need upgrading help.

[samuraihavok]

ok so a buddy of mine was moving so i bought his older desktop off of him cuz i enjoy fixing them up. however he did not have any of the spec sheets for the computer so i do not know what the motherboard can hold and i dont know how to go about finding a way to see what it can handle. really for what i need it for i think i really only need to upgrade the videocard. the on that is in it right now is the Nvidia Geforce7600gt.

now i went and used that cpuid site to get what was in the computer so i will post it below and if anyone could help me out with this it would be cool. if there is any other info to help out let me know.

mainboard manufacturer -asustek computer inc.
model- nodusm3

cpu- Amd athlon 64 x2 3800+ dual core
socket am2 (940)

ram- ddr2 2gb's
bandwith- pc2-5300 (333 mhz)

 

[~Darkseeker~]

well, starting with the video card.

From what i can see, the 7600GT didnt need a 6-pin PCI-e power cable, BUT any good new GPU is going to need one. This would mean a new PSU most probably. PCI-e x16 slots are all for the most part the same, so no compatibility worries there. The CPU socket on the motherboard is AM2, the new AMD Socket for the athlon/Phenom II duals/quads and hex core models is AM3. You would only be able to upgrade your CPU to other AM2 CPUs. The motherboard doesnt have a manual or any recognition at all on the ASUS site, but from google images i gather that it has a fair few RAM slots. However, it will only take DDR2 (240-pin) DIMMs. It's hard to find out the maximum speed without a page of info on the mobo, but using the 333MHz as a guide, this is pretty slow RAM. You might be able to get up to 800MHz but it would be a gamble since we dont know for sure if it would work.

So, you're a little bit stuck for upgrades other than for the GPU, and it might require a PSU upgrade as well.

 

[samuraihavok]

yea like i said all i really use the com for is to play a some wow nothing big really so all the other parts suit what i need them for. could u suggest a upgrade for the GPU? does not have to be anything real fancy just something a bit better. but all in all that is the only thing i am looking to upgrade and thanks for all the help thus far.