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Ok my computer specs right now is :

intel pendium D CPU 2.66ghz
1.00gb of ram
ASUS p5l-vm 1394 mobo
SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon x1600 512mb
400w psu =[
250 gb hd

* that basically covers it all

My budget is around 300

I want to upgrade to a better gfx but to do that, i need to upgrade a whole load of other stuff

for instance, i wanted to buy the nvidia 9800 gtx, i had the money but realised i need like a new psu and ram even and possibly a better cpu

so if you guys got some parts and links prices, that'd be great

[RIGHT]your friendly noob nosebleedXD[/RIGHT]

I assume you meant the P5L VM 1394?

You have several components to replace to ger the nVidia.

Your power supply is likely not strong enough. You do not have enough RAM, and your board will take 4 GB. Luckily that memory is very inexpensive right now.

yeah so i would need a new psu and ram thats about it right?

Try these:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - $119.99 + free shipping
• Antec earthwatts EA430 430W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail - $59.99 without $30 rebate + free shipping
• ASUS EN9600GSO TOP/HTDP/384M GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $104.99 without $20 rebate + $8.25 shipping

Grand Total ~$300 including shipping and not including the rebates, with which you'll probably save enough to get more RAM later. You'll get a major upgrade and be able to play any game you want with most of the eye candy turned on. If you are going to buy the above, make sure you update your current BIOS to the latest version so it supports that CPU.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

well im looking more of a 500w psu 430w seems like my currect psu

** EDIT and would i really need a new cpu? is that cpu alot better than my current?
also are there any cheap rams, my mobo can't support ddr2 800 mhz=[

Its not the wattage as much as the amps needed, graphics cards require a certain amount of amps on the 12v rail. If you take a look at your PSU you should see a chart with different voltages and the amount of amps. Look at your PSU and find the 12v then look at its listed amps.

BTW if you went and bought that 9800 GTX your computer would have bottle necked the g card like mad.

You would get more out of your computer by buying a better CPU and GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130356

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115052

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153052

Your memory is probably already good enough, but if you still wanted to look maybe something like these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146526
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220145

"bottlenecked the g card like mad."?

*** EDIT so i shouldn't get the 9800gtx?

Well the CPU is like the brains of the computer, it does all the functions and calculations, the graphics card contains a GPU, which is like a CPU but dedicated to more geometrical operations. You might have a super fast GPU but the CPU still has to process it all. Because your CPU is slower then the GPU the CPU will end up slowing down the GPU.

Its like running a marathon, you have one guy who can run 10 MPH and another who can run 5 MPH, now lets say you tie both of them together, the 5 MPH runner cannot run any faster then 5 MPH so the 10 MPH runner will get slowed down. The goal here is to find two people of the same speed so that no one is being slowed down and they are all running at there full potential.

haha i get you, so the gpu is too good for my cpu or at least the gpu is not capable of doing what it can do with the cpu slowing it down

Yeah, so like another example

GPU upgrade only

CPU: 5 MPH
GPU: 10 MPH

= Speed 5 MPH

CPU and GPU upgrade

CPU: 8 MPH
GPU: 8 MPH

= Speed 8 MPH

You can only run as fast as the slowest thing, you can't make something work harder then it isn't able to, that's why it stays at 5 MPH.

So instead of getting one really good thing and bottle necking it, we get two slightly better things. The GPU may not have been as good as the first one but we made up for it because now nothing is slowing anyone down.

so 2.53 ghz is fine for core2 duo? mine is already 2.66ghz

btw currently im buying all my parts at tigerdirect.ca because its a store near my area

so basically here is what i've gathered so far

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...IN#detailspecs

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...6&body=REBATES

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...959&CatId=1079

would this be good?

At this point of the processor game, it's not really about clock speeds. Yours is an outdated cpu using an old architecture, even if the E4600 has lower clock speeds by a little bit, it's many times faster than your old Pentium D.

oh ok, yeah thanks obiwan ima go check on it, right now the price range is way over my budget

erhmm i don't make money like you guys but i'll have to ask my parents on this one to pay for this stuff =] thank god

my plan b is to go get a job altho im only 13 dont think i'll find one

Yeah that looks good ^_^

Goes over your limit by a bit though ;O

Check on the prices at newegg nosebleed, lately there's been a $10-$20 drop in prices.

yeah but i dont really wanna order online and the shipping may cost more than me just going to the store to buy

and i live in canada so yeah

Oh sorry, I didn't know. Although, as shipping is getting more expensive the price of the item itself has dropped.

haha well take a look at tigerdirect for me on all their products, cause most likely im gonna buy stuff there

tell me what you think is best for me in terms of what cpu and stuff

Take a look at www.zipzoomfly.com, www.directron.com, and www.outpost.com
Their prices are generally cheaper on quality components, and they won't screw you like TigerDirect does if you have to return something. TigerDirect has good deals on marginal stuff, but on their quality components, they are more expensive and slower shipments to arrive.

as i said before, there is a outlet store or w.e its called near my area so usually i just go there to buy and check if they have any of w.e product i want in stock before going