Just to be original: Spec help

[mmm_bleeprin]

For your amusement/horror/pity, my current specs:

Processor: AMD Duron 1.4GHz, 200MHz
MB: have forgotten. blocked it out, perhaps?
HDD: Maxtor 40Gb
PSU: Q-Tec 300W
RAM: Crucial 266MHz, 256Mb
Graphics & Sound: On-board
Opticals: CD reader, not sure which type
Monitor: Ancient, ugly CRT

It was second hand when I got it, bought out of some shop. It ran well enough until I bought the Sims 2, and I started spending ten minutes looking at loading screens, and fighting with slow, sticky gameplay. Community lot? Forget it.
I was going to coast along until I had enough to afford a new one (a few months) but I was poking about in it yesterday and I think I fried the RAM chip. So, dead PC. (I was meant to hold it by the corners? Damn. What a loss)

I've been lurking around OCUK for a week or so now and I've learned lots (though not, apparently, how to handle RAM chips) but I thought I'd ask the advice of the great OCUK forum veterans, who know lots (praise, flatter) on a fairly cheap spec. Budget £500 or so. I don't play anything really heavy (Sims 2/expansions/Morrowind) but I'd like it to be upgradable. No need for peripherals/monitor.

Thanks

 

[Trigger]

Welcome to the forums You could maybe have a look at the spec I did in this thread for the same budget as yours. As you've been lurking for a while, you're probably aware of Conroe being the new chip on the block and seems to be rather good at gaming. Get some decent games though, that graphics card will be wasted with the Sims

Oh and finally:

PSU: Q-Tec 300W

ahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[fatmas]

I have a Qtec 400w in my AMD Athlon 2500 Rig.
I need to replace it because it's before they were PFC approved (correct?)

Don't want my 1.5gb of RAM and 6800GS getting fried