gamer Looking for info on pc tweaking for dummies and cheap pc upgrades

alkiry · 11-20-2008, 12:57 PM

This is to the site support people or anybody who is knowlegeable about computers
I live in augusta georgia and i am a hardcore world of warcraft gamer, my pc is a few years old and the only upgrades i have in it is 512 mb of ram and a 256 ATI graphics card which is minimum wow system req. (I will get my pc specs in the next couple days).

I have been doing alot of moving the past year so i havent been playing wow on my computer for about a year because i havent had internet yet but i will be getting internet in the near future. I am using my friends pc to make the post. Im just trying to get information so i can get straight to upgrading when i do get internet and wow running

So basicly i am looking to upgrade and tweak my pc with a small budget but i have a couple questions.
The first thing i think is a good idea is to upgrade the ram because it seems relativly inexpensive and makes a big difference. At first i was under the impression you could just go out and buy a ram stick and it will work with your pc but i read a couple articles and posts and it seems to not be quite that easy.
So if you could explain the basics to me and your recommendations of exactly how much ram i need and possible sites or stores with good prices, and if you could give me some info on installing ram physically and compadability and stuff like that.
And lastly if you could give me some info on tweaking my pc and graphics card settings for gaming performence, and just overall performence. i have read a couple guides but they didnt seem that good or just a little too complecated for me.
I know you dont have much to work with, with so little info about my pc but just try to bear with me and give me as much info as you can in simple terms that an average gamer could understand.
-Thanks

Tiber Septim · 11-20-2008, 11:53 PM

Without knowing anything about your current computer or what types of games you wish to run, it's virtually impossible to give any advice on what to upgrade.

My advice, however, is to simply build a new PC from scratch, mid-range components aren't that expensive and you will get a very noticeable performance boost, rather than trying to mix and match bits from your current PC and only getting slight performance gains.

Most importantly, though, we need to know your budget. How much would be your limit?

11-20-2008, 12:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
alkiry Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2 OS: xp sp2	gamer Looking for info on pc tweaking for dummies and cheap pc upgrades This is to the site support people or anybody who is knowlegeable about computers I live in augusta georgia and i am a hardcore world of warcraft gamer, my pc is a few years old and the only upgrades i have in it is 512 mb of ram and a 256 ATI graphics card which is minimum wow system req. (I will get my pc specs in the next couple days). I have been doing alot of moving the past year so i havent been playing wow on my computer for about a year because i havent had internet yet but i will be getting internet in the near future. I am using my friends pc to make the post. Im just trying to get information so i can get straight to upgrading when i do get internet and wow running So basicly i am looking to upgrade and tweak my pc with a small budget but i have a couple questions. The first thing i think is a good idea is to upgrade the ram because it seems relativly inexpensive and makes a big difference. At first i was under the impression you could just go out and buy a ram stick and it will work with your pc but i read a couple articles and posts and it seems to not be quite that easy. So if you could explain the basics to me and your recommendations of exactly how much ram i need and possible sites or stores with good prices, and if you could give me some info on installing ram physically and compadability and stuff like that. And lastly if you could give me some info on tweaking my pc and graphics card settings for gaming performence, and just overall performence. i have read a couple guides but they didnt seem that good or just a little too complecated for me. I know you dont have much to work with, with so little info about my pc but just try to bear with me and give me as much info as you can in simple terms that an average gamer could understand. -Thanks

11-20-2008, 11:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,822 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Re: gamer Looking for info on pc tweaking for dummies and cheap pc upgrades Without knowing anything about your current computer or what types of games you wish to run, it's virtually impossible to give any advice on what to upgrade. My advice, however, is to simply build a new PC from scratch, mid-range components aren't that expensive and you will get a very noticeable performance boost, rather than trying to mix and match bits from your current PC and only getting slight performance gains. Most importantly, though, we need to know your budget. How much would be your limit? __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.