Alright, I'm looking to improve the performance of my computer. It's an older model, but not completely useless, yet. The problem is that I have no idea what to do. I don't know if I should upgrade my ram, video, or what. Keep in mind, I intend on keeping this computer until Conroe comes out, but I want to play my damn games(ones I just bought, but can only run on med-low settings, and still get some stutter). I've been looking around and, apparently, RAM is more complicated than I thought, or I'm just overcomplicating things. Things causing me trouble: Ram is changing, so do I need older RAM to ensure compatibility? My RAM is 512mb(2x256) Samsung PC800 RDRAM 40ns. My computer is locked(I was fortunate enough to purchase a LOCKED computer) as in the manufacturer set a hard lock on my processor and board through the bios, so I can't touch that to overclock. I have the lovely Intel i850E motherboard, known for its lameness for overclocking, as it can't, any suggestions? Even suggesting a new Mobo would be nice, because I have no idea, with all the new motherboards on the market, what I could use without losing compatibility. Video card is AGP and I don't know if I should change it out or just keep it and get a new Mobo. Well, you see the problem. My computer is basically designed to force me into buying new stuff, period. What it doesn't do, however, is extend the computer's life for me or offer me much of a chance to sell the parts on ebay or the forums here, as most people knowledgable enough to look for these specific parts(and they are specific) won't want them anyway. So, I don't want to buy a new computer. I want to upgrade. I will be building a new comp when Conroe comes out, because so many things will be changing all at once that I'd rather not buy a new computer and then have most game companies shift to the new technology and leave my new computer in the dust, so to speak. Suggestions, comments, etc, all welcome. I'll even admit I won't get mad if people say to throw it out the window, because at this point, I'm almost ready to do that. (Many of you might be fortunate enough to not have had such a lousy experience with trying to get into overclocking as I have, but some of you out there might feel my pain.) Sorry, forgot to post my computer info, as I know it'd help. Here she is: Motherboard: Intel D850EMV2 Chipset: Intel i850E Processor: Intel P4 2.4GHz Ram: 512 (2x256 RDRAM, PC800 50ns, 50, why, I'm not sure, but PC Wizard says it "supports" it.) Video Card: Nvidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 (NV25.1) Hard Drive: 80GB DVD: Matshita SR8588 CD: Lite-On LTR-40125S Monitor: Samsung(throwing it back to Samsung, though, it's awful with its weird quirks, especially for the $200 I paid for it... goes to show, "tried and true" ain't always true.) WinXP... and I guess that's about it. P.S. - Would -love- to get a good deal on some used ram, used video card, etc. Anyone offering such, I'd gladly do business with you. P.P.S. - I'm looking on Ebay, too, so that might help, but I'm not paying the $200 for 1gb(2x512) new(old, used) ram. Trying to find something around $100-$150(if that'll ever happen). (I just noticed, this is hardware/overclocking, but would this be the right place to post this? The idea is, I wanted to overclock, origianlly, but my hardware won't let me... Hope it's alright.)
why not go for a better agp card as a quick fix upgrade until conroe comes out? i know you are in the US, but something along the lines of theses cards would be good (whatever your budget is) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_AGP_411.html the problems may start if your PSU cannot handle the card... Try and find out the specs of your PSU, to see if a newer AGP card would be a viable upgrade.
