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Want to upgrade desktop. What should I get?

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Hello everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario SR5123WM Desktop PC. My dvdrw drive passed away last week and I think I have a bad stick of RAM so since I gotta buy pc parts anyway I decided to make some upgrades. My problem is I don't know if I really need them. This is my pc specs:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP2
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ 2.10GHZ Brisbane 65nm Technology
RAM: 2.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 301MHz (5-5-5-13)
Motherboard: ECS Nettle2 (Socket M2)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 128MB
Monitor: Compaq WF1907 (1440x900@60Hz) 19" LCD
Hard Drive: 320 GB Western Digital WDC WD32 00AAJS-00L7A SCSI Disk Device (RAID)
Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio

According to Compaq's website I can have 8GB of RAM (DDR2 PC2-4200, 5300 or 6400) and I can upgrade to an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.80GHz processor. Are these upgrades needed? I want to keep this pc for awhile as I'm tried of having to buy a pc every 2-3 months. I have no plans to move to windows 7 (can't stand it), but I will give 8 a try as I don't wanna get stuck on vista like a lot of people are stuck on xp. What upgrades (besides the dvd drive) would you say I need? I don't care about buying a video card right now. I will get a new one when windows 8 is released.

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If you have to spend more than a $100 or 2 on repairing the PC, you may as well get a new one fully. Although the specs on the PC are not totally out of the modern area, if you need to repalce more than a few cheap components, it's not worth replacing out-dated stuff. Especially the video card, not very good for much modern video. Just get a new i3 tower or build one from parts.

Here is a system builder for lower end gaming, will run rings around your system in anything. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc-ph...

Thanks for the advice. The price of the parts were over $200 so I decided to just sell the desktop & get a new laptop. My space is limited so I can't have a lot of crap sitting around taking up space plus I need something I can travel with.

Good idea, just make sure you get a laptop that will do what you want and not just the cheapest one. Especially in the video department. Don't get an intergrated video chip from intel, look for a decent AMD (ATI) Radeon or an nVidia card, read the reviews and benchmarks before you buy.

Can't upgrade laptops easily, and the video not at all.
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