Well I'm fairly behind current generation in terms of my PC components but would like to play games such as F.E.A.R., Quake 4, Heroes of Might and Magic V decently. I am not worried about maxing out graphical settings.
 
My Setup:
CPU: P4 - 2.4Ghz
RAM: 2x 512mb RDRAM (means I can't remove it and upgrade?)
PSU: 250W
Video Card: Radeon 7500 64mb - AGP4X
 
I've been considering the Sapphire HD2600XT 512MB AGP for around $110 - but I'm sure I'd need to upgrade my PSU to around 400W according to threads around here. Also I've noticed many educated people here pointing to the "rails" of the PSU being more important that the wattage - if so, what kind of PSU would you recommend?
 
I'm also worried about "bottlenecking". Will it be worth it at all to get this card considering my current setup? I know my CPU and AGP4X slot will be the narrow end of the bottle. I've thought about looking for a new Motherboard with PCI-E but figured such a board wouldn't support my current CPU.
 
Thanks a million,
                 Maximu5

How much are you willing to spend on a PSU? $$$$
 
As long as that P4 is Socket 775, you could use any of the current Intel chipsets, I am pretty sure.  That would allow you to go PCI-E and give you a nice upgrade path to get around the CPU bottleneck.
 
I guess it all comes down to your budget?

Thanks for the reply badgtx1969
 
From using CPU-Z I found that my CPU is socket 478. I'm guessing this is bad news in terms of the upgrade path you mentioned. I don't think it's necessary to shell out more than $60 on a PSU (Canada). My budget is flexible but I'm still careful - I'd like to get the best value for a casual gaming machine. I thought the best method would be to get the HD2600XT 512MB AGP as long as it won't be horribly bottlenecked.

So if I can't get a PCI-E MOBO with socket 478 - would it still be smart to buy the HD2600XT or will it not be worth the ~$110?

since you want to play game, wait up & aim for : pci-e mb, ddr2, 9600gt + e2160, i did mine (tommorow ill be getting e2160, boxed looking for mo) & you'll happy with it.
 
dont be shy to browse / look around for second hand items.

Thanks for the reply spotless,
 
Do you mind if I ask around how much you paid for that upgrade?

I've looked at Motherboards with socket 478 and I have only come across ones with AGP8X. I don't have a big eough budget to buy basically a whole new computer (CPU, MOBO, PSU, Video Card). I would appreciate if someone could tell me if it's worth upgrading to the HD2600XT on my system and/or if socket 478 PCI-e MOBOs are available.
 
Thanks

Hmmm....I just found a socket 478 board from BIOSTAR with a PCI-e slot.
 
http://www.canadacomputers.com/ind [...] cid=MB.575
 
Under "MEMORY" it mentions that it has 2x DIMM2 memory slots, does this mean my 2x 512MB RDRAM is incompatible?

I think you need to re-think this. Why spend good money on old equipment, wait till you can afford to upgrade your cpu, gpu and mobo at the same time?
 
My thoughts....

Thanks for your input mythor20
 
My dilemma is that I could afford to upgrade, but I wouldn't buy top-of-the-line hardware since I have no interest I dishing out money to play games on highest settings. Therefore, I've been trying to look into the future and see if only upgrading the graphics card will sustain me for 1-2 years. Any input would be appreciated.

I checked Canada computers, and came up with this low budget upgrade: Celeron 420 cpu with heatsink $38.99; Asus p5gc-mx board $59.99; Kingmax ddr2 pc6400 1 gig $21.99. This setup will give you some room to upgrade in the future. The newer celeron will outperform your old socket 478 (especially when overclocked); this board will take a 21xx or 64xx cpu if you want more performance later. I wouldn't invest another dime in your old 478 setup. It will be a bottleneck even with a pci-e card.

Thank you o1die,
 
Some concerns though: I've heard that Celerons perform worse than P4 - and the celeron mentioned is 1.6Ghz compared to my current P4 2.4Ghz. I understand what you mean by being able to upgrade (since the celeron is socket 775 as with current core2's etc..) but what is meant by the board being able to "take a 21xx or 64xx cpu"?
 
