Want to upgrade pc cheaply

[Peterp]

Hi Guys,

I have the following spec and I want to upgrade for as little dosh Doom3 and the latest games.

Fujitsu Siemens D1325 ATX Mobo
Intel P4 1.7GHz
2 x Micron 256MB SDRAM PC133U
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400
40GB Seagate Drive
Samsung 16xCD/RW
Samsung 8xDVD drive

I want to keep my case so I was thinking of just changing my mobo, cpu and ram.
Later on I will get a better graphics card.

Any idea's would be appreciated.

[Lord AnthraX]

Well for one thing i had no idea fujitsu made mobo's. Secondly if you want to play D3 WELL you should prolly change out the GFx card also. The minimum I put in all my systems is a 128Mb GFx card, 1 Gig of ram, and a mobo that has no real max point for today's chips/ram [usually Abit]. If you want to really get some good pointers post how much you are willing to spend, that way we can all help.

[Peterp]

My budget will be about 300 Euro (370 US Dollars) if my wife doesn't spend all my money before then.... ;)

[Lord AnthraX]

That's cuttin' it pretty close for a good upgrade. The memory itself will cost you about 200-250$ depending on which brand you get and the GFx card will cost anywhere from 150-300$ depending on the same factor. If anything for now get a 2.0-2.6Ghz intel which run from about 180-200$ and an abit VT7 or the IS7 which runs from about 65-100$ also depending on the place bought. I always use ZipZoomFly.com for my purchases but you may want to use Pricewatch.com and look for the lowest price [be warned there are companies that might screw you]. It can be done, but it takes a lot of planning before buying. For the Athlon side of things you may want to wait for someone else from the board to reply that knows Athlons better than I do.

[Magua]

Bah. He dosen't need to spend $200-$250 on new ram...

Spend $100 for 1x512mb PC3200 Ram and $150-$200 for either a 9600pro or 9800pro

Stick with the mobo and CPU for now, untill you have enough to upgrade those, and use the new ram and GPU in that build.


The video card and ram are what really holds the system back. The CPU could be improved, but with that budget the Ram and GPU need attention first.

[Yoshi]

Abit NF7-S $90
AMD 2500+ Mobile $80
Crucial DDR400 512MB $80
ATi 9600XT $130:t

Get this 9600 XT

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-119-126&depa=1

[widget2003]

Originally posted by Yoshi
Abit NF7-S $90
AMD 2500+ Mobile $80
Crucial DDR400 512MB $80
ATi 9600Pro $120:t

beautiful advice there but the only thing i would maybe change is get the 9600XT if possible.

doom3 will run ok on that but only at low settings and remember Half life 2 will run better then doom 3 on ATI cards

[Damins]

Your video would be my top choice for a good replacement to play doom3. You can get a ati 9600xt or a nvidia 5700 ultra for around 130 to 140us and you would see alot of bang for you buck.

[cheeseman]

i would upgrade this three the p4 i thnk can go up to a 2.8

Intel P4 1.7GHz - up to 2.8 what ever your bugnet
2 x Micron 256MB SDRAM PC133U another stick 512meg
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 go up to a 5700 or a "5900ultra look on ebay

[Peterp]

Thanks for the advise. My modem died last week so I had to get a replacement. I will let you know how I get on.

[cheeseman]

good luck hope you get a super fast computer for cheap