How best to upgrade an aging pc?

[burnhamd]

I built a machine in 2004 and picked parts that would allow me to upgrade easily. The machine was built on a budget and still needs to be upgraded on a budget. The current parts are:
Chaintech Nforce4 Zenith VE (has pci-e and is socket 939)
AMD64 3000+ (the one without SSE3)
512meg of ram
gigabyte geforce 6600 PCI-e
120gig sata drive
lg dvd writer
300watt psu from antec.

What is the best way to upgrade this machine with as little money spent as possible. I especially want to be able to play 2007 but that isn't completely necessary

 

[Amaron]

Saying what kind of budget you mean would probably be useful. Everyone has a different amount in mind.

Some things to consider:

You have a socket 939 setup. You can still get some good 939 chips but if you are a budget gamer I feel that doing so would lock you into a 939 motherboard the next time you need to upgrade. So avoid an expensive CPU upgrade since you can get a decent one for cheap. All in all though your cpu is probably the least lacking part.

Your memory is far too little. You didn't list what type you have but if your motherboard supports the setup adding at least another gig is going to be a huge help in many games.

Depending on how much you've got to spend that graphics card is where you are going to get the biggest boost. Try to focus most of your budget there. Don't neglect the memory though because it will become a huge bottleneck at just 512 mb's and make the rest of the upgrade pointless.

I'm not so up and up on PSU's so hopefully someone else will chime in but I don't think a 300w is going to cut it for a newer graphics card. Frankly I'm suprised you've gotten away with it in your current system.

 

[Dantzig]

Good choice on the 939 platform. Hell, I've been upgrading my computers to 939

Is your CPU overclocked? What core does it have (use CPUZ to find out if you don't know)? If it's overclockable core, then you might just want to get a Freezer 64 Pro and crank it up a bit. Cost: $20-25. Other option: Get a retail packaged 3700+ from Newegg for $75 and sell your old parts to recoup part of the cost. Cost: $35-50.

You need more RAM! You need at least 1GB and 2GB would be ideal. Unfortunately, this will be expensive. Do you have 1 512MB stick or 2 256MB sticks? If 1 512MB, you could add another for a total of 1GB fairly cheaply. Check out the FS/FT forum for good deals. Cost: $50-250.

Do you use a CRT or LCD? If LCD, what is the native resolution? If CRT, what resolution do you run games at? A solid mid-high-range graphics card can be snagged for around $200 (7900GT/X1900 XT/etc.)

You're going to need a better power supply. You should be able to buy a quality 500+ watt power supply for $50-100 depending on where you get it (FS/FT forum!) and what features you want.