-= Gametoast.com =-

Well, I'd like a new graphics card. My computer has trouble running games like spore and especialy crysis on the lowest resolution and graphics settings, and I'd like to be able to play games on better settings. I have a:

Dimension 5150 Dell Desktop computer with xp.
An ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 256 mb series GFX card
2 gigs of ram
305 volt power supply, after some searching, it seams that I can't have a gfx card that uses more than 75.
An intel pentium 4 CPU 3.00 GHZ processor

I found some good graphics cards for 70 to 80 dollars, but I'm not sure if they would work on my comp. Would it be worth it to try and upgrade the graphics card, power supply, and ram, or would I just need a new machine?

Some of the cards I was looking at:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =P450-9504 -just found out it needs 400 wats, at least
cost: 70 dollars
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =P450-9616 -needs at least 500 wats
cost:75 dollars

A new PSU- 40-50 dollars

RAM- what kind of ram do I need?

If you need any more info, ask.

just throwing this out there, 2 gigs of ram isnt that much ram so if you have a slow processor (not saying u do) ur vid card speed would be affected.

First thing to find out would be whether you have an AGP or PCI-Express graphics slot. What kind of computer is it? (make/model)

Teancum wrote:What kind of computer is it? (make/model)

Commander_Fett wrote:Dimension 5150 Dell Desktop computer

I just looked it up; looks to me like it has a PCI-Express slot.

Doh, sorry about my blindness. It was 2:30 AM when I wrote that.

dang. I just found out both those cards need a larger power supply than my current computer has. Would it be worth it to upgrade the power supply, ram, and graphics card?

RAM, I wouldn't say you need to worry about - maybe the PSU if you want to handle larger, better cards like those.

Commander_Fett wrote:dang. I just found out both those cards need a larger power supply than my current computer has. Would it be worth it to upgrade the power supply, ram, and graphics card?

Not to be unfair,Commander_Fett but you should buy a new PC.To buy all the needed parts would be a expensive Fun.
Your 3Ghz Single Core,2 GB RAM and the 305W Power Supply are way to old.
BTW.ALL new Games want a min of a Dual Core better Quad.

I can tell from me
I bought more than 1,5 Years ago an
Dual Core AMD 4800+,a Geforce 8800GTS with 640MB,a new 750W Power Supply and 4x the same 500 MB Ram Sticks DDR1 to run 2 in Dual Core.Which makes them faster.So its 2GB a bit enhanced. I needed to buy DDR1 RAM due to my old Asus Board A8-NE.
So this is the Best you can put onto this old DDR1 Motherboard.besides of that you could put onto it 4GB RAM
You can run with this PC Games in Full Settings like Crysis,Warhead,Assassins Creed ,CoD5 and what not.
The Price for All these Parts would be,i think,not more than 350 € today.Alone the GFX have had a Price of 300 € ( like a PS3) in the Past.
But now i think all upcoming next gen Games arent running very well in Full Settings.
If you want to play Crysis and Spore,these ones a running in Full Settings without any Problems.

You shouldnt buy a Power Supply with less then 750W,Mate.
If you want to run new Games and want to use a Ingame Recorder ,the same Time, you need a good Power Supply besides of a good CPU.
You found somewhere a Info that you would need a 400W Power Supply.
These 400W is only for the GFX not for the Rest of your Hard/and Software.
Its Way to less and wouldnt let run a PC in a good Performance.Would be more like Peeformance.

Im not familar with Dell Computers but
I would First Check whats the best CPU you can put to your Socket on your Mainboard.
If you can not run a min. of a Dual Core AMD 3800+ or an equivalent Pentium with more than 4GB on it get rid of the whole PC also you need a min. of 1x PCI-E Slot. If this is not given ,then,All Parts in your Machine are -underpowered-.
Buy a new Pc or a X360/PS3.

Hope that i could help a bit

The problem is, my parents want me to buy it myself ( a new comp) and I make only 10 dollars a week.

Commander_Fett wrote:The problem is, my parents want me to buy it myself ( a new comp) and I make only 10 dollars a week.

Hm.What should i say.
Then i wouldnt wonder why you cannot play Crysis or Spore
My Parents also wouldt have both me such good PC.
Working for Buying Parts or a new PC would be my next Tip.

Truthfully you're not missing out by not being able to play Crysis or any of the very latest games. Don't get me wrong, the newest games are a lot of fun, but I would recommend trying some old favorites that you've never tried rather than spending money you don't have now.

Some suggestions:
Star Trek: Elite Force 1 and 2
Jedi Knight, Mysteries of the Sith, Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy
SWAT 4
Far Cry (like Crysis, but earlier -- runs on the first version of CryEngine)
Frets on Fire or "Frontman" (formerly Guitar Zero 2) (free)
Nexuiz (free)

Off-topic: I've never heard of Nexuiz before, Tean', but i just took a look at it. Looks pretty sweet.

Other great free games

AssaultCube (think of it as a Counter Strike clone) http://assault.cubers.net/
LinCity-NG (Sim City clone) http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I would make sure that the inside of your computer has enough space for the size graphics card you get...my friend got a really nice graphics card...and it was too big for his computer...

I agree with Tean', there are some awesome free, low-system-requirement games out there.

Yeah, I dunno. I just can't justify a new computer for 1-2 games.

New PC rig: 350-800 dollars (this is reusing existing parts where applicable, such as the case)
New game(s): 50 dollars each

So you're looking at 400 dollars minumum just to play a new game. I know the graphics card thing sounds like a good idea, but it probably wouldn't be enough.

If you ever wonder what you can and cannot run on your machine, try this site:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

I think I'm just going to get a new machine, since I should probably get one of my own anyway. That is, if I can convince my dad that I would really save up the money for it. I've got my work cut out for me this summer, though.Thanks for the help, guys!

I'll probably get some flak for this, but if you're going to buy a gaming rig, buy a console. You get all the next-gen power for much cheaper, you get exclusives that aren't on a PC, 4 player local multiplayer on lots of games, plus you get built in, reliable network gaming and voice chat. Sure, in the case of the Xbox you pay a little for Xbox Live, but any 360 owner will tell you it's 110% worth it. On top of everything else there's hardly any PC games that aren't on 360 or PS3 anymore, but turn that around and there are a TON of 360/PS3 games not on the PC.

Teancum wrote:On top of everything else there's hardly any PC games that aren't on 360 or PS3 anymore, but turn that around and there are a TON of 360/PS3 games not on the PC.

I guess it all depends on what your cup of soup is. Certain genres tend to appear more on certain platforms. If you like strategy games, by all means, get a computer and not a console.

Come to think of it though, just about every other genre has good games for consoles.

I was thinking about getting a 360, and I might eventualy, but at the moment, there arn't really any games (other than CoD4 and Halo 3) that I'd want for it. Anyway, i just bought a Gaming PC at a pretty good price, 826 dllars for a 2 gig Nvidea GeForce 9600 graphics card, a terabite hard drive, 4 gigs of ram, and some other stuff I added. It also comes with XP, which is nice. Anyway, thanks for the help and advice.