upgrade question

[tylerg94]

hi guys i have a:
hp pavillion 304w
AMD Athlon xp 2000+
1023.5 mb of ram
ATI Radeon 9550 256mb

I realize my computer is VERY old, although i can run half life 2 and counter strike source, id like to run games like mw2, and gta iv.

so, is my computer even upgradeable? i know ill have to upgrade ( correct me if im wrong ) my processor, RAM, and my graphics card, but is my computer upgradeable? I bought the computer second hand and the previous owner had self installed the radeon 9550, so does that mean i can upgrade to another graphics card the same way? sorry for all the questions guys im just not sure about alot of stuff. any help is apperciated. thanks.

 

[iPwn]

Welcome to CF tylerg94!

What are you looking to spend? The computer that you have is not really that upgradeable, your motherboard only supports AGP Graphics cards... pretty outdated but not entirely impossible I guess. You would be better served with a custom build. So, what can you drop?

 

[tylerg94]

i could spend around 200 max. would my computer accept an nvidia gtx?

and sorry but what exactly are agp cards? i dont really know alot lol

 

[iPwn]

No need to be sorry. AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port and is an older technology Graphics Card connection. Graphics cards used to be PCI, then they moved to AGP, now back to PCI (I may have missed some technology in my military years so anyone feel free to correct me) due to the increase in speed and limitations that AGP technology had.
Back to the build, you may have to go a little higher than 200, but let me look around and see what I can find.

Edit: Ok, I can get you an upgraded rig for $200, but understand it's not going to be top of line
Check out: http://www.computerforums.org/showpost.php?p=1050346&postcount=2
Don't purchase the case, the HD, or the CD Rom and whamo, new build.
However, since you upgraded the Motherboard, it's a considered a new PC to Microsoft so you'll need a new copy of Windows and that will stretch past your $200 budget

 

[tylerg94]

alright thanks much

okay. thanks alot for finding this for me! very helpful

wait, what about the graphics card?