Breeding 2nd life

I'm trying to give a second life to my desktop.
The first upgrade I want to do is to boost the RAM from 1GB to 2GB.
I currently have 2x512MB PC2-4200 DDR2 on an Asus P5-Series P5LD2 motherboard.
Is there a way to see which type of RAM would be compatible or not or would any PC2-4200 ram modules work?
Also, would it be better to add 2x512MB or to take the old RAM out and put in a 2GB module?

Next in line I'll check if there would be a noticable gain from swapping the P4 3.0Ghz for a Pentium D 940 3.2Ghz.

After that comes the GPU, I currently have a GeForce 6600NT

EDIT: I just realised I posted this in the wrong section. Could a Mod move this please.

 

Well the best place to start would be with Asus:

P5LD2

So if that's your motherboard, then you can use RAM up to DDR2-667, which would be nice since you have DDR2-533 in there right now (or it will make no difference), but 2 gigs would help most likely as 1 gig just doesn't see like enough these days.

That CPU swap would be worthless, don't waste your time on it. The Asus website says that it is Core2 compatible though, so I would take a look at one of the older E-series CPU's, you could probably get an E6600 for pretty cheap now, and that would be a HUGE upgrade over your P4.

As for the GPU, look around for a deal, but I saw posted on another forum an 8600GTS for like $15 after rebate, so there are some pretty nice deals out there. Depending on how much gaming you do, you could stick with a cheap 8600 type video card, or try to find a deal on a 9600GT which would be a nice step up.

 

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