Upgrading How to do it?

[Flametongue]

I want to upgrade my pc by upgrading the RAM and Graphics card. Here is my computer's specs. My buget is 300 pounds. Could you help my in suggesting suitable parts for the upgrade. The reason being i want to get into pc gaming especially games like half life 2, doom 3 etc. Also is it easy to install the upgrade becasue i have never done it before.

Specs

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.06 GHz (Hyperthreading)
BIOS Phoenix-Award BIOS.
Motherboard TriGem IT865GE (MS 6743)
Memory 512 MB DDR RAM - PC2700
Hard Drive 80GB 7200rpm UDMA
CD Drive 16 x DVD-ROM
2x DVD-RW
Video Card nVidia GeForce FX 5200 (128MB)
Sound Card C-Media 9739A AC'97
Speakers Advent stereo powered speakers
Modem Generic Soft 56K modem
Network Card Intel 82562EZ
Case D1
Keyboard Advent multimedia keyboard
Mouse Standard PS/2 mouse

The website i might get the parts from is www.cclcomputers.com.

[Peerzy]

Also is it easy to install the upgrade becasue i have never done it before.

If you have never done it before and by your spelling it sounds like youra young teenager i wouldnt advise upgrading. For 2 reasons, 1 you couldnt be assed to google 'How do i upgrade' and at least attempt to find out yourself, and 2 chances are something will go wrong and you'll overlook something that you shouldn't. Do your parents know anything about computers or does a near by shop install parts for like £10.


If do decide to upgrade try ordering from here: http://www.completecomputers.co.uk/ Its a great shop with some nice prices.

[fkdup74]

with 300 pounds to work with, you look to be in good shape
cuz all you really need is another stick of ram and a better gfx card
you could go slightly cheaper on the gfx and a little more on ram....
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...ufacturer_id=0
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...ufacturer_id=0

or, a little less on the ram and a little more on the gfx....
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...ufacturer_id=0
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...ufacturer_id=0

either way you should be doing ok
the "budget" ram is corsair, so it should still be good memory,
just with maybe a slightly higher latency,
and that can free up money to go bigger on gfx
or, the x800xl is a good card, giving a few more to spend on ram


-edit- take a pill peerzy
the upgrade isnt difficult at all
you wont have to remove ram, as you will just be adding another stick
and they are slotted to insure that you dont put em in backwards
then all you have to do is make sure it seats properly
(dont be afraid to use some presure, your mobo can handle it)
just dont take a hammer to it
there are clips on the sides of the ram slot that will click into place, done

for the gfx, you will probably have to remove 1 screw,
there will be a clip on the end that you can push down to help you unseat the card,
take it out, put the new one in
and you again need to make sure it seats properly,
and again dont be afraid to use some pressure, just dont go overboard
the clip should click into place, and then put the screw back in, done

if you align the parts up correctly, and get em seated right, you wont have any problems

just take care not to touch any contacts on the memory or gfx,
and keep your body grounded as much as possible
you can get a belkin anti-static wristband for about 5 bucks,
or if you have a switching psu, keep it plugged in but switched off,
and touch some metal in the case to release the static in your body

[Flametongue]

Do your parents know anything about computers or does a near by shop install parts for like £10.
.

The answer is no for the parents and the closest shop lol is PC World. + cheers for the suggestions

[fkdup74]

hey i just noticed its an MSI motherboard....
now, this is in my experience, you may not have to worry about it, but...
the few MSIs i have worked on,
they have some tight fitting ram slots
be patient putting the ram in, and you should be OK

[Flametongue]

So when installing the graphics card you have to unsintall the old one and then remove it and then install the new one with its software. For the ram is there any software needing to be installed or is it just the case of slotting in the ram.

[fkdup74]

So when installing the graphics card you have to unsintall the old one and then remove it and then install the new one with its software. For the ram is there any software needing to be installed or is it just the case of slotting in the ram.

nope, nothing to do for the ram except put it in

now with the video card, if you go with an ATi (i.e the x800xl), you'll wanna uninstall drivers,
because youre running an nVidia card atm, with nVidia drivers

but if you go with the nVidia card (i.e. the 6800gt) for the upgrade,
you may get away with just upgrading (installing over) your current drivers
but if you have any doubts, the safest way is just to uninstall the old and install the new (drivers, software, etc)

[Peerzy]

For the ram is there any software needing to be installed or is it just the case of slotting in the ram.

You just slot it in, and if your asking that question i really do not advise upgrading, it shows you know little to nothing about computers, no offence.

[fkdup74]

You just slot it in, and if your asking that question i really do not advise upgrading, it shows you know little to nothing about computers, no offence.

blah, we all gotta start somewhere, learn it sooner or later
or else keep paying the f00kers at the shops to do it (no offense clocker)
i had asked myself numerous questions like that my first time fkn with hardware
so i read, i asked around, i did the homework so to speak

"The only stupid question is the one that isnt asked."
^words to live by^

[S!X]

Flame by any chance is your comp an hp?