so i got a P4 3.4 Ghz with a gig of ddr400 and no video card. Just got a brand new 32" 1080p and the video is a little choppy on netflix and hulu HD. I also want to bust out some HL2 and other older 3d games on occasion.

Should I get another couple gigs of ram and and a good AGP video card for $150? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146545
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121260

Or should I just upgrade the mobo/cpu to a solid dual core and go ahead and switch to PCIe?

Any help would be most appreciated! I'm in grad school so budget is a major issue....

4/28/2009 12:06:48 AM

Quote :

"just upgrade the mobo/cpu to a solid dual core and go ahead and switch to PCIe"

4/28/2009 12:16:06 AM

You don't need to upgrade to play HL2 or spend 150. You can get another gig of ram and a decent AGP card for under 100 easy. I got a gig of ram for 30 and a radeon x700 256mb card for 30 and that was pcie a year ago.

4/28/2009 12:21:53 AM

you shouldnt spend more than 30 on the video card and like 30 on the ram...tops

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 12:58 AM. Reason : of course evan comes in with the fucking STUPID fucking suggestion...]

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 12:59 AM. Reason : he wants a solution to what he has not some "what fucking processor should i buy" thread...]

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 1:00 AM. Reason : not only does he need dual core, but AGP isnt good enough...sheesh...read...]

4/28/2009 12:56:22 AM

hey thanks for the input guys...not trying to start a fight!

I was hoping to make this thing a stable HTPC for the next three years also. I figured $70 on a new high powered video card was worth it. If not i would love some suggestions (im assuming you think i should just find one here or on cl?)

Same deal with the RAM? or are there still deals occasionally on ddr 400 ram?

[Edited on April 28, 2009 at 1:41 AM. Reason : .]

4/28/2009 1:38:32 AM

tww classifieds man...seriously...i do not think you will be disappointed...you dont sound like a huge computer nerd, and tww classifieds merchandise would suit you fine

4/28/2009 3:24:51 AM

Quote :

"of course evan comes in with the fucking STUPID fucking suggestion..."

how is it stupid to not keep throwing money into an obsolete architecture?

you could spend maybe $225 and get a decent core2/mobo/ram.

core2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128072
ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

motherboard comes with fairly decent onboard nvidia graphics which should be all you need for the stuff you're trying to do (even has HDMI, since you mentioned HT stuff). it has a pcie x16 slot if you want to get discrete graphics.

$239 with shipping

dnl, quit trolling.

4/28/2009 10:05:36 AM

I'm on evan's side.


DNL, GTFO of Tech Talk.

4/28/2009 10:14:59 AM

i think im gonna side with evan actually. Why throw money into a new dual core system when i can get a decent vid card and extra ram for $50? In 3 years the dual core system will be obsolete and I doubt I'll take advantage of the extra oomph it provides. Not a lot of time to fuk with new comp games in grad school (unless you have no life).

4/30/2009 10:48:21 AM

Quote :

"I'm on evan's side. DNL, GTFO of Tech Talk."

4/30/2009 10:51:51 AM

Quote :

"I'm on evan's side. DNL, GTFO of Tech Talk."

4/30/2009 11:08:58 AM

Quote :

"i think im gonna side with evan actually"

evan is saying to upgrade entire computer

dnl/groundbeef are saying to upgrade video card

i somehow think calico got it a bit backwards...

though i'd go with the card if you don't care about the rest of it right now.

5/1/2009 12:39:53 PM

Quote :

"In 3 years the dual core system will be obsolete"

it's not like you're already running on obsolete hardware anyway

5/1/2009 1:17:01 PM