Thank you

$60 for a below average mobo, a celeron!
 
Maximu5 its never been a better a time to buy pc components, you can get a Dual core 3.0ghz, 2gb ram,550 watt psu, 9600gt for $400
 

 
http://cgi.ebay.ca/EVGA-9600GT-Sup [...] dZViewItem
 
Overclock that cpu to 3.0ghz and you have a serious gaming pc that can handle everything, instead of paying $ for sh"te

I agree with all items except PSU. The CoolerMaster PSUs are cr@p (Tire 5/4 for that model). I would go with at lease a Tire 3 for about $10 more. A better motherboard option would also have been the P35-DS3L motherboard.

ASUS AH2600PRO/HTDP/512M Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121222
Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply Retail $49.99 + free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371006

The new celeron has a shorter pipeline than your old p4, and runs cooler. To overclock, simply bump up the cpu voltage by .1 to about 1.3 and set the cpu fsb to 1066. Most will overclock this easily. With $39 invested, who cares if it dies. It's a good temporary upgrade. It has the same cache as your old p4, and with the fsb set to 1066, will outperform your old cpu. The 21xx series is only about $30 more, and overclocks just as well. For your $30 extra, you get twice the cache and a dual core cpu. I simply suggested the celeron to save money in the short run.

Thank you everyone for your input.
 
I guess the consensus is that it's wiser to upgrade most of my components. I forgot to mention that I just got this PC (believe it or not) and the one I was using before was even worse. I've read up a bit on the forum here but I'm wondering if all motherboards are the same size. I mean, will any desktop MOBO fit in any desktop computer case? I'd also like to know the same about the power supply - are they all generally the same size?
 
All of the help is greatly appreciated

If you have a generic atx case, then any atx board will work fine. Same for the power supply. For the power supply, get one with some weight (literally). The cheaper ones are lightweight, less than 3 lbs.

A cheap C2D setup will run you around $400 or so, so consider this as a budget. Obviously if you have some parts that can carry over (HD/Case/etc) than that will make things a bit cheaper. Here is what I'd get to start out:
CPU - $70 shipped.
Intel Pentium E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail  
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116036
 
Mobo - $97 shipped. Goes on sale for around $90 or so, so keep an eye on it.
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail  
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059
 
RAM - $69 - $40 MIR = $29!!! Cheap and fast DDR2 800mHz RAM!
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail  
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145034
 
GPU - $82 - $15 shipped = $67!! If you keep with the 2600xt.
SAPPHIRE 100208L Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail  
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102700
 
Case/PSU combo - $80 shipped! Has 380w >80% efficient PSU that has 27A on the 12V rails, so you have plenty of room with this build.
Antec NSK4480B Black 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129032
 
Add your HD's/DVD/CD drives and your total would be: ~$397 - $55 MIR's = $342!! Now not too bad for a decent budget build. Obviously you can change any parts, but this would at least get you into a PCI-e Mobo and a much better situation. You could even sell your current PC for some $ and use that $ towards this build.

Thanks for the time you put into that lunyone
 
What is the advantage of getting a $90 MOBO like the one lunyone recommended compared to a cheaper mobo with the same connections - I know durability is one factor and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) certain features of certain CPUs (FSB?) are only compatable with motherboards that support them. I also read about about good overclocking support with the mentioned MOBO.
 
Also, how would I be able to tell if my current 2x 512MB of RDRAM is compatable with the MOBO mentioned by lunyone?
 
Thanks - more suggestions are welcomed - still haven't decided entirely what I'm going to do but am considering the options lunyone provided and using the information from other people here.
 
THANK YOU GUYS&GALS

RDRAM is dead, it was used for a [very] short time with Socket 478 Intel processors.
 
A system upgrade should be in-line for you.
 
My suggestion:
P35 motherboard (DS3L is a good one, among other Asus boards)
E2160/2180 Pentium Dual Core CPU
Antec Earthwatts PSU (good quality and efficiency,