Upgrading my PC

[hellborn12]

Hey their,

I am sick and tired of low frame rates and choppy play on game like City of Heroes and Oblivion. I have realised it is because of my PC specs

Pentium 4 1.5GHZ Processor
Ati Radeon 256mb 9600xt (Sapphire)
512mb RAM (2x 128mb RAM, 1x 256mb RAM)

I have no idea what motherboard I have. I bought this PC refurbished. Is their a way I can check?

Okay, well basicly I want to upgrade the processor and the RAM. I think that the video card is ok and shall do me pretty well.

Firstly, Pentium 4 VS Duel Core. Now when I'm playing a game, will it be using both cores? So will a Duel Core 2GHZ be running at 4GHZ? Or will it only use 1 core?

I feel that if it only uses 1 core, its a waste of money, as I only want this PC for games. I think a Pentium 4 3GHZ would run better.

Now RAM, how much would you suggest? If I buy 1G RAM I can put that in and have 1.5G (Unless I only have 3 slots, in that case I can take a 128MB out and have 1.3G) Or should I buy 512mb and just have 1G?

My video card. I feel that my 256MB Radeon 9600xt (Powered my sapphire) will be good enough. What do you think?

Also, will my motherboard accept all these things? Is their a way I can check beforehand? Thankyou.

[hellborn12]

double post

[mjc]

I have no idea what motherboard I have. I bought this PC refurbished. Is their a way I can check?

Yes, there are several diagnostic programs out there that can give you that info...

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

http://www.gtopala.com/index.html

Firstly, Pentium 4 VS Duel Core. Now when I'm playing a game, will it be using both cores? So will a Duel Core 2GHZ be running at 4GHZ? Or will it only use 1 core?

I feel that if it only uses 1 core, its a waste of money, as I only want this PC for games. I think a Pentium 4 3GHZ would run better.

Really depends upon the game...

A dual core is NOT the same as a single core running at twice the speed, ever. It is two unique processors, running at the same time, splitting the overall load.

Now RAM, how much would you suggest? If I buy 1G RAM I can put that in and have 1.5G (Unless I only have 3 slots, in that case I can take a 128MB out and have 1.3G) Or should I buy 512mb and just have 1G?

Depends on the motherboard...

My video card. I feel that my 256MB Radeon 9600xt (Powered my sapphire) will be good enough. What do you think?

If my guess as to the AGP nature of your card is correct...no, not really.

Based on what you have so far, without the motherboard info, I'd say you would be better off starting over, from scratch than trying to upgrade this system.

[hellborn12]

Yes, there are several diagnostic programs out there that can give you that info...

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

http://www.gtopala.com/index.html

Really depends upon the game...

A dual core is NOT the same as a single core running at twice the speed, ever. It is two unique processors, running at the same time, splitting the overall load.

Depends on the motherboard..

If my guess as to the AGP nature of your card is correct...no, not really.

Based on what you have so far, without the motherboard info, I'd say you would be better off starting over, from scratch than trying to upgrade this system.

Heres my info

Mainboard - Intel D845WN
Chipset - Intel i845
Proccessor - Intel P4 @ 1500MHZ
Physical Memory - 512MB
Video Card - Ati Radeon 9600XT (V350)
Hard Disk - ST340016A (40GB)
Operating System - XP Home

I think thats the imporant stuff... No need for network card etc.

So will both cores run at the same time when I'm only playing a game?

Whats AGP Nature? How can i check?

[mjc]

Your card is an AGP card...

Your board has AGP 4x support, 3 GB RAM...and no support (depending mainly on manufacturer and BIOS version) for the fastest P4s. The basic chipset of that board is five years old, way past its upgrading prime.

[Ajmukon]

upgrade the Video card First, then upgrade the rest.
and it looks like you may need a new computer to get the latest and greatest...

try www.crucial.com memory scanner (to determine memory)
and you could try:
www.systemrequirementslab.com (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest)
and select your game from the list and hit "can you run it"

[Ajmukon]

double post
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=60640

and no no longer a double post..
wow 10 min, that was fast