computer upgrade

[Invigor]

this is what I have that -could- use upgrading.

amd xp 1600+ (mobo supports up to 2800+)
256mb ddr400 pc3200 ram (supports up to 2 or 3 GB)
40gb hd. (muahah, unlimited capacity really..)

I game, but only quake 1 and ut2004, lol

I want a cpu that'll handle Half-life 2 when it comes out...maybe I need a better video card, i have a gf3 ti200..

[IrishReefer]

Hi

I would look at upgrading CPU and at least doubling your memory. If you are into gaming go for the best video card you can buy with lots of onboard memory. What operating system are you using?

Cheers,

Brian

[Quinn]

How much do you have to spend and what applications are you generally working with?

Pretty much everything could use a boost.

[Invigor]

I'm thinkin the ram.. my hds full of games and mp3s :|

I don't do much...photoshop, msword, quake, email, firefox, dvd watching. my vid card has 128mb of ram..use xp-pro sp2.

what's the dif between amd xp thoroughbred or barton?

[Quinn]

Barton versus Thoroughbred: http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/amd-barton/

Hard drive full... you don't need RAM, you need a hard drive. :wink: Drives are a little less than a dollar a gig now.

Personally I would just save for a new box... you can get an entry-level system for ~$500.

[Invigor]

:idea:

but I have an entry level computer :D

i can imagine what kinda pos mobo comes with a $500 computer, when good mobos start at $200 :P

[Quinn]

Yours isn't an entry level computer anymore. :wink:

For what you're doing:

http://www.genericcomputer.bc.ca/system_page/pack_xp2600.html

I know twenty people are going to pipe up here and complain about the quality of the system, which admittedly isn't through the roof, but I personally feel it's likely to be adequate for what you're doing. I've had good luck with a variety of systems from this retailer.

http://www.genericcomputer.bc.ca/

[Richer]

If you want to play a game like HL2 decently, you'll want to upgrade just about everything... ram, cpu and video card. Upgrading the ram would be a first priority IMO, followed by the cpu. Although that in itself probably isn't enough to run HL2 at a decent rate, it'll give your computer good flexibility to do everything else. After you're tired of playing HL2 on the smaller resolution with everything turned down, get yourself a nice graphics card (I used to be a Nvidia Geforce fanboy, but converted to ATI Radeon after I bought a 9800pro awhile back :mrgreen: ). Thats more or less a new computer, minus the motherboard and a couple of other components. So you might want to look into buying a whole new system... like quinn said before.

-Richer

[Quinn]

I have a pretty nice system, and it doesn't run Doom 3 as well as I would like... if that is any indication, you'll need a beast of a system to run HL2. :mrgreen:

[Invigor]

have you watched the beach demo for HL2? I like when they shoot the dude on the crane with the rocket launcher and blows him half way across the map!