What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

[Theodor]

hello everyone!
i am playing bf2 on a pretty old pc with following specs:

cheapy creapy Epox Motherboard (max. 2.8Ghz, only 4xAGP, ...:cry: )
P4 2.4gh (133) no HT!
1GB RAM (2700)
Radeon 9500 Pro (128mb, AGP)
Creative SB Live!

as u can imagine, i can only run 32player maps (with not more than 32players) at 1024x768 with everything turned OFF or to LOW

i know, i need a new PC, which i am going to buy in fall this year. but until then i would like to boost my performance a little to be able to play on 64player maps as well!

what (cheap) upgrades would you recommend the most these days, what would be reasonable?
more memory?
a better graphiccard? (which one?)
would a card with 256MB (eg. the 9600XT) make a lot of a difference?
or is a better CPU just the thing i need?

i realy would appreciate your help!
thanks in advance,
theodor!

EDITED TO SAY: SORRY MODS for posting into the wrong forum...maybe you could just move thge whole post into the TECH CENTER forum?

[lil_jimmy_norton]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

How much are you looking to spend?

[Theodor]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

well... not much...i just thought about buying second hand stuff on ebay or nowerdays chep hardware...
i cant buy faster ram or a pcie card anyway, because i would need a new motherboard (for which i want to wait until fall...)

what would you recommend?

[step2ice]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

well... not much...i just thought about buying second hand stuff on ebay or nowerdays chep hardware...
i cant buy faster ram or a pcie card anyway, because i would need a new motherboard (for which i want to wait until fall...)

what would you recommend?

Spending money on that PC for upgrades is not a good idea.
But the cheapest thing you could do is to buy a Radeon 9800 Pro on ebay.

[venny]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

dont upgrade that kinda system. its money down the drain. such old part u are buying will cost more than new, lower end parts. try a cheap amd 939 3200, nvidia 7300GS. it will be better than upgrading your current system.

[Consultant01]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

Another gig of PC2700 RAM and a 9800Pro 256 would do wonders for you. However, spending $200 on little upgrades now rather than making that an extra $200 on a bigger one later doesnt make sense... Imagine it this way... In a short few months, you may be able to get a whole extra video card to run in SLI mode on your new system for that $200... or the next level up of CPU... or an extra gig or two of RAM.

I would wait... if you have fun in-game now and are going to do a big upgrade later, skip the tiny-step upgrades and go for the gusto down the road.

[<}US{>BlackHawkPilot73]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

save you money and get a new computer.

[TokenBrit]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

I presume you are running on low with that setup. Now if I am correct your CPU is a Northwood core which could buy you a nice overclock. Maybe as you are running on low this would buy you some more fps for no cost at all.

[LoD]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

Buying used parts you can easily do this affordably. Pick up a 6600GT or R9800 pro for around $40-$65, and an other stick of 1GB for around $50. For a little over $100 thats a worthwhile upgrade.

[40oz 2 Freedom]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

https://www.cyberpowerinc.com

256mb nvidia chip computer with 512 memory and a sweet LCD for like, 600 bucks, not inculding all the other cool crap you get with it.

[TokenBrit]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

www.cyberpowerinc.com

256mb nvidia chip computer with 512 memory and a sweet LCD for like, 600 bucks, not inculding all the other cool crap you get with it.

Reach behind you PC and find the ethernet cable. Now unplug it and never EVER again put it back in there. I guarantee your fps improves 500%.

[^nUbl4z0r(!)]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

Just a side question...Are the cyberpowerinc PCs no good?

[TalentX]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

does 1024x768 work better than 800x600!?

[firezip]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

Just a side question...Are the cyberpowerinc PCs no good?

From what I've heard yes they are bad and use crappy parts. Custom build is better and cheeper.

1024x760 is a bigger RESOLUTION, meaning the GPU has to render more graphical mathematics, hence, meaning slower game performance.

You could use 800x600 to get a few extra fps but I do not think it is worth it.

[[2bit]Modmaven]

Re: What Upgrades For Low-end Machine

It should runner faster, the lower the resolution, but 800x600, looks positively awful. Get a 9800 pro....