[Sleepyjack]

Hey all, I've been looking to upgrade my computer for it to run a little faster and play some games such as WoW (right now even flash games play slowly, though I can play WoW at an okay framerate as long as I'm indoors and nothing much is going on). Here are my specs as far as I can discern:

Motherboard: SiS-661
Processor: Intel Celeron 330 26 GHz
Ram: 2x 512MB DDR (I'm planning on upgrading this)
Video Card: SiS 661 FX Series (planning on upgrading this)
OS: Windows XP
Power Supply: Not sure but it said 130V / 260V on it.

I was hoping not to upgrade ALL of it (might as well get a new computer at that point, I'm a bit wary of building my own - very afraid I'll end up with a bunch of incompatible parts or something), preferably upgrades in the range of $200-250.

I'm looking towards upgrading to
Radeon HD 4650: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-330-_-Product
2 GB RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231039

I also want a PSU to go along with the card; I figure I'll need it. My current PSU says 130 / 260 V but I'm not sure that's enough. Any recommendations?

Would these improvements be enough to speed up my computer decently and run some games well (WoW)? Thanks!

[Compiler]

Junk the computer.

Thats a waste of $160 (video card & RAM) for a computer that was built slow back in 2004~2005... so those parts would not be usable in a new computer.

$400 for this Compaq AMD would be better spent... too bad its not using the AMD chipset. You could build a better computer for about the same money... but since your nervous you just may want to upgrade the Compaq. You maybe able to sell your OLD PC for about $50 or so to go towards the upgrade/replacement.

There is nothing you can easily / worth-while reuse in a new built/parts.

If you built yourself (rough cost) similar to the Compaq (Windows7 costs the most):
$60 - AMD X2 CPU
$65 - Gigabyte AMD 740 board
$60 - 2GB DDR2 800Mhz ($80~90 for 4GB)
$60 - 450~500w (low-cost PSU - by my standards) or $70 for a 450w quality unit.
$60 - 500GB HD
$30 - DVD-RW drive
$40 - mouse & keyboard (far better quality than what comes with a desktop)
$50 - case (quality) - cheap stuff starts at $15... and looks cheap.
==========================
$425 Base parts
$110 Windows 7 Home OEM (OUCH - told ya)
---------------------------------------------
$535 Complete computer

$ 75 ATI 4670 video card PCIe

$610 Total

If you bought the Compaq and upgraded it to the custom build:
$400 + $135 (PSU and same 4670 video card) = $535.
*note: The desktop self-built system has more options and slightly faster CPU)

So thats the choices... look at how much MORE it would cost over just trying to upgrade the OLD computer. Which was about $210.... so for $325~400 extra, you'd get a much faster, modern computer... the HD is much faster, helps.

$210 = improved game graphics, but no upgrade path. CPU/PC will never go faster.
$535 = Upgraded Compaq... limited upgrade (CPU limited)
$610 = Clean hand-build... can easily upgrade to a X3 or X4 core CPU.

[Sleepyjack]

Thank you very much! Hmm, I guess I'll just save up some money and build a new computer... I can delay getting a new keyboard/case/monitor/DVD drive/hard drive (I have one that's 100GB in my brother's computer and he said I could salvage some parts; sadly that's the only part worth taking). They're pretty bad ($10 keyboard, Walgreen's mouse, etc.) but I can save $180 until I can afford to replace them. So the cost of building a new one (I'm pretty smart so I should be able to use an online guide or something, I'm just scared of incompatible parts / frying something and losing hundreds of dollars) should go down to about $400. However, on the other hand I'll only be using it for half a year or so before I go off to university -- would it be better to just upgrade mine to the point that it can play some games (WoW mostly) so my brother can play when I'm gone? Thanks so much for the help so far!

[Compiler]

Take the computer with you... rather than use it for 6 months.

"/DVD drive/hard drive (I have one that's 100GB" Er, no. Mobo and drives nowadays are SATA, not PATA. 100GB are tiny drives... and you're talking about playing games.

10~15GB for OS/apps
5~20GB per game
And then GBs for video, audio, photos...

Getting down to $400 is difficult... unless you go for the crap parts and a slow CPU. The point is for a good amount of speed and gaming for as little as a budget is possible. I don't quote junk parts... maybe econo-parts, but not junk.

Go with a $25 case+PSU combo, and you risk blowing up your computer. Buy a $25 mobo and you're looking at limited life, crashes, etc. Get a $40... and lose about 60~70% performance... to save $15~20? The difference in price for a 250GB HD and a 500GB HD is $10.

If your case is a standard ATX - then you should be able to use it... key/mouse as well - so that takes about $90 off the build. Down to $520.