Upgrading my Gaming PC...

[joker_king16]

Here are my specs. What is/are the most critical component(s) to be upgraded to maximize gaming performance?

Processor: Intel DualCore @ 2.40 Ghz
Video Card: GeForce 8600GTS
Hard Drive: Western Digital 200GB, 7200 RPM
Sound card: None

If you need anything else, feel free to ask.

 

[foothead]

I'm gonna say graphics on this one.
What CPU is it though?
There are a lot of intel dual cores out there.
Do you have a set amount of money you want to spend?

 

[cavemangrinder]

What types of games are you running or plan on running? Also, how much ram you using in your system right now?

 

[joker_king16]

2.40 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded

2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Crysis, Left4Dead, TF2, Starcraft2 (eventually),

 

[foothead]

Yeah, I say graphics again.
RAM upgrade maybe.
Budget?
What mobo do you have, what are you trying to acheive in which games, and what is your resolution?

EDIT: O yeah, what is the RAM frequency and your OS?
Is this a pre-built rig or a custom PC?

 

[ndatoxicity]

a graphics card upgrade is always the first thing to look at...

cpu could use a little bit of a bump to like 2.8, or adding memory...but i would say go for a new graphics card for now

 

[foothead]

Yes, The CPU could use a bit of a boost.
Are you comfortable with overclocking?
Or is it a pre-built?

As far as the graphics, a 4870 should do very well, but if it costs too much for you, get a 4850 or the nvidia 9800.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

I think we're all pretty much in agreement that a video card upgrade would be you best option at this point. For games like Crysis, L4D, TF2, something like a MSI OC GeForce GTX 260 896MB would do the trick. You could easily overclock your Core 2 Duo for a boost in performance.

We also would like to know what brand/model motherboard, memory type and speed, and what power supply you have as you'll probably need at least a quality 500W unit for any of the newer video cards.

 

[GibsonSGKing]

If you can't afford a GTX 260 (BTW with a 260 make sure you get the 216 chipset), the GTS250 is also an EXCELLENT card.

 

[abowlofrice]

i think there are a few more things you should look at before you upgrade. Do you run on vista or xp? if you run on vista, upgrading the ram to 4gigs would be helpful. most people run more than just the game they're playing when they are gaming, they run other programs such as itunes, IM, ventrilo, and all sorts of crap, so picking up 4gigs of ram for 30 bucks isn't a bad choice. (you can go to deals2buy.com and find these deals daily) for the games you're playing, i think a 9800gtx would do fine (including sc2).