Springs the question..

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First off, I work for my money, and I'm just now starting to get some. I have a few things to buy, but my PC isn't preforming well, and I need to do something about it.

I have an athlon 2100+ (1.73 gigz I think..) 512 ram, and a geforce fx 6200 (AGP).. So I might get a new powersupply for a radeon 9800xt? Its like the most expensive 9800 series card out and buy some ram, but is it even worth it? I lag a lot, and I'm pretty computer smart so theres nothing corrupting my system, but I'm just wondering if its worth the 150 dollars I'm going to spend on parts..

Feedback?
 
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Upgrade processor, then RAM, then video card. In your case, at least.
 
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Or if you got cooling, you can always overclock that sucka of a cpu ;). Friend has his 2100+ clocked at t-bred 2800+ speeds (2.25), and iv'e got my 2400+ clocked at 2.3ghz.

For memory, I would go buy a new memory kit, or just get another 512 stick (depending if your mainboard has support for dual channel memory of ddr400 memory, and if it doesn't, you just end up having the memory run slower, or if you buy a new stick and put it in with your current stick witch may likely be slower, it will run at the same sped as the slower stick). Depending on your budget, i'd go with ethier a geil or PQI TURBO 1 gig pc3200 kit (2x512), Or if you can extend the budget, something from corsair or ocz sounds good (with lower timings of course, get the most for your money).

For a newer gfx card I would get a 6600gt (AGP version), they can match and beat 9800xt cards performance wise, and when you look at it, your'e getting support for Shader model 3, and the 9800 series is aging as it is.
 
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Well, I'd be getting a free 9800xt or whatever. So, I can't purchase a 6600, I love Nvidia.. but free video card, come on.
 
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I dont even think that its worth overclocking an Athlon XP, you wont get much better performance and your video card might be bottle-necked by that cpu of yours, if I were you, then I would upgrade the Processor to an Athlon 64 or a Sempron at least, but im sure you didnt come here expecting me to throw you the "upgrade your pc" card so I would just overclock it for now and then get a new processor.

And if im not mistaken then your Athlon XP is a Socket A Proc, if I were you I would upgrade the mobo and get the new processor in socket 939 or 754 (at least 754) but thats if your into gaming, if your not then your processor and video card combo would do just fine.
 
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I put $300 into my system recently, and I went from not being able to play games from this year to being set for the next year or so at mid settings.

If you can get a 9800 for free, its definitely worth spending the $25 or so to power it. RAM and CPU are close seconds though, simply because thats not enough anymore. Without upgrading all 3, dont expect to be able to play much a year from now.
 
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Walmart Security said:
I dont even think that its worth overclocking an Athlon XP, you wont get much better performance and your video card might be bottle-necked by that cpu of yours, if I were you, then I would upgrade the Processor to an Athlon 64 or a Sempron at least, but im sure you didnt come here expecting me to throw you the "upgrade your pc" card so I would just overclock it for now and then get a new processor.

And if im not mistaken then your Athlon XP is a Socket A Proc, if I were you I would upgrade the mobo and get the new processor in socket 939 or 754 (at least 754) but thats if your into gaming, if your not then your processor and video card combo would do just fine.
Sempron chips are a waste of time and cash, & if you are at all suggesting to him to get a Socket A Sempron, there's no point as hias current cpu & The Sempron chips all sport the same core, just under different product names. I noticed a healthy increase in my gaming when I was overclocking my 2400+ to begin with. To make sure I saw the difference to see how it performed, I ran the default clock speeds in hl2 with some aa and af (very low aa and af since i'm using an fx5200). It ran smoother and I was getting a better framerate, & I was happy.

But if you really don't make much money, & can afford to get a decent cooler, then some overclocking should be in your book. Also make sure you have a decent air flow through your case too.
 
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Saiyan_Overlord said:
Sempron chips are a waste of time and cash
Sorry, but have to interject. Semprons, well the latest ones, aren't a waste of time or cash (What does time have to do with it?). The socket 939/754 Semprons have very good price/performance as the latest ones have enabled 64bit extensions and the integrated memory controller. The only problem is their halved cache (or forthed depending on what you compare it to), but that only allows them to overclock a lot further as they have less to go wrong, and it doesn't account for too much performance loss. They are great for the price. I'm not telling him to upgrade, as I agree; socket A semprons suck. It's only the 754/939s you may be interested in.
 
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Yeah, thats what I said, if you have the money and only if he has the money then I would get the mobo upgraded to Socket 754, 939 preferably. I never said to get a Socket A Sempron, if you read my post you would realize that Overlord.
 
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I haven't seen any s939 Sempron's appear yet though.
 
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A sempron is AMD's version of the Celeron, if you dont know what a celeron is either, you are an idiot.... Just Kidding man, a Sempron and the Celeron are processors, celeron made by Intel and the Sempron is made by AMD.
 
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I know what a celeron is, just never heard of a sempron. I don't know what I'm going to end up doing for my PC if I even do anything.... *sigh*
 
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Alright, lets start over Draylock, what is the main thing you want this computer to do? Gaming, Multitasking, Internet...?

I need to know this first so we can give you a good idea of what you need to get.
 

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