BleepingComputer.com: Help with Upgrading RAM & Video Card, please!

Hello all the good knowledgeable peeps at BC!

I recently bought a used Acer computer, hoping to use it for video editing, until I can afford a more powerful Quad or i-7 system. I read online that the processor on this Acer (details below) is very powerful, and it had a firewire port built in, so i bought it. But it is bare-bones, with only a 1GB RAM and integrated video. Thing is, I don't want to spend too much more money on it, but I do need to upgrade a couple things, to do anything with video. It won't even play youtube videos without jerking a bit now and again, i think because of the integrated video.

Considering the rave reviews on speed and performance of the LE-1640 processor online (many say its better than a lot of dual-core processors), i thought I would upgrade to 4GB RAM and add a video card, to keep me going for now, till next spring/summer.

I'll give the current specs, followed by some questions and advice I'm seeking.

CURRENT SPECS:

Acer Model AM1100-E1401B
AMD Athlon LE-1640
RAM : 1GB
160 GB harddrive


Questions :

1) I found a website that mentioned the max on RAM on this motherboard is 4GB, @ PC2-6400 DDR2-800Hz. Question: on a system like this, how much of a difference is there between a 2X2GB DDR2-533 MHz/PC2-4200 vs. a 2X2GB 800MHz/PC2-6400, as far as video and/or photo editing speeds are concerned???
I've seen some good deals for the lower 533/4200, almost at half the price, but would the speed/performance be that noticeable??

2) wrt Video Card : If I want to add a separate video card, how do i know what is compatible, including the memory size (like will it support a 1GB video card)?? is PCI better or ePCI for this processor--any ideas?? or is a 512 enough?? also, IF i do add a video card, do I need to also add/upgrade the fans on the computer, or add a separate fan for the video card???

I'm hoping to spend less than $200 max on this, more like $150 (with a used 512 video card, and used 4GB RAM from Craigslist, it might be possible)...otherwise, I could spend 399+tax and get an new Acer dual core, or as I just saw today, 599 and get a quad with 8GB (both at future shop)...and I just would rather save up till next spring/summer, and get a nice i-7 920 or similar system, which are already at around $1100 CDN right now.

Lastly, If you know of any deals on RAM and/or Vid Card (compatible with above comp) in CANADA, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any input you guys/gals can offer with this.

jaja67893, on Nov 7 2009, 03:48 AM, said:

1) I don't have much experience with RAM timings, but I think the performance difference would be noticable. This computer I'm using has DDR2 800 and my laptop has DDR2 667. The performance difference is huge, though that may partially have to do with other things such as the processor and additional RAM.

2) PCI-E 16x is the current best type of slot for a video card in any motherboard. The video card should include a fan. For video editing, you should get a card such with at least 1GB memory such as the Radeon HD 5770.

Here is a picture I found. The long slot at the top is the type you need.