Hardware Advice?

[Exeson]

*de-activates lurk-mode*

So, Again I need the playgrounds genius minds (using the term loosely) to help we with computer related questions.

I'm looking to upgrade my computer's hardware, specifically the graphics card and RAM.

Now I have not even the faintest idea where to start concerning this. So I will break it up into two parts.

1) Graphics card: At the moment I have an NVIDIA GeForce 6100 nForce 405 (copied straight from my PC specs) And I am looking to upgrade it, except I have no idea to what. My budget is around £100 (~$200)

2) I would also like to add more RAM (about 1GB) to my computer, except I have no idea how to go about this. Again my budget is around £100 (for both RAM and graphics card)

So suggestions are most welcome. If it helps the immediate reason for this upgrade is so I can run Warhammer Online fairly smoothly but I have also just been wanting to upgrade my computer for a while generally.

[Ponce]

What types of expansion slots does your computer have? If you do not have a free(able) PCI-Express slot you may have trouble finding a new graphics card that is sufficiently superior to your current one to warrant an upgrade. If you DO have a PCI-Express slot, I suggest you purchase another nvidia. What are the specs on the rest of your computer? You can likely determine an idea of what the optimal card for your machine is. It is possible that many of the newer brands of card are much better than your computer can make worthwhile use of (for example, your CPU may be too weak to handle some generations of games, so buying a new graphics card to handle newer games isn't worthwhile since it won't be the card that prevents you from running the game), so you may be able to save some money by buying an older generation card.

RAM is pretty cheap these days. If prices here are any indication, you ought to be able to pick up a 1GB stick for... ~15 GBP. How many empty RAM slots do you have?

Online stores are often the best place to shop for computer parts. I use Canada Computers, while many US residents use NewEgg. I'm not certain what the UK equivalent of these are.

The two purchases together shouldn't be more than 100 GBP.

Also, what operating system(s) does your computer use?

[Exeson]

Sorry for the delay to the reply.

The simple answer is I don't know squat about hardware.

Here is a link to the product info thingy I found, not sure how much use it is.

My OS is Windows Vista

EDIT: Some more detailed info.

Spoiler

Show

Technical Details
Main Specifications

* Product Description: Acer Aspire T180 - Sempron 3500+ 2 GHz
* Type: Personal computer
* Form Factor: Mini tower
* Dimensions (WxDxH): 18 cm x 45.5 cm x 37 cm
* Localisation: United Kingdom
* Processor: 1 x AMD Sempron 3500+ / 2 GHz
* Cache Memory: 128 KB L2 Cache
* Cache Per Processor: 128 KB
* RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM
* Storage Controller: Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-300 )
* Hard Drive: 1 x 160 GB - standard - Serial ATA-300
* Optical Storage: DVD±RW (+R double layer)
* Card Reader: 9 in 1
* Monitor: None.
* Graphics Controller: NVIDIA GeForce 6100
* Audio Output: Sound card - 7.1 channel surround
* Networking: Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
* OS Provided: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Extended Specifications

General

* Depth: 45.5 cm
* Height: 37 cm
* Localisation: United Kingdom
* Product Form Factor: Mini tower
* Type: Personal computer
* Width: 18 cm

Audio Output

* Compliant Standards: High Definition Audio
* Sound Output Mode: 7.1 channel surround
* Type: Sound card - integrated

Cache Memory

* Cache Per Processor: 128 KB
* Installed Size: 128 KB
* Type: L2 Cache

Card Reader

* Supported Flash Memory Cards: CompactFlash Card type I, CompactFlash Card type II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, SmartMedia Card, xD-Picture Card

Expansion / Connectivity

* Expansion Bays Total (Free): 2 ( 1 ) x internal - 3.5" x 1/3H
* Expansion Slots Total (Free): 1 ( 0 ) x processor - Socket AM2 ¦ Memory - DIMM 240-pin ¦ 2 ( 2 ) x PCI ¦ 1 ( 1 ) x PCI Express x1 ¦ 1 ( 1 ) x PCI Express
* Interfaces: 6 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A ( 2 in front ) ¦ 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 ¦ 1 x mouse - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) ¦ 1 x keyboard - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) ¦ 1 x parallel - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25) ¦ 1 x serial - RS-232 - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9) ¦ 1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5mm ( 1 in front ) ¦ 1 x audio - output - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ( 1 in front ) ¦ 6 x audio ¦ 2 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) ( 1 in front )

Graphics Controller

* Graphics Processor / Vendor: NVIDIA GeForce 6100
* Type: Integrated

Input Device

* Type: Mouse, keyboard

Networking

* Data Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
* Networking: Network adapter - integrated

Operating System / Software

* OS Provided: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Software: NTI CD-Maker Gold Edition, CyberLink PowerDVD 6, Adobe Acrobat Reader 7, Acer Self Burn Recovery, Acer eRecovery, Aspire eConsole, Norton Antivirus 2006, Acer Empowering Framework, Acer eDataSecurity Management, Acer eMode, Acer ePerformance Management

Optical Storage (2nd)

* Type: DVD±RW (+R double layer)

Power

* Device Type: Power supply

Processor

* Installed Qty: 1
* Max Supported Qty: 1
* Type: AMD Sempron 3500+ / 2 GHz

RAM

* Form Factor: DIMM 240-pin
* Installed Size: 1 GB / 4 GB (max)
* Technology: DDR2 SDRAM

Storage

* Hard Drive: 1 x 160 GB - standard - Serial ATA-300

Storage Controller

* Channel Qty: 2
* Controller Interface Type: Serial ATA-300

Storage Controller (2nd)

* RAID Level: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10
* Type: 1 x Serial ATA - integrated

Miscellaneous

* Compliant Standards: CE, NEMKO

[some_other_dave]

If that link is to a page describing your computer, it sounds like upgrading the RAM and the graphics card are simply a matter of opening up the box and plugging the new bits into the right places. I'd bet you can find a how-to with pictures online through Google...

You may need to install new drivers for the graphics card, depending on exactly what it is. They should come on a CD with the new card, and are also going to be found on the card manufacturer's website.

-soD

[Forthork]

Don't know what kind of performance you are looking for, but for well under $100 USD you could get pretty decent performance. Your processor will hold you back, so anything over $100 (going by US prices) would be overkill anyway. Newegg has some very good prices, but unfortunately they only ship in the US. Any DDR2 RAM will do, you can get 2 gig kits for as low as $20 after rebate. Really, any speed should be fine, but you want to get DDR2-800, basically the fastest speed DDR2, but also generally the cheapest. For a graphics card, the best one you could fit in you budget would be a Radeon 4850 for ~$160, but I would stick with a GeForce 8800GT/9800GT (same card, different name) for ~$100, as you processor is fairly slow.