What would be the best upgrade to speed up my computer!

[shadasinger]

Hello everyone,

I have a medion computer which is quite old (more than 4 years old) which is getting me stressed day after day after day... it's just too slow. Now this is my brothers computer, and I don't want to make/buy him a new computer since I just build myself a new one. I was thinking: what would be the best upgrade for his computer to enhance its speed. I have about 50/60 pounds to spend on his computer, so here are the current specs.

Motherboard: ASUS P5GC-MX/S (Crucial system scanner tells me that the maximum ram supported is: 2GB's, although when looking at ASUS's website it seems to be 4GB... could someone check this for me?)

RAM: DDR2 PC2-5300 - 2x 512MB installed (only 2 slots available)

Graphics: Apparently integrated into motherboard, VGA Media accelerator something something...

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 @2.00Ghz

That's all the neccessary info. I was thinking of upgrading the processor although when look at the task manager most of the time only 10-20% of the processor is in use, I don't mind overclocking as an upgrade but could someone please pinpoint me to a guide since I am not experienced in OCing at all.

Furthermore, I think a RAM upgrade would be good but I don't know if 4GB is supported, otherwise I will just buy 2GB's. And also, my brother doesn't really play games a lot, it's just even now and then that he plays a casual game nothing like hi-end games (battlefield 3). The current graphics are crap so I was thinking to get him a HD 5450 which is atm really cheap. Do you think this is a good chose.


Cmon guys help me out since I am at the point of buying. What do you think is the best upgrade for this crappy computer

Thank you very much everyone.

Shad

 

[idroid]

you definitely need a new CPU.... that crap is too slow, get something like a Q6xxx from ebay.... you should find one for less than 80$ (make sure its a Yorkfield based CPU) get a 4GB of DDR2 RAM and nice cheap video card like a 6670.

Edit: oh sh!t... i just checked, your motherboard support Core2Duo CPUs... not Core2Quad

 

[shadasinger]

you definitely need a new CPU.... that crap is too slow, get something like a Q6xxx from ebay.... you should find one for less than 80$ (make sure its a Yorkfield based CPU) get a 4GB of DDR2 RAM and nice cheap video card like a 6670.

Edit: oh sh!t... i just checked, your motherboard support Core2Duo CPUs... not Core2Quad

That is the same problem I was looking after. It does support some core2quad's but they are really expensive. It only supports LGA775, and are you sure the motherboard supports 4GB's?

 

[shadasinger]

And I only have 60pounds/100 dollars to spend. It does support the Q9400 but that is 80 pounds.

 

[idroid]

That is the same problem I was looking after. It does support some core2quad's but they are really expensive. It only supports LGA775, and are you sure the motherboard supports 4GB's?

it says it supports two dimms of 2GB of DDR2 memory.... 2+2=4 :lol:

 

[idroid]

And I only have 60pounds/100 dollars to spend. It does support the Q9400 but that is 80 pounds.

Hmmm what will be the main usage of this PC?

 

[shadasinger]

Internet browsing and daily tasks, such as movies etc. With also very lite gaming games such as modern warfare 3 etc.

 

[idroid]

Internet browsing and daily tasks, such as movies etc. With also very lite gaming games such as modern warfare 3 etc.

hmmmm then you just need this: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/part/msi-video-card-r6770md1gd5

Edit: that CPU MUST go sooner or later....

 

[shadasinger]

No ram upgrades? Just a new video card? Right now my computer is lagging a lot due to just 1GB of ram

 

[shadasinger]

Alright, thank you very much. But are you really sure it support 4GB's since my motherboard is P5GC-MX/S and when I look at the crucial scanner it tells me that the maximum memory is 2GB. Although on the ASUS website it says 4GB

 

[idroid]

No ram upgrades? Just a new video card? Right now my computer is lagging a lot due to just 1GB of ram

Well.. you really don't need more than that for watching movies and having 2 or 3 tabs opened on chrome.... if you need more RAM then get more RAM :/

 

[idroid]

Alright, thank you very much. But are you really sure it support 4GB's since my motherboard is P5GC-MX/S and when I look at the crucial scanner it tells me that the maximum memory is 2GB. Although on the ASUS website it says 4GB

it support dual 2GB dimms... call asus if you're unsure.

 

[shadasinger]

Bought 2GB of ram and a HD 5850 for 60 Pounds

 

[idroid]

Bought 2GB of ram and a HD 5850 for 60 Pounds

Good choice, just make sure your PSU can handle a 5850 and... did you call ASUS to confirm that the motherboard can handle 4GB of RAM?

 

[shadasinger]

Yup, I send an e-mail and they said that I was looking at the wrong model. They said that this is the model that I currently have: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5GCMX/ . And yes, it only supports up to 2GB 🙁 And thanks for reminding me I have 300 watts, which from my experience of PC's is enough and from the ASUS power calculator website is more than enough (250watts recommended). Thank you very much for your support 😉!

 

[shadasinger]

Wait a minute let me check on that.

 

[idroid]

Yup, I send an e-mail and they said that I was looking at the wrong model. They said that this is the model that I currently have: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5GCMX/ . And yes, it only supports up to 2GB 🙁 And thanks for reminding me I have 300 watts, which from my experience of PC's is enough and from the ASUS power calculator website is more than enough (250watts recommended). Thank you very much for your support 😉!

no no no... wattage is only half of the story, quality and amperage is WAY more important, what PSU do you have?

 

[idroid]

do yourself a favor and buy this before your burn your system. http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazon/antec-power-supply-vp450

 

[shadasinger]

I have already build 2 computers and I have never had a problem with wattage on the power supply. The power supply I have replace 1 year ago, cost me 50pounds its an Antec now.

 

[idroid]

I have already build 2 computers and I have never had a problem with wattage on the power supply. The power supply I have replace 1 year ago, cost me 50pounds its an Antec now.

Not because you haven't had any problem before means you will never have them... might be enough for your build but i STRONGLY recommend you to get the one i linked.