Advice on Upgrading

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Aaron1100us

New Member
My computer is slow but I don't want to dump a lot of money into it. Here are the current specs.

2.7 ghz Celeron
512 mb ram
MX420 64mb PCI graphics card
350 watt power supply
Asus P4P 800 SE mobo

I don't do much gaming but I'm getting a simulator thats fairly graphics intensive. Phoenix RC sim. Plus my computer just runs slow the way it is. I have an Nvidia 6600GT card with 512mb ram on the way. I'd also like to upgrade the ram, cpu and power supply if I need to. Would I benifit from getting a 2.8 or 3.0 P4 with 800 mhz fsb, 1 or 2 gb of ram and a bigger power supply? Which of these should I get first? Or do I really need to get anything else besides the graphics card? I found a 2.8 and 3.0 P4 both with with HT on ebay for around $30. Would it be worth getting one of those? Will I see much of a difference from the celeron? Thanks


Oh, another thing. My mobo takes DDR ram and my new graphics card has DDR2 ram. Will that cause problems? Thanks
 
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TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
The memory your board takes and the memory on your GFX card have nothing to do with each other, you should be fine. I assume your mobo doesn't have a PCI-E slot since you're going for 6xxx-series card? If it does, you can get heaps better...
 
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Aaron1100us

New Member
Thanks for the reply. Yes, my mobo only has PCI and AGP, no PCI-E. The 6600GT graphics card is AGP. Is the graphics card going to make my computer faster by itself or would it be a good idea to get more ram and another CPU? I don't want to dump a bunch of money into it because I'd like to build a new computer next year. I'd just like it to quite being so slow and to be able to handle a fairly graphics intensive rc flight simulator program.
 
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TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
RAM is so cheap, even the old DDR, that you might as well get 2 more sticks of ram (for dual-channel), for a total of al least 1GB (Though I would get 512mb or 1GB sticks). Just out of curiosity, what OS are you running? And how recent is the game you're planning to run? The GFX card is kinda old and won't handle any new games well.

Also, if possible, I'd try OCing the CPU a little more. I don't think a new one would be worth it.
 
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Aaron1100us

New Member
I must have been out of the computer loop for a while, I remember back when the 6600GTcard came out and thought that was a pretty sweet card. I've had my MX420 64 MB card for probably 6 years now or more. Haven't kept up with all the new stuff. Won't the 512 MB of ram on the graphics card help too?

I was thinking of getting two 1 gig sticks of ram, pretty cheap on ebay. Would ram help me out more than a cpu? I'm running XP with SP2.

The game is fairly new (I think), its a simulator game for remote controlled helicopters and airplanes. http://www.phoenix-sim.com/welcome.htm

Here are the bare minimum requirements just to get it to run on low settings.

"- Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- 1.0 Ghz Pentium 3/4 or AMD Athlon/64 compatible processor
- 256MB system memory (RAM)
- 750MB free, uncompressed hard-disk space*
- ATI Radeon 9600/NVidia Geforce Ti4200 with at least 128MB memory
- Microsoft DirectX 9.0c or higher*
- CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive for installation
- 1 free USB 1.1/2.0 port
- 100% DirectX 9 compatible sound card (optional)"


I've got my celeron up to about 3.2 ghz, after that, it locks up. I think I might be to the point where I've heated it up too much as my computer is doggy slow. It used to be fairly fast too. CPU Temps are usually under 42 C. So going to a cpu with an 800 mhz fsb wouldn't really do anything?
 
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TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
Hmm well the graphics card is more than enough for the game. Also, in this case the RAM upgrade would help more than a new CPU (considering your options).

For teh game you're planning to run, the upgrade seems fine. The comp should be able of handling it at very decent, if not highest, settings.
 
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TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
The reason for your computer being slower than before could be accumulation of crap...running programs like CCleaner and RegCleaner, and also scanning for viruses/whatnot could result in significant improvement.
 
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m0nk3ys1ms

Active Member
Your rig should be fine with 1-2GB of RAM, which you can get for dirt cheap anyway. The new GPU will definitely help out. If you can find a cheap P4 compatible with your motherboard, I would say to go for it.
 
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Aaron1100us

New Member
I try to keep my computer pretty clean. I have it all organized and only run as few of programs as possible. I hate having a messy computer. I do run ccleaner, ad aware 2007, spybot search and destroy, windows defender, and I defrag the HD atleast once or twice a month. I used to have hijackthis but couldn't figure it out. Adaware seems to be the only thing that ever finds anything. I'm running Avast free addition for my antivirus. But I'm not sure it it really does anything. Windows firewall is on, automatic updates is on but I've heard I should not have that on automatic. The only things I have running in my task bar are Avast, creative labs sound controller, and the belkin wireless network program.

Next year, I'd like to do some decent upgrades to this (my home computer) but my goal is to get a Macbook. I never do any hard core gaming with this computer, just a lot of internet, multitasking, videos and music. But I hate a slow computer and just need it to be fast enough to keep me happy. I at least need to get a different, more recent mobo and AMD cpu.


I think I'm going to get two 1 gig sticks of ram then get a decent P4 and psu when I get a chance. My mobo can take upto a 3.2 P4 with HT and those seem pretty cheap on ebay too. Any suggestions for a psu? I've seen cheap ones on ebay but I've heard that its not good to go with a cheap psu. Whats your opinion?
 
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