In interested in upgrading my pc here are my specs what are my options?

[Skitzolord]

Pentium 4 2.80GHz
Dell Dimension 4600
512 MB
Stock Cooling
nVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
70GB
LG (48x CD-ROM), NEC DVD+RW ND-1100A
(DVD+R 4x, DVD+RW 2.4x, CD-R 16x, CD-RW 10x
DVD-ROM 12x, CD-ROM 40x)

I play alot of games including
F.E.A.R., Half-Life 2, Counter_Strike Source, and im probly gunna buy Prey
but i have to play them on low settings so the lag does not kill me
If you could tell me what the best choice is wether it be upgrading the graphics card, procesor, mother board, or just getting a whole new system and telling me what product to get.
The hard part is i only have about $500

 

[wolfram]

Hello and welcome to Techspot!

The best option would be to build your own PC, that way you can save some bucks.

You can reuse some of your actual components, such as hard drive, DVD drive, even your CPU, which should be pretty good.

I'll try to list some parts that should be good for you and your budget.
Give me a few minutes

 

[wolfram]

Ok, here they are:

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128232

Video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125168

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

They would cost less than $300. And of course you can add your case, if you'd like a new one.

 

[Skitzolord]

wow thanks alot didnt think id get an answer so fast one question why the power supply? what does that help

 

[wolfram]

Because most Dells use propietary power supplies, and your 250 W stock Power supply won't have enough juice for the upgraded system.

Regards!