hey, I'm new here and only know basics about computers, so I figured I'd see if anyone knows anything that could improve my tiny tower's performance.

just in case: "buy a better computer" is obvious, I'm just wondering if this one can be improved.

description:
it's an Emachines EL1200-05w
Athlon 26500e 1.6 ghz "Performance rated at 2.65 ghz"?
2 GB ram, it reports 1.75 GB (it had 1 GB, I added more, maximum of 2 GB?)
nvidia GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 512 mb (no pci-e slot but it's pretty usable for me)

a scan has told me the following:
Internal Clock: 1607.58 mhz, System Clock: 200.95 mhz, System Bus: 200.95 mhz, Multiplier: 8.0
L1 I-Cache: 64K byte, L1 D-Cache: 64K byte, L2 Cache: 512K byte, Full (not sure which one it's saying Full about), L2 Speed: 1607.58 mhz

so I've added RAM, I only use it to play PC games (Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, so nothing really insane but they're not old games). it runs fine on low resolution/low graphics, but I'm wondering if I can make it run better and turn settings up a bit?

graphics card seems impossible to change because there's no pci-e slot and it has very low power supply, 220 watt? google said 15w but that could be the processor?

it's pretty good for what I use it for, but I'm willing to take it to a computer shop if there's anything obvious, like messing with BIOS or any changeable hardware.

adding RAM is all I could think of. thanks.

Hi Waffles and welcome to the forums,where do we start,the cpu you have runs @1.6ghz,with a system bus @800mhz, htt multi of x8 with 512kb L2 cache,the problem you have is it has onboard graphics,meaning you dont have a dedicated graphics card,onboard graphics cards share system memory,you will really strugle to play the games you have any better than they allready run,sorry,thats not what you want to hear.

You say it's performance rated @2.65ghz,well where did that figure come from,?that's 1000mhz above the cpu's stock speed,i think you have misread something somewhere.Sorry to be the barer of bad news but its the old addage,you get what you pay for,and unfortunatly theres not much you can do to improve the system,but the main thing is dont be disheartened by it,you say it does what you want it to do,apart from run games a little better,so thats the main thing,your happy with it.

Once again sorry for dashing your hopes.

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AMD 965BE @4.032GHZ 24/7 VCORE 1.528v TEMPS 32C/52C
MSI 790FX GD70
3 X SAPPHIRE 4890 OC's 991/1100
4 GIG G-SKILL RIPJAWS 1600 @ 7 7 7 24 1.65v RUNNING @1680MHZ
4 SAMSUNG F1 750 GIG SATA II HDD's 2X RAID 0
THERMALTAKE ARMOR+ FULL TOWER CASE
THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER MODULAR 850W
THERMALTAKE BIGWATER 760IS WC
28" HANNS-G LCD 1920X1200 3ms
WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 32bit OS

I'm looking to replace an antiquated computer. I'm not a gamer, so is it necessary to get a dual core proccessor for viewing photos or videos?
Most of my activity is home use, burning cds and dvds etc.

^Yes, you need a Dual core (cheap one = Athlon II 240) so that it can handle today's software well and lasts for some years (a single core will be outdated and slow in no time).

first of all i have say its an acer, acer emachine. not really the best computer to have. gateway, acer, and acer emachine are three computers i tell people do not buy. support techs dont know the products, and to resolve problems, the only way they know of fixing them, is factory default restore. that means you put it back the way you bought it.