noob needs computer help!

so when it comes to figuring out whats what with a computer, i'm the king of all noobs. video cards, motherboards, processors, you name it, nothing makes sense to me. according to this little thing that tells me about my pc, this is what im running:

Gateway pc
intel pentium 4 2.53 GHz
510.8 MB of RAM
Windows XP Home
NVIDIA GeForce 6200
i'm guessing the rest is irrelevant

with the little knowledge that i have for computers, RAM deals with speed right? or loading times or something, so i was wondering, would 1 G of RAM be a significant increase with my setup, or would some other changes help this little baby perform better with all the new games coming out. there is a budget, under $250 so i'm trying to find the best bang for my buck.

thanks

Loading times is determined by the hard drive, but the way Windows works is that it makes a paging file on your hard drive to be used as virtual memory. It uses this virtual memory when you do not have enough physical memory (the 510.8 MB of RAM that you have). That's why loading times are horrid when you do not have enough RAM - the hard drive has to handle both loading the map and whatnot and the virtual memory. Kinda simple explanation, but yeah.

Performance of newer games will be first hindered by your memory and graphics card, then by your processor, so you should upgrade memory and video card first, then the processor if you have extra to spend.

For upgrades, a 1GB stick (or 2x512) of DDR400 (PC3200) memory should do the trick (about $80). Since you are using a pentium4, it's likely you have an AGP video card. In that case, you will need to buy a faster AGP card, such as the ATI x1600 series ($100-150?), x1950pro ($200+), or the Nvidia equivalent: 7600 series and 7800GS).

The last thing to check is whether your power supply is able to handle these upgrades, since these video cards tend to draw quite a bit of power. The card should have power recommendations listed on the box itself, or in the product description online. Verify these against the label on your power supply to make sure it can handle them.

Keep in mind that any upgrades you buy now will not be re-usable in a newer system. In other words, if you want to buy a brand new system sometime later, the memory and video card won't work in it. AGP video cards and DDR memory (the type used in your computer) are already replaced by newer PCI-E cards and DDR2 memory. Upgrading to this newer standard would require a new motherboard and processor as well, which is probably out of your budget.

awesome, thanks eggrolls,the info is greatly appreciated

oh i had one more question, when i buy some new RAM, can i install it myself with my limited experience in computers? i was reading reviews on circuit city products, and all the say is you buy it, open your case, snap it in, close the case, and turn on your computer and it works. is it really that simple?

Yes it really is, which makes it all the better for everyone! Make sure you turn off the computer before installing it first.... don't want to fry yourself there.

okay cool sounds good, thanks for the help!

512mb ram is enough if u are not running anything else at the same time, if u want more frame rate and eye candy, then buy a better graphics card.

One key note, though, when working inside your case: STAY GROUNDED. Simply use a wrist ground strap or, like I do, keep contact with the case constantly. While static electricity may not seem like much to hurt anything, the delicate components in your machine don't like it.

thanks for the advice!