Upgrading my system

[FuRgy]

Hey these are my current specs-


AMD Athlon 800 MHZ Proccessor
320MB SDRAM
CD R/RW
DVD ROM (upgrading to dvd r/rw anyways)
3dfx voodoo 3 video card
sound blaster live!



The mare the main things anyways, I think it's a bit rubbish, I am looking to upgrade them....What do u guys think i need to upgrade?

I use my machine mainly for browsing the internet and stuff, But i use it a lot for gaming also.....Most of my games run very slowly on my system, and some dont even work.....cos my 3dfx voodoo 3 display adpater isn;'t "directX 9.0 compatible.....

 

[quartz01]

how much are you willing to spend.

how much ram can your mobo hold??? you are going to want to max out you ram, it helps a lot.

i have a slightly better computer and i couldn't run too many games untill i got a radeon 9200. you may want to check that out. If you want something cheaper, then get a radeon 9000 or 8500.

also, i think that if you have a socket A processor then a athlon 800 mhz and a athlon 1.2 ghz have the same FBS. I don't think that will make that big of a difference but it helps if you are will to spend money.

of course, if you buying everything that i said, i think you will be putting more money into your computer then its worth..

 

[Giancarlo]

Get DDR-RAM. Don't get more SD-RAM. DDR-RAM makes the world of a difference. Get at least 512MB of PC3200 DDR-RAM. I would recommend maybe 768MB if you are into games like Far Cry. I am getting another 256MB because of some stuttering issues.

For cost effectiveness, you are going to want to change that processor to a cost effective Barton 2500+ that's very overclockable.

For performance, you might want to go with the AMD Athlon 64 3000+

For the motherboard, for cost effectiveness you want to get the Asus A7N8X (for Barton).

For the motherboard, for performance you want to get the Asus K8N-E Deluxe (AMD 64).. the K8N-E deluxe is based on the NForce 3 chipset and is better then the K8T800. This board is a tad bit more expensive then others but is very effective.

As far as the video card goes, the cost effective but performance packed solution is the Gainward FX Powerpack FX5700. It sells for $99: Here

The FX5900 XT for $193: http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/pro...pid=8316&sid=2JGH52TUCR008JE1BJHKHM9UDVLKART6

There is also the Fx 6800, but it is far more expensive. I did hear about a cost effective Fx 6600 that is a scaled back model but am not sure where it sells.

Edit: Furgy, consider this my apology for being mean to you earlier.

 

[IAntDemo]

lol ok then bit strange from what i read

 

[Giancarlo]

Huh? What is strange about my post? It is pretty straight forward.

 

[ownage]

the 6600 AGP version is coming out late november. If you could wait a little bit, you could get a lot for your money.

 

[Giancarlo]

Yeah I would recommend that, strongly. The FX6800 just isn't worth the money right now.

 

[IAntDemo]

no point upgrading u need new parts 4 the whole god dam machine from wht i read apart from motherbored, build a new pc, not u GIAN, oner bout the 1st post

 

[Giancarlo]

Cobra, I basically recommended a complete rebuilding. All new parts. That Voodoo3 is really, really old now..

 

[FuRgy]

Thanks for your help Giancarlo.
Yeah that voodoo3 is very old I know, and that is why most of my games run slow...
I only want to spend as less as I can, But I still want to have a good gaming PC at the end......I don't really want to rebuild my whole system if I don't have to.....

I think I definitly will have to change my display adapter, to a better 1.....I want to make sure it is compatible with my mobo ( Asus A7V )

Also I would like more RAM, And if I can a very cheap, but better, proccessor

Thanks againj for the help Giancarlo