-20 FPS, which is playable. :/

You're not going to be able to upgrade much with ?30
Save up ?100 then I'll help you get the stuff you need ^__^
Till then you need to wait