upgrade issues

[zuki831]

hi all please advise me as im a bit pants at this.

i have an acer T180-gb7z with amd athalon 64 x2 core processor 4200+ 2.2ghz and 1gb dimm ddr2, i have had fit a ati radeon x1650 pro graphics card, but my games (spore etc) tend to stutter a bit and my windows experience index shows its my processor and ram thats letting me down. Also i have £150 in pcworld vouchers ( i know some people slate them but they're convineint) plus i can add a little too if needs be. can anyone tell me the best processor to go for value for money and future proofing, as well as ram if possible.

N.B. i will also have to pay to have it fit and i dont want to be paying more than £200 realy (unless you think its worth the extra £??)

Thanks

[Dalo Harkin]

The CPU and the RAM are governed by the MOBO - you need to tell us what MOBO is in it as only then can we tell you the maximum CPU and RAM speed it can handle.

[zuki831]

The CPU and the RAM are governed by the MOBO - you need to tell us what MOBO is in it as only then can we tell you the maximum CPU and RAM speed it can handle.

 

where do i find out the motherboard details???????

[Dalo Harkin]

I have just had a look for you and its supposedly the Foxconn MCP61SM-AM,

BUT there are no details anywhere for this board and that includes the Foxconn website.

[zuki831]

I have just had a look for you and its supposedly the Foxconn MCP61SM-AM,

BUT there are no details anywhere for this board and that includes the Foxconn website.

 

Bummer.. should i just take it to pc world and let them tell me what to do? i just think they overcharge me for something that will need replacing in a year or so. thanks for looking for me though.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Please don't think about going to PC World and getting, in my opinion, ripped off, Dalo will offer suggestions.

[zuki831]

Please don't think about going to PC World and getting, in my opinion, ripped off, Dalo will offer suggestions.

 

cheers i'll hang fire for a bit then, see if he can come up with anything

[Guest Saxon]

Where do you live I might be able to point you towards a good local shop, have you run CPU-z to get the system info?

[zuki831]

ive spoken to acer they say the motherboard will take any amd x2 processor which is the best one? do you think there may be more to it? or should i settle for the best x2 for my money? acer also say there are 4 slots which each take from 256 to 1gb ram but that on the next line of his info it says max 1gb even he wasnt sure about that?

hope this info helps and hope you can suggest the best options for me. thanks again

[Dalo Harkin]

There are a few routes available to you - stick with what you have at the moment until you really need the upgrade and at that time you can get a MOBO at the same time.

Or you can use a program like Everest to tell you the Motherboard model and we can go from there.

[zuki831]

Where do you live I might be able to point you towards a good local shop, have you run CPU-z to get the system info?

 

im in leeds.

whats cpu-z?

[zuki831]

There are a few routes available to you - stick with what you have at the moment until you really need the upgrade and at that time you can get a MOBO at the same time.

Or you can use a program like Everest to tell you the Motherboard model and we can go from there.

 

do i just type everest into google? i guess that'll only give me details of a big mountain.

[Dalo Harkin]

CPU-z is a program that tells you what you CPU and RAM are running at and it gives the FSB of the CPU - these are not reallty what we need - we need to know the exact MOBO and Everest is better for that.

 

Mountain - lol here you go Lavalys - Comprehensive IT Security and Management

[zuki831]

CPU-z is a program that tells you what you CPU and RAM are running at and it gives the FSB of the CPU - these are not reallty what we need - we need to know the exact MOBO and Everest is better for that.

 

Mountain - lol here you go Lavalys - Comprehensive IT Security and Management

 

forgive me for been a cheapskate but are you saying i should spend $34.95 just to find out what mobo i have? cant i just open the back of the pc?

[Dalo Harkin]

lol - no - there should be a free version on there?

[zuki831]

lol - no - there should be a free version on there?

 

ok done that (trail version) it says motherboard is "MCP61M-AM-6A61KE11C-00" does that help or hinder?

[Dalo Harkin]

To be honest that MOBO seems really old and you could do with a new one - what do you mostly use the PC for as you could keep the CPU but upgrade the RAM and the MOBO -

but even then you wont notice a massive difference.

[zuki831]

To be honest that MOBO seems really old and you could do with a new one - what do you mostly use the PC for as you could keep the CPU but upgrade the RAM and the MOBO -

but even then you wont notice a massive difference.

 

cheers for all your help. mainly gaming spore empire earth those types. i know pc's move at a massive rate but i only bought this pc 11 months ago. if its not gonna make a massive difference do you think i should just upgrade the ram to speed it up a little? whats clocking? i have not technical experience but magazines and t'interweb talk about clocking and partitioning to speed up is that gonna be way out of my league? i want to thank you for all your help you've been great, thanks again.

[Dalo Harkin]

You could upgrade the RAM - but I would not upgrade the speed of the RAM - only the amount - If you are playing games then I would recommend about 2GB of RAM and as for Clocking which is Overclocking, I would stay away from it as you need to have adequate cooling for the Overclock in the first place and it all involves spending more money.

 

Upgrade the amount of RAM if you fall short of 2GB, if not then wait and save the money for a full upgrade in terms of the MOBO, CPU,GPU and RAM.

 

And you are more than welcome :)