my computer has been running very slow, and I know it is because of hidiously outdated hardware.

I am posting here to get suggestions on how I should take care of that.

To my knowledge what I need to replace is my video card, add ram, and replace the power supply.

here's what I have

MB P4 Intel 865PE D865PERL OEM

VGA XFX|GF FX 5200 256MB DDR 8X RT

CPU P4/2.8EGHz 800M 478P/1MB HT RT

DDRAM 256MB ADATA|32Mx64 DDR400 % x2



what I am looking at is


Patriot Signature 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory Model PSD2G400KH - Retail

Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail

eVGA 256-A8-N505-RX Geforce 7800GS 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail


please keep in mind my limited budget of about $600... also my mother board doesn't support PCI

Should be fine for todays games. My system is pretty similar to yours (same mobo, processor speed, but more RAM and a x850XT PE) and I can run any game max graphics with AA and AF.

That would do it. OC the that CPU to around ~3.2 Ghz.

thanks.. some games are locking up now, and it's really frustrating.. I probably won't be able to upgrade till next year sometime though, I guess it would be wise to keep looking for upgrades from now till then.

thanks

for $600 you could upgrade to AM2 you'll just have 1GB instead of 2GB... but you could always add an extra GB of RAM later

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131024
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130055
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103747
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820144027

what video card would be figured into that $ ?

If I can't run every game out maxed out with AA and AF with my 7800GTX SLI setup, I don't think you can either...

click the links...

of course i didn't think of a new PSU because i don't know what you currently have... so maybe step down from the 4200+ to a 3800+ and maybe add some to the $600

By maxed out, I don't mean 1600x1200 with 6xAA and 16xAF.

I mean 1280x1024 with 2-4xAA with 4-8xAF.

Plus, my system is like... tweaked the nth degree. I have 14 services running and always have over 850MB of RAM free.

Do you mean just the resolution maxed out? I must have just misunderstood what you said. I mean ALL the settings maxed out. Games like FEAR won't run great if i max out EVERYTHING and turn on AF and AA. And I'm only runninng at 1280x1024.

And sorry if I sounded like an arsehole in my earlier post, I didn't mean to come across like that, I've just been up 48 hours working on my car and I'm really tired.

...

Sorry but no.

1) Tweaking services has a certain placebo effect. I dunno why people think it makes their system run faster. It's like putting spoilers on your honda civic--it does little to nothing.

2) I always have 850mb of RAM free too...coincidence? Or just the fact that if you don't suck at the internet, windows really isn't that bad on RAM.

3) You couldn't run FEAR, Republic Commando, or Rome Total War, or even Oblivion "max everything". Sorry, not to be an *******, but it just wouldn't work. It has nothing to do with your RAM or your services, and everything to do with the raw hardware you're working with.

The only setup in the world that can run FEAR "max everything" right now (because soft shadows suck) is a dual 7950GX2 setup.

i have no idea what is going on in this thred anymore.. I am CPU intellectually challenged

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]...

3) You couldn't run FEAR, Republic Commando, or Rome Total War, or even Oblivion "max everything". Sorry, not to be an *******, but it just wouldn't work. It has nothing to do with your RAM or your services, and everything to do with the raw hardware you're working with.

The only setup in the world that can run FEAR "max everything" right now (because soft shadows suck) is a dual 7950GX2 setup.[/QUOTE]

RC doesn't take a beast of a machine... it ran at a fairly consitent average of 40-45fps (lowest drop was still above 20fps) 1152x864 2xAA 8xAF all other settings maxed on my computer when i had the 9800Pro

and fear... i can either run maxed with 4xAA or soft shadows... if i try to force AA and SS the framerate jumps all over the place and i get bugged out shadows... with a 7800GS well below the speed of a quad sli setup

Check your local second hand computer stores, you can pick up some awesome bargains there; spend copious amounts of time on the internet surfing for products at cheap prices.

What res though? And I'm talking truly maxed: 1600x1200 (at least), 8xaa 16xaf and everything else maxed (soft shadows gave every test machine I saw a problem, even SLI machines got as low as 30fps).

RC, true it doesn't need a beast of a machine to run, but to run well it needs a decent machine, at the least.