How to increase PC performance? What to buy?

[Nojester]

Made the jump from console gaming to PC.

Problem is I installed WoW, running *everything* on low settings and still only getting about 7-15fps. I'm not much of a techie but I know that's horrible. I'm thinking about upgrades but I don't want to blow lots of money if I don't have.

Below I'll post my specs that I found. If more info is needed I'll be happy to supply more. Ideally I want to run WoW smoothly on high graphics.

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ 2.31Ghz
Installed memory (RAM): 2.00GB (1.75GB usable)
System type: 32-bit OS

In terms of budget I hope not to blow more than $400 but willing to go higher if it makes sense too.

Cheers

 

[sosofm]

What brand and type of motherboard you have ?
Because if you can upgrade the CPU , memory and a good video card you will rock. What power supply do you have , the power.

 

[Toxxyc]

You are obviously using onboard graphics (thus only 1.75GB of RAM is usable, the rest is thrown to dedicated video memory), which is pretty bad for gaming.

If you've just purchased this PC, you've bought yourself into old technology and whoever told you to purchase it didn't know much about what makes a gaming PC tick. I would recommend a decent GPU at least (something like a GTX550Ti) and another identical 2GB RAM chip. I would then OC the CPU a little if you have an aftermarket cooler to see if you gain some overall system speed.

You first need to ask yourself what you want to do with the PC before talking numbers. For example, if you're thinking of gaming nicely you'll need a new motherboard to support faster RAM and a better CPU. A new GPU will mean a new PSU if you don't have a decent one at current, and that can all cost you quite a lot. Thus determining what you want to use the computer for is your first step.

 

[jay2tall]

My personal opinion is you need a replacement system for PC gaming. Your CPU was good in it's day, but as mentioned above you most likely, if not most certainly, have onboard graphics. This won't cut it for PC gaming. My suggestion would be not to put any money into your current rig. $400 won't get you a gamer, but there are alot of deals out there around the holidays to be had.