Which upgrade?

[chasep7]

I'm upgrading my g/f's computer so the sims 2 won't be so choppy for her. Have a look at the situation and lend me some ideas.

System: Dell Dimension 8300 running XP Home
CPU: Pentium 4 2.8GHz
Memory: 512MB of DDR 400
Chipset: Intel 875P
Video card: GeForce FX 5200 (AGP)

Motherboard has four PCI slots (two open) and the FX 5200 is in the AGP slot.

Not looking to pitch the crappy Dell setup just yet. I was thinking of bumping up the memory or finding a better video card for the AGP interface with a reasonable price tag - thought I saw a couple on newegg for $45.

What's your best fix for a low frame rate here?

Thanks

 

[bobbknight]

2 Gig ram and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102781
I prolly would not go to much over that.

 

[Peaks]

GFX card could be a lot better but like bobbknight said 2gig of DDR2 800 RAM would be the best quick fix!!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

GFX card could be a lot better but like bobbknight said 2gig of DDR2 800 RAM would be the best quick fix!!

DDR2 800 RAM won't work with that system. Did you miss the "DDR 400" in the system specs?

 

[chasep7]

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking some dirt cheap RAM too. Question, would that GPU be worth the money over the FX 5200 she already has?

A little off topic, I was in an office max yesterday and stopped by their pc components section and their 512MB PC-3200 RAM was 50 f'ing bucks! I couldn't believe what I was seeing.