Dell 8400 + 4770 ATI (viable power wise ?)

[Buckster]

my dad quite likes online gaming (BF2 + mods (Forgotten hope etc) probably plays a good 5-10 hrs a week now he is retired

but performance isn't great - he can run at 800 or 1024 just about ok - but higher res's it gets very laggy (he has a 21 inch CRT - 1600x1200)

he may upgrade his machine in next 3-6 months to an I5 system

but I was thinking that I could get him a 4770 in the meantime for his birthday ?

if he goes I5 - I'd probably build a system for him - so I'm thinking a 4770 would be ok in that anyway - so why not get the 4770 now and make use of it in the Dell ?

would the Dell 8400 PSU (300-350W I think) cope - I think it would ?

would it increase speed of BF2 - so he could run at 1600 ? or is he so CPU limited anyway - that it wouldn't be worthwhile ?

specs currently are

Dell 8400
P4 2.8
3 gig RAM
X800XT (or could be XL)

thanks for any advice

 

[n1kunj]

There's a very good chance the mobo will be AGP, so won't fit the 4770. Best to check that first before anything else.