Acer computer help

Okay so I know this is an all-terrain tractor forum but I need computer help. I have an Acer Aspire AST180 desktop computer. It's seen some better days. Came with Windows Vista but now has XP. I want to put Windows 7 64 bit on but I need to put bigger RAM in order to do so. Plus I want to add a bigger power supply. The one in it now is a 250W I would like a 500-600W. I also want to add an audio card and a blu-ray player. But now sure on which power supply, audio card, or player to get. Any thing that I am missing to upgrade to Windows 7?

yup... You Probably don't HAVE a 64 bit processor. Maybe, but probably not. Motherboard and processor time.

Lawren Wimberly wrote:

yup... You Probably don't HAVE a 64 bit processor. Maybe, but probably not. Motherboard and processor time.

I'm pretty sure I have an AMD 64 processor. I think the original OP was 64 bit

That's more than likely an older Athlon so it is 64 bit. A higher wattage power supply is a total waste, most systems will never see over 400W. If you really are dead set on upgrading the power supply go for a better efficiency rating, 80+ silver and up. Audio card will also more than likely be useless unless you need more outputs than the onboard audio gives which is pretty unlikely. Asus makes a good Blu-Ray player, though you aren't going to see much of a difference between the cheapie ones and the expensive ones, this is a good model. As for RAM, considering that's an Athlon it's gonna be DDR2 so you can pick some 4Gb sticks up off ebay fairly cheap.

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

That's more than likely an older Athlon so it is 64 bit. A higher wattage power supply is a total waste, most systems will never see over 400W. If you really are dead set on upgrading the power supply go for a better efficiency rating, 80+ silver and up. Audio card will also more than likely be useless unless you need more outputs than the onboard audio gives which is pretty unlikely. Asus makes a good Blu-Ray player, though you aren't going to see much of a difference between the cheapie ones and the expensive ones, this is a good model. As for RAM, considering that's an Athlon it's gonna be DDR2 so you can pick some 4Gb sticks up off ebay fairly cheap.

So I guess I will forget about the power supply. I want the audio card for better sound. I don't necessarily need extra outputs

It is an AMD Athlon 64x2 processor

Yup, 64bit. Can you take a picture of the motherboard so I can see what kind of expansion ports it has? Once I know that I can recommend a card.

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

Yup, 64bit. Can you take a picture of the motherboard so I can see what kind of expansion ports it has? Once I know that I can recommend a card.

" /> Is that what you need?

Yup, I'd go with something like a Asus Xonar DS, though you might not see that much a difference. You might want to upgrade your speakers first depending on what you already have.

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

Yup, I'd go with something like a Asus Xonar DS, though you might not see that much a difference. You might want to upgrade your speakers first depending on what you already have.

90% of my audio I use headphones. But I would like to upgrade speakers. Right now I have a basic 2.1 system

I would love to make this thing fast. I'm not talking about like a $1,000 gaming system I know I'll never see that kind of performance. So is there anything else to help make it perform better?

Well most of my suggestions would be based on what you're willing to spend, I currently am using a set of Beyerdynamic Tesla T1's but those are pretty expensive, especially for the average person.

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

Well most of my suggestions would be based on what you're willing to spend, I currently am using a set of Beyerdynamic Tesla T1's but those are pretty expensive, especially for the average person.

I would like to spend less than $250 for everything, including OP

One last question before I start looking up parts, How much RAM does it have currently?

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

One last question before I start looking up parts, How much RAM does it have currently?

Honestly I'm not sure. It says 1GB DDR2 and 320GB SATA hard drive

If I remember correctly I need 1 terabite I think I have 500 GB

4Gb ram - $40

BluRay player - $60

Nicer headphones - $100

Save the $50 for a better motherboard and processor

I wouldnt upgrade until you can do it properly, like save up some $ for it. And if you can use XP nothing is better than XP.
Tho 7 is ok also.

Thunderdivine wrote:

I wouldnt upgrade until you can do it properly, like save up some $ for it. And if you can use XP nothing is better than XP.
Tho 7 is ok also.

I don't want to do a full on build. It's not worth it to me. I just want to get my machine to perform better and have it set up the way I want it

WellThatsSurprising wrote:

4Gb ram  -  $40

BluRay player  -  $60

Nicer headphones  -  $100

Save the $50 for a better motherboard and processor

Thanks for the links! I will use the $100 to buy Windows 7 and not the headphones. There is nothing wrong with the ones I have now

Thunderdivine wrote:

I wouldnt upgrade until you can do it properly, like save up some $ for it. And if you can use XP nothing is better than XP.
Tho 7 is ok also.

the problem with XP is that programs dont support it anymore, neither does microsoft.. so whenever you want or need a program, you cant..

willis923 wrote:

Thunderdivine wrote:

I wouldnt upgrade until you can do it properly, like save up some $ for it. And if you can use XP nothing is better than XP.
Tho 7 is ok also.

the problem with XP is that programs dont support it anymore, neither does microsoft.. so whenever you want or need a program, you cant..

I just got a new pc at work with windows 7, we also had some issues with not supported software for XP. But I never had any programs at home not supporting it. Maybe that's mostly games?

windows 7 is good tho so go get it   

windows 7 is my favorite, altho xp is alright

I have vista   Dont like it but My parents gave me the computer so cant complain.

i actually dont mind windows 8. i would rather have 7, no doubt, but windows 8 really isnt that bad