Hello, I have absolutely zero experience dealing with computer hardware. I've never built my own PC, and I've never so much as opened my PC to increase the RAM.
What I am wanting to do, is upgrade my video card, so I can play Far Cry 2, Crysis, and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, and eventually other games that come out.
I have a Dell Dimension E521, and my video card is the one that I chose when I bought it, and came pre-installed. (Radeon X1300 Pro)
I'm not looking for top-of-the-line, and I don't want to pay too much for it. I don't mind turning the graphics down, having inferior lighting and shadows doesn't bother me at all, but I want to play these games at my monitor's native resolution! (1280 by 800)
So, to cut to the chase, I want a Radeon HD 4830 512 MB, or perhaps a Radeon HD 4850 512 MB. The HD 4870 is a little too high above a price I'd feel comfortable with.
I am not a hardware hobbyist so I will not be buying a new videocard in a year or two, so if I get a new card, I want it to last until this computer can no longer serve it's purpose.
Here are my computer's current hardware: (If I missed something, let me know)
Dimension E521
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+
RAM: 2 GB
Graphic Card: Radeon X1300 Pro (Radeon X1300/X1550 Series)
Hard disk: 288GB Total
I use Windows Vista 32 bit and once more, I'm trying to run Far Cry 2 and similar games, at a decent framerate at 1280x800 resolution. I don't mind lowering the shadows and other settings, but I don't want to run the game at a lower resolution than the monitor's native res, because it's such a weird ratio, any other resolution stretches and looks really weird, becoming almost unplayable.
Can my computer run a Radeon HD 4830 512 MB or Radeon HD 4850 512 MB without any other hardware upgrades? How easy is it to swap them out, for someone who's never done it before? How much better is the HD 4850 over the HD 4830, for someone who's not a hardcore gamer, and doesn't care about running things at max settings? Is it worth the extra $30-50, or are they about the same?
Is my video card not what's slowing down my games? Vista seems to thing it has something to do with my memory:
However, I think it means the memory on the video card itself, but I'm not certain...
To clarify my questions:
1) Do you think the HD 4850 is worth the extra $50 over the HD 4830?
2) Should I even be looking at video cards, or is another part of my computer needing more attention?
3) Can my current hardware run a HD 4830 or HD 4850, without needing to upgrade anything else other than the card?
4) Do you think I'd be able to swap out the cards on my own, never having done it before?
Once more, I'm unfamiliar with computer hardware. Any assistance you can offer me, would be very appreciated. Thank you in advance.
What I am wanting to do, is upgrade my video card, so I can play Far Cry 2, Crysis, and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, and eventually other games that come out.
I have a Dell Dimension E521, and my video card is the one that I chose when I bought it, and came pre-installed. (Radeon X1300 Pro)
I'm not looking for top-of-the-line, and I don't want to pay too much for it. I don't mind turning the graphics down, having inferior lighting and shadows doesn't bother me at all, but I want to play these games at my monitor's native resolution! (1280 by 800)
So, to cut to the chase, I want a Radeon HD 4830 512 MB, or perhaps a Radeon HD 4850 512 MB. The HD 4870 is a little too high above a price I'd feel comfortable with.
I am not a hardware hobbyist so I will not be buying a new videocard in a year or two, so if I get a new card, I want it to last until this computer can no longer serve it's purpose.
Here are my computer's current hardware: (If I missed something, let me know)
Dimension E521
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+
RAM: 2 GB
Graphic Card: Radeon X1300 Pro (Radeon X1300/X1550 Series)
Hard disk: 288GB Total
I use Windows Vista 32 bit and once more, I'm trying to run Far Cry 2 and similar games, at a decent framerate at 1280x800 resolution. I don't mind lowering the shadows and other settings, but I don't want to run the game at a lower resolution than the monitor's native res, because it's such a weird ratio, any other resolution stretches and looks really weird, becoming almost unplayable.
Can my computer run a Radeon HD 4830 512 MB or Radeon HD 4850 512 MB without any other hardware upgrades? How easy is it to swap them out, for someone who's never done it before? How much better is the HD 4850 over the HD 4830, for someone who's not a hardcore gamer, and doesn't care about running things at max settings? Is it worth the extra $30-50, or are they about the same?
Is my video card not what's slowing down my games? Vista seems to thing it has something to do with my memory:
However, I think it means the memory on the video card itself, but I'm not certain...
To clarify my questions:
1) Do you think the HD 4850 is worth the extra $50 over the HD 4830?
2) Should I even be looking at video cards, or is another part of my computer needing more attention?
3) Can my current hardware run a HD 4830 or HD 4850, without needing to upgrade anything else other than the card?
4) Do you think I'd be able to swap out the cards on my own, never having done it before?
Once more, I'm unfamiliar with computer hardware. Any assistance you can offer me, would be very appreciated. Thank you in advance.