Ok guys and gals, here's my situation.
I’ve been "out of the loop" as far as technology goes, and am doing my best to upgrade my system as soon as possible.
Due to my gaming habits, 3d and art needs, as well as overall sluggish system specs, its time to do some changes.
Here's the problem - I don't speak "techie" anymore and honestly need to be told in plain godamn English what needs upgrading, what is decent, etc.
Here's what I want:
1. A computer that can handle fairly intense graphics and gaming, with smoother frame rate.
2. A faster computer overall, to handle applications such as Maya, 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Editor, etc. simultaneously, and not "chug" nearly as much as it does currently.
3. A good price for the above. I don't have hundreds and thousands of dollars to do this with, but I do have a pretty good budget. I would like to do this with less than $4-600 if possible.
Here is what I have currently:
Pentium 4, 1600 MHz
1 gig of RAM (most likely the cheapest kind, can't remember what kind exactly)
Radeon 9550 Video Card
37 gig HD
Obviously I need a faster processor. Obviously I need better/more RAM.
What I don't know is exactly what type of RAM I should get, how to know if it's going to work with my board...etc.
I also don't know how to check if a new processor is going to work with my current board as well, or if I will need to buy a new one of those while I am at it.
Remember, talk to me like I don't know what the hell I am talking about, because when it comes to compatibility and overall performance, I know nothing.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Fire away.