What would help me the most?

[D4ng3r]

Hello, i have a older computer, with a 1.5ghz p4, 512 megs of ram, (its not ddr2 or whatever O_O) and no video card. trying to install things like halo, it says there is no 3d acceleration, my mobo doesnt support it.. i have been cutting a guys lawn this summer, and i have made (after spending on other things) $160. i want to use most of it to upgrade this system. i want to get the very best bang for the buck, etc...

ill let you guys ultimately decide what i will get, you smarty-pantses ^_^ but i do want to bring up some things..

I live in Canada,
I am a gamer, and

i was looking at the amd athlon 3000+.. its $100 *drools* is that a good choice?

I dont need cutting edge.

thanks for all the help, im just trying to stretch this cash as far as it can go ^_^

Cheers!

 

[nikolokolus]

$160 for a budget means your VERY limited in what you can do. I'm guessing you have an AGP slot for the video card . . . unless you have a Dell or some other boxed PC (eg. Gateway, Compaq, HP, etc.), in which case you might not.

So if you have anyway of finding out the following, we can try to see if we can't streeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttcccccccccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that $160

Motherboard brand and model
CPU socket type (478, etc.)
RAM type (DDR, Rambus, or PC133)

At best I'm thinking you might be able to add a stick of 512 MB of ram for around $50, and add a semi-decent vid card for around $100

 

[dougie_boy]

At best I'm thinking you might be able to add a stick of 512 MB of ram for around $50, and add a semi-decent vid card for around $100

sounds likea plan.

i expect u could pick up the ram for cheaper than that. what board u using??

 

[rwaritsdario]

Download the lastest version of CPU-Z (at the right upper corner), itll tell us all we need to know to help you out.
"Motherboard brand and model
CPU socket type (478, etc.) CPU model
RAM type (DDR, Rambus, or PC133) "
as nikolokolus said.

 

[phreejak]

Is this a name brand computer or an old custom build?

 

[D4ng3r]

hello, i will use that program to find out what mobo etc i am using right now, but while im at it, let me explain a little more.
I guess I wasnt really clear about this, but this is an upgrade that I am going to do for now, i will be replacing MORE things in the coming months to totally upgrade the system.

also, i failed to mention that I got a new hard drive, power supply, and a dvd burner for my birthday.

also, would the onboard video (on a new mobo) run halo at medium settings? (or could i get another 512 of ram? lol questions questions questions...)

I guess what i am asking is what would be the best upgrade that i could do right now with 160ish bucks. ill post the CPU-Z results after i do them. ( *my* computer doesnt have net access, i have to burn a cd and transfer CPU-Z etc etc.. it will take a little bit.)

Thanks for the replies.

 

[rwaritsdario]

Just try to find out everything you cant about your system, also depending on your comp a simple cable could solve the internet problem if you have it in another computer in the house.

 

[440bx]

Since you have not posted your system specs yet, I'm going to make a few assumptions about your system that are reasonable considering that it is a P4 @ 1.5Ghz. Presuming the following,

1. Your motherboard is a socket 478
2. You have an AGP slot

Given those assumptions and $160 CAN, I would probably go this route:

1. Purchase a socket 478, P4 @ 2.4ghz. Those are selling for $65 US, I don't know how much they cost in Canada but it should not be much more.

This CPU will give your system a noticeable performance boost. About 40 percent more CPU power.

2. Purchase a Radeon X1300 AGP. That should improve your gaming experience considerably. That card sells for $75 US. You may want to consider the Geforce 6600 as well. For pros and cons of both cards refer to this article http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Short-List-Gaming-Video-money-ftopict169937.html

That's a total of US $140 which is in the vicinity of $160 CAN.

That will upgade your machine to a decent level. I think it will be difficult to come up with something better performing than that without increasing the money you can spend.

HTH.

 

[nikolokolus]

hello, i will use that program to find out what mobo etc i am using right now, but while im at it, let me explain a little more.
I guess I wasnt really clear about this, but this is an upgrade that I am going to do for now, i will be replacing MORE things in the coming months to totally upgrade the system.


also, i failed to mention that I got a new hard drive, power supply, and a dvd burner for my birthday.

Ah, this makes the situation much different. In this case I would just save up my money until I had enough for a new Mobo, CPU, RAM, and video card all at once . . . for canadian etailers I've heard from other that anitec.ca has pretty good prices. I'm guessing you should set aside about $400 to $500 (or more if possible) and get yourself all the components at once

also, would the onboard video (on a new mobo) run halo at medium settings? (or could i get another 512 of ram? lol questions questions questions...)

If you spring for a new mobo you should also spring for a video card. Onboard video is pretty crappy for running games; you might be able to get away with nvidia's 6100 onboard video chipsets at 800X600 resolution but not much better.

I guess what i am asking is what would be the best upgrade that i could do right now with 160ish bucks. ill post the CPU-Z results after i do them. ( *my* computer doesnt have net access, i have to burn a cd and transfer CPU-Z etc etc.. it will take a little bit.)

If you are planning to add stuff in a couple of months anyway, just put that $160 in a place you won't be tempted to pull it out of . . . like a tarantula cage or something , save up another $240 or more then come back here for some recommendations for a decent mobo, CPU, RAM and video card; prices and recommendations change every month (every week sometimes).