Upgrading Dell Dimension 8300 Video/Memory Card

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Okay, so I still have my old 8300 (along with my newer computers), I'm looking to upgrade my 512 MB of memory to the max 4GB. I also have a GeForce FX 5200 128MB Video Card (AGP) that I would like to update. Now I know this computer is old but I'm looking for some suggestions on what I can do with this computer concerning upgrades on the memory card & video card. I've been researching parts on Newegg but want to make sure I know what's compatible. Some folks say 4GB is to much memory and also the video card cannot be above 256 MB for this computer? This computer is used by my daughter for basic internet, facebook, and no serious gaming. The computer runs Windows XP SP3, memory speed 400 MHz, and help would be greatly appreciated :wave :
 
4GB is too much if you plan on sticking with Windows XP... 2GB is plenty for the older OS (that's still four times the memory!) -especially since the computer is considered general purpose... There are a lot of video cards out there for low end usage, and if you really want to upgrade from the older card check out some deals on the latest AGP cards. The interface is aged now so you wont have to spend much for what you're looking for, and honestly if you just need the computer for internet i'd keep the 5200. Video memory doesn't matter but you don't need anything more than 256MB...
 
There are some games that she plays like Sims and also Farmville on Facebook that sometimes hesitates so would the 256MB help out or is that a memory issue?
 
A lot of video RAM will help with higher resolutions but for the most part a decently powerful GPU will help in most areas. Get the system requirements for whatever games she plays and base your upgrade on that. There will most likely be a successor to each card that is recommended so you can look into the latest models if need be. I'd say 256MB of video ram would be ideal for those types of games though, they aren't very demanding.
 
I have a Dell Dimension 8300 with the original ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card. Recently we have been experiencing problems with the display - a number of vertical lines/bars, about one inch wide appear on the screen. I've tried a different monitor on this PC with the same problem, and have tried the monitor on the problem PC on a different Dell and it works fine - so I believe I have ruled out the monitor as the problem.

Is there a way to run a diagnostics on the video card to see what the problem might be? And if so, how do I locate and read the results from the diagnostics, given my display problem which makes it very difficult to read the display?

I was going to jump in and buy a PNY GeForce FX 5200 256MB card as a replacement, but thought I should verify the problem is the card before purchasing the card from Amazon, for about $30 (after rebate).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
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