Gaming Computer Upgrade Help?

Question

Ive been wanting to upgrade my computer for a while to play the latest games, but im not exactly tech savvy so im having alot of trouble deciding the best route to take. I have a Gateway pc and my system specs off of www.systemrequirementslab.com are:

- CPU: 2 processors running - Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz
- CPU Speed: 2.39 GHz Performance Rated at 3.59 GHz
- System Ram: 510.7 MB
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (GeForce4 MX 440)

From what i can tell i am in dire need of a new graphic card but i am confused about which to buy. I think my computer has an APG Motherboard, but i dont know how to check for sure. It seems the best APG card is the Geforce 7800 gs, but there are alot of different versions and i dont know which is right. Also Ive read that i need a certain amount of power watts to run the card and i dont know how to tell if my pc is compatable. Any and all help would mean alot. Thanks.

Thanks for all the help! Im gonna try and order the 7800 gs and some extra ram on ebay soon.
I have two more questions though. Firstly, due to the fact that i have never even looked inside my cpu, i have no idea how to install the card or ram. Is it a fairly easy task? If not, then who would be good to do the install? Best Buy? Second is that I dont understand how to find out how much power supply my pc already has or how to upgrade it. Thanks again.

Answer 1

Generally, all the AGP 7800GS models are pretty much the same, unless you come across the one made by BFG, which is slightly overclocked (400mhz vs. 375mhz stock).

If you really feel you know what you're doing, it might be a good idea to remove the card's stock cooling and replace it with a Zalman VF700 or VF900 video card cooler. This will make the card MUCH quieter and not run nearly as hot. It is, however, somewhat complicated, so figure it out before you do so.

It's very easy to identify whether you have an AGP slot or not. Just look for the short slot above a row of white slots. It should look like this..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AGP_slot.jpg

If you do not have one of these slots, well, your options are very limited.

Answer 2

First of all, you should upgrade to 1 gigabyte of RAM at least, that will help you out the most.

The 7800gs is a great AGP card, and you'll love the performance gains.

You'll need a nice size power supply. I would go for brands such as FSP (Forton Source) SeaSonic, Antec, Thermaltake...don't skimp on the power supply. Find one with Dual 12v rails, and around 400+ watts.

Goodluck!

Answer 3

I don't know what to tell you is the best card for gaming... and based on your info... no one will be able to without the following

what type of games you play?
2D or 3D?

Most of the newer games will play on your card, some might play a little slower. Get the latest drivers for that card from Nvidia and you'll be surprised by what you can use that card for. I have the TI 4600 in my system and I can still play alot of the newer games with the new drivers

Answer 4

First of all...Go with an ATI video card. you won't regret it. Second off...you need to increase your RAM a lot....1gb or more to even be competitive with gaming computers today.

My rig is:
AMD Athlon 2600+ @ 2.08ghz
ATI Radeon 9550 Pro 256mb AGP 8x
1gb Ram (2-256mb Dual Channel 1-512mb)
Creative Audigy 2 7.1 24bit Surround Sound

Hey it is 3 years old...and still running the newest games with no problems (including NFSCarbon) Runs Vista too...:P

Answer 5

I think you should search on www.froogle.com for any good graphic cards. I recommend one with atleast 256MB of video RAM. Search that in Froogle, and they will give you good results. You can even put a proce range in, so they won't be too cheap or too expensive.

Good luck!