I was wanting to upgrade my computer's graphics card, the reason being my computer has 1.5 GB of RAM but still lags in games which only recommend around 512 MB because they also recommend a better graphics card.

I have a Dell Dimension B110 and my graphics card is a Intel 82865G, what graphics card would you suggest I buy for it?

Unfortunately, I don't think that the B110 has an AGP or PCI-Express slot, and no I don't feel like buying an entirely new motherboard.

No it doesn't, as seen here: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1076314

You don't want to update to a new board with PCI-Express, but you want a better graphics card to game with !

... Well there is a good Topic here: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic51437.html

But I wouldn't do that

I'm going to give it to you straight. There hasn't been a single Dell Dimension made that ever qualified as a gaming machine. I'm willing to state that nearly every Dell in existence is an hunk of junk that could do more for the same price.

You are still living in the days of the single-core Pentium processor, and 333mhz DDR RAM. What's worse is you have integrated graphics from before the Intel GMA series. And the GMA series is terrible right now, and those are the most up to date integrated cards there are. That should tell you something about the GMA predecessors.

No amount of upgrades could make newer(<-- keyword) games playable on a machine like that. All the spare DDR RAM in the world, and an overclocked P4 still wouldn't help you much.

Adding a new graphics card wouldn't do much for you either because of something known as bottle-necking. Basically, your graphics card can only work as fast as the other parts will allow. So if you have a blazing fast 9500gt PCI, and you've still got your DDR 333mhz and P4, you're still going to get very bad lag on most games. The other down side is that you'll need a new power supply along with a new graphics card for that machine so you'd be spending extra money regardless.

Short of buying a new computer, I don't see this as a worthwhile endeavour by any standards. Throwing money at this isn't going to help you. I suggest you stop being lazy about it and realize that this isn't going to work and that you're better off shelling out a little bit of extra money on a better computer. And even if buying a new PCI card for your old PC helps a little bit, it won't tide you over for very long at all. Perhaps a few months at best.

What you need is a PC that supports most current and perhaps some of the new processors, graphics cards, and memory that are becoming available. It needs to be upgradeable so that in the future, if something new comes out, you can still purchase it and use it with your PC. Something that has been planned in accordance with the future is your best bet.

It has to support current Intel Dual and Quad Cores or AMD Phenom cores, it has to support DDR3 memory, it has to support PCI-Express 2.0, and it has to have at least 450 or 600 watts of PSU power. If you want to play newer games, those are the minimums for good framerates these days.

If you'd rather stick with older games and just get your computer to the point where it can play them without serious effort, then fine. You can stick with the Dimension and add something perhaps. But if you start feeling the desire to play newer games, then I've made my point.

Um, can I quote that post on all the similar Topics we consistently get like this?
It would help. Even today I could quote it to 3 different topics.

Also, I might omit the Dell part, because Dell is good; out of all the OEMs which one would you choose?
Mostly you would state build your own, or get some computer shop to build you one
But in reality, many just go and buy from the leading manufacturers (actually most do) Especially with Windows 7 OEM included

Hi Clone,
welcome to Techspot
I will second the above post by Ivan, with such an outdated machine, and with that no PCIE, or even an AGP interface, and no upgradability to a dual core. you will not be able to play any modern game titles at a decent frame rate. At the risk of being self promoting, and if you do decide to put together a gaming rig on a budget, this may help.

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic133075.html

Personally my friend, if I were you, I would build a new computer from scratch. What you have at the moment will struggle to play games from ten years ago. Really struggle. Maybe you'll get away with "Pong", but thats about it.

Try to get something with at least a Core2Duo @ 2.5 Ghz or faster (Like the E5200) They can be found (In Aus at least) for under $100. I would also try to get at least 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and nothing slower than 800mhz. Ideally you want to match the FSB (Front Side Bus) of your new CPU, or if you can, try to get RAM that is slightly faster.

A good and cheap GPU (graphics card) is the 9600GT - also can be found for around $90 - $100, and that will play pretty much anything that you can throw at it, although it will be at a low resolution.

Get a case with at least two fans, one at the front and one at the back, and for the motherboard, I like Gigabyte.

Hope that helps.

I know that this computer is a piece of, well, you know. I was just wondering if there was anything better available. I guess this doesn't matter too much because I'll soon be building a new PC anyway... And Dell does actually have some pretty good computers, it's the Dell Dimension series that sucks.

Classic Rock, the graphics card isn't THAT bad - I can actually play some pretty decent games on this card.

With a few of your current parts, you can easily go with an AMD based system and spend less than $2-300. In February this year I built a dual-core 2.7(OCed to 3.2), 2gb DDR21066, motherboard and case w/PSU for $220...delivered. It's certainly not the greatest rig out there, but for the money you just can't go wrong. Only thing I used from previous build was a HDD and DVDRW.

I even got my Windows transferred from being registered to a Dell to my new one.

I have a question, if I build a new computer what would you suggest I get? AGP or PCI-Express?

Do they even sell AGP based motherboards anymore? Even if they do, you are going to be MUCH better off getting a PCI-E 2.0 motherboard.

I agree with Xinthran, PCI-E is the only way to go.

The only thing I can add at this point is to make sure that you buy a good motherboard and CPU. If you are going to be using this rig for gaming, any Quad core equal to or better than the Q6600 will last you a long time.

As for the motherboard, I would try to get something with SLI or Crossfire capabilities, depending on your preference (Nvidia or ATI). You might be able to pick up a second card much cheaper in a year or two. Gigabyte is always my personal choice for motherboards. Also, if you do plan to use DDR2, make sure you check what speeds your motherboard can handle, no point getting 1066mhz RAM if you motherboard cannot handle more than 800mhz.

As always, I hope that I was helpful.