I found this out about my pc desktop, MS windows xp intel celeron cpu 3.20ghz 1.

Your computer is pretty weak even back when it was new. It seems your PC is from around 2003/2004.

You'll need a whole new computer if you want to play any games published past 2005.

^ +1

Your CPU is too weak. Ideally you'd have a Quad core.

1GB RAM is too weak for gaming. Ideally you'd have 4GB RAM, but up to 8GB would be good (so long as you used a 64-bit OS if you went above 4GB RAM.)

Your graphics card needs updating.

Your HDD is a little small by modern standards, but with HDDs with regards to gaming, it's more about their read/write speeds. Ideally for gaming you want a 7200rpm or 10000rpm HDD.

Sorry to disappoint you  

-Nih

^+1
agree, your comp can not play the latest games or even some older games. The Celery chips a very old, low quality chips compared to today's standards.
As with the posters about you'll need to get at least a quad core (I recommend at least a 3.ghz quad core, 4 gigs min memory and if price is an issue get at least $100 graphix card to play games at medium settings (depending on the game).

Note that this game was released in 2009.
Fallout 3 Recommended System Requrements:
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Memory: 2 GB System RAM
Hard disk space: 7 GB
Video: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)
Sound: DirectX®: 9.0c
Controller support: Xbox 360 controller

^^^+4
The system you have is an old one. It won't be enough to play a game like Fallout New Vegas. Technically, you have a single core Celeron Processor with a gigabyte of RAM and a FX 5200.
This isn't enough to play games of this era, including the ones that has the lowest requirements. You should get a better desktop PC, i.e if you're a hardcore or mediacore gamer. We can suggest you a new build if you want to.

^^+5

Yep building a new PC would likely be easier for you than upgrading your current, as you'd have all sorts of compatibility problems to work around which'd bring the price up to almost the cost of a new PC. As Gman said, we can all deliberate with you on that  

-Nih

ok thanks a lot im new to all this computer games stuff, i only paid 145 for the pc so i guess not bad deal, if i had somone rebuild it how much do you think it might be for the minimum requirments

In answer to your question, probably more than you spent on it originally.

As the poster above said, you can reuse your peripherals, and you can also reuse your HDD (make sure you clean it out thoroughly for any nasties before taking it across to the new system.) That said, unless you give us a better idea of the specifics of your HDD, it's hard to say precisely how good it is. The case could be alright, but you have to consider that modern gaming hardware generates a lot of heat, which older/non gaming cases aren't necessarily built to deal with, so you may need a new case.

You'd need a new CPU, new Motherboard, new RAM, new GPU, new cooling solutions and a new PSU for sure. You may need a new HDD, a new case and a new OS.

Gaming PCs are big money. You get what you pay for, but it still can be daunting to someone new to PC gaming, especially if you've come from consoles which are a lot cheaper. To get a high end rig, you need to pay out about £900+ minimum, and to get the best with all the bells and whistles, you'll need in excess of £2-3k.

However, don't be put off, as PC gaming is amazing (hell, otherwise we wouldn't all be here.)

However, whatever you do, you've got people who you can turn to for help and support on these forums, so definitely don't feel alone.

Good luck with whatever you choose,

-Nih

ok well im really straped for cash now but i ill think about wat i want to do and get back with you guys thanks

I recommend you play some old games like Halo, Half-Life 1, and Morrowind. They were very good games when they were published. The graphics will look dated, but you really can't complain since they are old, but fun games.

I have played those three games on my IBM ThinkPad with a Pentium M 1.5GHz CPU and a Mobility Radeon 7500 (a DirectX7 card).

I wonder what the rest of the specs are like,....maybe he has a 1333/1066 FSB board and can go to a C2Duo or C2 Quad, DDR2 800/667 and he can still do decent budget upgrades.

The E8600 is well priced out here and has had great reviews. If my E6420 still manages then that is cost efficient.....though then again it all depends on his existing Motherboard.