Slight computer performance upgrade, memory or vid card?

jujumantb

So right now I have pretty poor specs and am looking for just a hair more performance. I'm only working with 512mb ram and an old 64mb radeon 9200se video card. As bad as that sounds, i could still play bf2142 on low to medium settings with good framrate, but any newer games are not looking so good. I'm not a "gamer" per say, the only thing im playing regularly is MVP2005 and FIFA06 which will get a hiccup every now and then. Basically, would you assume those hiccups are a bottleneck in my 512mb ram or my outdated video card? If video card, would ONLY uprgrading ram give me ANY increased gaming performance? I sure could use it for just running XP and apps regardless.. also, keep in mind I would not be spending more that $75 neweggo n a new video card, enough for a decent 256mb 128 bit couple years old card.

thanks

Chronic Diarrhea · 09-18-2007, 10:11 AM

Another gig of ram wouldn't give you much performance increase in FPS with that video card. Get the video card, but preferably both. I'd recommend going with the ATI X1900GT. They should be fairly cheap ~ $100 but it's a great card for the price. If you're dropping lower than $75 an upgrade in a video card really isn't worth it IMO.

[url:5dacd]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102022R[/url:5dacd]

$100 for that card is an incredible value. How do I know this? It's what I have, and I can still play games like Bioshock and Medal of Honor Airborne on max settings. I still recommend getting another gig of ram with this, but a card like this one gives ridiculous performance for the price.

jujumantb · 09-18-2007, 10:19 AM

[quote="Chronic Diarrhea":a991e]Another gig of ram wouldn't give you much performance increase in FPS with that video card. Get the video card, but preferably both. I'd recommend going with the ATI 1900GT. They should be fairly cheap ~ $100 but it's a great card for the price. If you're dropping lower than $75 an upgrade in a video card really isn't worth it IMO.[/quote:a991e]
you dont think going from a 64mb 64bit card to a 256mb 128bit card is worth it? ps im using agp and i didnt see the 1900GT is that option.

Chronic Diarrhea · 09-18-2007, 10:36 AM

Ah, yeah, that card only comes in PCI-e format. I think you might be able to find an AGP Nvidia GeForce 6600GT for around $75 or lower.