trying to beef up the computer

xxamdxx

xxamdxx

Member
you can see what i have in my signature, i built it like 4 years ago and realized how outdated everything i have is and i noticed my computer is not running slow but i would like it to be snappier. I dont game much anymore so i dont really think i need a new video card but what other hardware could i improve to see my computer run smoother and snappier.

thanks,
mike
 
What else is it that you do on the pc?...

Some options would be,
  • Buy a cheap used SSD Drive. 30-40Gb
  • Up the ram to 4GB.
  • Overclock the Cpu.
 
I play battle field 2 bad company occasionally, might buy bf 3. I mostly use it for music, im a big music guy. And this is going to sound stupid but what is the benefit of a solid state drive, and i only know what thats called cause i just googled it lol. Also would upgrading to windows 7 make my machine work more efficient thus making it better?
 
Also is it dangerous to overclock my cpu, i feel like hear nightmare stories about it but have never tried myself
 
if your motherboard can do it and you get a decent cooler there are no problems with overclocking as long as you keep your temps in check. an ssd improves boot times of everything on it because it is virtual memory (like a usb stick) not a spinning disk that has to search for stuff.
 
RAM's the easy route though DDR2 is getting pretty pricey compared to DDR3 so I'm not sure if it the best option. Upping to 4GB should make the system heaps more responsive when you have a lot of stuff open and shouldn't be too costly, though, and even with 32-bit the extra that you're able to access should help. Other than that, I can't think of any upgrades except possibly a CPU, depending on your board you might be able to drop in a Phenom II but AMD stopped making them so you're going to have to pick one up pretty soon if you want it for reasonable price - though I personally would stick with your current CPU unless you're absolutely sure you're choked for raw processor power.

If you're interested in upgrading your operating system, Windows 7 is pretty good and works a lot better than XP on multi-core setups so it should make it more responsive. This is subjective, though, you may or may not notice a difference.
 
if i got an ssd would i have to reinstall everything on to that drive so that everything is quicker or should i put just music or just some software?
 
xxamdxx said:
if i got an ssd would i have to reinstall everything on to that drive so that everything is quicker or should i put just music or just some software?
Click to expand...
Yes, you'd essentially have to reinstall everything - ideally, the OS and all your applications (or at least most commonly used ones if you don't have enough space) should run off the SSD.
 
thanks guys you have been a big help, one last question. with the ram i have 2x1gig cards in my computer, and my computer can support up to 8 gigs, i remember that there is a certain way that ram works if you could enlighten me. ex i heard its better to have the most amount of ram per stick.

and is there certain voltage or cas latency i should be looking for?
 
xxamdxx said:
thanks guys you have been a big help, one last question. with the ram i have 2x1gig cards in my computer, and my computer can support up to 8 gigs, i remember that there is a certain way that ram works if you could enlighten me. ex i heard its better to have the most amount of ram per stick.

and is there certain voltage or cas latency i should be looking for?
Click to expand...

Well that depends on your motherboard, it's best to check the manufacturers website or look in your manual and see what RAM is supported. And 4 gigs is plenty, you will probably never need more then that. And it's always best to match your RAM if your using more then one stick otherwise you can run into compatibility problems.
 
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