[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Cheers for that Grush....alex what would you say about that? Good for my needs?

No, because it's an integrated graphics chipset. Decent for what it is but you're not going to be able to game on it (except maybe chess or solitaire etc).

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by alex No, because it's an integrated graphics chipset. Decent for what it is but you're not going to be able to game on it (except maybe chess or solitaire etc).

Lol OK!! So I'm deciding now I'm GOING TO get more RAM and graphics card for this current system. No more decisions. But what else would you recommend I change, let's say, if I did have the money. What else could I upgrade that would make a big difference for the better?

[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Lol OK!! So I'm deciding now I'm GOING TO get more RAM and graphics card for this current system. No more decisions. But what else would you recommend I change, let's say, if I did have the money. What else could I upgrade that would make a big difference for the better?

Not much as it stands because the motherboard only accepts upto a Pentium 4, which are not very good chips for gaming and are very expensive for what they are, even now. It only accepts Eide hard drive's, not sata, so upgrading the drive you've got won't give you a noticeable increase in performance over your current one.

Changing out more of the components may also cause your window license to become invalid, meaning a new copy of windows (or a call to microsoft asking for a new license).

You're pretty much stuck with the two upgrades mentioned Jack. But on a good point, those are the two that will have the most benefit for you from a gaming perspective.

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by alex Not much as it stands because the motherboard only accepts upto a Pentium 4, which are not very good chips for gaming and are very expensive for what they are, even now. It only accepts Eide hard drive's, not sata, so upgrading the drive you've got won't give you a noticeable increase in performance over your current one. Changing out more of the components may also cause your window license to become invalid, meaning a new copy of windows (or a call to microsoft asking for a new license). You're pretty much stuck with the two upgrades mentioned Jack. But on a good point, those are the two that will have the most benefit for you from a gaming perspective.

Ok thanks alot. My computer runs quite slow as it stands at the moment. Does this mean it will run even slower when I have all games installed and everything?

[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Ok thanks alot. My computer runs quite slow as it stands at the moment. Does this mean it will run even slower when I have all games installed and everything?

It's going to run slow simply because of the amount of ram you have. Windows XP needs a bare minimum of 256mb of ram just to run properly, leaving non left over for anything other application. There's an area on your hard drive that windows will use as dynamic ram when it reads that the motherboard doesn't have much installed and it will use this area of your hard drive when it's asked to do something that the motherboard ram amount can't cope with due to how much is installed. Do you see your hard drive light coming on a lot?

Your computer may also run slower depending on what anti-virus software you have. We hate Norton on here so using that as an example it runs in the background all the time no matter if you're signed onto the web or not, so that uses up ram and the cpu's runtime.

Just adding more ram will show a marked improvement in the speed of your pc as it won't have to access the hard drive so much to get other things done aside from running Windows.

Do you defrag your hard drive? through deleting and adding various pieces of software files end up getting spread out. So as a for instance you could install word and over time it could become fragmented on your hard drive.

So to load word the drive may have to got to sector 1 (for instance) on the hard drive to start the load, then stop loading and move it's head to sector 10 to continue the load and so on, rather than all the data it needs for the load being on sector 1. This increases the read time when loading up an application.

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by alex It's going to run slow simply because of the amount of ram you have. Windows XP needs a bare minimum of 256mb of ram just to run properly, leaving non left over for anything other application. There's an area on your hard drive that windows will use as dynamic ram when it reads that the motherboard doesn't have much installed and it will use this area of your hard drive when it's asked to do something that the motherboard ram amount can't cope with due to how much is installed. Do you see your hard drive light coming on a lot? Your computer may also run slower depending on what anti-virus software you have. We hate Norton on here so using that as an example it runs in the background all the time no matter if you're signed onto the web or not, so that uses up ram and the cpu's runtime. Just adding more ram will show a marked improvement in the speed of your pc as it won't have to access the hard drive so much to get other things done aside from running Windows. Do you defrag your hard drive? through deleting and adding various pieces of software files end up getting spread out. So as a for instance you could install word and over time it could become fragmented on your hard drive. So to load word the drive may have to got to sector 1 (for instance) on the hard drive to start the load, then stop loading and move it's head to sector 10 to continue the load and so on, rather than all the data it needs for the load being on sector 1. This increases the read time when loading up an application.

