I need an advice, please :)

[Eliyah]

b"h bs"d br"h
Greetings,
I am new to this forum and I don't understand much about hardware, I am also interested in upgrading my personal computer, but I have a doubt..
first, I used to play online games a while ago, nowdays I can't find interesting games to play with
I should say I am not willing to invest more than the ammount I had thought of , I presume, about 400$ more or even less
anyway,
here are my computer specifitions:

Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz
Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-IPE1000
Graphic adapter: ATi Radeon 9600xt 256Mb
512mb of memory, DDR400 ( should I upgrade to more? since the memory I am using is DDR 400, not DDR 2 or 3 or any other kind of memory, therefore should I replace my motherboard? since the existing one does not support the DDR 2 or 3 )
the external hardware doesn't really matter much, I would like to replace the content of my pc so it would work better ( and perhaps even find interesting games to play with a better pc )

I've heard of DDR2, and DDR3, it doesn't say much to me, but I'm sure there wont be a problem with learning
I was also told DDR 2\3 would not be compatible to my pc, since my pc is pretty old.
what components should I upgrade?
( usually I use my computer two hours a day more or less, checking mail, and news reports, basic stuff.. but I used to spend alot of time on the computer to play online games ( a side note, this could really really damage mental health, beware of spending too much time playing these games )
and I can't find any interesting games to play, I am not familiar with new games, I used to play Half-life online, half-life 2 also, and some hl modifications, and call of duty, ( I also had in mind I should play world of warcraft, but there's a monthly fee.. ) anyhow, it really bothers me, it seems all the games are limited, in one way or another, some have a very small variety of weapon choice, or you have a certain way, or levels you should be progressing with, and the map, or view, or land are limited, there was a game called "PlanetSide" , I was really impressed by it, and you'd probably know why if you know this game.
I'd welcome any offer

on a different matter,
recently I am having trouble with my pc, and constantly there are noises coming from one of the fans, it's so strong it keeps me awake, what can I do to stop this noise?

that's it, thanks for any help, any help would be appreciated.

 

[evongugg]

Replace that bad fan. Put your finger on top of it and see if the noise stops. You can try disconnecting same case fans momentarily to see if the noise stops.

 

[o1die]

I use a product called "Perfect Duster" from Fry's electronics. It cleans and removes dust from fans, leaving no chemical residue. Use it once a year and your fans will last longer. As far as your current pc, I would start over and use it as a spare. You'll have to replace everything. TigerDirect had an am2 barebones special for $99 after $40 rebate that came with a case, am2 board, 3500 am2 cpu, and 1 gig of pc5300 ddr2. Not a bad deal for an occassional gamer. If you want to see more deals, I would sign up for email specials at Tigerdirect and newegg.com.

 

[mford66215]

Make me the third on the list to tell you to clean/replace that bad fan.

Tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, surplus.dell.com - there's plenty of places out there where you can get a decent rig for gaming; as long as your definition of gaming doesn't include any of the newest graphics hungry titles that most of the forum posters here like. *cough*Crysis*cough*

I picked up a barebones from tiger recently for under $400 Pentium (D805,biostar,2G,nvidia256,200g) that would be more than suitable for your needs.

I OC'd it to 3.3Ghz on air without even getting good ram for it - you should be able to just fine with a similiar machine.

Before you begin flaming because I mention the dell dude - I only put that in because some people like to have a warranty come with