Trying to upgrade my computer, but not sure what to do.

Hi, I have HP pavillion a1700n.
The basic spec is on

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...91&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3339286&lang=en


I upgraded RAM, hard drive and graphic card.
For RAM, now it's 3GB (512MBx2 and 2GBx1).
And for graphic card, I had to upgrade to e-GeForce 7600 GS (256MB, PCI-E) from EVGA because of the monitor.
Oh, and I needed XP, so I asked my friend to buy a harddrive, and he installed xp in it.

Anyway, I got this e-GeForce 8500 GT (512MB DDR2, PCI-E).
And I hoped to use both of them, because they both support SLI Ready.

Then, I just realize that my computer motherboard only has one PCI-E x16 slot. So, this is the problem. Can I still use both of them? If not, shall I keep with 7600? or change to 8500? I know 8500 might be better, but I am not sure if it's worth $100.
Lets say I really want to use both of them (if I am right, they should work toghether.) Then do I need to change the case? or the whole mother board? If I have to change the mother board, what would be the most useful one, so that I can still use the existing harddrives and ram?

Also, I am not sure about the RAM. On the website, it says the memory capacity is 4GB with parenthesis 1GB x 4. Does it mean I can't use 2GB?

Oh, and for last, my CPU is Athlon 64 X2 (W) 3800+ 2.0 GHz. Does it mean my CPU is 2.0G Hz? or is it 4.0G Hz because there are two of them? The minimum requirement for one game was 4.0G Hz or higher CPU, and I am not sure if my CPU is better than that or not.

Sorry for so many questions, but please help me out.
Thank you very much.

 

You don't need anymore RAM, your CPU is not equivalent to 4GHZ and what game are you talking about as I've never heard of one needing a 4GHZ CPU also, there ain't no such thing yet! I have a similar system to yours, same CPU and a 7600GT and it works great for me though I'm not a heavy gamer. Far Cry works perfectly at the highest settings.

 

thanks for your idea

thank u for your reply. if i m correct, nfs prostreet re@uires 3.9 G Hz or higher. isn't there 4.0 GHz for pentium 4? ...i donno. i am not an expert ;b

 

First off, you won't be able to run the 7600GS with the 8500GT in SLI. For SLI you must use two of the exact same cards. Second if you want to run SLI HERE are some options. Third, NFS ProStreet recommends a 2.9GHz cpu. You sould be fine with what you have. The SLI choice is up to you, but you won't need to run SLI to play this game.

Hope this helps!