Upgrading My "I live in a cave" computer! Help?

It's been like 5 years since I've upgraded my computer, and I think it's time I come out of the cave. Needless to say, my settings suck, since even though it was 5 years ago, the stuff that I used was already old. Not that old, but pretty old. I have an Intel Pentium 4 CPU with 2.40 GHZ, NVIDIA MX 4000 which I believe doesn't have pixel and shader support. 512 MB RAM, which I'm gonna add a 1 gigabyte stick to, and I might as well throw in some disk space. I have an ultra speed disk drive so I don't think that will be a problem, unless it is. Anything else please ask me, I'll do my best to find out and add in an edit. What I'd like is upgrades for everything I'll need to last another... 3-5 years to save more money and upgrade my computer again. It's obvious I'm not very techy and want to over clock my computer or change everything every month, so yeah. Give me the updates I'll need, throw in some downloads I should have, and give me a price list please. I like to play games, and I'd like to last a while. I want to do lots of things on my computer, but I'm not a rich guy, so if anything, I'd like some that aren't way too expensive. Thanks for the help!!! The thing is I'll need a new video card, for sure, and is XMD dual core good for it right now? I'm not really sure about quad core, it's fast I bet but I don't really think I need it. Plus, do I only have to replace power cables and fans? Cuz I'd rather not have my computer explode if you know what I mean. Oh and, I'm going to stay with XP, a lot of people say Vista is needless these days. I kind of want some more details to feel more.. uhhh.. secure about my computer performance.Also, how can I find out if the upgraded stuff is fit for my computer? Where can I find videos of how to install stuff on my own?Upgrading My %26quot;I live in a cave%26quot; computer! Help?
ok as far as new video card .. you can get a decent 512MB PNY card w/ nVidia technology (including SLi capabilities) for around $110 at Best Buy ..



also you said XMD .. i assume you meant AMD? if so, the answer to your question is no, you can not use an AMD processor with your current motherboard .. you would need to get an Intel processor compatible with your motherboard .. you need to find out what kind of motherboard you have .. and check the documentation it came with, or manuf. website to determine what processors fit your motherboard .. if you've never done anything like this before, i don't suggest you start on the machine you work with .. processors are easily damaged, ruined, broken, scrambled, fryed, [add other bad adjective here] if improperly installed or improperly cooled .. swapping processors is something i'd leave to someone with lots of experience .. althought it's really not that hard .. as far as a quad core .. you'd more than likely most definitely have to replace your motherboard as well ..



now if you replace your motherboard .. you have to get one that fits your computer case .. it has to be the same %26quot;form factor%26quot; .. everything has to line up in the back .. also .. you'll need to get different RAM as well since new motherboards are rated at much higher speeds than the older Pentium 4 motherboards .. if you want an AMD processor you're going to have to get a new motherboard regardless ..



you may have to upgrade your power supply as well to accomodate higher power requirements of a better video card and new processor and other upgrades ..



you may have to upgrade your fans or add an extra fan if you upgrade your processor to accommodate the amount of extra heat a new processor would disperse .. adequate cooling is essential for optimum PC performance .. all new processors come with new heat sink assembly's and most come with thermal compound .. you have to install the thermal compound 100% accurately because too little will not be effective at dealing with heat .. and too much could also cause problems with overheating or poor heat disbursement ..



as far as XP vs. Vista .. Vista's been out for a while now so it's a lot more stable than it was when it first came out .. especially with Service Pack 1 .. XP is still popular because, like Windows 2000 when XP first came out, it has been around longer and is more understood and more widely accepted .. sticking with XP is perfectly fine if you're comfortable with it .. Vista has a bunch of new, interesting, user friendly things that may confuse you at first glance .. if you stick with XP make sure you update to the latest service pack .. which is SP3 ..



to determine what will and will not work in your computer, you need to find out what connections you have on your motherboard .. everything is generally universal, you just have to make sure you get the right components .. there are several connection types on the market today .. and needless to say a SATA DVD Drive will not work on an IDE controller and vice verca ..



if you can tell me what brand/model your PC is and give me a little more detailed information on it .. i can give you more detailed answers ..



seriously .. if i were you .. i'd simply buy a new machine .. sit this one aside .. pick up an A+ Certification class (or just a cert training book) if you REALLY want to learn about computers and use your old rig as a %26quot;learning machine%26quot; .. upgrading is going to cost you hundreds or dollars when you can go pick up a brand new, up to date machine for like $500 .. it won't have XP though .. so that's your call :DUpgrading My %26quot;I live in a cave%26quot; computer! Help?
Well, the best answer to this question is %26quot;buy a new computer%26quot;.



The reason for that, is that you're not going to find many pieces of hardware now that would be compatible with those of that yester-year rig. In order to make it compatible, you're going to end up having to replace the motherboard, more than likely the power supply, the video/sound card, unless you want it integrated into the new motherboard (cheaper, but far less options to expand it again in the future)..



With the amount of money and time you'd spend doing all of that, it really does weigh out better in the end to pick up a new system.



They're relatively cheap now, compared to back when this system was new. I just picked up a decent computer for my kid this weekend, was only about $500, and will do probably everything you would want. You're not going to be able to play the high-end, GPU hungry games like Fallout 3, but you'd still have pretty good bang-for-buck results.