Upgrading AMD Athlon(tm) processor?

Hi. I am completely new to this mallarky, but I did enjoy playing Homeworld 1 and its side game Cataclysm so much I want to go on to play Homeworld 2, but the minimum spec is a Pentium 3 or equivalent so long as I have a processor of around 830MHz and 256 MB of RAM.

My PC has an AMD Athlon Processor of 799 MHz and 255.48 MB RAM.

Can I update these specs and run the game, or would it just not be cost effective?

Any other specs I need to look at (the game doesnt specify grpahic accelerator)?

 

Are you running onboard graphics (i.e. does your motherboard handle the graphics for your computer?)
If so, buying a cheap card would free up more system memory, as this is being used to run the graphics, taking away from free memory. An extra 256Mb RAM wouldn't go a miss, either.
As for your CPU, you could attempt to overclock it the extra 30MHz, and there are quite a few people who would be able to help you on these forums.

 

Thanks Steeev

I am running onboard graphics, so I could buy a cheap card and extra RAM as you say.

"As for your CPU, you could attempt to overclock it the extra 30MHz, and there are quite a few people who would be able to help you on these forums."

Would this not run the risk of overheating the CPU?

 

It's possible it could - you could always improve the cooling inside your case.
I O'ced my old celeron and Duron without much difficulty, as the temperatures involved with older processors aren't as severe as the new ones.
If you're unsure, it may be worth your while just upgrading the CPU.. I doubt an Athlon will be too expensive, Ebay is a good place to research prices for older chips.
Looking at the recommended specs for the game you want to play, you'll be best off getting an extra 256Mb RAM, at least a 32Mb 3d GFX card, and a faster CPU. I guess it depends how much you'd want to spend on getting the game running well...

 

First thing CPUs do not perform equally clock per clock. Even in the <1Ghz range....
If you go from a Athlon 800 to a Intel P3 1Ghz the speed will be be very very close to the same if not slightly faster on the Athlon.... The P3 socket 370 is very inefficient compared to AMDs socket A ...

So long story short you have the = to a P3 @ 1Ghz.... assuming you have socket A and not slot A, Is your CPU in a cartrage thing or is it on the mobo ?.... If you whant to know more about overclocking i whould need to know more about your ram and your CPU....