Here is my specs, what should be my first upgrade?

[GymJunkie]

So far the only performance upgrade Ive made is maxed out the RAM, which unfortunately is only 2 gigs and I plan on buying a gfx card soon but someone told me a gfx card is the least of my worries at the moment, so what should I be doing first?

Comp specs

http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=W3650

[Autruche]

That processor leaves a little to be desired, and you won't be able to upgrade much with that motherboard. 2 gigs of ram is a good start, but now I'd look into upgrading the rest of the core, motherboard and CPU. you can find some decent deals here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/ComboDeals.aspx?ComboStoreID=1&name=CPUs-Motherboards&Page=1

Make sure the motherboard has onboard video first though, otherwise you'll need to get a video card too. I learned that on my first build. I had a kick ass computer that I couldn't use for a week, lol. Then get a better power supply when you get a graphics card, as they tend to use quite a bit of juice.

Also wouldn't hurt to get a bigger hard drive, they are really cheap on newegg. I use 2 drives, a 120 for running windows and installed programs, and a 1 tb for my movies, music, and other files. I need a new one soon thoiugh, it's almost filled up.

That's just how I'd do it anyway. good luck.

[GymJunkie]

Thats where I was gonna buy all my stuff anyway, already been looking at a 2 TB drive. Im kinda sad that I really need pretty much a new computer and since I will have to buy all that stuff Im just going to build my own. Already been looking at the cases for some time now anyway just havent had the money for all the expensive parts

[Autruche]

Yeah, the end result is always worth it though. I spent about 600 on building my computer 4 years ago, and any of my friends thought it was outrageous because they could buy a full computer with a keyboard, mouse and monitor for that price, but almost everyone of them has gotten a new computer to keep up with the times now, and the only thing I've done to mine is get a bigger hard drive and new video card and mine is still better than theirs.

I love buying from newegg, they have great customer service and I've built a dozen or so computers for people with parts from their site.

I have to say though,the most important thing I do to keep my computer in top shape is to reinstall my OS about every 3 months, which is the reason I have a second hard drive to keep all of my files in, that way I don't lose them during a reinstall(just make sure to unplug the HDD before reinstalling your OS, don't want to format the wrong drive, trust me, it sucks)

Reinstalling my OS keeps my computer from getting sluggish. It's funny that most older people think they need a new computer because it's getting slow, I make some decent money reinstalling operating systems as a side job, $50 a computer and I normally have it back to them the same day.

[GymJunkie]

Yeah, the end result is always worth it though. I spent about 600 on building my computer 4 years ago, and any of my friends thought it was outrageous because they could buy a full computer with a keyboard, mouse and monitor for that price, but almost everyone of them has gotten a new computer to keep up with the times now, and the only thing I've done to mine is get a bigger hard drive and new video card and mine is still better than theirs.

I love buying from newegg, they have great customer service and I've built a dozen or so computers for people with parts from their site.

I have to say though,the most important thing I do to keep my computer in top shape is to reinstall my OS about every 3 months, which is the reason I have a second hard drive to keep all of my files in, that way I don't lose them during a reinstall(just make sure to unplug the HDD before reinstalling your OS, don't want to format the wrong drive, trust me, it sucks)

Reinstalling my OS keeps my computer from getting sluggish. It's funny that most older people think they need a new computer because it's getting slow, I make some decent money reinstalling operating systems as a side job, $50 a computer and I normally have it back to them the same day.

Im hoping I dont have to spend 600 but if I do then it will have to be done over 2 paychecks just to make sure I still have plenty for rent and all.

What motherboard would you recommend on newegg?

I dont have a set time to do it but Ive been the same way cause mine gets real sluggish after a few months usually as well.

Ive thought about doing reinstalls for other people for a small price but what do I do about the product key, I mean can the same code be used multiple times on different comps?

[Autruche]

Im hoping I dont have to spend 600 but if I do then it will have to be done over 2 paychecks just to make sure I still have plenty for rent and all.

What motherboard would you recommend on newegg?

I dont have a set time to do it but Ive been the same way cause mine gets real sluggish after a few months usually as well.

Ive thought about doing reinstalls for other people for a small price but what do I do about the product key, I mean can the same code be used multiple times on different comps?

I'm not sure on good motherboards nowadays, it's been a long time since I've shopped for something that was more than just a cheap replacement. ASUS, and Gigabyte are my most recommended brands, whatever you do stay away from Foxconn, I've received 3 DOA boards from them in a row before I got a working one. I run a Biostar in my computer, not the best but still working fine for me, but it's my second one, the first one died within a week, luckily newegg is good on their return policy.

I doubt you'll spend that much if you already have parts available for you. I recently helped my friends build a computer, and he made his for under 350 and it is slightly better than mine now. that's including a cheap case/PSU combo too. He used his old hard drive and DVD burner though, that cut the price down by about $100 too.

Here is his rig:

Case/PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811325004

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131347

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116347

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141064

Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161315

That's also the same video card I have in my computer, and I love it. It plays movies in 1080i just fine and I play games just fine in 720p, all on my 42 inch LCD tv.

Edited November 27, 2010 by lAutruche

[GymJunkie]

Well the only parts I could really use is the hard drive (which I figured would be for the OS and a 2tb internal for movies), my 2 disc drives but I really want to get a blu-ray burner so one will go, and the extra fan I bought for it but either way it is a bit of money saved.

42", damn I still only have a 32". I was gonna buy a 50 or 60 inch tv on black friday but they didnt have a vga port and I dont have an hdmi output on my comp yet

[Autruche]

Well the only parts I could really use is the hard drive (which I figured would be for the OS and a 2tb internal for movies), my 2 disc drives but I really want to get a blu-ray burner so one will go, and the extra fan I bought for it but either way it is a bit of money saved.

42", damn I still only have a 32". I was gonna buy a 50 or 60 inch tv on black friday but they didnt have a vga port and I dont have an hdmi output on my comp yet

You can just get a VGA to composite (RGB) adapter for that.

[GymJunkie]

Wooow, I didnt even think to look for anything like that. Well its too late now and Im sure Ill have the new comp built before I get a new tv so I wont worry about that cable. Expect to see more questions from me on this topic cause I dont know a whole lot about it. Thanks man

[Autruche]

Wooow, I didnt even think to look for anything like that. Well its too late now and Im sure Ill have the new comp built before I get a new tv so I wont worry about that cable. Expect to see more questions from me on this topic cause I dont know a whole lot about it. Thanks man

Haha, I don't know much either, I just try to help with what I can.