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Hi.
I have a Dell Dimension 5150 that I'm thinking about upgrading. It's mainly for a game that I play (Battlefield 2) Here's my PC specs.
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Looking at upping the RAM from 1GB to 4GB with 2 2GB sticks. I don't know much about graphic cards and what's compatible here. I'm not looking for a top of the range card, just something that will play my game on highest settings easily. Probably have to u/g the PSU too...
I get my 40" HD TV soon aswell. Will I be able to play my game through this on HD?
Thanks.

Hello Ke1th,

If your running Windows XP or less, then it will be absolutely pointless upgrading to 4gb, since the maximum that XP can see is 2gb. This can be increased to 3gb by modifying the boot.ini, but not 4.

Your PC will support any graphics card that is PCI-Express. The graphics card is the most important thing to look at. As a BF2 fan myself, it did run quite smoothly on medium-high on a Geforce 6600GT, but for the Dell 5150, I would recommend the 7600GT series or higher for BF2 to run smoothly on high graphics settings.

You should have no problems running a HD TV as long as there is a VGA connection at the back, or if you have a HD adaptor. You will have to play around with the resolution on your PC until your happy. I'm not personally a big fan of running PC's on HD TV's. Good for gaming, but not so good when using your PC for anything else.

Thanks for the advice.

I was told XP Pro could see 3 Gig, so thought 2 sticks off 2 Gig would be better than 3 sticks of 1. XP 64 bit can see upto 8 Gig right?!

Looking at graphic cards now on Ebay...why's there so many versions! What's the difference between the GT, GS and GTX? I noticed different memory types aswell with upto 1 Gig. Is this something to take into account too? Here's one I'm looking at

NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600 1GB 8600GT SLI PCI-E PCIE 1024MB on eBay, also Graphics Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Desktop PC Components, Computing (end time 08-Mar-08 16:38:02 GMT)

Have to keep in mind that I'm not looking for something too fancy, just to run BF2 and hopefully BF3 when it comes out.

Another thing I've got to think about is the PSU as mine only produces 305 W. It needs to be compatible with the new graphics card and Dell motherboard.

Keith.

That's right keith.

It's all about performance and budget for each version of each model of Geforce card ranging from GS (Very basic, minimum performance for that model), GT (budget performance), GTS, GTX and finally ULTRA (the fastest and most expensive).

I would definately not recommend a GS, but anything GT or above is great. In terms of memory. many people miss the point of memory, and believe that the more memory you have = a faster PC. The only time memory can actually speed up your PC is if your using all of that memory in the first place, or if the speed of the memory your installing is faster. The most important thing to focus on is clock speed.

You do know that there is already a new version of Battlefield out already Keith? BF2142?

OK cheers, I'll look for a GT card. Looking like I'll need a PSU to power it too but they're not too expensive. What do you think of this card? http://http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1024MB-...QQcmdZViewItem

Yeah I know bout 2142 but it's not my cup of tea. The only game that looks like it can take me away from BF2 would be BF3, but we'll see.

Or what about this one? Higher clock speeds...

SAPPHIRE ATI X1650 PRO PCI-E 512MB GRAPHICS CARD VISTA on eBay, also Graphics Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Desktop PC Components, Computing (end time 09-Mar-08 22:00:00 GMT)

Hi there Keith. How are you doing? So your looking to upgrade your Dell? First of all, 4GB of memory will be wasted with that processor. 2GB will be plenty for anything you will ever run on it. I recommend these parts.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100165L Radeon X1650PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Newegg.com - Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification - Retail