Upgrade Advice?

I am looking to upgrade my PC, which I mainly use for gaming (Counter-Strike:Source, Flight Sim, CoD2, Need For Speed Series). First off, the current specs are:

* P4 3Ghz with HT. 800Mhz FSB
* 512MB Ballistix RAM
* Abit SG-72
* Maxtor 120GB IDE Hard Drive, with 2MB Cache
* ATi Radeon x700
* A really bad 400w PSU which squeaks

Thats pretty unbalanced as you can see - my Motherboard can't support the RAM up to full speed, and even if it could, my PSU would keel over. All of my gaming is at 1024x768, so my Graphics Card and Processor seem to be fine - but the system is also quite unstable - it has been known to restart itself during a frag-fest on CS:S, which is not nice. I think it's either my Power Supply, or my Processor is overheating.. or my Motherboard is being overstressed.. What upgrades do you reccomend to make the system a bit snappier, but mainly to make it stable?

Thanks very much.
James.

depending on what socket your P4 is, it shouldn't be too hard to find another Abit motherboard that fits that socket and uses the full capasity of your ram.

while you're at it, the squeaking powersupply should be replaced as soon as possible or you risk frying your computer.

as for additional upgrades, maybe another stick of 512MB of ram for optimal performance.

__________________
Spike

Its a Socket 478 P4. I would like as much RAM as possible, but that can be done later. What two do you think need the most priority?

PSU -System stability
Motherboard -Get the most out of your PC
RAM -Have more phunn

In that order.

__________________
You registered for QuakeCon on April 30, 2008, 6:56 pm. You were # 366 to sign up for QuakeCon!

What Goober said. First priority is system stability which, from what you describe, means a new, more reliable power supply. Next I'd add more RAM--1GB is generally recommended for most new games--but to get the most out of that, you need a new motherboard.

__________________

yes, the PSU is the most important. 478 is perfect. there are plenty of P4 boards for you to choose from.

you can definately wait on the ram.

__________________
Spike

Ill get a new PSU - what about this one?

Also, 512MB of Ballistix RAM is about £67, so I'll get some of that.
Would this RAM config be ok?



What motherboard do you reccomend?

The memory setup that you posted really doesn't work if you want to take full advantage of a dual channel motherboard. We have had this discussion before.

As for a motherboard, how about this. Or this.

Good choice on the PSU.

__________________
Minnesota Genocide Intervention Network

My motherboard was real cheap it is the Intel D865PERL about 70 bucks (USD)

The way that you have the potential RAM configuration should work.

Antec has always been a reliable company, so if you have any problems Im sure you can RMA the PSU with ease

__________________
You registered for QuakeCon on April 30, 2008, 6:56 pm. You were # 366 to sign up for QuakeCon!

the PSU is great.

the ram configuration is a bit sloppy though. dual 512MB is your best bet. having 1 512MB and 2 256MB sticks will make accessing ram a bit slower.

__________________
Spike