Need upgrades fo Oblivion but am not sure what I need

[Marker]

I just bought the newest Elderscrolls game, Oblivion, but I can't run it. I think I need more system RAM (Box says I need 512MB but I only have 510 MB). How do I install it and what type should I buy? Also, does anyone know if the Intel® 82865G image chip will work? I can never figure out which chip is compatible with what. I bought Dungeon Lords, but the game can't use the Intel® 82865G chip so I wasted forty bucks . I can run Elderscrolls III on my computer, but I know I need more system RAM. Help.

P.S. I'm not a real techie kind of guy. I mostly use the computer to play games.

 

[JMMD]

There's no such thing as 510MB of RAM. You have 512, it's probably just being displayed that way because of on board video or something. Memory is the least of your problems. You're going to need a new video card as well. What type of CPU do you have?

 

[Marker]

Image chip

My CPU is a Pentium 4 2.80 GHz. I bought the computer last August so it should be fairly modern (I know, 6 months and a computer is obselete!)

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

I've gotten Oblivion to use about 1.2 GB of RAM when outdoors, so 512 MB might make things too slow.

But your real problem is the graphics card, you'll need a faster one.

-Supported Video Card Chipsets:
ATI X1900 series
ATI X1800 series
ATI X1600 series
ATI X1300 series
ATI X850 series
ATI x800 series
ATI x700 series
ATI x600 series
ATI Radeon 9800 series
ATI Radeon 9700 series
ATI Radeon 9600 series
ATI Radeon 9500 series
NVIDIA Geforce 7800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 series
NVIDIA GeForce FX series

 

[sjps220]

you need to figure out whether you have any AGP, or PCI-E slots on your motherboard. This will determine what kind of graphics card you can get.

 

[Marker]

And that means...

Unfortunately, I don't know what an AGP or PCI-E slot is. Where can I find this out?

 

[bradthegreat]

go here:

http://www.si87.com/Products/Videocards/agpvspci/

 

[JMMD]

go here:

http://www.si87.com/Products/Videocards/agpvspci/

That shows AGP and PCI not PCI-Express.

Marker, where did the machine come from? You should be able to find the specs online. You can also open the case and have a look inside.

If you go to Newegg and look at the motherboards you can see what a PCI-E slot looks like.

 

[Marker]

Machine's from Dell

I ordered the machine from Dell online through a program at work. I have the specs (CPU processor, video chip, etc.) and should go to Dell, I'm guessing? Thanks for all the help so far. I wish I knew this stuff when I bought it (And I wish for a pony while, I'm at it).

 

[CrossFire851]

Download cpuz Unzip all the files. Then run the one named cpuz with the icon, then click the mainboard tab, then under Graphic Interface

Were It says Link Width

If it says 16X then It's PCI-E
If it says 8x then it's AGP