Could this system work ok for some of today's games?

[PCaddict7]

Hello, i was just wondering if the planned upgrades would give this old pc justice. It is our family living room pc.

please let me know if there is a better alternative for this pc and bare in mind i just wanna max out what this pc could do in terms of it being able to be a "moderated gaming pc"

*parts in BOLD are what I plan to get* since there is basically nothing else i could upgrade to help this computer be an ok gaming pc.


CPU: Celeron D 2.5Ghz
Motherboard: ECS *Elitegroup* P4M800-M7 motherboard
Memory: 2GB DDR400 Kingston Dual Channel w/custom heatsink and memory cooling fan (planned upgrade)
VC: Sapphire HD2600XT 512MB gddr3 8xAGP (planned upgrade)
PSU: 400watt generic
Monitor: 17"inch LCD Acer

I left out everthing else since I know these parts are the ones to look at for upgrading for gaming.

Not sure about upgrading the CPU since, this motherboard cant use the Core 2 Duos, maybe someone could give some input regarding upgrading the CPU.

With the given info on the motherboard, could I be able to OC the processor higher to help with gaming? And if I could, then what is the best aftermarkt cooler for this motherboard/cpu?

 

[PurdueRy]

Upgrading that machine is a big waste of money IMO...either start over or buy a dell.

 

[DSF]

ECS boards aren't known for their overclockablity. DDR 400 does not need a custom heatsink and cooling fan. Sounds like a waste of money to me. I'm with Ry. An upgrade might help in the short term, but you'll probably find yourself upgrading again in a year or less if your family wants to play the newest games. May be best to let this become the internet surfer and build a new budget gaming box with more up to date parts.

What kind of gaming are you talking about?

 

[PCaddict7]

Originally posted by: DSF
DDR 400 does not need a custom heatsink and cooling fan. An upgrade might help in the short term,

What kind of gaming are you talking about?

I'm getting the memory from a coworker, saw the memory already, it was the Hyper X kind with the blue Heat heatsink covers and it has a cooling memory fan on them, he's selling them to me for $50.


In terms of gaming, atleast to play Call of Duty well and some older games like Age of Empires III and Counter strike Source and even The Sims 2 also.

I did some research for the best AGP card which was a AGP version of the 3850 w/512MB GDDR3. But a PC store across the street from where I work has a Sapphire 2600XT w/512MB GDDR3 8xAGP for sale at $80. *Thats why i thought of getting that kind of card just so I dont have to wait and I could just get the card right now*

 

[0roo0roo]

that systems past the point of economical upgrade. any money spent on it will be a waste, the bang for buck will be rather poor and in the end you'll realize it would have been better spent on a new system. any component upgrade will be dragged down by the other obsolete bits. that celeron d would get crushed by the slowest core2 out there. its not even in the charts anymore
just to show you how far along the processors have come
http://www.tomshardware.com/ch...-studio-max-9,369.html and even this charts out of date


ram with memory heatsinks are pretty worthless. its mostly for show, as ram uses very little power and doesn't get hot. let alone needing a fan. 2gb of regular ram is fine. esp if you can get it for less, so many almost free after rebate deals out there. i upgraded two systems to 2gb ddr2 for 15 dollars each after ~30 dollar rebate recently. frys and other places have these deals often. the most premium memory is only useful for overclocking, otherwise theres no benefit. and even then, just bumping ram speed nets you very little benefit. 50 dollar ram if you have access to value memory deal is no deal. let alone used.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC8500 $19.99 AR + FS @ Fry's.com
http://www.fatwallet.com/forum...ht_key=y&keyword1=ddr2

OCZ NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 2GB PC-8500 DDR2 Memory Kit FREE after $40 rebate + shipping@ microcenter
http://www.fatwallet.com/forum...ht_key=y&keyword1=ddr2

ur friend is overcharging
big time

thatwas just from a quick search, plenty more deals out there

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I think you'd honestly be better off replacing most of that system, namely the motherboard, processor, video card, and RAM, for just a little bit more money.

You've already claimed to be spending $130 ($50 from RAM, $80 from video card) on the upgrades. Here's what else you could do:

$30 Radeon HD 2600XT http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102755
$40 2GB RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134635 (or take advantage of special sales like Oroo posted)
$58 Athlon 4600+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103062
$55 Foxcon mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186136

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Over here you could get a 3.2GHz P4 + 7600GT system used for about 130 bucks.. IMO you should just get an assembled used setup

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC8500 $19.99 AR + FS @ Fry's.com
http://www.fatwallet.com/forum...ht_key=y&keyword1=ddr2

OCZ NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 2GB PC-8500 DDR2 Memory Kit FREE after $40 rebate + shipping@ microcenter
http://www.fatwallet.com/forum...ht_key=y&keyword1=ddr2

He's using DDR, not DDR2, and that's more expensive even if it's used.

 

[0roo0roo]

oops lol
that makes it even less worth it then, sinking money into obsolete used memory...egads.
buy a new motherboard and be done with it!