Balanced Upgrade?

[AKM880]

Hello everybody, my Dell C521 specifications are in my post. I'm deciding to upgrade this thing, finally. I dont use it for much but I was wondering if anyone can help me modify my upgrade selection to make it more balanced in this system? Thanks!

AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640 2.6Ghz
|512MB DDR2 RAM
|GeForce 8400GS 512MB
|80GB Hitachi HDD
|nForce 410/430
|280W Dell PSU with 16A on 12V rail.

Upgrades

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e or AMD Athlon 64 X2 Brisbane 5000+

5000+
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211

4850e
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255

^ Both are somehow the same price at my local computer store.

Rendition by Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148239

(Dell doesn't support DDR2 in Dual Channel) (Or does it?)

This will be for now. I need an idea on which CPU to go with and if the RAM needed to be changed. I think on getting a 4650, or 9600GT in the future (low profile). Thanks so much!

 

[n3f0ur]

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_c521?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

Is that it?

CPU - The main concern would be cpu support. You need to make sure the new cpu is supported by your bios. Ask dell forum.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/

RAM - "Up to 4GB23 Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (533MHz)" You can upgrade to more DDR2-533MHZ. Dual channel is overrated. More momery will always improve system responsiveness. Get 4 gigs & sell the 512mb.

GPU - The problem is the PSU which is 280W - too low for any mid to high-end gpu's. None of these is an upgrade from your 8400gs. Keep the gpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102811
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%201069609641%201419531894&bop=And&Order=PRICE

What's your budget? You might have enough to build a budget gaming pc. You could sell this pc. What is your usage?

 

[AKM880]

I;m keeping my PC, and the upgrades are supported. Just asking what CPU to buy and if I need to change the ram to something better.

 

[paranoidmage]

I would get the 4850e because it has a 45W TDP and it's only 100MHz slower. Go for 2 or 4 GB of RAM. It's very cheap and worth it. I'm guessing you'll only need 2 gigs because it is a fairly cheap system.

 

[Onus]

This card is low profile and will be an awesome upgrade from a mere 8400GS. It needs no auxilliary power, so it will run with your smallish PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829
SAPPHIRE 100253HDMI Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - $55.