I need some upgrades. Help please.

[LotusCcab]

What you see below are the current specs of my computer..I have about 400-500 dollars I can use to upgrade this stuff to make it faster. What do I need to upgrade? Specific items and links to them would be great. I play a lot of World of Warcraft so maybe something that will run it a lot smoother also. Should I upgrade to windows 7 or stay with Vista?


INTEL QUAD CORE Q9300 2.5GHZ RETAIL 1
250GB SATA II 3.GB 7200RPM 8MB 1
1G DDR2 PC6400 MEMORY 2
INTEL BRAND LGA 775+ 3.6GHZ CPU FAN 1
CASE FAN W/ 4 NEON LED 1
EVGA GEFORCE 9800 GT 1 GB 16X PCI-E 1
SUNBEAM 580WATT POWER SUPPLY 1
BLACK SAMSUNG 20X DVDRW 1
12-IN-ONE INTERNAL CARD READER 1
RAIDMAX SAGITTA II /BLACK /WIDNOW 1
INTEL GIGABITE BAST-T NIC 1
ASUS P5Q PRO P45 DDR2 CROSSFIRE MB 1
WINDOWS VISTA HOME BASIC 32-BIT SP1 1



Thanks for the help!

 

[Atomic Rooster]

You have a decent system for running WoW. I would suggest adding more memory. You should have at least 4GB for the best performance.

Something like these will work well: G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

 

[tj107us1]

Yeah the memory is the first thing id upgrade. How much green can you spend on upgrades?

 

[Luke_Uk_Baggy]

I have about 400-500 dollars I can use to upgrade this stuff to make it faster. What do I need to upgrade?

The memory is stand out. 1GB isnt going to be enough, 4GB is best match / slightly OTT, but would be more suitable than 2GB. (especially with your budget)

I personally wouldnt update your OS system as that wont make it run 'a lot smoother', its the specs that do that.

It depends what else you do? and how long you plan on keeping the computer? and is it going to be your main / only computer?

You maybe might want to upgrade the HD to say 500gb? But not much really NEEDS upgrading except memory, to run WOW nicely.

 

[tj107us1]

lol sorry i havent woke up totally yet.

 

[eslfish]

You have a decent system for running WoW. I would suggest adding more memory. You should have at least 4GB for the best performance.

Something like these will work well: G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

^ Atomic is right. Look at the specs blow for my pc and I run WoW like a dream (WoW is not a very heavy game) I get around 60-200 FPS...depends on the area. Although if you have alot of add-ons in WoW then you're gonna get lower FPS. Don't be stupid like me and have vsync checked. It lowered my FPS quite a lot until I finally figured out why my FPS was so bad. So yeah, looks liked you'd only really need some more ram.

 

[LotusCcab]

^ Atomic is right. Look at the specs blow for my pc and I run WoW like a dream (WoW is not a very heavy game) I get around 60-200 FPS...depends on the area. Although if you have alot of add-ons in WoW then you're gonna get lower FPS. Don't be stupid like me and have vsync checked. It lowered my FPS quite a lot until I finally figured out why my FPS was so bad. So yeah, looks liked you'd only really need some more ram.

what is vsync? and if I buy that RAM what do I need to do in order to install it? Do I need to take out the 1GB I already have in there and just replace it with the new RAM? Sorry..I know a little bit about computers and I could install it on my own I just dont know how too..so if you could help me some on that id appreciate it. and thanks to everyone for your input. So really just upgrade the RAM to run WoW a lot smoother? what about a new PSU?

Edit: That RAM looks kind of cheap. I have about 400-500 dollars to spend..im not saying give me the most expensive kind but im not on a tight budget here..and I hope to keep this computer for years and years..Ive already had it for almost 3..it still runs quick as hell but I want it faster. This is my main desktop computer but I also have a macbook pro.

 

[Luke_Uk_Baggy]

Edit: That RAM looks kind of cheap. I have about 400-500 dollars to spend..im not saying give me the most expensive kind but im not on a tight budget here..and I hope to keep this computer for years and years..Ive already had it for almost 3..it still runs quick as hell but I want it faster. This is my main desktop computer but I also have a macbook pro.

The ram is $30 including delivery. 4GB will be $120. It is DDR2 RAM, which isnt the newest and quickest ram (DDR3) so you wont get blistering performance to match the newest system. (And even if you could utilise DDR3, in the 'years to come' it wont be future proof as things will be brought in and refined)

It will however, improve your system a fair bit. I wouldnt spend any more on anything else really.. Save your money invest in a new system in a few years, and pick up a DDR3 compatible mobo then or something.

Just because its cheap it doesnt mean it wont do the job
Just because you have a budget doesnt mean you have to spend it all.

Upgrade first, and see the difference, then decide if you need more.

 

[CBrooks]

1G DDR2 PC6400 MEMORY 2

So you've got 2gbs total? That is not bad for wow... My girlfriends computer has a 2.7ghz dual core, 2gb ram and a 9800gt and is running wow everything maxed out(except view distance) at 1280x1024.... But she is running windows 7

I would try checking to see if there are a lot of non-essential programs running in the background while wow is running. I know Vista eats craploads of ram though so I'd either go with a Windows 7 upgrade or you can feed vista some more gbs of ram.

 

[LotusCcab]

Ill probably just stick with the RAM. but do I just replace my old RAM and stick the new stuff in and im done?