Advice for PC upgrade

Hello, I'm looking to see if there are any kind, helpful people to give me some advice about improving the old PC. I have had an Acer Aspire M3641 for about 3 and a half years now, though the motherboard failed recently and I have had it replaced. So now my motherboard is an MSI 760GM-P21 (FX). Also replaced were my PSU, which is now 500w, and my processor, which is an AMD Athlon II x2 260 processor (3.2 GHZ). I have 1.75 GB of RAM, though the guy who fixed my computer initially said I would have 2GB.

Now I am thinking about getting more RAM, my mainboard box says I have '2 DIMMs support for DDR3-1333/1066/800 MHz up to 16 GB Max'. Can somebody please advise me on what RAM to get, how much RAM it is worth getting and how much I can expect to pay please?

I also intened to get a graphics card. At the moment I have ATI Radeon 3000 graphics. I would look to spend around £60-100 I suppose, but would listen to suggestions if it is worth spending a bit more for a massive difference in performance.

Finally, it is supposedly possible to unlock a 3rd and 4th core on my processor, if anyone has advice on ways to do this fairly easily then it would be much appreciated!

Thanks a lot for any help provided in advance!!!

You do have 2 Gigs of physicla RAM. The reason your system reports 1.75 Gigs is that you are using an integrated GPU (on your mobo) which share system RAM. So you have 256 MB assign to the GPU.

My recommendaiton for an upgrade would:

Getting a new CPU - forget about trying to unlock cores. It's likely one or more might be bad anyway and will introduce instability. AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds. You can easily overclock that and get a lot more CPu performance over what you have right now.

Upping the RAM - RAM is cheap. You cna easily pick up some DDR3 1333 modules for under 50 bucks. I'd recommend 2 2 gig modules for a totla of 4 gigs of RAM. Since you'll be turning off the integrated GPU, you won't lose 256 MB to it. Hopefully you're runnig a modern 64 bit OS to take full advatage of the RAM.

The GPU - you are runnig an integrated one right now. upgrading to a discreet GPu, even an inexpensive one will give you a MASSIVE improvement in gaming and in other GPU accellerated software (like video/photo editing software that supports it). Go here:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.htmlAnd look for a card that fits your budget. Your mobo has a free PCIe X16 slot and your 500 Watt PSU is adequate for just about any card you want.

You should be able to complete this upgrade in under $250 U.S, so cheaper in pounds (assuming similar prices).

You do have 2 Gigs of physicla RAM. The reason your system reports 1.75 Gigs is that you are using an integrated GPU (on your mobo) which share system RAM. So you have 256 MB assign to the GPU.

My recommendaiton for an upgrade would:

Getting a new CPU - forget about trying to unlock cores. It's likely one or more might be bad anyway and will introduce instability. AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds. You can easily overclock that and get a lot more CPu performance over what you have right now.

Upping the RAM - RAM is cheap. You cna easily pick up some DDR3 1333 modules for under 50 bucks. I'd recommend 2 2 gig modules for a totla of 4 gigs of RAM. Since you'll be turning off the integrated GPU, you won't lose 256 MB to it. Hopefully you're runnig a modern 64 bit OS to take full advatage of the RAM.

The GPU - you are runnig an integrated one right now. upgrading to a discreet GPu, even an inexpensive one will give you a MASSIVE improvement in gaming and in other GPU accellerated software (like video/photo editing software that supports it). Go here:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.htmlAnd look for a card that fits your budget. Your mobo has a free PCIe X16 slot and your 500 Watt PSU is adequate for just about any card you want.

You should be able to complete this upgrade in under $250 U.S, so cheaper in pounds (assuming similar prices).

Kinthalis

What brand is the psu?

I'd add these things to your system:

-Phenom II X4 955 BE

-8GB DDR3, ram is cheap so load up

-Radeon 7770

Should be about $250 total for the upgrade.

Hey guys, thanks very much for your help, it has been really very useful! I checked inside my comp and have a 2gb RAM stick, so will get another of those. On my PSU it says Model: ATX - 500, and underneath it says Intel ATX 12V 2.3. Sorry for my incredibly slow reply!!!

AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds.

Kinthalis

[QUOTE="Kinthalis"]

AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds.

Physorac

[QUOTE="Physorac"][QUOTE="Kinthalis"]

AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds.

adamosmaki

[QUOTE="Physorac"][QUOTE="Kinthalis"]

AMD CPU's are cheap, and your mobo has an AM3+ socket so you have some upgrade options. I would suggest a Phenom II X4 processor. You should be able to get a Black edition for around $99 U.S, so about 70 pounds.

adamosmaki