How to upgrade a old AGP PC

[PushIt]

My aunt has a old computer which works on agp display. It is very old system where she uses it for emails and movies. I plan to upgrade that to a little higher configuration so that she can take advantage of latest internet technologies and multimedia. But I am not able to figure out how to do that. First of all it is a old agp motherboard with a very small monitor. I can add up a good new monitor but will that give the output which I am assuming like hd support something. I do not think so. If I go for upgrade the most I can do is add some rams here. The latest processors will not at all work here. I can increase the ram, but that is not going to work because I want to a better display output which is only possible with a help of graphic card. I tried to find out some old model gpu for my board, but they are far more costlier and in my views upgrade does not worth as the system is already outdated. I need proper suggestions here what should I go for. Thanks in advance.

[HafizaAhmed]

First thing, do not go for upgrade. It is a waste of money. If anyhow you found a gpu for your board, soon that will be outdated. What I will recommend you is go for a low range desktop model. Equipped with with Dual Core or Core 2 Processor, 2GB ram and 250Gb drive is more then enough. As per your requirement it seems you aunt does not need a high end system which can play all latest video games also. There are many cheap desktop which comes in that range and are easily available. Other than this you get current warranty time period on that which is very important for replacement. There are agp cards available in the market. Like ATi Radeon HD 3850 AGP.

[ddj]

Just get some ram and add a agp gpu card. It will not cost you much. But just ensure that your board supports the card. You can find that in the gpus specification list. add upto 512 or 1GB ram with 256/512/1GB AGP GPU.

[veeru s]

There are two recommendations in my view. The first is Nvidia Geforce 7800GS and the other one is X800 XT. Both are fine, but Geforce 7800GS is much better. It depends on your motherboard about the compatibility. You must check properly before buying it or else the card is wasted. It will not give you high performance, but enough strong to get desirable graphic output. Good for multimedia and basic gaming. For internet, using windows xp or windows 7 is enough with all regular updates. Windows 7 needs better system resource. Under such condition a gpu is must. If you go for entire system upgrade it is not going to cost you much. Within a budget amount you can buy a entirely new system under 3 years warranty.

[KumaraVel]

There is a great difference between AGP and PCi. PCie is the newest interface used for gpus. The thing that matter is data bandwidth and performance which is higher on PCIe. Go for new. It can be best decision for future also.

[GoutamB]

One more thing I want to add here. AGP cards are expensive. And as the models are outdated the drivers support are discontinued. So in case of any bug you have to use the existing ones only. While latest are flexible. Why don't you go for a small 15inch laptop with Dual Core cpu. It is enough good for multimedia and web surfing. It is also reliable and does not need regular upgrades. Or if you do not want to spent much, then you go for a more cheaper ultra-portable laptop.

[Dorkfoot]

Upgrade depends on your choice. As the system is old it is for sure that you have to pay high for older models. While for current products there are much more flexible options available.

[BonnieT]

Buy a motherboard + cpu + ram + gpu + hdd. This are the important parts where you must wisely spent. If you go for low end models or just want to upgrade your old system and upgrade all of them. Just adding a gpu an ram will consume half of your budget in which you can gain new parts. I think as per your question you need a entire new system. Going for a agp gpu is not a good choice. Many models are discontinued today and those which are available are working on outdated drivers. While on the other hand latest gpus gets new drivers with a control center which helps you to configure the gpus more properly.