Dell Dimension 8200 Gaming Card

[sweeper2]

personally, try the vid card first... you could probably get away with a lower end video card, like a 6800GT, i believe that would be fine.. but without a memory upgrade... try the 7600GT see how it works... then if necessary, I would look into the ram...

personally though i agree with getting more ram.. 1 gig is the least these days... especially for newer games...

i am running 1 gig of DDR400 and a 5900XT 128mb agp card.. using an AMD Sempron 64bit 2.0ghz cpu .. it plays BF2 pretty good... good settings and smooth gameplay...

[Doctor.BoB]

Still thinking here..!

What about a complete new system..?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MakeTrack=true

For the cost of upgrading the processor at say £50 - 70, plus the Graphics Card Required at say £135 plus RAM at £70 if I;m lucky, sruely would be better to go for a total new system as above..?

[carl33p]

^^My thoughts exactly.
No reason to try upgrading an old PC when its going to cost about the same as buying a new PC.

You will want to make sure if you do buy a new PC, that it comes with Windows XP. (100$ more if it doesnt)
Also, the one you chose comes with a 6200 gfx card. Which is a low-end card. It can play HL2, and BF2 but dont expect to use high settings.

[JLK03F150]

The motherboard you picked should be really good for future upgrades. It supports Intel's current generation processor, the Core 2 Duo. Like Carl mentioned, I'm not too sure that the 6200 video card will perform very well.

[him61]

I still say that a GS and 256 MB of RAM would be your best choice $$ wise. Save up for a new system for a couple of months. That way you can get something good.

[JLK03F150]

Here's the video card comparison chart from Tom's Hardware Guide that you can play with. I'm thinking you don't want a 6200! Keep in mind that 30 FPS is considered the minimum for smooth game play.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=531&chart=197

[Doctor.BoB]

U notice the machine can also be upgraded to your own spec or build etc.

So what would be a perfect "cheap" build for BF2 and the latest games etc

Lets consider the following as per the addvert

Mother Board: AS Rock 775 (Is thsi a goodone..?
Processor: P4 3.2GHz Fast enought..?
160GB HD - I have plenty more to add
1GB of DDR-II RAM
7.1 Sound Card is on board apparently..? Do you no longer need a separate one..?
400W Power Supply.

So Graphics Card Upgrade from nVidea 6200 256MB

Does this look like a good system overall..????

New to builind my machine, Dell Outlet did it last time..!

[sweeper2]

everything looks good except for your video card...

i would not get the 6200 if you intend for this to be a machine for "gaming" ..

i would at least get a 6600GT (nVidea) or an X800 GTo (ATI)

[carl33p]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doctor.BoB

Mother Board: AS Rock 775 (Is thsi a goodone..?
Good

Processor: P4 3.2GHz Fast enought..?
Its fast enough, although dual core processors can be bought pretty cheap today

7.1 Sound Card is on board apparently..? Do you no longer need a separate one..?
No that will be fine. Most people cant tell the difference, unless your a audio nut

400W Power Supply.
Hopefully the PSU isnt a crappy generic one. May have to buy a better PSU to upgrade to a higher gfx card if the one they give you isnt QUALITY.

So Graphics Card Upgrade from nVidea 6200 256MB
It will be suffiecient for now, but you will definetly want to upgrade for more graphic intensive games.

Does this look like a good system overall..????
Yes

You should email him and ask a couple things:
1. Does it come with Windows XP installed?
2. Manufactuer and amps on 12V of the Power Supply.

Also, dont buy anything else from him. You can find upgrades cheaper on other web sites.

[Doctor.BoB]

ok, slight change in the plan, thanks for the support so far guys.

Now thinking of a complete Self Build from the ground up. Or a partial build.

Eg http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

This guy wants £199 for this, the add states simply add
System RAM
DVD-RW - I have 2
HD - I have two
Operating System, I have XP
Keyboard mouse and Monitor I have.

Probably a Decent Graphics Card too if I want to play Battlefield etc..!
1) How does that sound as systems go..?
2) State of the art or not..?
3) Future Proof - inc this new Vista..?
4) Would I be Better building it myself..? I'm relatevely apt inside the machines, I've added Hard Drives, Firewire / Graphics cards, Modems, sound and DVD-RW, and RAM to my Dell thus far.