Processors.

[PsychoSnowMan]

I'm thinking of upgrading. I have a 900 Mhz processor and a GeForce 2 mx I also have 512 ram. I get pretty bad FPS in computer games (a good FPS for me is 30+ :/). My friend says I should probably get a new processor first because a new card won't do me much good with a 900 Mhz.
Any suggestions on which to upgrade or what the different prices are for different processors?

[Brian]

A new processor won't do much good when you have a GF2 either. I would go for AMD. If you can get a p4 2.4 or a AMD 1700+ that OC well, I would get one of those for the best value.

It all depends on how much money you have to spend though.

[hone]

Sure it doesn't scale as well with not so good of a processor but with a GeForce 4 Ti 4600 I could run Quake 3 @ 1600x1200 with 70+ fps with a TBird 1 gigger. So it's not that bad.

[handrail]

it depends i think. my friend ran his p3 500 with a ti4200 and he got decent fps rates for most games...40-50 fps @ 1024x768 rez. he ran ut2k3, half-life and even gta3, although gta3 was usually around 30fps, but still easily playable, except when you have tons of cops chasing you down.

i am running a barton 2500 with 512 gig of ddr400 dual channel, but i have yet to get a new gfx card. i am running a gf4 mx440 64mb until i get my new one, but i got 60+ frames on half-life this past weekend at 1200x900 rez. it also runs soldier of fortune 2 at over 50 frames.

a new gfx card will run from $100-200, you can also get a cheap mobo and chip for around $200 or less, if you go AMD. if i were you and if i didn't have a lot of money to spend, i would go for a ti4200 or similar and save up cash until you could upgrade the rest. keep in mind tho that some of the older, yet affordable, gfx cards aren't directx9 compat, and halflife2 and doom3 will most likely be dx9.

[DnD]

I'm thinking of upgrading. I have a 900 Mhz processor and a GeForce 2 mx I also have 512 ram. I get pretty bad FPS in computer games (a good FPS for me is 30+ :/). My friend says I should probably get a new processor first because a new card won't do me much good with a 900 Mhz.
Any suggestions on which to upgrade or what the different prices are for different processors?

and you budget is?

[fhetw]

depending on your budget, i would say upgrade your gfx card first, considering your MX is worse than a regular geforce. i have a 1.3 willamette laugh, which limits me greatly but still pull decent fps, depending on game, out of my 3ti.
if youre on tight budget id suggest getting the card, and if your performance doesnt improve to your liking then get the processor

[Kurtis]

yea, get a 1700, they OC well. a p4 is good if you have the money. then get an ATI video card if you can afford it for really good fps. also... make sure you have ddr ram not sdram. sdram sux...

[BioNiKaL]

upgrade to a geforce 4 ti4200 killer card get good frames on any machine :) but its time to upgrade the cpu soon aswell maybe a athlon xp 2200+ cheap and nasty

[FunkZ]

On a tight budget I'd recommend the 1700+ T'bred B with the latest DLT3C stepping (1.5 default vCore) which should overclock to 2 Ghz without breaking a sweat. (and without increasing vCore) 2.3-2.4 is pretty easily attained with a modest increase in voltage, and I've seen as high as 2.5-2.6 with some high voltage and very good cooling.

For a budget video card I'd recommend a GF4 Ti4200 or Radeon 9500 non-pro. The 2+2 memory configuration 9500np's can be softmodded to open up all 8 pixel pipelines, which gives you the performance of a 9700 non-pro. They're getting a bit hard to find since most are 4+1 now, but I believe the Sapphire OEM-bulk card at New Egg will do this. A Ti4200 will be around $50 cheaper, but it's not a DX9 card, so don't expect high 3D03 scores. It's still a decent performer though, comparible in most respects to the 9500np without the soft-mod.

[Rich]

With a 900 MHz proc, you could get pretty good performance on most of the current games with a newer card. It all depends on what your price ranges are, and what kind of stuff you will need to upgrade. As stated by handrail previously, I ran a P3 500 with a my Geforce4 and was able to play all my games, SOFII, GTA3, Half-Life, etc without too much problem, not the highest FPS but definately playable. My opinion would be to upgrade your video. To upgrade your chip may require replacement of a lot more than you want to replace (motherboard, ram, chip). It all comes down to cost.

[caniswolfie]

Upgrading the video card first would probably get you more bang for the buck since the GeForce2MX was a big budget card and upgrading a couple of generations should be able to take more strain off your CPU allowing for better FPS. In the long run you will need a better CPU to let the video card run at full potential, so keep that in mind as well.

[Rich]

Save your money and just buy everything at once. :D

[red999]

Well if you buy a new CPU then your probably gonna have to buy a new motherboard and new ram as well. So i think it just depends on how much money you can spend. I would go for the video card first.