Hey folks. Looking for some advice, thanks in advance for your help. My computer is 6 or 7 years old, have replaced the hard drive, RAM (2GB from 512MB) and monitor (19in from 17) in the past. Money is tight and I'm trying to avoid buying a new desktop, so I am thinking of upgrading my video card, which will probably also require an upgraded PSU. Hoping to get at least another year or two out of this unit, and save up to buy a new laptop or tablet instead.
So the question is, what video card should I get? Looking to get one within a month, obviously the cheapest option with the best performance. I am looking to play some PC games (most of my gaming is on the Xbox 360, but I'd like the option to play something like Star Wars: Old Republic MMO, maybe the odd game like Portal), plus watching HD video files, etc.
Dell Dimension 4700
Pentium 4 CPU 3.00Ghz
2 GB RAM
Windows XP
Current Video Card: Radeon X300
Original Power Supply
I really can't justify spending more than $100 on a GPU, especially considering I will probably need a new power supply as well. The computer makes A LOT of noise these days, so it is needed. I would love to spend $100 tops on both, but this is unlikely. Initially I was interested in going dirt-cheap, something like the Radeon 5450 or 6450, or GEForce 210, but from what I've read these can't handle even basic video game function.
I am also asking because it would be pointless to buy a high-end graphics card if the computer will just get bottlenecked somewhere else anyway. Would also like to know how much of a difference a new video card would make on overall system function, and what choices would be compatible with this desktop.
The sheer number of options out there is overwhelming, but I I'm looking at either the Radeon 6770 or GEForce 650, both around $99. Unless somebody has a better suggestion. Thoughts?
So the question is, what video card should I get? Looking to get one within a month, obviously the cheapest option with the best performance. I am looking to play some PC games (most of my gaming is on the Xbox 360, but I'd like the option to play something like Star Wars: Old Republic MMO, maybe the odd game like Portal), plus watching HD video files, etc.
Dell Dimension 4700
Pentium 4 CPU 3.00Ghz
2 GB RAM
Windows XP
Current Video Card: Radeon X300
Original Power Supply
I really can't justify spending more than $100 on a GPU, especially considering I will probably need a new power supply as well. The computer makes A LOT of noise these days, so it is needed. I would love to spend $100 tops on both, but this is unlikely. Initially I was interested in going dirt-cheap, something like the Radeon 5450 or 6450, or GEForce 210, but from what I've read these can't handle even basic video game function.
I am also asking because it would be pointless to buy a high-end graphics card if the computer will just get bottlenecked somewhere else anyway. Would also like to know how much of a difference a new video card would make on overall system function, and what choices would be compatible with this desktop.
The sheer number of options out there is overwhelming, but I I'm looking at either the Radeon 6770 or GEForce 650, both around $99. Unless somebody has a better suggestion. Thoughts?