Help me decide on what to upgrade

[Kain]

I have about $200 to spend on an upgrade. Where should I spend that $200 to increase gaming performance?

I can upgrade the following:

Processor, graphics card, and/or motherboard.

[CaptNKILL]

go to http://www.newegg.com

You should be able to get an Athlon XP and a Geforce 4 Ti4200 for around 200 bucks. I'll go check the site more thoroughly to see what you should get.

Other than CPU and Video, your comp isnt bad. The KT133 chipset is very dated now, but a new mobo wouldnt help all that much without spending another $80 on PC-2700 RAM. Better to get a good CPU and vid, then make the next upgrade a good Mobo.

[Harnagel]

yup, what he said ^^^

[CaptNKILL]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=48&manufactory=1636&DEPA=1

These are all 128Mb Ti4200s. I wouldnt recomend getting a 64Mb now because the games are starting to stress even 128Mb cards already. I wouldnt worry too much about the brand, but my EVGA 4400 overclocks to 4600 speeds with a well cooled case. So I would recomend the EVGA one on that page for $145 (free shipping).

Here are the AthlonXPs:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=343&DEPA=1&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycodevalue=4159

I THINK (dont quote me here) that the retail Heat-Sink\Fan combo that came with the 1Ghz Athlon is the same one that they still use, so if you bought an OEM CPU (for example, that dirt cheap 1700+) you could just use your currect HSF without having to spend more on an additional heat sink.

So, follow the links above and get:
EVGA Geforce 4 Ti4200 128Mb - $145
Athlon XP 1700+ - $47 (DAMN!)
No shipping charge
Comes out to $192
That would give that comp of yours a good boost.



ACTUALLY, I just remember something. You will probably want to check your Mobo manufacturers web site to make sure you can support the Athlon XP Thoroubred CPUs. You may have to get a BIOS update. If there isnt one available, you may have to get one of these instead:http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=343&DEPA=1&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=4157,3893

Those will work on ANY Socket A mobo. Its not as fast as the 1700+ but its still an upgrade.

[CaptNKILL]

OK, I just checked the site for your Mobo.

http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/AK73Pro(A).htm

The CPU support list looks good:
http://club.aopen.com.tw/testreport/mb/cpu_supported.asp?TestFunction=494&Model=331

You can support up to the 2000+. So that 1700+ should work.

But just in case, you might want to get the newest BIOS off of that site (just go to that first link and click BIOS on the left).

Good luck with your upgrade. I think the jump from 1ghz TBird to 1.47Ghz TBred will be noticeable. And the Ti4200 will make that CPU really shine :)

[Kain]

Thanks.

However, I don't have the "A" version of my motherboard.

[Kain]

Okay.

Lets say I want to upgrade my processor, RAM, motherboard, and graphics card. Can I do all that for around $300?

Secondly, I don't live in the USA so www.pricewatch.com is pretty useless for me as most websites don't ship internationally.

[Kain]

Could I do the following for around $300?

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2100+
Motherboard: ?
RAM: 512MB Crucial DDR-SDRAM
Graphics card: nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4400

Is this possible for around $300?

[nin_fragile14]

No, that would probably be over 400 dollars. You'd have to do something like what Captn Kill said.

[CaptNKILL]

Originally posted by Kain

Secondly, I don't live in the USA so www.pricewatch.com is pretty useless for me as most websites don't ship internationally.

Well, in that case I cant really help you. You'll have to find someone from your country that knows the prices\availability. Since your not in the US, what did you mean by $200? $200 of your money or USD?

Prices on hardware can go up really fast when you compare countries, maybe even double. I might still be able to help, but I'll need more info.

What country
Currency
Ect.

[Kain]

I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

I said $200 just to make it easier for you to "deal" with the currency.

Computer prices are competitive here. The only thing I would have to order online would be the RAM.