Hi
I need to upgrade my computer
what I have now is a 2.8 liter...I mean Ghz Pentium, with a 1024 MB ram and a Ge Force 6200 256MB

what I have in mind is another 1024 MB of ram and a new Graphics card (like the 8600 GT)...

the main question is, would it be enough for the computer to have adequate performance, or should I just scrap everything and get a new one?

Could you give little bit more specific information about your current system, such as model of your current CPU and whether you have PCI-E slot?

TBH if you get a 7900GT (Which have utterly dissapeared) your CPU will hold you back - a 7600GT and 2 GB of RAM would be the best bet imo.

What I CAN tell you, just from your saying that you have a Pentium, is that your likely going to want to get a new motherboard that supports a more modern processor and RAM. I'm going to guess that you have DDR ram. At this point you should get at least DDR2. In fact, you're probably looking at a whole new computer if you want to do anything worthwhile with your money, rather than just upgrading it with older technology.

Tell us what you are looking for and what your budget is, and we'll be more than happy to help you.

what psu you got?

squidhead
if you want i can help you with comp, or upgrade
i just bought a new system, i know the prices and other

I'm liking Jakg's idea of the 7600 GT and another gig of RAM. if that weren't posible I think a 7900 GS or a x1950 Pro would be decent too (if money allows) But definetly another gig would help when you got a few things going on.
~Bryan~

it depends how good his psu is and if it can handle the power which the X1950 will take...etc. etc.

Well, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine. He hasn't really told us whether he built his computer originally or not. If he did, I'd sure hope he didn't buy a 200W PSU, and if he didn't, most companies usually leave enough leeway to toss in a GFX card or something into a PCI slot... but yea - I guess it's worth checking out.

Better go for Geforce just to be sure, Radeon does suck alot of power and runs quite hot which can be a problem if case is typical OEM style compact component hell.

ok, have been out of here for a few days...
had some talk with our IT specialist at work...
got all the hardware to test it before buy...
definetly buying this
I got
+2 GB DDR2 @ 533 Mhz Ram
+Geforce 8600GT 256Ram @128Bit
+250 Gig WD hard disk
and a cute mousey as a replacement for my old one as a gift(I wish I could get a G25 as a replacement for my old wheel for free too)

this whole package will cost me 200 LVL which is a bit less then 300 Eur...
so Im buying...the performance jump is HUGE... trust me... really HUGE
I used to get 40-50 FPS @ 1024x768 in LFS in singleplayer with no texture addons, with lod detail in medium
now I get 120 FPS @ 1280x1024 with lod maxed out...

good LFS performance here I come

P.S.
about the PSU - no worries there, I had a upgrade in mind when I was ordering my computer a few years back...so I got a Motherboard which can take dual core processors, and had enough power supply

good job Squid!

Quote from squidhead :

ok, have been out of here for a few days...
had some talk with our IT specialist at work...
got all the hardware to test it before buy...
definetly buying this
I got
+2 GB DDR2 @ 533 Mhz Ram
+Geforce 8600GT 256Ram @128Bit
+250 Gig WD hard disk
and a cute mousey as a replacement for my old one as a gift(I wish I could get a G25 as a replacement for my old wheel for free too)

this whole package will cost me 200 LVL which is a bit less then 300 Eur...
so Im buying...the performance jump is HUGE... trust me... really HUGE
I used to get 40-50 FPS @ 1024x768 in LFS in singleplayer with no texture addons, with lod detail in medium
now I get 120 FPS @ 1280x1024 with lod maxed out...

good LFS performance here I come

P.S.
about the PSU - no worries there, I had a upgrade in mind when I was ordering my computer a few years back...so I got a Motherboard which can take dual core processors, and had enough power supply

PSU worries...You said you bought a Motherboard that has enough power supply? FYI, its not the motherboard that supplies the power, its the actual power supply. Unless thats what you meant.

if so, i recommend the Corsair 450W Modular, great PSU, runs 2 8800GTS in SLI, a Q6600, a P5k, was submitted by a user on the ebuyer forums

Meh, running two GTS's on a 450 Watt PSU is really pushing it. That PSU also isn't "certified" for it, tho idk how much that matters. I'd get at LEAST 500 for SLI. I have the 520 one and that one works like a charm (no, I don't have SLI.) Even if you get the 450 to work with SLI, it leaves NO leeway to do anything later on... (overclocking?)

yeh, this guy said he had a watercooled Q6600 at 3.7Ghz, at 1.6** Volts, and it was all fine, i have the 520W Modular too

Quote from mcintyrej :

PSU worries...You said you bought a Motherboard that has enough power supply? FYI, its not the motherboard that supplies the power, its the actual power supply. Unless thats what you meant.

Thats what I said
1x motherboard which can take dual core processors
1x PSU that is powerful enough to have the PC upgraded without swapping the Power supply unit

Just out of curiosity, what IS your PSU rated at?

Also, I dunno much about WD, but I do know that the Seagate HDDs are wonderful...

ahh, well you could get more powerful things for 200Lvl, you know
1. it would be better if you buy ddr2-800 ram like this one http://smspc.lv/products/28919.html
2. default 8600gt is not so powerful, so i recommend you to buy 8600gt Sonic http://smspc.lv/products/99996.html

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Just out of curiosity, what IS your PSU rated at?

says 500w on it

Oh, well then that's good

As long as your above the 350w mark and have decent +12v rail amperage (around 26v or more), your fine with a 8600GT - as long as your not running a coffee pot off the psu also or have a glorified heat bucket running every slot with a component. Combined (or single) +12 volt rail(s) "combined rating" (labeled in PSU charts on PSU) factors equal - if not above peak wattage. Insufficient voltage means lock-ups, where-as insufficient wattage (with sufficient votage) most likely degrades performance whilst operating.
As an example, my XPS's PSU peak wattage is rated at 375w - yet it has 2 +12v rails rated at 29a combined (around 19a each rail). nVidia calls for 450w(?) for the 88GTX/GT yet 26 amps through the +12v - so here I am running a 88GT that "should" have a 450w+ PSU - the fact is, the 88GT uses 140w peak. nVidia and ATI are giving these credentials for a "worst-case-scenerio" PC (3 hard drives, 2 cd burners, LED lights, 4 fans, ect.).
Contrare to popular belief, stock acer/dell/compaq/ect. PSUs are built tougher with bigger fuses than the after-market and often carry high voltage through thier rails and lower peak wattage which could contribute to thier long-lasting ability. Just thought I'd throw that in. You've really got to make sure to find the combined +12v rating when buying a PSU. There is a lot of show and throw products out there today.

Sorry about the lecture. PSU marketing gets people caught up in peak watts.

I've also heard that having dual +12V rails is actually worse than a single rail. The reason being that if you have an SLi setup or something - anything really that sucks a lot of power from one rail, then the other rail, which isn't being used THAT much can't help out. So you end up with a very uneven setup that is very inefficient. That's why a lot of people are going back to single rails nowadays.

Quote from Fuel Filter :

Contrare to popular belief, stock acer/dell/compaq/ect. PSUs are built tougher with bigger fuses than the after-market and often carry high voltage through thier rails and lower peak wattage which could contribute to thier long-lasting ability. Just thought I'd throw that in.

Sorry how did you work that one out?

Yeah dude I'd like to see some fact on that. Any Dell, HP, or Compaq PC I've seen, cheap out on anything they can (motherboard, case, PSU, RAM) And only throw in a good processor, lots of harddrive space, and SOMETIMES a good graphics card, just so the idiot buyer thinks he's getting a 'good deal'
~Bryan~