Quick Question about computer hardware

[Maelstrom116]

Alright, my comp is about 3 years old since its been upgraded. I have:
NVIDIA Gforce 4
AMD Athlon Processor 1.2 GHz
Motherboard with only 300 Front Bus
and thats about it. Now what would you upgrade first because I have a limited amount of money right now and I only want to purchase somthing that will last me awhile(3 years min.) and that isn't heavy on the price.
Give me some suggestions because my comp supports Half Life 2 etc. but I want it to be ready when other games are released.

 

[blanked]

upgrade your CPU + mobo then add rams and then get a kickass gpu

 

[DrDevin]

Everything needs to go! I know how it is to only upgrade certain components since i dont have a lot of money for upgrades either. However the first thing to upgrade is your CPU and motherboard. You need to upgrade both because a new CPUwould probably need a new motherboard. I would pick an athlon 64. Find the one you can afford (a 3000+ or higher is reccomended as it will last many years). The athlon 64 also supports 64 bit computing so you can just upgrade to windows XP 64 bit edition for extra performance with minimal cost. Also find a motherboard that works with your new CPU and has everything you want (like USB and such). On pricewatch i found an athlon 64 for $140 so it isnt too bad in price. Hope that helps!

 

[blanked]

or, if you're short on cash, get an AMD Sempron which has basicly the same architecture as an a64 and uses the same mobo so you can upgrade later if you want.. as for mobo's since your budjet is alittle tight, stay away from those sli ones.. get an asus a8v or msi k8n neo2 plat or just check around and see what board fits your pricerange

 

[michaelsil1]

Alright, my comp is about 3 years old since its been upgraded. I have:
NVIDIA Gforce 4
AMD Athlon Processor 1.2 GHz
Motherboard with only 300 Front Bus
and thats about it. Now what would you upgrade first because I have a limited amount of money right now and I only want to purchase somthing that will last me awhile(3 years min.) and that isn't heavy on the price.
Give me some suggestions because my comp supports Half Life 2 etc. but I want it to be ready when other games are released.

What kind of money are you looking to spend? That would help in making a suggestion.

 

[NetWarriorDan]

Check out newegg.com
They have good prices.
The MSI k8n neo is a good mother board. I think the k8n neo2 is almost the same thing but it only takes very expensive CPUs. You should go with a 64 bit CPU.

 

[blanked]

some people have had issues with the k8n neo2.. so if you're not really into bios tweaking or overclocking and such maybe best to steer clear unless you're real lucky and yr board works 100%

 

[tearinox]

Go get a 6600GT, for $200, thats the best 'bang for you buck'
Then of course a new mobo, I'd get one with at least pci-express so its upgradable for a while, and socket939 for amd64bit

 

[Maelstrom116]

my budget for video card, processor, mother board would be about 700 at most. I don't have that much at the moment and won't for awhile since I'm buying a CD player for my car (didn't come with one)

 

[Solver]

700 USD? Look around stores, you should be able to get a new decent PC for that money. Not a newest-coolest-most-uber-PC, but a machine with around 2 GHz, 512 RAM and a decent video card should be possible.

Otherwise, if you buy only a new CPU, your old motherboard may not support its full clock speed, for instance. Another tip is look for opportunities to sell your current comp, that should give you some extra money so you can buy a new one more comfortably.

 

[kupocake]

Alright, my comp is about 3 years old since its been upgraded. I have:
NVIDIA Gforce 4
AMD Athlon Processor 1.2 GHz
Motherboard with only 300 Front Bus
and thats about it. Now what would you upgrade first because I have a limited amount of money right now and I only want to purchase somthing that will last me awhile(3 years min.) and that isn't heavy on the price.
Give me some suggestions because my comp supports Half Life 2 etc. but I want it to be ready when other games are released.

Just a warning from experience: I upgraded from a similar machine to this current one, and I had to change my computer case because the other one was simply too stuffy for my new components to run in. Just factor in a $150 or so cost for a new case, unless you already have something special. It sucks to spend so much on new components, only to find that if you ever want to use them, you're going to have to pay even more.

 

[michaelsil1]

my budget for video card, processor, mother board would be about 700 at most. I don't have that much at the moment and won't for awhile since I'm buying a CD player for my car (didn't come with one)

ASUS K8N Motherboard $86.00
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA20651

AMD 754 3200 64bit Processor $190.00
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA03123

ATI X800 PRO Video Card 8X AGP $394.74
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=3491059

Here's a $700 Machine

 

[isis]

yes michaelsil, perfect, then just add $$$ for ram, new case, new psu, new HDD (sata)

 

[Grumpy]

Well, a new PSU will be a good choice I think, if you have a cheap PSU all you will get is grief. Now looking for a PCI-E MB will add to your price, and going Dual Channel also.

For a good cheap Socket 754 A64 MB I would suggest this model : Albatron "K8Ultra-U Pro" ULi M1689 US$66 oe for Socket 939 A64 this one: GIGABYTE "GA-K8NS Ultra-939 US $115.

My vote is for.

Albatron MB $66
A64 3400 $127
OCZ EL 512MB PC-3200 Platinum $108
XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT $225
Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA $111
Enermax PSU 470W $82

Total $719

A case & PSU may be a better choice, and you could keep your current HD for now