[xp_user88]

Hi,
I want to upgrade my computer or maybe just buy a new one if you believe the upgrades would be too much for what I'm asking for.

Anyways, I upgraded the video card from Radeon Xpress 200 to GE force 8400 GS which helped out on some of my games but it's still acting a bit slower then what I like. So basically what I need some advice on is making my CPU run faster without it costing a fortune. So here are the specs and I'm open to any and all suggestions: Intel 3.3 ghz, Memory 512 MB, Hard drive 160 GB, Network 10/100 Mbps.

Thanks so much!

[Frank4d]

Upgrading memory is fairly inexpensive these days. If your PC supports dual-channel RAM, get two identical 512MB or 1GB sticks of RAM. You don't want to mix your old RAM with new RAM though (it may not run in dual-channel mode).

There are also some tweaks that will improve performance. A couple of my favorites:
In Display Properties > Themes, use "Windows XP (Modified)"
In System Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings, choose Custom and uncheck everything except "Smooth edges of screen fonts" and "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop".
Note of caution: These two tweaks will make Windows XP look a lot like Windows 2000.

[xp_user88]

Thanks for the advice I will have to try that :-)