[Solved] New CPU and Graphics Card

Hello.
I've been getting into gaming lately and I feel like my computer is holding me back. I've got a 2.3 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+, an NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430, and 2 GBs of RAM.

I'm thinking about upgrading my CPU and Graphics Card. After browsing Newegg for a little while I came across this graphics card and this CPU.

I'm good with computers however I don't know much about hardware. Are those prices pretty good? I probably won't be playing anything more graphics-intensive than Fallout 3. Would those be good enough to play Fallout 3 without having to lower the graphics settings too much?

Also - is there any reason they wouldn't be compatible with my computer? I've got an Inspiron 531.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

I'm not the gaming guru around here but I think your best bet is the Radeon HD 4670 1GB for $60 AR w/free shipping. It should draw power from the PCIe slot on your mobo.

Your best chance for a CPU upgrade is 'slim and none'. Maybe a 95w proc would work but the above vid card is your best bet and should perform quite well with your current CPU - the 8400gs card you selected is actually less powerful than the current AMD integrated motherboard graphics.

I believe the Dell Inspiron 531 is AM2 ....
nVidia 6150 IGP with sb430.

The minimum processor speed for Fallout 3 is 2.4 GHz. So is Fallout out of the picture then?

I think that would be a single-core "2.4 GHz" processor --- you should be okay with the dual-core x2 4400+.

Yes, and the 4670 would be a perfect match for you cpu.

btw; the 2.4 GHz cpu required is given for a p4 cpu, meaning approx. an athlon 2400 (1.4 GHz) so your cpu is plenty.

The problem with upgrading your processor is you would have to upgrade your whole system (mobo, ram, cpu), which means a lot more money. With a Athlon X2 4400 and an HD 4670, you will get decent frames on medium to high settings at 1280 x 1024, or 1280 x 800. In the GPU charts, it shows the 4670 getting 32 frames with ultra high @ 1680 x 1050. It's true these tests were conducted with a core i7 cpu, but an atlon x2 4400 isn't going to bottleneck this card.

If he wants to spend the money to upgrade his comp, we can give him suggestions. I think they're is still life in his current machine, and a simple gpu upgrade would give it the boost it needs.

deadjon, what res are you running that gives you that setting, and what is your fps? It seems like you should be getting better results than that.

tom's charts
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts [...] .html?prod[2720]=on

Just make sure you uninstall your current gpu drivers before you put it in, and make sure your mobo graphics option is set to peg or auto.

The 4670 has significantly better performance in nearly all (if not all) games, and especially Fallout 3.