So I want to upgrade my computer so it can run games better. I'll give you what I currently am running and then some ideas
I've had for upgrades. Hopefully some of you that are more
computer savvy can help me out.

I am currently running:

CPU Type Unknown, 2033 MHz (10 x 203)
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset VIA K8T800Pro, AMD Hammer (http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/k8-series/k8t800pro/)

System Memory 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)

Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (256 MB) (http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5200.html)

CPUID Manufacturer AuthenticAMD
CPUID CPU Name AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3200+

(http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487,00.html)

Memory Slots:

DRAM Slot #1 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)

The rest I am not worried about upgrading. Right now I am thinking along the lines of a processor upgrade and definitely a video card upgrade. For the processor I want something like an AMD Athlon 64 FX Dual Core 2.8 Ghz like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103861
however I don't know if my motherboard supports it because on the website it says it supports Athlon 64 FX but it says single processors. For the video card I really want the GeForce 7950 GT
card located here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...-XFX-_-14150223
but once again I'm not sure my motherboard can handle it.

Any suggestions on what I should upgrade? My goal is to be able to run current games on medium settings, I don't really need the highest. Thanks in advance for your help!

Where did you get that info? For some reason its not saying what your motherboard is. Download Everest . In their it should tell you everything about your computer. Please post back your motherboard model, and socket number. I forget if it tells you what graphics card slot you have too.

It will show which "video adapter" is installed, if that doesn't show it you can try downloading SIW.

Thank you for your support so far. I guess I was using the old version of Everest. Anyway I downloaded Everest Home and got a report, I will stick it here in full because I am unsure of all the information that was needed.

My System:

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)


Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD Athlon 64, 2033 MHz (10 x 203) 3200+
Motherboard Name Abit AV8 / AV8-3rd Eye / RocketBoy AV8 (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset VIA K8T800Pro, AMD Hammer
System Memory 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (07/28/05)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Monitor HW191D [NoDB] (625GH30CA0649)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative SB Live! 5.1 Sound Card

Storage:
IDE Controller VIA Bus Master IDE Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller VIA SATA RAID Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive VIA SATA RAID 0 SCSI Disk Device (298 GB)
Optical Drive SONY DVD RW DW-D22A (DVD+R9:2.4x, DVD+RW:16x/4x, DVD-RW:8x/4x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
E: (NTFS) 305242 MB (221951 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Optical

Network:
Network Adapter VIA Networking Velocity Family Giga-bit Ethernet Adapter (24.117.236.186)
Modem Standard Modem

Peripherals:
Printer Auto HP DeskJet 895Cse on DELL
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB2 Controller VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Optical


I guess my question comes down to what are my options for upgrading? My budget is 400 to 600 but the cheaper the better. Of course I want to be able to run games like Oblivion at good settings (not necessarily highest) smoothly. If I should replace my motherboard as well can I use the same tower and hard drive I am currently running? Thank you so much for all of your help.

The motherboard looks fine although it will limit you to a nVidia 7 series graphics card or a ATi x1950 (which will run Oblivion fine). So you can get the 7950 you were looking at. However according to Abit your Motherboard will not support the Processor you selected (Board chipset is 939, Processor is a AM2)This is the Best one I could find on Newegg for a 939 Dual core http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103053. If this processor isnt enough for you then you may have to upgrade your motherboard.