Greetings everybody,

I recently purchased Windows Vista oem and I would like to beef up my system so it runs nice and smoothly. Because I bought vista oem I can't change my motherboard obviously...so could you help me pick a new processor and memory?

This is what I currently have

System Info Model : MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
Chassis Type : Desktop
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Home Premium Edition (Build 6000)
Processor Number Of Processors : 1
Type : AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 3500+
Processors Bus Speed : 200 MHz
Motherboard Manufacturer : MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD
Model : MS-7125 Rev. 1.0
CPU Slot/Socket Type : Socket 939
Chipset Vendor : NVIDIA nForce4 Rev. A3
Bios Manufacturer : Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Bios Version : 6.00 PG
Graphics Model : ATI PCIE Radeon X800 SE
PCIE Speed : 16x
Monitor : Generic PnP Monitor
Storage Hard Drive 1 : SAMSUNG SP2004C
Size : 190.78 GB
Hard Drive 2 : SAMSUNG SP2004C
Size : 190.78 GB
Hard Drive 3 : Seagate FreeAgentDesktop
Size : 476.94 GB
Memory Total RAM Installed : 1024 MB
Type : DDR DIMM PC3200
Used RAM Slots: 2 of 1024

What would be the best processor and ddr memory to get to make my computer go faster? And should I get a new graphics card?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Hi and welcome to PCHF.


Use the RAM upgrade tool in my sig below-- I don't think you need a processor... but at least 2 gigs of RAM--4 if you want to. The Scanner tool will tell you exactly what type of RAM you need-- they guarantee compatibilty.



Takes you to Crucial's site-- you do not have to buy from them --of course-- though it is good quality... I have no affiliation--it's a handy tool.

Hi ih8bills,

Thanks for the help. What is the best ddr...DDR PC3200,DDR PC2700,DDR PC4000 speeds? I'm currently using pc3200. Should I just get 2 more gbs of corsair pc3200?

Sorry for Delay-- That Motherboard only supports up to 3200 max... up to 4 gigs-- but 3200 is the fastest speed--

I would go with 2 more corsair-- the sticks must match in order to get full DDR capability

MSI Computer Corp. - Product

in order to make it a real speed-demon you could change the processor up, too. that is the middle one you have now... won't be cheap-- I'd try the RAM first

Should I get exactly the same corsair memory I already have but just the 1gb versions?

So what would be the best athlon processor I could get at the moment? sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to purchase something and realise its not compatible.

Yes

There are 4 more chips --"higher" than your current 1 -- I will have to do a little more research--

to be completely safe you could just go for the "2 steps" faster chip --the 4000+.


The other ones are the FX 53 and FX 55-- all are compatible ...but the FX models may require a bit more cooling than you have now-- a new heatsink/fan combo and some Arctic Silver compound to be safe.


Here is an actual comparison of the 4000+ --and the FX 55--
AMD's Athlon 64 4000+ and FX-55 processors - The Tech Report - Page 1

If you read them all the way through-- the reviewer questions the Bang-Per-Buck-- in other words the amount gained by spending almost $1000.00 on a processor-- and not seeing much increase in performance-- you may be better off with just the RAM