Upgrading Computer For Good Price

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nosebleedXD

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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.
 
Try these:
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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130356

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146526
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220145
 
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.
 
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 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
 
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
 
Ok, one last appeal since you are shopping at TigerDirect.
1. There is always a reason why something is discounted.
2. TigerDirect sells very good power supplies. Among them are Corsair TX650W, ApeVia IceB erg, OCZ StealthxStream, Silverstoinbe SST-ST652F or their Olympi9a or their SST ST562F, OCZ 850; NZXT PP800, PCPower and Cooling 750 (my choice), Thermaltake 500, OCZ OCZ500SXS, Corsair VX550W, Corsair VX550W, ThermalTake Pure Power W0139RU, and the terrific PC Power and Cooling Silencer.
All of these are significantly better power supplies than what you listed, and the money spent will show up for years.
Well, you said you wanted opinions. Now you have them from a collection of very good techs.
Good luck.
 
haha costed more than what i expected, guess what ima make some money over the summer and buy it =] in fact it seems as if i might as well buy a whole new computer lmao
 
Don't worry, the same thing happened to me, all I needed was a new graphic card for my PC but needed a PCI-E slot, so I had to get a new mobo, and that required a new cpu, and also new memory. Then I didn't have enough power so I had to get that too. By the end of it all I couldn't even afford the graphics card I wanted in the first place. At least my computer is decent now though and I'm compatible with all the new stuff coming out so for my next upgrade I wont have to do such a thing xD
 
rofl so furious, now i realised i need a new mobo too, man technology these days

so pratically now im hoping with this new 9800gtx i will last for a year or 2 more than screw gaming

ok my total is 651 dollars man what an increase, ridiculous, double from what i wanted it to be from the beginning

here are my parts

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3747036&body=REBATES [started off with just gfx ...]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3482959&CatId=1079 [then the psu..]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3180430&CatId=1859 [decided for a new case while i was at it =]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3969589&Sku=MB-680SLI-2GB [ ...... ]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3574211&CatId=2396 [ slits self in the wrist ]
 
You left off the hard drive from this list. You still need one don't you?

Are you reusing old optical drives? Don't forget to allow for the purchase of an operating system if you don't already have one.
 
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