Wanting to Upgrade current PC... Help??

C

CoachB79

New Member
So I am wanting to get back into playing games on my current PC, I used to play America's Army almost non stop.

I have a Compaq Presario SR1834nx.
Everything but the CD/DVD Drive is stock.

As is right now I want to atn least replace my RAM, currently 1 GB, going to up it to 4 GB.

I am just not sure what else I should do to help improve it.
I also want to get rid of my low FR, how do I do that?

Also... What brand of Ram should I buy?

Thanks in advance!!
 
Bodaggit23 said:
There are some cheaper RAM kits for his 4 DIMM slots. He'd have to
get 2 kits to get to 4Gigs. Not sure why you said it only has 2.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected...I Google'd his motherboard and read a spec sheet and it said the motherboard only has 2 DIMM Slots. It actually has 4 DIMM slots for RAM. Thank you for that...it took some time for me to find a motherboard layout diagram but you are right 4 DIMM slots.

Bodaggit23 said:
Also, the page you linked says it has a PCI-Express slot, which means
he could put a wide range of graphics cards in it.?
Click to expand...

I stand corrected again...I completely read information about another motherboard. That or the information I read was somebody else's mistake.

Thank you for the corrections:good:
__________________________________________

The link that Bodaggit23 posted for RAM is what you will need.
 
No problem whatsoever. We're all here to help right?

Where did the rest of the posts go? lol

I found that spec sheet from the link you posted. :D
 
Bodaggit23 said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...07965 1052407862 1052308477&name=2GB (2 x 1GB)

There are some cheaper RAM kits for his 4 DIMM slots. He'd have to
get 2 kits to get to 4Gigs. Not sure why you said it only has 2.

Also, the page you linked says it has a PCI-Express slot, which means
he could put a wide range of graphics cards in it.?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ry&product=1841851&dest_page=prodinfoCategory
Click to expand...

So pretty much any of the RAM on that list would be fine?
What kind of graphics card would you recommend?

Thanks for the help!!
 
mx344 said:
That card is great for games now, you can run most games on medium, and those things overclock so well! You will be amazed, you could get an extra 8FPS, just from the overclock...
Click to expand...

I have heard about overclocking but I don't know how to do it.
What else could be the problem with getting low FPS?
Will quadrupling the ram from 1GB to 4GB make a difference?
What other budget friendly ways could I increase the performance of my computer?

Thanks!
 
CoachB79 said:
I have heard about overclocking but I don't know how to do it.
What else could be the problem with getting low FPS?
Will quadrupling the ram from 1GB to 4GB make a difference?
What other budget friendly ways could I increase the performance of my computer?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Adding extra memory will definately help. The low FPS is just a fucntion of your relatively low CPU and GPU processing power. You could upgrade your processor to a dual core for probably 50-60$ and you could get that video card you asked about. Its not a powerhouse but a dedicated video card will definately help.
 
Linux0009 said:
Adding extra memory will definately help. The low FPS is just a fucntion of your relatively low CPU and GPU processing power. You could upgrade your processor to a dual core for probably 50-60$ and you could get that video card you asked about. Its not a powerhouse but a dedicated video card will definately help.
Click to expand...

What Processor would you recommend?
Right now I have a AMD Athlon 64, Should I remain with the same brand? Or will switching it up be ok?
 
Last edited:
You'll have to stick with AMD since your board's cpu socket is such, and your options are limited since the Socket 939 is growing harder to find. I see no 939 cpu's at Newegg or Tigerdirect for example. You may be able to find them elsewhere, idk.

What is your budget for this?

I built my kids a AMD Dual Core PC with 2Gigs of RAM for around $250.00.
May be worth considering starting over, as this cheap system would be a
definite step up from where you are.
 
The ceiling for my budget is about $400.
I didn't think I could buy a whole new system that would facilitate what I want to do for that much, so I was just going to try and upgrade my current with some RAM, Video Card, and maybe a new CPU.

RAM (for a total of 4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145575
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145579http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145579

Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121093

CPU
Not sure, since I don't even know if I will be able to find one.

MOUSE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076
OR
http://www.xoxide.com/wolfking-troopermvp-mouse-black.html

KEYBOARD (for gaming)
http://www.xoxide.com/wolfking-xxtreme-keyboard.html

Keyboard and mouse are secondary to the internals.
 
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CoachB79 said:
Awesome thanks!!!

So right now I am looking at:
RAM
Corsair 2GB (1GBX2) $84.99 w/ $40 rebate X 2 = $170 Before $90 after Rebate

CPU
AMD Dual Core $74.99

Video Card
ASUS Video Card $54.99 before/ $39.33 After Rebate

Which all in all comes out to $300 before rebates and $205 after rebates.
I think that is pretty good.

I know the RAM is easy to install, but what about the Video Card and CPU?

This should definitely help my computer!
Click to expand...

CPU and Video card are easy to install..Just follow a guide and use thermal paste on the cpu and you are good to go.
 
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