pc update

[scyth]

wanting to upgrade my pc because it is SUPER old...

 

currently:

 

Operating System

Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit

 

CPU

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz 38 °C

Wolfdale 45nm Technology

 

RAM

2.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18)

 

Motherboard

Dell Inc. 0M017G (CPU 1) 41 °C

 

Graphics

SyncMaster (1680x1050@60Hz)

1023MB ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series (Dell) 49 °C

 

Storage

298GB Western Digital WDC WD3200AAKS-75L9A0 ATA Device (SATA) 35 °C

465GB Seagate FreeAgentDesktop USB Device (USB (SATA)) 33 °C

 

Optical Drives

HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H73N ATA Device

 

Audio

High Definition Audio Device

 

 

 

i'm not looking to spend loads of £££ but i would like a decent little upgrade to work towards.

 

if you could post the name, cost and priority of each upgrade you suggest (e.g. *name of graphics card*, £125, buy first/second/third/last)

 

 

THANKS

[Smirre]

RAM

2.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18)

 

That is just way too little amount of memory. If possible get atleast 4 GB minimum as total and i think your pc is quite enough after that.

[scyth]

is the gfx card even enough? it's SO old. should i grab 4gb of ddr3?

[Smirre]

Depends what kind of games you want to play.

 

That card should be more than enough for ET and some older games, like cod, cs etc.

 

About the memory, would really need exact model of the motherboard, so you could google it and find the specs: how much memory it can handle and also what type of memory.

I think ddr3 is not an option here, but you propably will need to get ddr2, just the speed is important then also.

[scyth]

http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/dell-0m017g-specs/

 

this is the motherboard specs. 

 

i honestly have no clue about RAM so could you even possibly take a look at the specs for me then direct me to a specific brand and type that you think i should get?

 

thanks a lot so far! 

[Smirre]

4 x 240-pin DDR2 DIMM slots Supports Dual Channel DDR2 800/667 MHz non-ECC, un-buffered memory (Max 8GB)

 

There you go: max 8 GB, get that if you can affort, type is 240-pin DDR2 800 OR 667 MHz non-ECC, un-buffered memory.

 

And if you get the max 8 GB, buy 2x 4GB sticks, so you can install it as dual-channel (works better), or 4 x 2 GB Sticks, which ever is cheaper.

 

Just look how it is installed now and put the sticks on same slots.

 

I bet your lag is because of low memory, if you have programs running on background...well you get the point

[scyth]

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/RAM/DDR2/Single%2FDual+800MHz/4GB+%282x2GB%29+Corsair+Value+Select+800MHz+CL5+DDR2+Dual+Channel+Kit+%5BVS4GBKIT800D2%5D+?productId=52958

 

is this good?

 

thinking of just adding 4gb to my 2gb at the moment

 

[Minty]

edit: i'm blind, nevermind. (rhymes son)

As for GPU cards it's okay but you can always go higher, AMD Radeon HD 6000 series are good and decently priced cards so look into that if you're looking to upgrade GPU.

[Smirre]

The info on that website is a little too low. I think it may fit, but "vdimm" is what concerns me. Also there is not said if those are non-ECC, un-buffered memory, which is important to know.

 

Otherwise Corsair is a well known product and has a high quality memory parts, just to mention.

 

Btw what power supply you have? That might need upgrading too if it is somewhat less than 400 watts or so.

[peyote]

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/studio-540

[klokk]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-4GB-2x-2GB-PC2-6400-DDR2-800-800-Mhz-240-pin-DIMM-Memory-For-AMD-CPU-Chipset-/151342735977

 

If i were u id buy it second handed since theres no reason paying extra for something that does not worn. PC parts prices go down quickly when theres new tech avi. Just look for "4gb 800mhz ddr2". Any brand will do okay most of them them are build from same memory blocks just branded differently and with fancy names and colors... wooooooo. I'd go for cheap 2 x 2gb making it total 6gb.

 

As for gpu. Theres no reason putting nice highed tech there since cpu will be bottleneck. I would invest something like 40-50 £ max to gpu, ud get like 6850 1gb second hand ofc. All this depends on your PSU whether it will be able to provide enough power or not. If u need to upgrade ur PSU aswell.. imo its more wise to save up some money and buy new decent pc than putting money to something so old.

[serayha]

I agree with klokk. It's probably wiser in the long run to buy a new decent computer.

[Smirre]

About the ebay link klokk posted, it says:  "Buyer note:This item is only compatible with AMD cpu motherboard.It can not work in any intel cpu motherboard.Please make sure you buy a right item.If you are not sure,please contact us for help."

 

You really dont need yet new pc, if you just play et and so, that is more than enough for that like i said, just needs more memory.

You can also overclock it abit by installing MSI Afterburner program, but you need to be carefull with that.