Hi Guys,
I'm currently operating a 2 year old Dell Studio Desktop 540MT with the following:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 processor (3.00GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB cache)
2048MB RAM
500GB 7200rpm SATA HD
256mb ATI Radeon HD 3450
Stock power supply (it says Delta Electronics DPS-350XB-3 A on the side of it but there is a switch to go between 115 & 230v on the back of the case)
Windows 7 Ultimate
Its served me well for the past couple of years and its fine for day-to-day surfing and what not but when it comes to gaming its really starting to show its age. I can play FM 2011 and Sims 3 ok and Mafia II runs at an acceptable standard on lowish settings but if i load up Battlefield 2 or Operation Flashpoint Red River they start but they aint pretty!
My first port of call will probably be to add a little RAM (at least 1gb, maybe 2 even though im on a 32-bit system)
I've got an external HDD so i'll use that to free up some space from my (fairly crowded) hard drive
On to the graphics card which, i understand, is pretty crap and about as graphically capable as a 3 year-old with a box of crayons! The problem is that its a low profile, half height card (i think) so my options are limited so i'm turning to you guys:
what would you suggest to get the most out of my current system considering price is a major issue?
will my current power supply be sufficient if i do upgrade anything?
will 4gb RAM make a difference from 3gb? will the extra memory that a 32-bit system wont recognise have any negative effects?
any other suggestions (apart from dont get a dell next time)?
edit: sorry for the essay
edit 2: forgot to mention, on top of gaming i plan to get a new TV in the near future so i'd also want to be able to use that as a monitor for gaming (i can probably do that with my current graphics card but not my crappy tv
and its probably a standard for any card these days but hey ho..)
I'm currently operating a 2 year old Dell Studio Desktop 540MT with the following:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 processor (3.00GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB cache)
2048MB RAM
500GB 7200rpm SATA HD
256mb ATI Radeon HD 3450
Stock power supply (it says Delta Electronics DPS-350XB-3 A on the side of it but there is a switch to go between 115 & 230v on the back of the case)
Windows 7 Ultimate
Its served me well for the past couple of years and its fine for day-to-day surfing and what not but when it comes to gaming its really starting to show its age. I can play FM 2011 and Sims 3 ok and Mafia II runs at an acceptable standard on lowish settings but if i load up Battlefield 2 or Operation Flashpoint Red River they start but they aint pretty!
My first port of call will probably be to add a little RAM (at least 1gb, maybe 2 even though im on a 32-bit system)
I've got an external HDD so i'll use that to free up some space from my (fairly crowded) hard drive
On to the graphics card which, i understand, is pretty crap and about as graphically capable as a 3 year-old with a box of crayons! The problem is that its a low profile, half height card (i think) so my options are limited so i'm turning to you guys:
what would you suggest to get the most out of my current system considering price is a major issue?
will my current power supply be sufficient if i do upgrade anything?
will 4gb RAM make a difference from 3gb? will the extra memory that a 32-bit system wont recognise have any negative effects?
any other suggestions (apart from dont get a dell next time)?
edit: sorry for the essay
edit 2: forgot to mention, on top of gaming i plan to get a new TV in the near future so i'd also want to be able to use that as a monitor for gaming (i can probably do that with my current graphics card but not my crappy tv

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