Hey guys, first off, this isnt really a problem I have... its just a question... I want to know if it would be better to upgrade my system... or just save and get a better comp. Right now my specs are, 2.7ghz celeron (p4 based), 64 mb GeForce4 mx420, 40 gb hd, 256 mb of ram. The game that im looking to play with my computer is Battlefield 2... just came out... and the only things im lacking are memory and video memory, so i was thinking of just getting a 128 mb vid card (btw... all i have is pci... so... i dunno how much this will help me) and putting 512 more ram into my comp (total of 768). Now the question, if i upgraded it like that, would i be able to play what i want to play? or would it be better to just build a whole new gaming comp... id rather not... but if i have to ill start saving. Thanks in advance.

I'd do the upgrades. Just go to a gig of memory instead of adding 512M ($80 - BF2 can really use some RAM!) and a video card, and you're rolling. A 9600XT would fit your system performance wise well.

However, if you don't have an AGP slot, I would sell the system and build a new one.

"Republicans in Congress are moving to ratify a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, thus ending the Iraq insurgency."

imo i think you should definitely start saving. the biggest obstacle is not getting an under performed PCI card (which all PCI cards are compared to AGP/PCI-express in Battlefield 2 terms), but the celeron cpu itself. I have compaq's and the cpu is soldered onto the motherboard, which might be a probable case for you. that means its a dead end. getting extra ram for a total of 512 or over would help boost system performance not only in games, but as well as other mundane tasks you perform daily. just consider buyin more ram for now if you want..

you have a budget home/office system suitable for work, not games. so just rough estimates if you spend under 500 dollars you would end up with a salvage-able system (amd64 bundle)that could play battlefield 2, but already the system would be showing its age (512 ram, 9800/9600 ati). thats not bad, but importantly uprgades in the future would be cheaper.

for 700 dollars though you could make a better rig with all the hot market stuff currently that would put you back into the scene for a predicted 2 years (1 gig ram/x800 ati or 6600/6800 nvidia).

Thanks alot... that what i figured id have to do... considering i knew nothing about computers when i bought this (walmart bundle) its not the best comp ever... i may do both.. upgrade it cheaply so that i can play bf2 for now... even at lowest settings... and then save up for a new comp and give this one to the rest of the family. Thanks for the opinions. BTW, i dont think the cpu is soldered on... but i want to get out of pentium based processors and into some AMD 64 bit'ers :)

To do that, you would need to change the mobo. Translation: Buy/build another computer.

"Republicans in Congress are moving to ratify a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, thus ending the Iraq insurgency."

There have been a LOT of questions about BF2 lately & many of them from people with machines that lack AGP. The hardware requirements are pretty steep for that game. The minimum nVidia based card is the FX5700, but the minimum ATI card is the Radeon 8500. Kinda odd that an older card like the 8500 qualifies. You might be able to find either of them on eBay, but shopping eBay is always risky. I believe the Radeon 9100 is the Radeon 8500 with a new model number, so keep that in mind if you decide to look around. But you'd be better off starting from scratch.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

alright, ill keep all of that in mind... i wanted to mention earlier that i am on a steep budget... so saving for a comp may take.. like... 6 months... and i dont know about other ppl... but i cant wait that long to play bf2 lol. I found an ATI 9250 on newegg thats cheap... although i think i heard some bad rumors about the 9250? Any comments?

You're definitely not gonna play BF2 with a Radeon 9250. You need a card with 128MB @ 128-bit, preferrably one that supports DX9. I had wondered about the FX5500, even though it's not on the hardware list....this thread may help:

http://www.computing.net/gaming/wwwboard/forum/5074.html

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1