Hello. I'm simply looking for advice on upgrading my current rig, as opposed to buying a new machine outright. I'd be willing to part ways with around £250 for upgrades, and if it came to just buying the new desktop, I'll go no more than £500. Please keep in mind that I am not great on technicalities, my knowledge is very limited.

I'll list my current set up below. I'll put the problems I've been having below the list. Feel free to contribute anything that I may have overlooked.

Current rig:

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ 2.50 Ghz

3.25 GB of RAM (4 GB ?)

Microsoft Windows XP Professional, SP 2

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2A-VM HDMI 1.XX Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

Hitachi 160 GB

ST320410A 20.40 GB

ST3500418AS 500.11 GB

X-Blade Black Case

Issues that I am having:

First of all I use my PC mainly for sound work and gaming. Oddly enough this machine hasn't deteriorated much. I purchased this at the end of 2006, and even now I'm still able to run current games at their peak (or high in most cases).

My OS is a problem. Over the years I've been guilty to run on cracked software. My current Windows copy is a phony, and after so many years I think towing this line is costing the computers performance, in need of some real updating. I'm considering purchasing Windows 7. Worth it?

My case is a problem. It's noisy. The first day I got the machine (pre-built), I opened it up and misplaced a cable connecting a fan to the side panel, rendering the fan dead. I've never bothered to fix it since. I'm wondering how difficult it would be to replace the current case with something more economical. Maybe another fan would do?

Other concerns:

Is my graphics card getting on a bit? Time for an upgrade? What about my processor? Surely way behind now.

Thanks.