How to find what limits my system?

[Guest]

Hi, I have just now started playing some games that limit my system and produce slowdowns. My question is, how can I find out what is my "weakest link" without guessing and throwing money at it?
The system is:
AMD K62-400
Asus P5A motherboard
128mb PC100 RAM
SB32
Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT (PCI) 16mb w/ Detonator 3 drivers
WD 8.4mb HDD

I know it's between video and CPU, but how to tell which to upgrade first?

 

[Guest]

To be honest, as soon as you begin to upgrade your system a new component will begin to become the limiting factor. If your sound card is ISA that can hold back your system, if your hard drive is too slow, your system will then be waiting for that, and once you have everything else moving nicely, I am sure you will want a new video card.

However, I would say that first you should replace your motherboard and CPU with something like a 750 Duron combo, or perhaps a t-bird if you have a little extra cash. Also, I have found that upgrading the memory even just another 64MB ($25) can increase performance on the TNT cards drastically.

 

[Arrow]

As ctakeout says, upgrading your motherboard and CPU will do you good. Also, if you're on a slow hard drive, upgrading that to a 7200RPM can help.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://zidane222.cjb.net" target="_new">http://zidane222.cjb.net</A></b>