What do i need to upgrade this pc?

[Jager_bombs]

Hey everyone, I have a computer here that is, i'm sure out of date on alot of components and I would like to upgrade it so that i can play games on it. I would like to be able to spend as least as possable but, I would also like to know if something is worth spending a few bucks more on. Here is what the computer has installed:

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+ 2.00GHz
Ram: 512MB
System: windows 7 64bit
Display adapters(i'm assuming the graphics card): ATI Radeon Xpress 200 series
80gb hard drive and a 160gb that i believe is either bad or going to go bad soon(when i went to install windows 7 onto it, there was an error saying something about it might fail or something like that)

Sorry if I didn't provide enough information about anything, I am not all that familiar with computers and their hardware.

 

[gamingboy]

You need to upgrade the whole thing. What would your budget be?

 

[Jager_bombs]

Yeah, i kinda figured that I had to revamp the whole pc but, i had to be sure if anything in it was ok for the moment atleast. As for my budget, Its probably in the $200-$500 range. I presently don't have much extra cash to invest so, I will probably be buying a piece at a time. So, if you could, in addition to listing the parts, give me some advice on what order i should purchase and install them, it'd be helpful! Thank you!

 

[Jager_bombs]

Also, a quick update on the 160gb hd, the computer keeps sending an error message saying somethings wrong with it, so, i'm just going to dispose of it.

 

[nekulturny]

My advice would be to wait until you have a good budget to lay down a new system all in one shot rather than buy piece by piece. Ideally, you'll want at least 700 set aside for a respectable gaming system. 600 can be workable, but 700 is a better sweet spot.

At your present budget range, 200-500, that could easily be eaten up just by a powerful graphics card.

 

[nekulturny]

What kind of games are you looking to play, and what parts do you have or think you have that can be reused in the new build? IE, case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc?

 

[Jager_bombs]

I have all the accessories, monitor, keyboard, mouse and I have a wireless card, all from that computer. Presently I'll just be using my tv for a monitor. I understand that it's Ideal to wait till I have a bigger budget and to wait till i can purchase all the parts but, would it be at all harmful to upgrade it piece by piece? The game that I'm presently wanting to play is Diablo 3 but, there are other games out there that I'd like to play as well, such as guildwars 2, and maybe some mmofps games. So, a variety of games.