Upgrade Peocessor and RAM

[arthurb999]

I have

1.0 AMD Athalon
512MB of PC133 RAM
Windows XP
nVidia TNT2 RIVA
Soundblaster Live

My motherboard can support up to a AMD XP1800 and 1GB of RAM. Should I updrade to the max I can support or just leave it be? Total cost would be ~100.00. Would there be a noticable difference? I'm thinking this might get me by another year or two before I have to get a new computer.

[LM1332]

upgrade to the max and also haha get yourself a better video card fast

[LM1332]

hah check this out

[Red Ketchup]

First thing, change that darn video card!!! A TNT2! holy cow... get yourself a Radeon 9600 pro! (no point in a 9800 with a 1ghz processor)

If you do change your processor and ram, then yeah max them out... and get a Radeon 9800pro.

That TNT2 is a MAJOR bottleneck in your machine.

Red

[arthurb999]

it is a 32MB card... 32MB nVidia TNT2 Riva... it's not so bad. I guess it is a little outdated... ha ha ha.

The computer is 3 years old... it was nice when I got it. I upgraded from ME to XP and added another 256MB of ram about a year ago which got me by but I'm always looking to increase performance. So if I bump it up to AMD XP 1800, a gig of ram, and the radeon video card... I should be all set for a while. Yes?

I think it is cool making an old computer better. You should see what I did to my brothers (my old one). It is an IBM with an AMD 350mhz processor and 64MB of ram on 98. I added 128MB of RAM and upgraded to windows XP. I also added an old video card (16MB) and sound card (soundblaster old one). I also installed winram pro to get it going. It's not that bad... for what he needs it to do (he's a student so papers, internet, probably porn).

[sp9]

I am getting ready to upgrade myself. I have a pentium 3 1.2 ghz with 256md pc133 and a Voodoo 5 64mg video card. Thing is there are not any really good games out that require more than that in my opinion. I am going to wait until Doom 3 comes out around june and the build a nice 3ghz with 1gb pc3200 ram and a 9800 XT video card. Should be able to do that for about $1000 or less then. I can get something like that together today for about $1100.

[spywizard]

Do not upgrade either of these machines...

Wipe them and install Unix and use them as a file server/backup..

Buy a new one.. with the new bus/multi thread, it allows cache to work with the newer programs..

go to dell the 4600 series.. get a free 17" flat panel.. and free shipping..

(i have an athalon also.. it's a file server now)..

get the new p-4 2.6 with 40gb hard drive.. upgrade the ram to the 800mhz cycle.. and get at least 512..

The best of all worlds.. and the upgraded buss and 133 ata is in there..

peace

[Sicilian30]

Put linux on it. LMFAO. Good one! LOL.
Just beware if you upgrade your PC, and assuming you have a legitament copy of Windows XP, MS may give you some grief on the upgrade. In other words you may have to register and call them and explain to them what you did once your OS realizes that you changed your hardware. I had this happen to me when I upgraded my processor from a 600 to a 1 gig. GOod ole MS wanted to know why my system config changed, when I went to register my software. If you have a retail upgrade copy you may be able to get away with it. I had an OEM copy which they are much more strict on.
I have the ole philosphy "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
You will notice a slight increase in speed if you upgrade your processor and memory. I am with some of the other guys here, upgrading your video card will probally not be a bad idea and should speed the system up somewhat. Also too sometimes it is amazing how just wiping the system clean and starting all over will speed it up as well, get all that garbage out of that stored up over the years.

[CarbonCopy]

Tuff call... I'd prolly hold off and make due until spring or early summer, because there are new cpu's coming out from both amd and intel, which will push the prices down on cpu's all across the board. That means more bang for the buck. But, then again, I guess if you are just looking for a little extra power, a video card, mem upgrade, 1800+ cpu would be a vaild, yet inexpensive option. Just don't go to crazy with the video card (in your case the most expensive possible option) because I don't think your cpu is going to push it much. If you shop around you could do something like the above for around $220-300. Also, take in to account what Sicilian30 said about the OS. That could cost you a good amount as well.

Peace,

CC

[German]

Have any of you heard of any other companies using a dual 800meg bus?Iam waiting for this technology to be improved before I buy another computer.With the 3.2ghz processors and hyper threading I see a single buss as the only bottleneck to a well balanced system.It looks like Moores Law is still holding up.

[JDMSilviaSpecR]

Get a new motherboard and proccesor if you can. But yeah you need a new vid card! GeForce Fx 5900!