General Discussion

Well i have been wating to upgrade my computer with more RAM and maybe a better video card but im not sure if they are easy to install and what kind of video card i could use.

The current amount of RAM i have, im not quite sure. But i know it is under 512MB and my video card i do not know at all.

So im looking for some suggestion as what kind of video card would be a good upgrade mainly used for gaming and how difficult it is to install both parts to a computer. Thanks.

Computer info:

Series No: JBQJM81

Model No: DC8M

Mfg. Date: 101105

Not sure what this info is but it was where i found the info above also:

V: 115/230            A: 6.0/3.0A           Hz: 50/60

V ~ IC class B ICE8 - 003

FCC Class B

Ref No: 05126

Also it is a dell so that might help for looking up the info on the computer.

Okay so i found some parts from the Dell website that was recommended for my computer:

2GB Module for Dimension 5150 (RAM)

Radeon HD 2400 PRO 256 MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card (Video card)

Both parts are to a reasonable price i found but now the thing is, are the parts good enough for an upgrade for gaming.

The physical upgrade part is very easy.  The things you need to note are

RAM: Type you have in already and if you have free slots. If you have two free slots just get two more strips of the same type of RAM and put them in. If not you'll need to get a larger Gb variant of what you have, remove the old ones and put new ones in.

Video Card: You need to know the type of slot your motherboard has, if it's old it may be AGP, if it's new(ish) ist's probably PCIe. Also, you should check the Wattage of your PSU to make sure it has enough power for your new card. If not you can replace it, also fairly easy.

To make any recommendations we need to know your budget and system info, the above would be a good start for us.

Budget-wise there isnt a real problem beside just not geting one of the parts right away.

As far as system info goes...im not much of a computer person but i do know bits and pieces so if you can tell me how to even look or obtain the info on my system such as a website or manually looking at the parts themselfs that would helpful to state my system info.

Probably the easiest if you can take the case of your PC and try to get th model numbers from the Mobo and RAM so we can check their details on the internet and better advise you. Also if you can check the label on the PSU for model number and/or wattage we can work out if you have enough power for your upgrades..

Okay ill be sure to do that when i have the time and will post the info.

Edit:

I managed to get some info on my computer and im going to edit my first post to display the info.

The graphic card youre looking on really sucks. You need at least 512 MB RAM on a graphiccard today. You can find Geforce 8800 cards really cheap now (if you have a PCI-Express port on your motherboard), they are a bit old but delivers fine for the price.

If youre motherboard have an AGP graphicscard, then you have to buy a whole new rigg. Also if youre not at least have a dual core processor (like a P4 or Athlon) then you also need a new one,

4GB RAM is recomended if youre going for high end games, memory is relly cheap right now 'cept DDR3 and you ain't got that. But check so you get right memory too, If you have old DDR instead of DDR2 you also need a new rigg.

I am asumimg that you want to play games like Crysis and AoC or similar.

If the Specs I found for you computer is right it is an old P4 2,8ghz and it's like 4 years old or so. Couldnt find the specs for the graphic port however. You can make a single processor ok with a great graphic card and 4 gig RAM but you need at least the 8800 card then, anything less and you can forget any high end game. Single core processorgets a lot slower in modern game.

You can off course clock the processor a bit, maybe to 3,2ghz but then you need a better processor fan.

My advice: If you can, buy a new computer. If not uppgrade it. Hope this was helpful, I did uppgrade or built new computers for half my AoC guild.

That was very helpful, but mainly im just looking to get back on WoW. And i dont really dont i would go into that much of a high of game with such needed specs.

Mainly i do just hope not to have to get a new computer and just settle for less. But thanks if you could give me a bit of help or advise for just geting specs enough for WoW as the only thing that im missing is RAM and really just a better graphics card but its not nessiary.

I highly recommend a higher end card.  The high end of last generation shot down dramatically in price this last month.  You can find an HD3850 for under $80.  It runs laps around the HD2400.  Similiarly you can find the 8800GT for around $140.  4GB of ram is also relatively cheap ranging from $40-$80.

Alright, thanks. So i should be looking into geting HD3850 and 4gb of ram. Awesome.