I need to buy a graphics card. Which one do I need ?

Question

I have a 2002 cicero pentium 4 with upgraded RAM cards.

I recently ( 3 hours ago ) received this PCgamer magazine that included some nifty donwloadable demos for games like Call Of Duty 4, Crysis, Unreal Tournament.But I can't play any of these demos because, as they say, my graphics card isn't good enough.

I have two options.

1. Take out my RAM cards out of my PC, sell my PC, buy a new one and install my RAM cards in that one.

2. Buy and install a graphics card.


How much would each option cost, if all I want is to be able to play the recently published video games and those that are soon to be published like COD, Unreal and etc.

TO SUMMARIZE: How much would each option cost if I want to play the top-tech video games that are going to come out this winter and even later on.

Answer 1

Well since Intel's Pentium 4 is starting to show its age, i would recommend just buying a whole new machine. Go Duel CPUs and as for video cards it all depends on how much u wanna pay. For about a little less then $200 u can get a nice one. But anything cheaper u might not be able to play some of these games in proper settings. Also make sure u have atleast 1 gig of ram when playing any of the above mentioned games. If u build ur own gaming rig ur self, u can build a pretty good one for about $700 with out an operating system ( im assuming u have a copy of windows laying around) And better ones cost u more obviously. If u buy one from a company, most likely u wont get a good video card, and u will end up paying a lot more then u need too. So if u can build ur own PC check this site out and just buy all the parts u need.

http://www.newegg.com/

Answer 2

Sorry for this bad news.
I wouldn't buy your old computer. 5 years has seen to many improvements in computers
Those old ram cards won't work in a new pc. If any of these games require directx 10 your computer won't support a directx 10 graphics card. If they only require directx9 buy an AGP slot card- at least Nvidia 7800 series card or what ever ATI sells that has an AGP slot and meets the games needs.( At least $250.00) It's probably time to think about a new computer.

Answer 3

Now
i just bought a graphics card because of more or less the same reason....what size is your current graphics card? Is it SLI ready? How much are you willing to spend? Are you a hardcore gamer?

Now for your first option BAD IDEA most computers don't come with a graphics card and if they do its either inter graded or very cheap. Selling your computer is never a good idea. I would also like to know if you are familiar with the types of graphics cards Pci-e and AGP notice I said types not brands.
@tom4b.....how much ram he has will not affect his vid card.

Answer 4

are you sitting down -

as soon as you put the ideal computer together
it will be obsolete the next day

1) you did not say how much RAM you have
2) you cannot sell your computer without ram
3) cheapest way out may be to go to Best Buy and get a PRO
video card with the best graphics for your system

I have 250 gig harddrive/ 2 gig ram/ pro graphics card
in a three year old system

gets me where I'm going

Merry Christmas (from FFXI)

Answer 5

More detail is needed to answer your question. To determine whether you should upgrade the existing system or buy a new one, you need to advise as to
1) CPU type AND speed,
2) total installed RAM,
3) type of existing graphics card,
4) total and free disk space,
5) version of Windows (incl. service pack)