Hey everyone! First time poster here!

I had a computer built for me about 1.5 years ago. I'll share what I think my specs are and, hopefully someone can provide me with some advice about boosting my performance based on my goals. I say 'what I think my specs are,' because I'm not entirely sure what I have. I'm mostly going off of the control dxdiag and pcwizard.

Anyway, here's my system

Mainboard : Intel DG965SS
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2133 MHz 1066MHz FSB
Physical Memory : 1024 MB 333MHz (2 x 512 DDR2-SDRAM ) - Corsair Valueselect
Hard Disk : WDC (160 GB) 7200RPM
Video Card : ATI Technologies Inc Radeon X1600 Series 512MB
Operating System : Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium Home Edition 6.00.6000

I'm a gamer, not extreme, but I appreciate a system that can keep up when I need it to. I'm a college student pulling in 30k/year, so funds are available if I want them to be, but I can't go and slap down $600 bucks on one component, so top of the line video cards are out of the question for me at the moment.

RAM: I know I need more and/or better RAM, especially while running Vista. The 333MHz frequency bugs me. I'd like to go to 2GB total at 800MHz if it's not horribly expensive.

Video Card: I was foolish to get the 512MB, I know. I'm looking for an upgrade and I realize there are some 256MB that will give me better performance. I'm most clueless about VCs, so any info/advice here is appreciated.

HDD: My HDD is nice, but I've seen those WD Raptors with 10000RPM and I've drooled a little. They seem to be getting great reviews, but I just don't know enough about computers to know if my money would be well spent.

Processor: PCWizard says I'm only running at ~1500MHz??? Again, not sure if it's worth throwing money here.


That's about all I'm thinking of at the moment. Any ideas about good, cost-effective upgrades? If you need more info, I'll be glad to root around for it.

Thanks!

well i think an upgrade on theese 2 things and you would really notice performance increase
#1 upgrade to 2Gb ddr2-800Memory
#2 upgrade to a ATI radeon 2600 series or better

and about the processor only workign at 1500Mhz. try puttign it under a large load like an antivirus scan and then check it and see if it speeds up to meet the power demand... then you know your fine

before i give you any exact reccommendations

whats your budget ammount your willing to spend?

Eh, that's the rub in all of this. I mean, I'd initially balk at spending $500 to upgrade. But, I guess it depends on how much bang I'm getting for my buck. I know the RAM can't be too expensive (what, $150-200?).

I'd spend the money for the vid card if it'd give me a good boost. I'd really like to be able to max out the options and still have games be playable.

you can get 2gb of ram at ddr2800 for under 100 i believe

and if your willing to spend 500 for an upgrade

you could probably get a wd raptor with that too

well give me some time to research your mobo and see what all it is compatible with so i can see whats the most economical for your upgrade

Hi Phosphonothioic,
Firstly, I'd like to welcome to CompuForums - it's good to have you here. I hope you will be on the board for a long time, and if there is anything I can do to make your experience better please let me know. We are here to help you, so it would be appreciated if you could help us by posting in threads as well as your own. By doing so, you are helping to keep this site running in the future, and we will respond to your thread faster too. If you can't help us, then we can't help you.

For an instant performance boost, consider swapping Vista for XP. Despite the marketing hype, Vista is still simply Windows NT with a fancy skin, some extra applications, and plenty of bloat to slow your system down.

If you must run Windows Me Vista though, you would probably benefit from getting more RAM. You need at least 2GB of RAM for any sort of decent performance, and faster RAM should help that along too. Do upgrades in stages - it's no good spending a lot of money upgrading a load of components when it's just one that's getting your faster speeds. Just remember that your computer is only as fast as it's slowest component, and just purchase what you think would be the best option - it probably will be.

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Thanks,
Ash
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and another question , what country are you in( i ask this to find the best on line retailer)

Just FYI, I use:

Monitor Type : Acer AL1916W (Widescreen 1440x900)

Just so you know...in case there are any compatibility issues.
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New Jersey, USA
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Thanks for the welcome!!

I'll try my best to contribute. I don't know much compared to what I've seen here, but I'll be sure to put in my 2 cents where I can.

You seem to know quite a bit about hardware, but if you're not so hot on computers then there's always the general area [ http://www.compuforums.org/general/ ]. Alternatively, you could always upgrade your CF account as well as your computer and earn priority support with posts in other threads welcomed but not expected , as well as help contribute to the rising server costs and keep the site online [I can't afford to keep paying out forever]

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

ok since you are in USA you have access to in my opinion the best computer hardware seller int he world Newegg.com - Buy Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

i found out some info on your board and it is compatible with the following

DDR2 memory - so you can get 2GB of high speed DDR2 800Mhz which will be alot faster than your current 1gb at 333Mhz

and a ATI radeon video card 2000 series or better
so give me some time to find you some upgrade parts and ill post links to them so you can see if you like them

I grew up building my own computers essentially. More like, constantly replacing components year-in and year-out as the market evolved. I'm like most people, eye candy is nice. But, I also aware that I can easily overpay for inferior components if I'm not careful(which I did for this last system).

I'll look into the account upgrade. I'm really hoping to up my computer IQ as some point. I just feel the knowledge will give me a better appreciation of what I'm buying. And it'll probably make my smile a little wider when I put a new, better-performing component in next time.
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I know this sounds silly, but could you find out if my board supports the PCI-E cards? I've wondered if I'm 'stuck' with AGP components.

Also, I'm pretty sure my board will support 4GB RAM total. I could max it out if it wouldn't be overkill.

Well do you have 32-bit or 64-bit vista? If you have 32-bit, you should buy a maximum of around 3gb of ram because that's pretty much all 32-bit can recognize.

For ram :
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

For video card : a little more money than i expected ... but a very very very nice card

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100212SR Radeon HD 2900PRO 512MB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

so what games do you plan on playing ... so that i can be sure this card will play them at maxed settigns


your board supports PCI E and has a max ram ammount for 8GB of ram... but as Jsmith said .. 32 bit operating systems only support a max of 3.50Gb

I always cringe at the manufacturers if they are not mainstream. May be an improper reaction. I don't mind spending a little more to get the namebrand, so if those are the specs you recommend, I'll shop brands. Thanks man, excellent posts.

both of those are Name brands

Just to let you know, most of the name brands are actually either sold under these alternative names, or usually, re branded versions of these "lesser" brands.

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Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.