Upgrading PC

[thefoshe]

I have an old windows pc. Probably around 4-5 years old. Im going to be a senior in high school and am tight on money. I was just needing to do some updates to this pc to make it run a little smoother and quicker. My question is what are the easiest and most cost effective ways to help lengthen the life of this old PC? I use my pc for basic video and picture editing, music, and surfing the web.

Thanks,
Nick

Specs:
Dell 2400
Intel P4
CPU 2.8ghz
768MB of RAM
Onboard Graphics Intel 82845G
70GB Harddrive
750GB External Freeagent Harddrive
17' monitor
Stock Keyboard, Mouse, and Speakers

[tokenuser]

Spend $100 on upgrading to 2GB of RAM.
Search hard for a graphics card - since this is not a PCI-E based machine, you will probably need to head onto ebay to get something that will work. Advatage is that high end video cards are something geeks swap out for new cards fairly regularly, so you might be able to pick up a bargain (computer swap meetsa re a great source as well).

[thefoshe]

Yea, I'm planning on upgrading the RAM pretty soon. A graphics card is also a good idea, I will look around. Also I am needing to get a CD/DVD burner. Any good suggestions on what to buy?

[mikec]

Not sure how many different companies make burners vs the number of companies selling burners. Newegg shows IDE burners running between $22.99 and $30+. Almost any drive should work.

[tokenuser]

Not sure how many different companies make burners vs the number of companies selling burners. Newegg shows IDE burners running between $22.99 and $30+. Almost any drive should work.DVD +/-RW combo drive is what you will probably want. Don't bother with "Litescribe" technology, and don't bother with BluRay (you wont find a video card for an AGP bus that will support it). LiteOn make generic drives that are good quality.