Ive been using computers for about 17 years and Ive always been far behind the times in keeping a system updated. I recently purchased a new system from a random dealer and thought I would be happy with just average. My problem is this, It gets old looking at the hourglass all the time more than I think I should have to. I dont have many programs in the background and I keep my system clean daily from spyware, reg probs and other slow downs. I know its a lousy system atm but here is what i have.

- 3200 sempron (I know, Iknow )
- asus socket 939 motherboard - ati chpipset (dont like nvidia)
- 1 gig 3200 400mhz ram
- ultra ata 133 HD (I cant aford 2x WD raptors on a raid 0 config lol)
- ATI x550se - pci-e (added this)

These are the main thing i am working with here. I dont want to drop alot fo cash on this system but I want to replace a few peices to make my daily internet and gaming use runnning smooth enough. I play WoW so nothing that is graphically strenuous. I like to play at mid high setting and I can raid in a high end guild quite easily. Processor is a big concern but I just want someones knowledge as to what should really be my first priority because a higher processor with a sub par things around it is usless. I have run several benchmarks on my system after several tweaks I have done. I have used SiS sandra and PC Mark05, keep cpuz and passmark's performance test (I get roughly a 310 score)

I know its a convoluted questiosn but I just dont want to drop money on parts that are going to make the biggest diff. Any information anyone can provide would be awesome

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

ATI makes decent video cards, but their motherboard chipsets suck. The nVidia nF4 Ultra or SLI are considered to be the best chipset to get for a S939 system. The S939 Sempron hasn't been released as a retail CPU (yet), right now, they're only available to OEM builders such as HP/Compaq. 256k L2 cache is OK, but if it only has 128k L2, it won't perform near as well. Probably the weakest link is your video card...the SE in the model number means it uses a 64-bit memory interface.

Internet useage should be fine, but you have an all-around poor configuration for gaming...weak board, weak CPU (possibly), weak video card.

3200 sempron - isn't that the "celeron" model of AMD's??

If so, get a grown-up AMD. And the ATI x550se is LOW END.

WILL POST FOR FOOD.

"3200 sempron - isn't that the "celeron" model of AMD's??"

Yes & No. The new Semprons (64-bit) are basically Athlon 64's with reduced L2 cache...some have 128k, some have 256k. The 256k version is the one to get. But since they have the integrated memory controller, they're superior to the Celeron.

"3200 sempron - isn't that the "celeron" model of AMD's??

If so, get a grown-up AMD. And the ATI x550se is LOW END."

I was hoping I wouldn't get the usual flames from people who didnt offer anything constructive, Zenith. My main concern was just wondering where my next two steps would be. I hate the ATI sucks replies because its merely an opinion base in the fact that nvidia is who game companies optimize the games for it. (I have a ATI chipset, therefore ATI is who I went with.)I hardly believe the vid card is a problem as I said I'm not going to be playing FarCry on max settings :P I just want to spend some money to make my everyday experience better :) Thanks

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

Then maybe you should do a little research on your own. ATI is relatively new at designing/building motherboard chipsets...they perform OK, but they're not great. I think even SiS beats them in compartive testing & you certainly won't find many singing the praises of SiS chipsets.

The Sempron 64 is not a bad CPU, provided you get one with 256k L2 cache.

The X500SE though is a weak card. It's at the bottom of the heap of ATI's PCI-e offerings & is only slightly better than the X300. And being that you got the SE version rather than the plain X500, you have a real dog on your hands.

Just to add to the above...you don't need a screaming fast machine to browse the internet. What you have is more than adequate for that...but it's not a good gaming machine, & upgrading the CPU won't help. If you wanna play games & play them well, you need a new video card. It doesn't matter if you get an nVidia based card or ATI based card...either one will work with your ATI based board. But the bottomline is you're gonna have to upgrade....

I have doen quite a bit of research but many things say I need a better HD with sata 150 and others say to get a new mob, while other say its the processor. I ran cpuz to check and the processor has a 256 L2 cache. I had gotten a 6800 but for some reason it was preforming far lower than I had expected. I got the ati 550 and the performance was substantially better but this could have been due to the fact that I had not used driver cleaner before I tried to bypass the onbaord video. Th eonly game I use the computer for is WoW which isn't to graphically hardcore.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

Upgrading the HDD won't make a significant difference.

Since you have the S64 w/256k, I don't think a CPU upgrade would be cost effective either.

There's a HUGE difference between a X500SE & 6800...almost both ends of the spectrum. Either you should have devoted a little more time to making the 6800 run right, or you should have gotten something more in the middle of the pack. You're not gonna find your card included in any benchtests, but this will give you an idea of some of the PCI-e results:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/page18.html

One other thing...some (but not all) 6800 cards have to be connected to the power supply. If your's was one of them & it wasn't plugged in, the performance would have been horrible, then again, it may not worked at all!

Cool thanks. I had no idea how badly my card could have ben performing and why. Ill have to give the nvidia another shot as well. Im a little new to the last two years technology. Oh yeah I hadn't run driver cleaner and done a good thorough unisntall before i did so lol. Thans again

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist