Upgrading my PC for gaming

[skitzo_zac]

I want to upgarde my pc for better gaming performance but i dont know what to get. I currently have a G-force 6600gt AMD 3000+ 1.80GHz 512mb of RAM.

 

[DonNagual]

Well, that is not a terrible maching for gaming....

Depending on what motherboard you have, if I were you I'd go up to a gig of ram, and OC that CPU (evil thought, I know). Your card is fine, but again, if you have the cash to burn and want an extreme system, bump yourself up to the 6800GT.

What is your motherboard by the way?

 

[skitzo_zac]

Mother Board

I dont know what my mother board is. How do i find out?

 

[DonNagual]

Your motherboard is really the deciding factor as to what you can and can not do for upgrades. We need to know what it is.

Download, install and run this program.

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/27-cpu-z.html

Also, what kind of power supply do you have?

 

[skitzo_zac]

Mother Board

If you loock at the attached picture you will know what my mother board is I dont know if it's good or not. Im a newb when it somes down to it all.

 

[DonNagual]

Looks like this is your motherboard: http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8T_Neo2-FIR&class=mb

And it's not a bad motherboard at all. You have socket 939 for your CPU, so at this point, the sky is the limit as far as upgrading your CPU.

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Your graphics card is a good one for a budget level. There are stonger cards out there that will greatly increase your gaming performance, but I don't think that is the priority for you.

I'd say upgrade to a gig of ram first, if you still have some cash left over, consider upgrading your CPU (look at newegg for socket 939 CPUs to get an idea of what you can upgrade to with your budget). If you still have cash to blow after that, then consider a new card, but anything more powerful than the one you have now is gonna cost some coin

Do you know what kind of ram you are using now? PC3200?

When upgrading, it is also important to pay attention to what your PSU can handle. Do you know how many watts your current PSU is rated for? What make is it?

 

[Austin44]

thats a fine comp just upgrade ur ram to atleast 1 gig and u could play bf2 or hl2

 

[skitzo_zac]

Upgrading RAM

More RAM is my first priority. What do I need to do know/do to get some more RAM? Can i just buy another stick of RAM and plug it in?

 

[DonNagual]

First you need to tell us what kind of ram you currently have installed. That program you used above to find out what your motherboard is can be used to find out what kind of ram you are using.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Ram

Thanks I am currently at school but i will check what sort of RAM i have when i get home.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Hl2

I can already play Half-Life 2 on my computer I have it installed on my hard dirve.

 

[Austin44]

u could run bf2 but load times would be very long.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Bf2

Yeah load times are a ***** with BF2. I got the Demo it was an awesome game but the load times were a *****. If i get more RAM will the load times decrease? hopefully to a state where it is worh buying the full version.

 

[Dilmog]

yes, your load times should greatly decrease. and on the processor subject, a good processor thats relatively cheap would be an amd 64 3400, 3500, or maybe a 3700.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Ram

The attached image should tell you what sort of RAM I have and then hopefully someone can tell me what to buy for a total of 1G of RAM.

 

[DonNagual]

Can you give us a screenshot of the "SPD" tab as well? Just the first slot is fine.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Spd

Here is the SPD what ever that is

 

[DonNagual]

Wait a minute... just to confirm. You have two sticks of 256 in there now? Not one stick of 512?

You can either sell the ones you have in there now and get two new sticks of 512, or buy two new sticks of 256 to add to the two you have installed now.

Note that you CAN NOT buy a 512 and stick it in to be used with the two you have in there now. In other words, you should have a total of 1, 2, or 4 sticks of memory, never 3).

 

[DonNagual]

After looking at your last attachment there, I'd recommend selling that ram, and getting two new sticks of PC3200 (512mb) ram.

If you want to save money (and lose a little bit of performance, but still better than your current setup), you need to buy 2 sticks of Kingston PC2300 142MHz (256Mb) ram to add to the ones in there now. Ideally, take the part numbers down, and try to get the exact same type when you buy.

If you are going to take my suggestion of getting two new sticks of 512 (and selling those two others) then look here for the recommended memory for your motherboard:

http://www.msicomputer.com/msiforms/k8tneo_ddr400_recommended.asp

 

[skitzo_zac]

Ram

As far as I knew i had 1 stick of 512 adn not 2 sticks of 256. Is that a problem for getting 1G?

 

[DonNagual]

Those screenshots you have given show that you have 2 sticks of 256.

 

[skitzo_zac]

Ram

Even I realised that i had two sticks of 256 without someone telling me. Can u buy a stick of 1Gig Ram or do u have to get 2x 512mb? Can I get 2x 512/ 1x 1Gig (if it exists) and i have 1.5gig of Ram?

 

[DonNagual]

Even I realised that i had two sticks of 256 without someone telling me.

Then.... why did you say

As far as I knew i had 1 stick of 512 adn not 2 sticks of 256.

anyways.....

Can u buy a stick of 1Gig Ram or do u have to get 2x 512mb? Can I get 2x 512/ 1x 1Gig (if it exists) and i have 1.5gig of Ram?

Yes, you CAN buy a stick of 1Gb ram. But as I said on the previous page, you shouldn't run with 3 sticks of ram (actually according to your motherboard manual, you CAN'T run with 3 sticks.

You can have 1, 2 or 4 sticks of ram, and it is highly recommended that they are all the same speeds.

Here (again) are probably your best options:


You need to buy 2 sticks of Kingston PC2300 142MHz (256Mb) ram to add to the ones in there now. Ideally, take the part numbers down (they can be found when you use the same software as before to identify all your parts), and try to get the exact same type when you buy.

If you want to ditch the ram you have now, and get some faster ram (pc3200), here are the approved types for your motherboard.

http://www.msicomputer.com/msiforms/k8tneo_ddr400_recommended.asp

 

[skitzo_zac]

RAM Speed?¿?¿?¿

what does it mean if i get faster ram? If i get pc3200 instead of pc2300 what does that actually do performance wise?

 

[g.freeman]

void..........