Short Bio (First post):
I built this computer about 2-ish years ago I believe. I was doing a Co-op at a computer store and the manager helped me buy the parts. I'll be going to university soon and I will be studying computer science. I know a fair bit about older computers and how to build them, but the newer stuff I'm a little lost.
The Specs:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Service Pack 2
Motherboard: Asus M2N-E
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: Corsair 1024MB DDR2, PC2-5300, 2 sticks of 512MB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT (256 MB)
The issue:
Any advice where I should go from here? I'm looking to upgrade mainly because of the newer games that are coming out. I can play F.E.A.R on nearly max settings, Half-life 2 everything maxed, just to give you an idea of how it's performing. Unreal Tournament 3, well, 800x600 with max detail, but that's as far as it'll go. Any higher and I get choppy gameplay. I'm not a huge fan of overclocking, so I would like to avoid that if possible. I like to play games on a high resolution with decent detail while maintaining decent FPS.
The budget:
Roughly $500 - Flexible
Notes:
I am happy with my sound card, mouse, keyboard, hard drive...etc. I'm mainly concerned about the performance at this point. And lastly, any suggestions where I should buy from?
Thanks in advance
I built this computer about 2-ish years ago I believe. I was doing a Co-op at a computer store and the manager helped me buy the parts. I'll be going to university soon and I will be studying computer science. I know a fair bit about older computers and how to build them, but the newer stuff I'm a little lost.
The Specs:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Service Pack 2
Motherboard: Asus M2N-E
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: Corsair 1024MB DDR2, PC2-5300, 2 sticks of 512MB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT (256 MB)
The issue:
Any advice where I should go from here? I'm looking to upgrade mainly because of the newer games that are coming out. I can play F.E.A.R on nearly max settings, Half-life 2 everything maxed, just to give you an idea of how it's performing. Unreal Tournament 3, well, 800x600 with max detail, but that's as far as it'll go. Any higher and I get choppy gameplay. I'm not a huge fan of overclocking, so I would like to avoid that if possible. I like to play games on a high resolution with decent detail while maintaining decent FPS.
The budget:
Roughly $500 - Flexible
Notes:
I am happy with my sound card, mouse, keyboard, hard drive...etc. I'm mainly concerned about the performance at this point. And lastly, any suggestions where I should buy from?
Thanks in advance