Upgrading a older pc

wpetew · 12 Apr 2006 at 21:59

im thinking of upgrading my pc with new memory and a graphics card, i have a few questions, my specs are (you probably laught, there poor specs)

AMD Sempron 2300+ (1.5ghz) Socket A
Asus A7V8X-X M/Board
768Mb PC2700 RAM
Geforce FX5200 128Mb (APG)

I use programs like Fireworks/Flash and other programs like these (normally have 2 or more up at the same time) and play games, the most damanding game i play is half life 2,

now what would be better for my system 1gig of ram, or 2gig, now my M/Board supports memory that runs at PC3200, now if i got memory at this speed would it improve speeds, or just run at the lower speed of pc2700 memory (333mhz)

im also thinking of upgrading my graphics card, im thinking of a GeForce 6600 GT, would half life 2 run any better with it, or is there a better card at about the £150 mark any other sujestions

thanks

helpimcrap · 12 Apr 2006 at 22:01

a 6600GT would make HL2 run nice, but it would maybe be better if you upgraded your CPU/memory as well if possible to get the best out of it.

1gb of memory and a decent socket A chip would work wonders.

wpetew · 12 Apr 2006 at 22:06

ah ok, thanks for your help

NeptuneUK · 12 Apr 2006 at 22:08

get 2X1gb PC3200 and any newer AGP card and find what the highest CPU is that your mobo supports and itll kick your old pc's ass

my old 6600gt ran HL2 and high settings

wpetew · 12 Apr 2006 at 22:15

would a socket A pro be easy to find since there older tech?
i think if i get the best my mobo supports is 2.17ghz so (hopefully) i get one it should last a few months more

pastymuncher · 13 Apr 2006 at 11:08

You might struggle to find a decent Athlon XP cpu such as a 3000/3200. The ones i have seen lately are going for silly prices.

Asus's website states that your motherboard accepts cpus with a fsb of 333mhz but then goes on to say it supports ddr400 memory which i think is a bit confusing.

You may be better off biding your time with what you have until you can afford to do a full upgrade. To get any decent performance boost you would more or less have to replace the lot anyway. There's no point in replacing the graphics card without replacing the cpu as it is only 1.5ghz. The same goes for the memory as the cpu would still be the weak spot.