Need Upgrade Info Plz

[Desperate Jip]

Hi Folks,

Im looking to upgrade my P.C and have not got a clue where to start, the more i try and read up on things, the more confused i get.

Here's what i got at the mo: ... (this is where u start laughing)

Board............BCM QS694VA
Chip..............Pentium III 650 Mhz
Memory.........512 SDRAM
Grahics..........Voodoo 5
Sound............SB 5.1 Live value
HDD...............2x 30 Gig Quantum Fireballs
Opticals..........LiteOn CD-RW & Pioneer DVR106
O.S................Win XP Pro

What im hoping to keep:

Optical drives (as they are both new)
Sound card (i know its the buget model, but it aint that old)
Grahics Card (would like to, but ive got to keep to the most important things)
HDD's (again, i would like to but 1st things 1st eh)


What i want to upgrade:

I'd like to get a new board, chip & fan, memory, case & power supply. I know there are all sorts of compatibility issues to take into account and that is where i need the help, and there is a small matter of the buget (lol) which sadly, is about £300 /£350.

What i use my P.C for:

Well i mainly play games like Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament, ......oh yes , and also Unreal Tournament. I also want to backup my DVD's, and my lovely girlfriend ....she likes to surf the net and stuff.

Also its worth pointing out that i cant get my brand new pioneer to write anything when installed in my system, but it would in my m8's P.C. which is a much higher spec machine than mine (i'm not sure whether its a compatibility issue with my old board and I have posted about it here) --> https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=787786#787786 ...if u know what could be causing it (hope im not cross posting). Also, since i moved up from 98 to XP... Unreal Tournament frequently locks up / freezes when im playing it on the net (again, i think its my motherboard)...Hmmm, well, i think thats about it, so if youve got some spare time i would really appreciate some sound advice.

Thx ppl

[808smokey]

Grahics..........Voodoo 5
Sound............SB 5.1 Live value
HDD...............2x 30 Gig Quantum Fireballs
Opticals..........LiteOn CD-RW & Pioneer DVR106
O.S................Win XP Pro

You can keep all that with no problems.

Ram will cost you the most money. You can get an AMD XP 1800+ for around $50US or a combo board for around $100US you can still use your SDRAM in some boards that have SDRAM and DDRAM, PC100-PC133 or PC2100 and up

I have that setup and I play Halflife, Call of Duty with no problems

Also its worth pointing out that i cant get my brand new pioneer to write anything when installed in my system, but it would in my m8's P.C. which is a much higher spec machine than mine (i'm not sure whether its a compatibility issue with my old board and I have posted about it here) --

That sounds like a Power supply failing or maybe a processor fan that's not spinning fast enough

Make sense

[indolikaa]

I'd like to get a new board, chip & fan, memory, case & power supply.

That's exactly where you start. The rest should integrate reasonably well. You might consider a new graphics next unless those hard drives are 5400 RPM or are not ATA/100.

Indolikaa builds systems based on AMD and Intel. I generally recommend AMD to gamers and Intel to video enthusiasts. My standard disclaimer applies, of course, but go with what you like and you shouldn't be disappointed. And get some good cooling for your processor and RAM, it's worth the extra money.

Look at my profile. I run digital video with no problems. Can't say much about Unreal Tournament (I'm a isometric gamer myself) but the junkies around here love AMD for such frivolity.

.indolikaa.

[Desperate Jip]

Thx 4 the replies ppl, much appreciated. I have a few questions:

....combo board for around $100US

is that a board & chip, sold together...?

That sounds like a Power supply failing or maybe a processor fan that's not spinning fast enough

could be right there as i think my board/chip & power supply is probly dieing on its knees...

(I'm a isometric gamer myself)

excuse my ignorance. ..but what is an isometric gamer ...?

Thx again