Hello, I have had this Gateway E-4000 for about 5 years now and its been doing decently for any games that I play on it. I have upgraded the old video card to an ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series. I have also upgraded the RAM from 128 to 256MB. All the other hardware has not been updated since i bought it. The times my computer seems to struggle most is during online games. In a counterstrike-source server with 20+ players, if I'm not in a small room i normally get 9-11 FPS. It also takes me a lot longer than most when I am loading into games. I have about $200 to start out with and I am wondering what I should start to upgrade first, my video card or RAM, and if it would even be compatible with my computer. I do intend to get a new desktop in the future and would like for any upgrades I make now to be compatiple on the next desktop I purchase.
Thanks for your time!
-Chris
2007-08-19 14:14:20 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
save your money for a while
the $125 cpu/mobo combination deal [usually AMD] with 1 Gb ram and a $100 256 mb video card will set you back about $300 total. That's the core of a fairly reasonable gaming machine. It'll do two EVE online accounts at same time as long as you're not a pirate.
after that, all you need is a HD, a case, and a power supply and you're good. reuse your Cd rom drive, monitor, keyboard, and Win XP -- you're in business.
oughta be under $500 total
GL
2007-08-19 14:27:53 · answer #1 · answered by Spock (rhp) 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I suggest you save your money because a computer that old is going to need some major upgrades. I can't even fathom running a Windows XP on anything less than 512 MB RAM.
2007-08-19 14:19:52 · answer #2 · answered by wk_coe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try upgrading your RAM first cause it's the cheaper option. 256MB is likely too low for games. Try upgrading the RAM to at least 512MB, better still to 1GB if your laptop allows it.
Ace =)
2007-08-19 14:22:35 · answer #3 · answered by ACE 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