HD 3650 vs HD 9600PRO

Hi,

I would have to say sorry, but it would not be really worth it to upgrade your graphics card. Your bottleneck right now is that P4 2.4Ghz - which was one of the worst processors back in its hayday (beatin' soundly by the Athlon 64). Also 1GB of ram is not very much these days - which would be another bottleneck unless you run your games at really low resolution (1024*768)

It is probably wise to just save your cash for a whole new build.

Actually, the processor's not that bad of a bottleneck. I've seen some P4's I built back in the day (a 2.6) more than double their 3dMark06 scores going from an X1600 Pro AGP card (somewhat faster than a 9600 Pro) to an HD4650. I've never tested an HD3650, but they're far faster than the 9600 and X1600. I hate recommending any AGP card, but you'll see quite a bit of improvement going to an HD3650 if you want to stick with what you have. The HD4650 in AGP form is about the same cost, though you're definitely not going to get much more out of it over a 3650 without a processor upgrade. That said, same cost? Go for the HD4650, then see if your motherboard can support a 2.8 or 3.0/3.06 P4 as they're cheap as heck on eBay - $10, maybe $15?

As far as a PSU upgrade...neither the 3650 nor 4650 require that much power and don't even need a 6pin plug. If they can draw their power from the AGP port alone, you shouldn't need a PSU upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

That's probably your best bet and it's only about $15 more than the 3650 512Mb. If you can't upgrade your processor at all, save the $15 and just buy a 3650 512Mb card.

Go for 9600

Trust me I will need a new psu with only 12amp on the 12V Rail,mm and how do I check if my board is compatible with 2.8 ghz p4? Cause that really is cheap.

2GBram then?

To find out what P4's are compatible with your motherboard, you will need to let us know what kind of motherboard it is. As far as I know most P4 Socket 478's should be compatible - except for -possibly- the 3Ghz P4 with hyper threading (it may work, although hyper threading my be disabled for your motherboard).

As for 2GB - Yes that should be a semidecent upgrade for your system if you do plan on keeping it, just don't expect spectacular results.

I have obtained some power requirements for the HD3650 and it is approximately around ~110 watts and around 9amps. Also your 9600 Pro draws approximately ~25 watts at max - so there is a 75 watt difference between the 3650 and 9600 pro.

Also note that the 3650 doesn't require external power. So what you could do is buy a 450 watt PSU and possibly use that for your next build, or something with slightly higher wattage - 550 watt PSU. This would give you room to build a computer if you do so in the future (also so you don't just "waste" a psu for your current build).

With a 400Mhz bump in processor speed + 2GB total system ram + your 3650 you should probably see around 30% speed increase for games. Possibly more depending on the game.

Its stupid I have another motherboard that can support 4GB of ram but it doesn't have an agp slot..... this one can only support 2GB of ram, or wouldn't it matter anyway? Also I think I might stay with my current settings until I build a new system, Because buying a new CPU, a new PSU, more RAM AND a new video card, will cost me over 150$, and It just doesn't seem worth it in the long run. I am pretty satisfied with my gaming performance as it is, as I only play some mmorpg games (rohan,2moons,soul of the ultimate nation atm,etc..) which require alot less power than lets say call of duty or fear like games.

Oh well hope I helped you anyways. Get a piggy bank, or a safe and start saving your money for a new bulild  

Come back here someday if you need help with a new build - i'm sure anybody will be willing to help you out.

actually...no you won't. 12amp is plenty to run a wimpy littel 3650 and just about what you'd need for a 4650. I've run the 4650 and 4670 with no problems on 250W PSUs with 12amp. You'll be fine. If I'm wrong...well...you can buy a cheapo 350w PSU for $25 with more than enough amperage to handle it.  

U need to upgrade ALOT !