upgrade or get a new PC

[Nakia]

I brought this up in the CIV discusssion forum.

I need to upgrade my computer. I need more RAM. 512 at the moment. I need a new video card. When I try to play even demos of some of the new games I get the message "Your video card does not support shaders." or something similar.


I am attaching my DXdiag file.

My machine is 3 1/2 years old. An emachine which I love.

My question is should I spend the money to upgrade her or buy a new machine? Cost is an issue. I am not interested in any of the "Big Name" machines. Just want a good basic game playing machine.

[Keith]

I'm betting that your audio system is also an integrated chipset and not a seperate card just like your video setup. Not the best.

You might want to check into whether you can get a new motherboard that will fit your current case. Something with a new PCI-express slot (the latest) or at the very least a 8x AGP slot and as many other PCI slots that you can get for other hardware to plug into.

You definitely want a real video card something with at least 256MB of RAM or more. ATI or NVidia. I swear by ATI myself.

A nice Sound Blaster card like the Audigy 2 (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/welcome.asp?category=1&subcategory=204&) or the newest Audigy 4 (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/welcome.asp?category=1&subcategory=434&) card series.

Definitely more RAM. At least 1GB.

You can probably get by with your current CPU for a time unless you want to faster. If you get a new motherboard and decide to keep your AMD CPU make sure the new motherboard is AMD compatable.

A new video card may require a newer more powerful power supply than the current one; something with more wattage.

You can probably keep your hard drive and CD or DVD drives unless you want faster ones that write CD/DVDs at higher speeds than older hardware, etc.

If you want to put one together yourself you can research the items you want on sites like www.tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com), www.pcmall.com (http://www.pcmall.com), and www.cyberguys.com (http://www.cyberguys.com). These sites carry all the components you need to build a system and their prices are bad. I have made purchases from all three of these sites in the past with no complaints on my part.

Then compare the cost and hassle against what a Dell XPS gaming computer (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/gaming_xpsdt?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs) might run you.

[Lonsgard]

In my opinion, all you need is a real video card, in particular an AGP Video Card.

Open up your case, and check to see if there is an AGP slot. It is most likely a brown slot. (You'll also have PCI slots, which are white). The AGP one, if present is usually the top one. If you can't figure this out, take a picture of it for me.

Assuming you have an AGP slot, all you need to do is buy an AGP card and stick it in. There are a variety of cards at different price ranges - in general the more you pay the better they are.
Suggestions:
6600GT - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130220


If you don't have an AGP slot, it's best to get a new computer.

Other things:

The AthlonXP 2800+ is a great CPU, I wouldn't bother replacing it.
You have Onboard sound, but it isn't that bad in my opinion. Some games might have conflicts, but the nForce sound system is sufficient for many tasks. If you have an open PCI slot, it wouldn't hurt to buy a new sound card.

[Amenirdis]

Lonsgard:
PCI slots on a machine over 3 years old?! You must have missed that as I don't know of a machine that old that has PCI slots (at least PCI-Exress).

Sincerely,
Phil




No, no, Phil. Lonsgard is right. You have PCI slots. That's not the same as the PCI-Express slot. Your sound card - for example - usually uses a pci slot.

[Amenirdis]

Thanks ma'am.

**little curtsey** You're welcome. :D