Upgrading my gaming rig...suggestions please.

TaylorDTX

New Member
I am finally really beginning to feel the age of my PC as of late with the new Stalker and Supreme Commander games, so I was wondering if you guys could help me out with upgrading my pc. I'm not really all that knowledgeable, but I know the basics. My specs include:

-Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT
-1 Gig of RAM (dual 512)
-Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.2ghz (2 CPUs)

What do you guys recommend I upgrade and in what order of importance? I'll have about $400 immediately, and then I can upgrade the rest later during winter. My main problems are which graphics card I should upgrade to and what aspects of my pc are most dated. I realize the the Nvidia 8800GTX is over my budget, but is the extra cash worth it over the 640 or 320mb models?

Thanks in advance.
 
You won't be able to add/upgrade your system properly with just 400$, since you would have to buy most of the parts such as cpu,mobo,ram,hdd (maybe if you want sata hdd) and the video card and a psu too maybe a case if your current case isn't big enough or has bad air flow.
 
All right then disregard the budget. Its an alienware so I dont worry about the case/airflow. What and in what order of importance do I need?
 
I think the first thing would be the CPU if anything, then the GPU and then the RAM, 1 GB of RAM is still very acceptable by today's standards.
 
Even if he upgrades the processor i don't think he'll get something better than he does have atm, why? cuz i'm pretty sure it's an old p4 model
 
think the 3.2 was a prescott

I've got basically the same processor, and it's almost maxed out with just an x1300. It's gonna bottleneck anything faster.

I'd upgrade the cpu first. Or just wait a little while and upgrade everything when c2d's drop in price.
 
You don't think he can get any better, Core 2 Duo?

Anyway, it's really between the CPU and the GPU, the RAM is Ok for now.
 
When I do DirectX Diagnostic, this is the exact wording for my processor...

Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz (2 CPUs)


Its an Alienware that I got in August of 2005 if that helps.
 
OK. I just found my original invoice. My updated specs:

ABIT AA8XE 925XE MB Motherboard
P3 3.2JGHz 1MB 800FSB LGA775 Processor
Crucial 512mb DDR2 PC4200 Memory
Geforce 6800GT 256mb GPU
Inyel integrated high definition audio sound card
460 Watt power supply
GFX CK03-1225 Dual Slot Card Keeper Graphics Processor


I didn't know if the last three were important, but I included them anyway. I'm sorry if my first listing was too vague, and I appreciate any help I will get with this updated information. I plan on upgrading my CPU and RAM now, and my graphics card after ATI releases their DX10 card in case there are price drops.
 
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