upgrading pc

[jag566]

hello i planning on upgrading my pc soon but im not sure what i should upgrade first...im running on a budget of $200...i want upgrade so i can run PR on high settings and run arma 2 on medium setting atleast
here are my specs:

OS:Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3
RAM: 2GB
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 512MB
Processor:Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Sound Card:Realtek AC97 Audio
System Manufacturer: ECS
System Model: 915G-M
BIOS: 915G-M Ver 1.0D 10/06/2004
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c

[boilerrat]

Honestly, the cheapest way to upgrade your PC is with more RAM... another GB would do just fine.

One more thing, could you get me a link to your motherboard? If you don't know which one you have just get these tools and upload screenshots of the tabs.

It would also be nice to know your power supply's wattage so we could shop for a new graphics card also.

That wattage can be found on the inside of your case with a sticker on the power supply.

EDIT: good news, it looks like the 8500 gt uses the PCI express x16 which is used by many other quality cards... providing your PSU can handle it.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...GPU-Z.0.3.7.ex

http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz/cpuz_152.zip

Heres a picture of my specs incase I need to get some help.

[Th3Exiled]

Originally Posted by jag566

Processor:Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)

That is contradictory, the pentium 4 line of processors feature single-cores only. Please recheck what your CPU is.
What settings are you running pr on atm and at what frame rate (type "renderer.drawfps 1" into the console in game)? You should be able to handle PR on high settings with your current hardware assuming you have your computer configured properly.
Have you tried running Arma 2 yet? If so at what settings and what fps.
Just had a look at the recommended specs for arma 2, I'd advise upgrading your CPU if you do have a pentium 4. keep in mind that Pr only operates on a single core when looking for processors. You have the recommended amount of ram and your graphics card falls just below the recommended card (being the 8800 GT) so your biggest concern atm is your CPU.
You should be able to get a decent core 2 (quad or dual) with $200, though shop around, look for other peoples advice and what they run Arma 2 on. Though I'm not totally sure about the requirements of arma 2 and the information you posted about your processor doesn't help (since it's contradictory).

Exiled.