Yes I defrag and disk cleanup my computer quite often. I do have Norton but tend to use Ad-Aware alot more. I don't want to uninstall Norton though simply for the fact I paid for it already :p Is it worth me gettin 2gb RAM? Because my motherboard might do the same as with that graphics card and waste a gig. Which would be pointless in getting 2. I think I'll get this and this
Oh and is that graphics card definitely compatible with my computer then??

[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Yes I defrag and disk cleanup my computer quite often. I do have Norton but tend to use Ad-Aware alot more. I don't want to uninstall Norton though simply for the fact I paid for it already :p Is it worth me gettin 2gb RAM? Because my motherboard might do the same as with that graphics card and waste a gig. Which would be pointless in getting 2. I think I'll get this and this Oh and is that graphics card definitely compatible with my computer then??

It's not going to be a waste getting 2gb fella, the more the merrier to be honest.

If, as you stated earlier, the connection on your motherboard is AGP then yes, that card will be compatible.

If you want me to confirm it post the make and model of your pc and i'll have a nosey.

[grush]

Either of these should do what you want,totaly agree about Norton or Macfee as well

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13Ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail £116.13
ASUS P5LD2 SE R2.0 i945P Socket 775 6-channel audio ATX £49.16
Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-4200 CL=4 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR2-533 1.8V £49.99
Point Of View 7600GT 256mb DDR3 DVI HDTV TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £63.42
Coolermaster IGreen 430W PSU - 85% Efficiency ATX12V v2.2 120mm Fan £38.99

Total £317.69

Asus M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 SATA2 Onboard Audio ATX £39.52
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2GHz) Socket AM2 Energy Efficient L2 1MB Cache £40.99
Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM £31.44
Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-4200 CL=4 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR2-533 1.8V £49.99
Point Of View 7600GT 256mb DDR3 DVI HDTV TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £63.42
Coolermaster IGreen 430W PSU - 85% Efficiency ATX12V v2.2 120mm Fan £38.99
Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM £36.95

Total £301.30

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by grush Either of these should do what you want,totaly agree about Norton or Macfee as well Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13Ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail £116.13 ASUS P5LD2 SE R2.0 i945P Socket 775 6-channel audio ATX £49.16 Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-4200 CL=4 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR2-533 1.8V £49.99 Point Of View 7600GT 256mb DDR3 DVI HDTV TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £63.42 Coolermaster IGreen 430W PSU - 85% Efficiency ATX12V v2.2 120mm Fan £38.99 Total £317.69 Asus M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 SATA2 Onboard Audio ATX £39.52 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2GHz) Socket AM2 Energy Efficient L2 1MB Cache £40.99 Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM £31.44 Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-4200 CL=4 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR2-533 1.8V £49.99 Point Of View 7600GT 256mb DDR3 DVI HDTV TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £63.42 Coolermaster IGreen 430W PSU - 85% Efficiency ATX12V v2.2 120mm Fan £38.99 Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM £36.95 Total £301.30

Are these sold as complete systems somewhere then?? Alex what's your view on these? Better than me upgrading on mine?

Oh, and this is my computer, Packard Bell iMedia 1318

[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Are these sold as complete systems somewhere then?? Alex what's your view on these? Better than me upgrading on mine? Oh, and this is my computer, Packard Bell iMedia 1318

Firstly, very well spec'd by Grush, thanks for taking the time on that.

The first one isn't bad at all, well balanced, but it would also need to include the cost of a new windows disc (about £60 for XP now). Taking you well over your budget.

Yeah, I'm liking the first spec. The Asus P5 does accept IDE hard drives. The 945 chipset is an older mainstream one but still rather good too be honest, only supports 8 usb's but you'll never need more than that anyway. If you do, just get a usb hub.

The second spec ain't so good as the Motherboard on that one has a VIA chipset, something best left alone to be honest. The second spec also has an AMD X2 3800. Not a bad cpu in of itself but when compared to the core 2 (or any core 2 for that matter) it will be found wanting. And again, you'll need a windows disc, taking you well over your budget.

Your current motherboard does take AGP graphics cards.

Gotta ask, what is the absolute maximum you can spend?