Need help upgrading my computer

Hi. I don't know much about computers. I really need help upgrading my system. I don't have a lot of money... I want to spend $200 (US dollars) total. Maybe $250 if necessary. Here's what kind of computer I have:

AMD Athlon 550MHz Processor
20.4 GB Hard Drive
96MB SyncDRAM memory
4X CD-RW drive
6X DVD-ROM drive
200MHz Front Side Bus
512K level 2 cache
S3 Savage4 8MB video card
Windows 98

Hmm, I think that's everything that needs to be listed.

http://www.pricewatch.com/menus/m33.htm

I don't understand the differences between the kinds of RAM on that page. Let's say, for example, I want to buy 512MB RAM. Here's a list of what I saw that had 512MB RAM:

$107 - PC2100 DDR 512MB
$123 - PC1600 DDR 512MB
$55 - PC150 512MB
$38 - PC133 512MB
$38 - PC100 512MB
$166 - RDRAM 512MB

How am I supposed to decide which one to buy? It's tempting to buy 512 MB RAM for only $38. But am I only screwing myself over by not getting DDRAM or RDRAM? How much RAM should I buy? And what brand?

The next thing I want to get is a GeForce2 video card for around $100 or less.

$92 - GeForce2 TI 64MB
$97 - GeForce2 Pro 64MB
$46 - GeForce2 MX400 64MB
$40 - GeForce2 MX200 64MB
$96 - GeForce2 GTS 64MB

Which one should I get? What's the difference between them?

Finally, is there anything else I should think about upgrading?

Thanks

Why do you want to upgrade your memory when you already have so much? I've read that the MX400 is a pretty decent card for the money and at $46 that sounds reasonable, I think. As stated in the eariler response, www.newegg.com is where I just bought my upgrade components and I was pretty happy with their service. If you do need to buy memory I bought mine through Crucial and received it in 1 day with free shipping. If you are considering going to DDR ram (double data) you'll need to buy a DDR supported mobo. I just bought a Shuttle AK31 ver 3.1 and it seems to work great (only $80 @ newegg). I also got my AMD Duron 950 (200mhz FSB) from newegg for like $46. If you upgrade your chip, make sure you get a heat sink/fan suggested by AMD you can find a list of recommended HSF's at the AMD site. I bought a Volcano II (Thermaltake). Hope this helps some!

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$250? plus whatever you get for the old parts, so I assume the total budget would be around $350!

Well you just have to upgrade the mobo and processor but for best results get more RAM, possibly a better video card and a better power supply.

For a start, the Asus A7A266-E board would be great, that will give you the flexibility to use either SDRAM or DDR-RAM later as your budget permits, dont go for more than 512 MB if you are using Win98, it wont use any more memory. Anyway, look around for other boards, I guess the ECS K7S5A also supports both SDRAM ad DDR-SDRAM, and costs almost half that of the A7A266-E.

As for the processor, an Athlon 1000/133 should be good enough, faster one if the budget permits.

Between GeForce2MX and GeForce TI, get the one that suits the budget after rest of the items are decided.

Maybe if you have some cash left, get a 12X DVD-ROM drive, theres no hurry for a faster burner I assume.

Hope this helps. Merry Christams!

girish

<font color=red>No system is fool-proof. Fools are Ingenious!</font color=red>

What's the difference between the Shuttle AK31 ver 3.1, Asus A7A266-E board, and the ECS K7S5A?

I never watch DVD movies on my computer. And I might be getting a Playstation 2, which plays DVD's. Do I really need to upgrade my DVD-ROM drive? Maybe I should get a 16X CD-RW drive instead? I'm not really sure the difference between 4X and 16X.

You know, I'm pretty disgusted with my PC. I can't play any of the new games coming out because of the insane system requirements. I don't think I'll be happy with my comp if I only spend $250. I need to spend a ton to upgrade this piece of crap.

Here's more detailed information on my computer I got using the Belarc Advisor:

Operating System:
Windows 98 SE

System Model:
IBM 2174590

Processor:
550 megahertz AMD Athlon
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Main Circuit Board:
Board: IBM S30

Drives:
20.41 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
11.11 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-2500 [CD-ROM drive]
SONY CD-RW CRX100E [CD-ROM drive]
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5" )
Maxtor 92040U6 (20.42 GB) [Hard drive] -- drive 0

Memory Modules:
96 Megabytes Installed Memory

Controllers:
Standard Floppy Disk Controller
AMD 756 PCI Bus Master Dual IDE Controller
Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)

Display:
SR9 - 8MB SDRAM [Display adapter]
IBM 6547 [Monitor]

Bus Adapters:
AMD 756 PCI to USB Open Host Controller

Multimedia:
ESS Solo-1 PCI AudioDrive (WDM)

Communications:
Conexant HCF V90 56K Data Fax PCI Modem
AOL Adapter
Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adapter
Realtek RTL8029(AS) PCI Ethernet NIC

Other Devices:
Conexant PCI Modem Enumerator
Standard 101/102-Key keyboard
HID-compliant mouse
Microsoft PS/2 Port Mouse
USB Root Hub

What is the best way to upgrade this specific computer? I don't really want to say how much I'm willing to spend. If I say I have a $10,000 budget, some people will tell me to buy stupid crap like a $1200 monitor, $250 speakers, $100 mouse, or a $300 neon green case just 'cause they think I have a ton of money to blow. While those things are nice, it's really not necessary and, IMO, a waste of money.

I want my computer to be a kick-ass gaming machine! I don't want to upgrade my computer for another 6-12 months after this. I want to spend enough money to have a very good gaming PC for under $1000. (I don't have to spend ALL the money. I just want to spend as little as possible and still have a good PC).

Hello?

Hi there.

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I just realized this forum is for off topic discussion. I should've known by the lack of computer related threads.

Thanks everyone who was kind enough to give me advice.