PC expert help, need advise

[djsway]

I have a 1.2 gig Celeron with 256 megs of ram and a GE Force FX 3. I have the choice to upgrade to either,
a) GE force FX 5 or
b) 1.6 processor with 512 megs of ram

Which one should I pick? I won't have money for a while to upgrade some more.

[ibejeph]

I would get the video card if it is compatible with your celeron. Later, you can upgrade the processor/memory and still use that video card.

Next, start saving your nickels and pennies for a new processor. Those celerons just aren't made for gaming. For under $100, you could get a new processor/motherboard combo. Nothing fancy, just a regular P4 or Athlon XP would do the trick. After lumbering around with that celeron, a P4 or Athlon XP would seem like a Ferrari.

Then I'd recommend getting some extra memory, like a stick of 512MB. You can get one of those for around $80 to $100. With a new processor, video card and memory, your system would fly and RTW would run like a dream.

[Red Harvest]

Assuming that "FX 5" is a 5200 I would go for the processor plus RAM upgrade. A GF3 is not a bad card and can run RTW even though it is not a true DX9 card. The 5200 is really not much of a DX9 card...IIRC it is actually only doing DX9 shaders in software anyway, not in the hardware. I doubt you would notice an "upgrade" to a 5200 from a GF3. A GF3 is about the same as an 8500 speed wise and they do better than 5200's in most benchmarks. So it might even be a downgrade. If it is a higher end FX 5 then I withdraw the comment.

A 1.2 GHz Celeron is really low end if it is a P4 based celeron, so upping it to a 1.6 GHz PIV would make sense. 256 MB of RAM is too little for XP to run decently. At 512 it should be fine and noticeably smoother.

[vs the world]

I agree with Red Harvest on this one. Go for the 'board/RAM replacement, that will have a positive effect on all the programs you run (instead of the video card primarily just helping out in the gaming area). Plus, by the time you get around to purchasing a new video card, who knows, the price could drop dramatically due to the next latest and greatest rolling out.

[Sin Qua Non]

If the 1.6GHz processor is an AMD or Pentium 4, then definitely go for the board upgrade. Also, I would take the memory into account. Does the new board use faster memory? In any case, you can get a decent graphcs card cheaply and at any time. When I picked up my 5600FX, it was about $100.00. And that was because the new cards had shoved the price down. Both ATI and nVidia have great mid end cards for good prices.

Speaking of graphics cards, I found a real "gem" in my dad's old computer. I'm salvaging parts to create a new computer that he won't hopefully hit and damage the HD, and I ran across his old PCI graphics card: A Number Nine SR9 8MB PCI. At least you don't have that.