Old PC with new graphic card

I have an Old PC, and I would like to upgrade. Could I possibly buy a new CPU and jz plug the thing in and then expect processor speed increase? Or is there some specifications I need to be aware of? Also, I also want to upgrade my graphic card aswell. Any suggestions?

You need to look at the manual for the mother board. The clock frequency and the supporting chips need to be able to support a faster CPU - you can't just plug in anything that fits the socket, and expect it to work.

Upgrading your graphics card will depend on what interface you have available. Do you have AGP, PCIe, PCI, or what? Generally, upgrading an old graphics card will give you a boost in performance, but you need to know what interface to the motherboard is available.

Thanks for your reply,

When I bought the machine, it doesn't come with the menu. I'd try to find the menu online for my motherboard. But you're suggesting that it's the max clk speed for the motherboard I should be awared of right? Anything else?

In the mean while, it's a PCI slot that my graphic card is plugged into. How do I know if the new graphic card will work with my motherboard or not?

R

The things you need to know are the socket type, the CPU clock speed generated by the board, and the frontside bus speed (the speed of the memory bus). Intel and AMD require different support chip sets, so you have to know which type of chip your board uses. The CPU clock speed will either be automatically set (within the limits of the board) by the BIOS, adjustable by jumpers, or will have a DIP switch.

Many older computers have data available on the Internet. Just enter the brand and model into a search engine like Google - you can generally find the specifications.

Any PCI graphics card should work in your machine, as long as drivers are available for your operating system (i.e. WinXP, Win2K, Linux, etc). A limitation would be on the amount of current required. Some high speed video boards have additional power connectors on the top edge of the board. You plug in a spare drive connector to supply the additional video power that the PCI bus cannot handle. Such video cards will say on the specifications printed on the retail box what size computer power supply is recommended.

Thanks for your reply, I have got an overall idea now.

Thank you for your time.