Advice on sprucing up my current desktop

Here is what I have now: HP Pavilion p6336f-b

- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit Intel® Pentium® Processor E5400PROCESSOR SPEED - 2.70GHzCHIPSET - Intel® G43 Express ChipsetCACHE (L2) - 2MB L2 CacheBUS SPEED - 800MHz Front Side BusMEMORY - 7GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM memory (3x2048MB and 1x1024MB forultimate performance) (expandable to 8GB)1 Terabyte Serial ATA hard driveOPTICAL DRIVE(S) - SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe TechnologyWrite: 16x max DVD±R, 12x max DVD±R DL, 8x max DVD+RW, 6x maxDVD-RW, 12x max DVD-RAM, 40x max CD-R, 32x max CD-RWRead: 16x max DVD-ROM, 40x max CD-ROMIntel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 with 32MB integrated sharedgraphics memory. Up to 1695MB Total Available Graphics Memory asallocated by Windows- 10/100/1000Base-T network interfaceHigh Definition Audio with up to 7.1 surround sound capabilitiesMEMORY SLOTS - 4 DIMM (240-pin, DDR3) (occupied)- 1 PCI Express x16 (occupied)- 3 PCI Express x1 (three available)EXPANSION BAYS - 2 external 5.25"" (one available)- 1 external 3.5"" , 2 internal 3.5"" (one available)15-in-1 memory card reader: supports SmartMedia, xD, MultiMedia Card,Secure Digital (SD), Mini Secure Digital, Compact Flash I, Compact Flash II,IBM Microdrive,

This is information off of a website about the desktop I have. It was found here: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/allmodreviews_10153_12605_00301634000P_?dataProductPageUrl=http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00301634000P&targetType=seeAllReviews under description. I would like to make it a better computer. I am unable to play my SIM City game I purchased when it came out and I think it may be due to my computer. Can someone please tell me what I can and should add to make my computer better?

I mainly do school work, watch videos, play online and downloadable games, download music and photos.

Thank you for your help! I know a little about computers as far as hardware goes, but not much.

Well, you're looking pretty limited in both your CPU and video card. I would look into upgrading those. I have a few good articles that introduce readers to PC hardware. I would recommend reading through
What is a video card?
as well as
The Brains of Your Computer: An Intro To CPUs

They are both quick reads and aim to introduce PC hardware to those that don't know a whole lot about it. You can also browse through the other intro articles for more information on PC hardware.

Let me know when you've read those, then we can discuss possible upgrades (depending on your budget)

Upgrading your PC is a pretty easy process. I'd be more than happy to help you out with it.

To be honest, I think it may be easier for you just to build a new system scratch if you are prepared to spend the money and time.

By the time you have replaced the power supply, graphics card and processor in your current system, it would have been easier to build something new. These OEM systems are often a pain to upgrade since they use non-standard size power supplies and motherboards (sometimes) and the BIOSes can be really picky about replacing CPUs. Sometimes graphics cards can be hard to fit because of the case.

By building a new system, you'd eliminate all of those problems. Throw me a budget and I'll see what you can get in that price range. I don't think you'd need something terribly powerful.

spirit said:

To be honest, I think it may be easier for you just to build a new system scratch if you are prepared to spend the money and time.

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Agree with this

Factory mass produced machines are terrible, visually the cases they use are so bland and dull and the specs are usually pretty low.

7GB ram is an odd number to have.

I would sell your current system and put it toward building a new system, you will get far better components for less money.

spirit said:

By building a new system, you'd eliminate all of those problems. Throw me a budget and I'll see what you can get in that price range. I don't think you'd need something terribly powerful.

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I am not sure what a typical budget would be when building my own system, but I would say around 1,200. I just need to know if that is an acceptable budget.

That's definitely more than enough. $800 would fetch you a nice mid/high range gaming computer.

Dude, with 1200 bucks, you'd be wasting your money if you spent any of it on this PC. Get rid of it and build one from scratch with your 1200 bucks. You could build a great PC for that kind of money.