Are my specs good enough for todays gaming standards?

Hey everyone. I just joined the forum because I have been planning to upgrade my PC.
My friend built this PC for me,and I just really need a faster processor.
Heres my specs...

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1
Internet Explorer 6.0.2800.1106 (IE 6.0 SP1)

Motherboard
CPU Type AMD Duron XP, 1200 MHz (6 x 200)
Motherboard Name PCChips M810LR (2 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 2 DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset SiS 730S
System Memory 512 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (08/06/02)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter RADEON 9200 SERIES - Secondary (128 MB)
Video Adapter RADEON 9200 SERIES (128 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9200 SE (RV280)
Monitor Lite-On/Litronic S1770NSL (044270830)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter SiS 7018 Audio Accelerator

Storage
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive HDS722580VLAT20 (80 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Disk Drive Maxtor 6E040L0 (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive ATAPI CD-ROM MARY500

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 78528 MB (17447 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 39197 MB (38594 MB free)

Input
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Logitech USB Cordless Mouse
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network
Primary IP Address 192.xxx.x.x
Primary MAC Address 00-07-95-33-11-71
Network Adapter SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter (192.168.1.2)
Modem HSP56 MR

Peripherals
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Auto Auto HP LaserJet 4L on CMAC2 on CMAC1
Printer Auto HP LaserJet 4L on CMAC1
Printer Fax
USB Device Logitech USB Cordless iTouch Keys
USB Device Logitech USB Cordless Keyboard
USB Device Logitech USB Cordless Mouse
USB Device USB Composite Device


I have also actually wanted to get a 360 gigabyte HDD,which is awfully cheap. They sell them at the computer place I go to for less than 250 bucks.

I am planning to get an AMD Mobile Barton 2500+ XP. Its only 90 dollars,so it seems well worth it.

I have one computer fan,and my idle temperature is at 31 degrees ( can you believe that?).
I am planning to buy a few Thermaltakes, maybe 2-4 and just slapping them on there.
Then ill overclock the Barton to 3200.

So,any suggestions would be nice. My 2003 Benchmark score was a joke. I got 333... My 2001 benchmark score was 5000.

 

well from what information i can see it would be pointless getting the xp2500
as your board is only 100fsb (x2=200) and the Barton chips are 166fsb(x2=333) so if it booted up it would just underclock the processor by a fair bit
therefore rendering your upgrade useless

Have a look in your motherboard manual and see if it offers support for 133fsb(x2-266) then at least you could get a xp2600 with a 266bus or a xp2400 with 266bus which would give you some improvement on what you got

But then you are only using SDRAM do you know if thats 100 or 133 ram

As for the HDD do you really need that much space you could better off use the $250 to upgrade other parts of your system espicially the video card
The reason your score is so slow in 3D MARK 2003 is because that benchmark is very dependent on the graphics card and to be honest the 9200 is at the lower end of the scale

IMHO if your board supports 133fsb i would go for a XP2400 OR 2600 with a 266bus and spend whatever money you got left on upgrading the graphics card to at least a 9600 pro preferably a 9800 pro

Because scoring only 5000 in 3D MARK 2001 means you are going to struggle to play any modern games without stripping the eye candy down to the bare muinimum

 

General Lee - I have a question. How do I know if my mobo supports a 133 fsb? And yeah,I seriously need a new video card. They are actually pretty cheap in many places I go to.Ati Radeon 9600 is something I was looking at. I might get that,or 9800. It really depends.

 

http://www.pcchipsusa.com/prod-m810lr-v80.asp

depending on what revision your MB is then yes, it does uport 133 according to that page. Hosestly though, I would forgoe the HDD upgrade and pick yourself up either a new video card, or a mainboard CPU ram combo that fits within your budget.
for $250 I would go with an nforce2 board, an XP 2500 and two sticks of 256 DDR 400. That would give you some serious room to play. The 9200 is at the lower end of the spectrum, but I thikn that your biggest bottleneck is your mianboard and the SDRAM that it uses.

 

So, I should just get a new mobo? I can buy the stuff, I just need advice on what to buy.
Im probably just going to rebuild a whole new computer.

Any ideas of what I should have? Im planning to get these,after all your replies...

Nforce2 board, AMD XP 2500 Barton, 512 DDR Ram and a 9600 or 9800 video card.
I can easily just slap these on,its just a matter of how much I can get at this time. Im really just looking to upgrade my CPU,right now. Then ill move on to upgrading my video card.

So,the best CPU for my mobo would be a AMD 2400? or 2600?

 

Yeah agreed if your comfortable doing the work, a new motherboard, CPU and ram would be the best way to go,sorry i didnt think of that earlier but i got the impression you just wanted to upgrade the CPU

So in response to your question, yes the best CPU for your current board would be the Athlon XP 2600 with 266fsb (2x133) as long as you confirm it supports 266
Otherwise the Athlon xp 2400 with 266fsb Ive only ever had good experience with that chip, stock speed 2ghz

 

I will go for the 2400,since its the safest thing right now, and I dont actually know any websites that give diagnostic tests on the fsb of your mobo.

I actually was just looking for a new CPU and a video card. I dont need a new mother board,for right now, but for 250 bucks, I can try and get something.

Where can I find the cheapest XP 2400 and a Ati Radeon 9600? Any prices? Theres a place called "Frys Electronics" that I go to, and they sell the XP 2400,I just dont know the price. If you guys could tell me some prices,I could save up the extra money that is needed.

 

Hi Magnetix you will still have to set the fsb to 266(2x133) fom 200 yourself, by either changing the bios or setting a jumper on the motherboard you will need to look in the manual, or see if you can get an online version from the manufacturors website

As for the parts I see on Newegg you can get an athlon XP 2400 for $72 retail(includes stock heatsink and fan)
And either a Radeon 9600 pro with 256mb ram for $149 retail or the 128mb version for $133 retail

May i also suggest you check the wattage of your power supply and do a quick online test here as upgrading like this will drain more power
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Also have a look here at majorgeeks
http://majorgeeks.pricegrabber.com/home_comp.php/ut=51813837aaed0e92

 

General Lee - I will get the 256 mb Radeon 9600 since its only a few dollars more. The processor itself is pretty cheap! I expected it to be more.

How do I change my FSB speed? I know I have to change my BIOS,but how? Could you help me out on that? I can get all the items,I just need help on changing the BIOS

 

OK Magnetix
Do you still have the manual for your motherboard if so look in there for anything related to FSB settings
If not remove the side of your case and physically look at the board and look for some writing printed on there to give us the exact model revision and we can check the manual online
You can check your bios by pressing the Delete key when you first switch on your machine, some makes are different so you may have to try other keys like F1, F2, F8 etc etc
Once in the Bios have a look for something like CPU FSB speed settings

 

I found out my FSB setting is at 266. So, should I get the items now?

 

Well the information ive just seen in your other thread in hardware doesnt bode well, if your board wont support a Thoroughbred core you aint going to be able to use the 2400
The best you can get is like a 1.3 or 1.4ghz Athlon Thunderbird which wont be much of an upgrade

Iwould suggest e-mailing PC-Chips and see if theres maybe a Bios update available to provide support for the Thoroughbreds if not im afraid its new motherboard time

 

Ah,damn it.

Well,Ill contact them,but if not,then I guess I have to go buy a new mobo. Its not hard to install it,its just I need the extra money to buy a wireless router =(