Jeremy wrote;
>I currently have a Dell Dimension Series Computer (about 4 years old).
>I want to play relatively new games (not neccesarily the most cutting
edge).

You have a proprietary system that is four years old. The CPU is a slot one
which was discontinued years ago. There is little hope of finding a
processor that will support the newer games. A 1Ghz processor will not
support most of the games out today even the tame ones. 384 Megs of RAM is
marginal. Look at the game box software minimum requirements. Even those
specs are questionable. A 20 Gig drive in today's world is small.

>1. Can I install a new graphics card on my computer (I know that when you
>buy computers from Dell, sometimes things, like the processor, can't be
>upgraded.) So I am not sure if this is possible, and if so, how hard it
>would be.

The only way to answer this question would be to open the box and look at
the motherboard. Another consideration is if you have an AGP slot available
at what speed does it run? Some cards need 8x AGP and a few are backward
compatible to 4X. At this point, there is a lack of information to determine
what may be possible with you system.

>2. Is it worth it to upgrade my computer or to buy a new one.  If I were to
>upgrade, I would only be looking to spend around $200 ((I was looking at a
>nVidia Geforce 6600GT Graphics card and 128 more RAM).  But if it costs
>over $300 to do a decent upgrade, then I might as well buy a new computer.

In my humble opinion I would buy a new system or put one together myself. In
fact, put one together yourself. This way you will know what's going into
it, you will have a lot of room to expand where as you don't have that
option now and you will be more satisfied with the outcome.

Putting the 6600Gt card or trying to put it in your present system is like
trying to put a corvette engine in a VW. It may take a lot of work and
depending upon the confines of you case, you may not be able to.
http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q3/geforce-6600gt/index.x?pg=1

The cost of the card is all over the board. Selective shopping on the net
will produce a price with shipping that may fit into your budget.

>3. This kind of goes along with the previous question.  How much does the
>processor have to do with performance and ability to run a game.  What I
>mean is, do a decent graphics card and RAM make up for a low end processor
>such as mine.

Wow, good question. The processor has a lot to do with any process or
function of a computer. It is the heart of the system. Lets say you build
you own system, you pop a P4 X.X process with HT Technology on a good board
with a gig of memory and the 6600 video card and increase you hard drive to
something more comfortable and you will have a nice machine. No, you
wouldn't be able to use your present case but you may be able to swap out
some components. Then again, you could get a board that has built in
graphics and sound and when finances permit, do the video card.

A new graphics card will not make up for a slow CPU. Adding more memory is a
quick fix or band aide.

If money is tight, hang with your present system and plan to buy the
necessary components to build your own. Providing this is what you would
like to do.

Sincerely,

Frank Suszka
netTek Computers
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