I need an upgrade for my computer.

Put nore RAM in. If you have 32 bit Windows then 4Gb is the most it will read (well about 3.5Gb actually but you usually buy 2 x 2Gb chips) DDR3 RAM is fairly cheap at the moment but you may have DDR2 slots and the old RAM is more expensive. If you have a 64 bit OS then you can have loads more RAM. The other mod for old computers that really makes a difference is Solid State Drives. Your existing hard drive probably has about 10ms seek time whereas SSD drives are about 1ms. Keep your old drive as a data drive and put your Windows OS and programs on the SSD then an 80gB SSD should be enough.

I think you will be spending a lot when you upgrade your computer. But don't worry, you will come to that point. For you to upgrade it, take it little by little. Why don't you upgrade first the RAM, then if you have another money, upgrade another part. With that you will not be spending a lot in a one time. It will be beneficial for you if you upgrade because it is important in video and music editing.

You don't want to spend that much but it seems everyone here is suggesting to buy an i7 processor which is a bit pricey... When you said enough, can you please be more specific on your price range? Nowadays processors doesn't hold too much value unless what you previously have is a pentium 4. I'ts all about the ram and the video card. I can't recommend you the specs that seems to be very good in paper but I can tell you about my experience with regards to my i3 setup. I'm running windows 7 but sometimes I still think xp is better. I've whipped out a lot of videos last year both in hi def and non hi def quality last year just having 4gb ram and a built in 1 gb intel video card. I've used 3 editing programs namely: adobe premiere(cs4), after effects(cs4) and photoshop(cs5). You have seen the results personally but if you're not satisfied with that then I guess you have to buy a setup that others here suggested because by far I think those are better setups yet a bit pricey too. Mess Yah!

i think, changing the parts of your system unit will cost you more than buying a new system unit which has the latest periferals./parts. . . I think having i5 or i7 processors is better combined with 4Gb or greater memory. Having a video card and a good sound card will help you for a better and faster rendering of your videos. . .however, i think, there is also a specific type or brand of motherboard that suites multimedia editting.

4gb ram 2 ghz dual core i5 and a decent graphic card would be enough for music and video editing......

Here is some information that can help u:-) -Intel Core i7 975 or something newer like the i9 or 980. -EVGA Classified Quad SLI motherboard. -1000Watt Power Supply -2x ATI Radeon 5970 -Water Cooling most likley -12GB of DDR3 2000mhz+ at CL10 or less

You mentioned that your computer uses ddr 2 ram. Therefore, it's a bit dated but can still be tweaked to its limits. First of all, I would like to know if you're using an intel or amd processor. Most of the computers/laptops that I had are AMD based because of their pocket friendly price tag and packs in decent power that is suitable for my needs. You said that you do video and music editing but if it's just casual and not on a professional scale, I would recommend that get at least 4gb ram, at least a dual core processor clocked at 2.0ghz and opt for a decent video card (I am quite sure that your motherboard supports pci-express video cards, that's why you can get probably a 1gb or more video card.) However, when buying a video card, be aware that more video ram does not translate to better performance meaning that a 512 mb ddr 3 video card outperforms a 1gb ddr 2 video card. Don't worry even you just have ddr 2 ram, your motherboard will still be able to support video cards with ddr 3 or faster video ram. I suggest that do a research first before deciding to upgrade things like how much memory (ram), video ram, cpu speed can your mb support. Oh yeah, getting SSD (Solid State Drives) will definitely improve your computer. Don't worry about your old hard drive since you can still use that as a secondary storage, meaning that new and faster ssd drive will be your main hard drive (where the operating system is installed) then your older hard drive will be storage for files etc. Lastly, windows 7 (preferably home premium or higher) is the best choice for you but if you want to experience something new you could try some linux distributions like ubuntu.

The best way anybody could give and advise is to post your actual specs to see how much can you upgrade. For what you mention you dont sound as very savvy in the area, your can get all the advise but somebody will have to do it for you. ddr2 the limits are to 4GB. what do you need more harddrive so you need to know what is your limit with the nboard you have most likely will be more GB space. If you dont plan to change the motherboard you have to limit your upgrade to the specs of the board. I will check on configuration of new computers that may siut your needs it may be cheaper to upgrade the whole new computer.