My current PC is getting a tad old and finding some of the latest games a little tricky to run. This is my last year of state education, next year I'll be headed off to Uni and I've got myself a job. Simply put, this is the only time I'm going to have a (realistic) chance to upgrade my computer for the next X number of years, so I want to make the most of it.
I'll be gutting as much of my current PC as possible (namely the 5.1 surround sound, but quite possibly more). I'm about to crack it open so I can give you some stats on it. However, it's been ... far too long since I did anything to my PC so I need advice on what's good to buy if I expect to be playing on a static system for quite some time.
A brief overview of the stats I'm pretty certain of:
512 ram (in 2 sticks)
2.2 ghz AMD Athlon
256mb Radeon 9600
160gb HD
I know I'll need to upgrade the processor and RAM, and I also plan to get myself a beefier hard drive. I don't anticipate needing to change the graphics card because, to my knowledge, that remains fairly meaty even though it's a few years old.
My main beef with the current system is that it won't connect to the internet. I'm fairly certain it's not a settings problem because it used to be quite indecisive about whether or not it was going to connect, and now it won't connect at all (both wireless via router AND via a direct cable into it - still nada). So I'm guessing it's a hardware problem. If anybody has any idea where that would be (something not linking to the motherboard possibly?) then I'd be appreciative so I know what part I should scrap or take a closer look at. It's also REALLY noisy, so I want to get a quieter power unit. It also has a big, bulky monitor so I'll be switching to a nice thin one so that it ... you know, fits into my room when I'm at Uni.
So what I'm asking you for is advice on which of the following I should get:
Processor
Monitor
Power unit
RAM
Large HardDrive (I'm talking 200-300 gigs)
Also, advice on whether or not I should get a new graphics card, sound card or motherboard would be useful. I currently have a DVD RW, but another would be useful, so if anybody know a good brand on them I'd appreciate. And cases. And USB/Firewire ports.
And because I'm new to building a computer if there's anything important that I've missed ... best mention it eh?
